Board of Ed for December: opening comments

 The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meets today in Everett at 9 AM. You can find the agenda here. 

It is a positive FESTIVAL of faces here at the meeting today...MA Teacher of the year, past student rep Ela Gardiner (home from college! Yay, Ela!), loads of voke superintendents, an MTA group (and that's just who I recognize)...

Sen. Brendan Crighton with Rep-elect Sean Reid in opposition of KIPP Lynn's charter expansion
"an expansion of KIPP would cost the city of Lynn roughly $24M"
"entire Lynn delegation supports" position of the mayor, superintendent
KIPP Lynn falling behind in achievement
Reid: "our district is already starving for resources"
crumbling infrastructure, teacher shortage, tightening state revenues
"this would negate a lot of Student Opportunity Act resources"
"not operating at a level playing field"
students would have to bear the brunt of this funding loss without guarantee for these seats
"have already made significant progress as a district"
"I understand how difficult decisions can be made as a school committee member myself"

Max Page, Deb McCarthy, MTA
McCarthy on three "profound learning experiences I have gained" from ballot Q (I am struggling to follow what is in the three here)
education as a foundation of democracy
respect for educators
students who struggle, invisible learner profile
many want to be engaged in reimagining the profile of a graduate
Page: priorities for new legislative session
addressing fiscal crisis in schools; debt-free higher ed
paid family leave; mental health supports; retirement 
"a diverse union of education workers" is MTA's new tag line

President, Quincy Education Association
elimination of MCAS a benefit to teachers and students
difficult particularly on newcomer students
staffing levels in schools
"implications of long term underfunding of education are significant"
"devastating glitch in the formula" on inflation
undercalculation of special ed; additional need for support for mental health

President, Brookline Educators Union, also repping Somerville's president (who was signed up)
harms to educators: physical harms and emotional abuse, too often overlooked
increased burnout and attrition rates
Losing talented, passionate educators because this is unsustainable
training, protocols, staffing levels, must be addressed
unique undue strain on educators

superintendent, TECCA 
would appreciate approval of tuition increase
will remotely proctor MCAS this spring for grades 3-8 

Dan French, Citizens for Public Schools, member Vocational Educational Justice Coalition
"only equitable vocational admissions policy is a lottery" for students in ninth grade
responding to MAVA testimony: comparison to students in sending districts "not the civil rights issue at hand"
"every school but one continued to use bias admission criteria"
"all but two vocational schools had disparities in at least two categories"
McCann enrolls nearly all applicants; Assabet has a lottery
lotteries increase opportunities for groups historically discriminated against
"you can't reliably determine if a students behavior and attendance is reliably determinative of their attendance and behavior" as a vocational student
Lawyer for Civil Rights
arguments about statistically inconsistency don't change the perpetuation of inequality
data already reflects completed application
true lottery eliminates systemic barriers
federal civil rights laws mandates non-discriminatory access to public education
argument about greater safety risk on dangerous machinery "is both flawed and harmful"
"exclusionary practices based on unfounded fears" "is not only unjustified; it is also discriminatory"
collaboration must center on federal civil rights' standards
vocational schools have already had a chance to make changes needed and they "have failed to deliver on this promise"

MAVA panel: president
public acknowledge of CTE subcommittee
pleased to see subcommittee members are open to understanding limitations of subcommittee data
heard that DESE expects that 9th grade enrollment should reflect that of their sending regions; our understanding that only one doesn't
outcome of waitlist tool; created as a technical assistance tool
selective criteria; schools have requested data
"welcome opportunity to collaborate" as part of process
Greater New Bedford vo-tech: department refusal to share anonymized admission data with schools
"bold steps" on admission policy
"no one here today who can tell us" if it achieves its goals because it hasn't been implemented yet
"have engaged a third party validatory with our legal team"
it's kind of a tell that there's a legal team involved here...
"access and standards are not opposing goals"
lawyer for MAVA
"using incomplete data to sort of Mickey Mouse" solutions
"fighting about access to this data is a waste of resources"
"ask the Board to help us help you do this analysis correctly"

Glenn Koocher, MASC, Executive Director
"slightly different angle on this approach"
requirements and how address inequities
regulatory, legislative, or locally negotiated approach best?
"concerned that solving problems through a regulated approach" rather than legislative or local approach is better
"we're making a great deal of progress"
Agree likely to lead to consensus
believe vocational districts should be allowed to negotiate local solutions overseen by legislation

End of public comment

Craven thanking a bunch of people here...including the new subcommittee on CTE admissions...and a bunch of other things she has gone to? I guess?
"if the SJC required the Board of Ed...to 'cherish' the interest of public education...my fundamental question is how does the Board fulfill its fundamental mission" of that finding
Board cannot abdicate to local communities
"a thing to ponder as we go into the holiday season"

Tutwiler starts by congratulating MA Teacher of the year Luisa Sparrow (Boston Public Schools) who is here and will speak shortly
notable steps under past two fiscal cycles

Johnston: receivership districts
continued to meet with superintendent-receivers, local elected officials, legislative officials
Dec. 9: met with Holyoke SC local control subcommittee; meet every other month now
plan and adjustments made along the way
see that unfolding with commitment
local leaders in Lawrence to develop a strategic plan, multi-year
to live alongside turnaround plan for a time to then guide beyond 
now underway in working on that
ongoing technical assistance for district as well
Southbridge: met with local officials to discuss capacity building needs
ongoing support to strengthen local leadership across town government
transition to local control
shout out to Southbridge School Committee "entire day of training" this past Saturday with MASC
exiting Parker Elementary in New Bedford on January 1
coming on regulations on educator licensure in the new year
continuing alternative to MTEL beyond pilot period
comprehensive econ development; relate to this bill (but are independent of it)