The agenda is here. The livestream is here.
I'm covering this one remotely because seven hours of the public hearing yesterday WORE ME OUT!
I would assume today will include many nice words about Russell Johnston, as this is his last meeting. He has borne out my experience with MA Commissioners: our interim commissioners are our best ones.
And we just got livestreaming 20 minutes in; we appear to be in public comment. Senator Dooner, who spoke about vocational admission yesterday at the Ways and Means hearing, now speaking. Secretary Tutwiler politely noted yesterday that current admissions standards makes it more likely that she would not, given what she said about herself, get into such a school now.
Dan French, Citizens for Public Schools: change in vocational admission is a significant step forward
"CTE schools are public schools" any eighth grader should be able to enroll
all three will be greater barriers for protected classes than others
interest, absence, disciplinary factors
"the actions of 13 and 14 year olds should not present barriers to lifetime opportunities"
impossible to discover if they will have disproportionate impact
Brian Dezurick, attorney, while regulations are a significant improvement, from discriminatory to less discriminatory
could have a process free from discrimination
would truly meet the moment where Massachusetts makes clear that any kind of discrimination is unacceptable
Emily LaMarca, spoke about her son's experiences with time out rooms
restraint and time out are often together
disproportionally done on Black children, poor children, and children with disabilities
crucial that we explore all alternatives before a policy recognizing such rooms as acceptable
alternatives do exist
regulations will have significant impact on if schools explore alternatives
Stephanie Kratz (?), Disability Law Center
use of time out rooms harms children
are proven alternatives that are data driven and effective
three areas for revision:
unlocked room that student is free to leave; how will children know that they are free to leave
remove doors and prevent staff from using bodies or mats to prevent children from leaving
reporting, review, and parental consent
suggest shifting to elimination of seclusion, and shorten time until elimination
Juan Cofield, Social Justice Coalition
longtime commitment to public education
applaud DESE for making changes in unlawful admissions policies
however proposed changes do not go far enough
still will not comply with federal law or fulfill our moral obligations
urge that you adopt an open lottery admission system for voke schools
Gerry Mroz
ask that you hire a commissioner who will read and respect the laws
"you can lead the commissioner; you tend to follow the commissioner"
programs for gifted and talented students
"increasingly troubled over time"
"I've seen violations of the Open Meeting Law like crazy, I've seen violations of the public records law like crazy"
preliminary screening committee hasn't been doing the most basic thing about following the OML
abuse discretion when use (on charter schools) for personal reasons
"it's not up to you to say 'oh, you care more for the traditional districts than for the children who would be in the charter schools'"
I don't why Rouhaniford hasn't been here for months and months and hasn't been replaced; I don't know why we have a law that says two five year terms and we have two members who are still here; law says the board can't place one of their own as Commissioner
"system is sticking to what it's always done...and we don't get anything different"
Melissa Ryan, superintendent, Berkley Public Schools
"though the state claims that every student deserves a quality education"
Berkley does not fit into traditional funding categories; as a result we are often overlooked
instead of supporting lost programs or supporting EL learners, we have to decide which math and reading teachers to let go
Do our 900 students not deserve better?
transportation rose 20% because we had one bus contract bid
"please consider forming a committee for districts left out of" current funding obligations
they're now acknowledging a new Board member, Dr. Christina Grant
On to Tutwiler: steps administration is taking on graduation council
"peer over the fence" at other states
thorough and thoughtful but with a sense of urgency
Johnston has never performed his duties as if he is acting
depth of care to children, educators, colleagues
Hills is asking a question remotely which is really hard to hear
Tutwiler: this is not a consensus exercise, have 365 degrees at the table to make informed decisions
Johnston: chronic absenteeism has been too high: Power of Presence
ask students what drives them to be here and why does it matter
winner is Emergence Academy, part of Springfield Empowerment Zone, opened in 2021
Boston Public Schools systemic improvement plan update
end of three years
met a lot of the initial benchmarks and have continued to "grow the work"
agreement between DESE and district that there is still work to be done
critical tools to decide facilities needs; long term enrollment projections
reliable transportation in morning and afternoon
enhancement to districtwide safety initiatives
core instructional materials, multi-tiered systems of supports
urge continued work on students with disabilities and English learners
Craven: any insight into Madison Park?
Johnston: steady leadership at the school
graduate students ready for the career field; hope it will continue on
integrated planning
Moriarty: what is the status on transportation?
Johnston: district has not met 95% on time arrivals; have seen steady improvement
Moriarty: MOUs were end runs around receivership; haven't used all we have
methods we have "are dead letter this decade"
Rocha: tracking of loss of learning due to late buses?
Johnston: didn't agree to probe into that letter of detail
comparisons across country, being in the high 90's is not unusual
Hills: two things (but he's foggy here and hard to hear)
ultimately it's academic improvement we're looking for
transportation "was a pretty abysmal start"
and then he faded into no sound at all
Craven: plan specifically not academic, operational
interaction with federal government
Johnston: improvement of SEI for multilingual learners
request for new programs, dual language, bilinguals
"maintain the assets students bring in multilingual learners"
Asikis: transportation not on time means they may miss their school meals
hard to learn when you are hungry
Johnston: upcoming meetings
April 29
evening of April 28 on hold for special meeting
meetings likely coming up for Commissioner search
likely meeting for Board to hear summary of comments on CTE regulation
comment period close April 18
special Board meeting at Methuen High School, home of a member of State Student Advisory
Craven: vocational admission out for public comment
one school ran lottery simulation and ended up with less diverse
Craven is going on and on about a very narrow perspective on this
break for photos with Johnston
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