Things you won't read about this week's Board of Ed

 While there's been no lack of coverage of this week's Board of Ed meeting--of which you can read MASC's full coverage here--there's a number of things that happened that certainly didn't make headlines and in some cases didn't make the coverage at all.

• There's been no update to the Board of Ed membership (save the new student rep), despite what sure seems to be three seats that should have new appointments.
  
  
  
• There's still a search for the next Commissioner happening! Chair Katherine Craven announced at Tuesday's meeting that Isaacson, Miller of Boston has now been hired by the Board to conduct the search. Craven said "a robust community engagement" process is a priority for the Board. So stay tuned?
  
  
• The Department, Acting Commissioner Johnston announced, is undergoing an "organizational review" conducted by Public Consulting Group. It's really feeling like there's a lot of what we might characterize as navel gazing going on with DESE right now...
  
  
• Those Monday meetings that are on the published schedule are actually happening in October (28) and November (18) are happening this fall for what Johnston called "study sessions" on Career and Technical Education admissions. 
  
  
• While there was a State House News Service article (yes, that is paywalled and so far as I can tell, it hasn't yet been picked up by anyone else; c'mon local press!), the Monday meeting that covered the Accountability Review Advisory Committee's report has gotten almost remarkably little attention. As this was a broad-based committee (like a significant number of DESE advisories that never make headlines) that was looking at the state accountability system outside of what is legally mandated. I'd highlight, for one, the recommendation that the "outside of ESSA" second (ish?) score, with a list of what that would look like. 
  
  
• This aligns, also, with a section that came late in what most think of as "the MCAS report," which is also includes the accountability information. As noted in the MASC report:
  

  Of the 1827 schools, 219 were classified as insufficient data, usually because they serve untested grades. 

  Of the remaining 1608 schools, 82% were classified as “not requiring assistance,” and 18% were classified as “requiring assistance” for one or more reasons. 

  60% of schools, in making progress towards targets, are making substantial progress towards targets or meeting or exceeding targets. From last year to this, the state went from 6% to 3% of schools are now making no progress. 

  Curtin notes that the full accountability system, as shown, “allow[s] us to show the progress that schools are making in other areas”

  In other words, schools are doing good work with moving their kids forward in graduation, in access to advanced coursework, in many of the other things that feed into the state accountability system. 
  Imagine if that had made any coverage at all! But much less drama in the MCAS headlines.