tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74209317436692746432024-03-19T07:59:29.690-04:00Whos of Who-cesterblogging on education in Worcester, in Massachusetts, and in AmericaTracy Novickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988285248618452154noreply@blogger.comBlogger7842125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420931743669274643.post-2228586369924383092024-03-18T16:54:00.002-04:002024-03-18T20:52:18.369-04:00Friends, Bay Staters, educators, lend me your ears <p><i>With apologies for not having this complete for Friday’s date which made the rewrite work, to<a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/56968/speech-friends-romans-countrymen-lend-me-your-ears"> </a><a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/56968/speech-friends-romans-countrymen-lend-me-your-ears">the Bard of Avon</a>, and to all those who will quickly note that this doesn’t scan perfectly<br />Dedicated to anyone who spent 2020, 2021, and 2022 dreading Friday afternoons </i></p><p><i>Written, as it says, “to speak what I do know” and on no one else’s behalf </i></p><p>Friends, Bay Staters, educators, lend me your ears!<br />I come to commended Jeff Riley, not to critique him.<br />The fulsome praise of retirement lives on after men,<br />The injudicious interred with their careers.<br />So may it be with Riley. You have been told<br />Jeff Riley is the “radical center.”<br />If it were so, it was not apparent,<br />And bitterly have we answered for it.<br />Here, the data-driven Commonwealth, we’re told,<br />Jeff Riley is the “radical center” —<br />Yet even so, three receiverships stay,<br />‘Though research says nay to state enjoinment.<br />He was a harbinger of Friday news,<br />But the press says he was decisive,<br />And Riley is the “radical center.”<br />He hath brought many demands home to Boston;<br />Whose buses did he make to run on time?<br />When real life did intrude, Riley hath fumed.<br />Ambition should be made of measured stuff;<br />Yet the press says he was effective,<br />And Riley is the “radical center.”<br />You all did see that on Board of Ed;<br />We oft presented him evidence,<br />Which he did oft refuse; was this effective?<br />Yet the press says he was accomplished,<br />And, sure, Riley is the “radical center.”<br />I speak not to disprove what was said,<br />But I am here to speak what I do know.<br />You all did quiz him once, not without cause;<br />What cause withholds you then, and praise him yet?<br />O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,<br />And some have lost their reason. Bear with me.<br />My heart is in the classrooms there with all,<br />And I must pause til it come back to me.<br /></p>Tracy Novickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988285248618452154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420931743669274643.post-85075522603372574902024-03-18T14:38:00.003-04:002024-03-18T14:43:54.831-04:00Quick note on Worcester School Committee meetings this week<p> There are actually three!</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>on Wednesday at 5, there's a Teaching, Learning, and Student Success meeting; <strike>the agenda isn't up yet, but expect that today</strike> <a href="/https://worcesterschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/TLSS-2-3.20.2024.pdf">now posted</a>: preK, gifted programming, and the "modern classroom" project<br /><br /><br /></li><li>on Thursday, there's the <a href="https://worcesterschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/3.21.24-Agenda-Face-Clerk-and-Chair-3-1-1.pdf">regular meeting of the full Committee</a> (exec at 5; public session thereafter). The report of the Superintendent is on future ready learning, which you might remember is a part of the Vision of a Learner adopted last year. <br />Without going into a lot of detail, note that Biancheria's student safety center item was held from the last meeting. There's a public petition (though without the petition itself, so we don't know who from) on<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/12yAQRJ4SgS7mw-R1Xz2O1WV7CsMWGGEq/view"> installing electric charging meters for the public in the Forest Grove parking lot</a> (the petition language says "free of charge" though the backup does not, nor does it mention the cost of electricity). The student advisory has submitted an item on staff mental health support. There are a number of grants for approval: <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dOOvkZEjit9fbG5hTBtQZGHmBoZYN4rI/view?usp=sharing">homeless student supports</a>, <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1c7jbM1A3lrzswz0_1XyJaozT8VzUZtp6/view">two on</a> supporting <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M58yPASKqQH6QLpWdZAJSlr1rX3UO28M/view">community childcare</a>, <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/11oY5USifnwkSWX3FpcJpr6t0emeoJzO-/view">Perkins</a> (which is voke money) for software management and a robot, and <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1w6dsQQ1xKXRRCrPe2hlqKnAVjRPecpbr/view?usp=sharing">a history field trip</a>. <br />There's a request for <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pgJFmRARhJQ58cKiaCJhPGjgAXUVKK9o/view">an easement for Verizon at Doherty</a>.<br />Biancheria wants a report on therapy dogs, and one on homeschooling.<br />Guardiola wants a report "on school meals and nutrition including current vendors used by the Worcester Public Schools."<br />The administration is sharing the<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1p20j1tUZ4LdAzr1RyTS3vLYkd_gKJ22w/view"> city's annual other post-employment benefits (OPEB) report</a>.<br />And on the agenda for approval ahead of the April deadline is the<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/18Ox3DU9-VGepFTKlEgwcdBxel7S-VsUQ/view"> district's three year Student Opportunity Act plan.</a><br /><i>FWIW, I won't be at this, as I have a meeting to present at that evening.</i><br /><br /></li><li>There's also a legislative breakfast--you might remember this being proposed in February by Member McCullough on Friday morning at Worcester Tech (and yes, that's a posted meeting); no agenda posted as yet. </li></ul><p></p>Tracy Novickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988285248618452154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420931743669274643.post-23533828915305548042024-03-15T16:19:00.001-04:002024-03-15T16:19:02.230-04:00Public officials don't lose their own First Amendment rights in serving: SCOTUS<p> The Supreme Court issued a decision today in<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/22-611_ap6c.pdf"> <i>Lindke</i> v. </a><i><a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/22-611_ap6c.pdf">Freed</a>, </i>which was taken with<a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/22-324_09m1.pdf"><i> O’Connor-Ratcliff </i>v.</a><i><a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/22-324_09m1.pdf"> Garnier</a> </i>regarding if public officials can block people on social media, or if that violates the First Amendment rights of those blocked. The Court in both cases vacated the judgments of lower courts and handed them back down to have new proceedings in line with what they found. <i>Lindke</i> was a unanimous decision written by Justice Barrett. </p><p>The determinant is if the public official is acting as "the government" when they are posting (and blocking) online, as the First Amendment binds only the government. The Court found: </p><blockquote><p>When a government official posts about job-related topics on social media, it can be difficult to tell whether the speech is official or private. We hold that such speech is attributable to the State only if the official (1) possessed actual authority to speak on the State’s behalf, and (2) purported to exercise that authority when he spoke on social media. </p></blockquote><p>The Court noted, "[w]hile public officials can act on behalf of the State, they are also private citizens with their own constitutional rights" and the First Amendment applies to the officials as well. In order to sort of which is what, the Court sorted through the power invested in the office holder, writing "Freed's conduct is not attributable to the State unless he was 'possessed of state authority' to post city updates and register citizen concerns." They note that simply resharing information available elsewhere is not demonstrating that authority, that "[t]he alleged censorship must be connected to speech on a matter within Freed's balliwick," concluding this idea with "[t]o misuse power...one must possess it in the first place." They also warn against too broad a brush on this:</p><p></p><blockquote>The inquiry is not whether making official announcements could fit within the job description; it is whether making official announcements is actually part of the job that the State entrusted the official to do. <br />In sum, a defendant like Freed must have actual authority rooted in written law or longstanding custom to speak for the State. That authority must extend to speech of the sort that caused the alleged rights deprivation. If the plaintiff cannot make this threshold showing of authority, he cannot establish state action. </blockquote><p>On the second, the Court uses an analogy close to the heart here: </p><p></p><blockquote>Consider a hypothetical from the offline world. A school board president announces at a school board meeting that the board has lifted pandemic-era restrictions on public schools. The next evening, at a backyard barbecue with friends whose children attend public schools, he shares that the board has lifted the pandemic-era restrictions. The former is state action taken in his official capacity as school board president; the latter is private action taken in his personal capacity as a friend and neighbor. While the substance of the announcement is the same, the context—an official meeting versus a private event—differs. He invoked his official authority only when he acted as school board president. </blockquote><p>They do note--and in the closing of the decision, warn against--the haziness of the Facebook page in question: is it a public or private page? Posting alone isn't enough, though: </p><p></p><blockquote>Hard-to-classify cases require awareness that an official does not necessarily purport to exercise his authority simply by posting about a matter within it. He might post job-related information for any number of personal reasons, from a desire to raise public awareness to promoting his prospects for reelection. Moreover, many public officials possess a broad portfolio of governmental authority that includes routine interaction with the public, and it may not be easy to discern a boundary between their public and private lives. Yet these officials too have the right to speak about public affairs in their personal capacities. See, e.g., id., at 235–236. Lest any official lose that right, it is crucial for the plaintiff to show that the official is purporting to exercise state authority in specific posts. </blockquote><p>Thus the conclusion: </p><p></p><blockquote> The state-action doctrine requires Lindke to show that Freed (1) had actual authority to speak on behalf of the State on a particular matter, and (2) purported to exercise that authority in the relevant posts. </blockquote><p>But the Supreme Court would also like you to make your personal page clearly that.</p><p><i>Personal, I-am-not-a-lawyer observation: Many deliberative bodies only derive their authority from meeting as a quorum of that body; the individual members have no power, unless specifically designated (like a Chair). As such, this sure seems to point towards their lacking the authority of the first test to act as the state, and thus being unable to violate the First Amendment rights of others. Not, again, a lawyer. </i> <br />Also worth reading: <a href="https://www.lawdork.com/p/scotus-social-media-public-officials-blocking">LawDork</a>, <a href="https://www.scotusblog.com/2024/03/public-officials-can-be-held-liable-for-blocking-critics-on-social-media/">SCOTUSblog</a></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>Tracy Novickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988285248618452154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420931743669274643.post-90982219129147308552024-03-12T06:57:00.003-04:002024-03-12T06:57:49.465-04:00Four years ago today...<p> This was what I posted on Facebook:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2MnEjyag7JvoBPxGtlx4HwNaDbv5N0b0hU34QyMrzqPgbEtdgqBhMwI6wL3NLTrZMbMMy3d9ltc6CdOVzbHWqH2ZGd24fba-cyA0O12qVlCBYYeQj4rdW9vXsMyu3rrv0tSfTsaP8tQ0pWzXTjhXnE0vvVCYwKGwNnA0pXGKESDaB_w75_A5B6BhIwra/s763/Screenshot%202024-03-12%20065410.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="230" data-original-width="763" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX2MnEjyag7JvoBPxGtlx4HwNaDbv5N0b0hU34QyMrzqPgbEtdgqBhMwI6wL3NLTrZMbMMy3d9ltc6CdOVzbHWqH2ZGd24fba-cyA0O12qVlCBYYeQj4rdW9vXsMyu3rrv0tSfTsaP8tQ0pWzXTjhXnE0vvVCYwKGwNnA0pXGKESDaB_w75_A5B6BhIwra/w640-h192/Screenshot%202024-03-12%20065410.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Worcester, for what it's worth, was only calling for the single day left in the week; we'd call two weeks over the weekend, part of the weekend when literally every single district in Massachusetts (I vividly remember downloading the full list and opening a spreadsheet to track them) called school off before Governor Baker did a damn thing about it.</p><p>Am I still angry about that? Yes. And his lack of leadership--and I have some words about the outgoing Commissioner, too, at some point--and meeting the needs of schools during the pandemic would only continue from there. </p><p>More as I have time, but I didn't want the day to pass without noting it. </p>Tracy Novickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988285248618452154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420931743669274643.post-88517955456881471912024-03-12T06:41:00.001-04:002024-03-12T06:41:37.034-04:00Some recommended reading<p> A few things I've been reading that I'd recommend:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>You've no doubt caught some of the <a href="https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/brockton-shares-findings-independent-audit-after-183-million-deficit-2023-school-budget/3NDU5T2FOBAORLWYZKKQV2BPWU/">coverage of the Brockton Public Schools' financial woes </a>(<a href="https://www.enterprisenews.com/story/news/local/2024/03/09/brockton-ma-possible-bankruptcy-school-deficit-spending-cuts/72899977007/">and ensuing city woes</a>). The report from<a href="https://www.bpsma.org/fs/resource-manager/view/25cc4d5c-9620-4095-9a0b-a7e491d25eb5"> the independent third party can be found here</a>. It's only a few pages long, and worth a review.<br /><br /></li><li>The maddening lack of American society to really accept the pandemic has been particularly frustrating in a few places, education among them. Conor Williams (who I always find worth reading) does a really nice job with this <a href="https://www.the74million.org/article/americans-have-yet-to-accept-covids-tragedy-and-are-taking-it-out-on-schools/">in this piece in <i>the 74</i></a>:<br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">This odd unwillingness to recognize the pandemic as an unavoidable calamity is part of why we’re still endlessly relitigating pandemic mitigation measures in schools — closures, masks, quarantine policies, and the like. If, in 2019, we’d conducted a thought experiment, asking folks to predict the educational impact of a then-hypothetical viral pandemic that would be transmitted via breathing and would kill nearly 1.2 million Americans, most of us would agree that kids wouldn’t steam forth making the usual academic progress. <br /><br /><br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">This year's "and then ESSER was gone" gets <a href="https://www.k12dive.com/news/esser-fiscal-cliff-spending-schools-pandemic/709842/">some coverage in <i>K-12 Dive</i></a>.</span></li></ul><p></p>Tracy Novickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988285248618452154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420931743669274643.post-26371111711060004312024-03-08T19:13:00.006-05:002024-03-08T19:23:00.903-05:00March 7 meeting of the Worcester School Committee<p> The <a href="https://worcesterschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/3.7.24-Agenda-Face-Clerk-and-Chair-4.pdf">agenda is here</a>. The<a href="https://worcesterschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Final-Academic-Supports-ROS.pdf"> report of the superintendent is here.</a> The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ul7Jmjq9r6g">video of the meeting is here</a>.</p><p>The National Anthem was sung by City View Elementary School's chorus.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJuF2ZB_GVYsFwKng1RX0JeTgteVBIBPuLwUfpoVXpKO6II0lZNhyphenhyphenbMov42_v4w3bxPvmriTWEuOX819EcCBjyu6BU-eYJywrEhkbSXwZ9lS1G_yu6FGvvXC4bkpywJzpEMDLqm582Kih3Cf7nUq5xowOEUMyJDSKAuFzQ4ZJL0vYfTIvX9-b2RIEKAf9b/s4032/IMG_6880.HEIC" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJuF2ZB_GVYsFwKng1RX0JeTgteVBIBPuLwUfpoVXpKO6II0lZNhyphenhyphenbMov42_v4w3bxPvmriTWEuOX819EcCBjyu6BU-eYJywrEhkbSXwZ9lS1G_yu6FGvvXC4bkpywJzpEMDLqm582Kih3Cf7nUq5xowOEUMyJDSKAuFzQ4ZJL0vYfTIvX9-b2RIEKAf9b/w400-h300/IMG_6880.HEIC" width="400"></a></div><br><p>The consent agenda passed as proposed.</p><span></span><a href="https://who-cester.blogspot.com/2024/03/march-7-meeting-of-worcester-school.html#more">Read more »</a>Tracy Novickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988285248618452154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420931743669274643.post-66728299730193883062024-03-06T14:49:00.002-05:002024-03-19T07:58:28.593-04:00Highlights from the Joint Committee on Ways and Means<p> <i>For those who might not want six and a half hours worth of liveblogging. Note the <a href="https://malegislature.gov/Events/Hearings/Detail/4863">video of the hearing is here.<span></span></a> Crossposted from MASC</i></p><a href="https://who-cester.blogspot.com/2024/03/highlights-from-joint-committee-on-ways.html#more">Read more »</a>Tracy Novickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988285248618452154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420931743669274643.post-23578979039726045582024-03-03T15:19:00.000-05:002024-03-03T15:19:14.089-05:00Worcester School Committee this week plus a report to check out<p> Note that: </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>the Standing Committee on Finance, Operations, and Governance meets tomorrow (Monday) at 4:45; the <a href="https://worcesterschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Agenda-2-March-4-2024.pdf">agenda is here</a>. It's a three item agenda--students as custodians; three proposed years of calendars; and the proposed Haas donation (<a href="https://www.telegram.com/story/news/education/2023/10/20/worcester-school-board-holds-off-on-grant-amid-concern-about-haas-foundation/71241869007/">remember that?</a>)* with a recommendation the item be filed.<br />The calendars adopt the city's "Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples' Day" phrasing. They also continue Good Friday as a "non-school day."<br /><br /></li><li>The full Committee meets Thursday at 5 (for executive session); the<a href="https://worcesterschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/3.7.24-Agenda-Face-Clerk-and-Chair-Final.pdf"> agenda is here</a>. The report of the superintendent is on alternative programs. <br />Also on the agenda: the reports related to the above; the approval of new courses (which one would expect to go to subcommittee); a request for<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ySRP4E9XW-w0vEOu-bulVUbLF_EQZxmX/view"> a utility easement at North High</a>; a proposal that something at Doherty High be named after deceased Worcester Fire Department Lt. Jason Menard; and a request for the costs of the climate and culture specialists.<br />Interestingly, among the items is <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1s2lv8Hax3QcKTz_xnCVimjcpQGCX1qcq/view">a request that the Committee approve </a>a Statement of Interest for renovation/rebuild for Burncoat Middle School. To quote from the accompanying memo from the Deputy Superintendent:<br /></li></ul><p></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">As part of the MSBA’s onsite review of the school, it was recommended that the district would need to submit a Statement of Interest for Burncoat Middle School to be included in consideration to be included in the new school project during the feasibility phase of the project. </span></blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The High School and Middle Schools share some mechanical infrastructure and significant instructional programs (dual language program, 7-12 advanced scholars' academy, and the district’s performing arts programs).</span></blockquote><blockquote><ul style="text-align: left;"></ul><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The approval of this Statement of Interest is intended to have the middle school considered as part of the feasibility phase of the high school project. The determination by the city whether to combine the high school and middle school into a shared facility (but remain as two separate schools) would be determined during the feasibility study of the project. That project timeline is expected to take place between 2025-2028.<br /></span><ul style="text-align: left;"></ul><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">The deadline for the major renovation/replacement projects is Friday, April 12, 2024.</span></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">Do note that the School Committee last term requested that the middle school be included in the consideration; this is the (state required) next step in that. This also must be approved by the <span> </span>Worcester City Council. </p></blockquote><ul><li>While we're thinking about Worcester Public Schools facilities, give a review to the latest release by the Research Bureau, "<a href="https://www.wrrb.org/reports/2024/02/building-the-future-investing-in-worcester-public-schools-facilities/">Building the Future: Investing in Worcester Public Schools facilities.</a>"<br /><br /></li><li>And speaking of the Research Bureau, <a href="https://www.wrrb.org/tsg-public-service-awards/">nominations for the annual Thomas S. Green Public Service Award are open</a>, so nominate your favorite teacher, custodian, bus driver, paraprofessional, nurse, school nutrition worker, crossing guard, school secretary...and so on!</li></ul>_______________________________________<div>*Short version from me: Should the Worcester Public Schools name a facility after a man who committed felony conspiracy, witness intimidation and federal tax evasion to the tune of $30M in retaliation for the federal government fining him for patent infringement, in return for a donation of $350,000 to upgrade a shop at Worcester Tech? You can <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/3m3rbp79k6kiu8k/AAC0jOACmIDw5eL28wwT1QHia?dl=0">read all the documentation here</a>.<br />The motion to file here means "end it all."<br /></div>Tracy Novickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988285248618452154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420931743669274643.post-55519716209088669532024-03-03T09:34:00.001-05:002024-03-03T09:42:02.895-05:00If what we fund is what we value, what does it say when the inequities are this stark?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Released Friday from New America is a new report using 2021 funding data, "<a href="https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/reports/segregation-and-resource-inequality-between-americas-school-districts/">Crossing the line: Segregation and resource inequality between America's school districts</a>." It looks specifically at "next door neighbor" districts, so to speak, where the gulfs between neighboring districts are the largest.<br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is, let's be clear, generally accompanied by gulfs in enrollment by race and ethnicity, too. It doesn't happen accidentally. As they note in the report:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><blockquote>Nationwide, 53 percent of public-school district enrollees are students of color, including 14 percent Black students, 28 percent Latino students, and 5 percent Asian students, among others. However, these students are highly concentrated in a relatively small number of districts, and 26 percent of school systems serve student populations that are more than 90 percent white. The average district border separates districts that are 14 percentage points apart in their proportions of students of color. But along the 100 most racially segregating school district borders in the country, the average separation is between a district that is 92.4 percent white and a district that is 86 percent students of color. </blockquote></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You can read the <a href="https://d1y8sb8igg2f8e.cloudfront.net/documents/Crossing_the_Line_Segregation_Inequality_Americas_School_Districts_Report_FINA_xc6iO1e.pdf">full report here</a> (that's a PDF).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">From a Massachusetts perspective, I want to call your attention to he <a href="https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/a26502575732433b9e759572c15c0a67/page/Multimedia-Story/">multimedia story of 100 most economically segregated lines</a>, because guess what? We're in there.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Four times:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjPJ6KoQ_RDXfZ34fQFICvSZkMbHtfh4-RgV0nKpVpUoJF53sNPvu0eSXou6Xsd0B8LKzVxZwgCdPyZxu34hmi1vYkD7lP4XDODjDdEhyphenhyphenpHxgh5W_OlLhmFhnlLx1vc9c0JjmvnilYGKbDvfRC1vLLnMDVW9nF0VdaE88ygj8okPYW7D7zswzBqz87-FHK/s840/Screenshot%202024-03-02%20184706.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="840" height="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjPJ6KoQ_RDXfZ34fQFICvSZkMbHtfh4-RgV0nKpVpUoJF53sNPvu0eSXou6Xsd0B8LKzVxZwgCdPyZxu34hmi1vYkD7lP4XDODjDdEhyphenhyphenpHxgh5W_OlLhmFhnlLx1vc9c0JjmvnilYGKbDvfRC1vLLnMDVW9nF0VdaE88ygj8okPYW7D7zswzBqz87-FHK/w640-h520/Screenshot%202024-03-02%20184706.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We should of course note that this is 2021 data, so not full implementation of the SOA, but that doesn't mean a) that will be closed or b) more importantly, that the reasons for this shouldn't be examined and combated. A flag of four being in the <b>national</b> top 100 doesn't mean this isn't a statewide issue.<br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Among the 100 most racially segregated borders: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM4kokkPl3S5Pzj0mD7BRjLHRIFbIbMny3j-j-xgVoP5poNDzF8lzvsWm656oo9Hr8rPUEgvK7rs7ZdoY6nczWO_sN7WYvWzYBNabT_b6YQjuSL8FcUfaOY-0wHaOjH8YNdBvlqT1wk8LYMz4UHAEGymxPmk2cWajxy85HQ1uszUeclWXvWsGGT7RvQEPx/s749/Screenshot%202024-03-03%20092839.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="553" data-original-width="749" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM4kokkPl3S5Pzj0mD7BRjLHRIFbIbMny3j-j-xgVoP5poNDzF8lzvsWm656oo9Hr8rPUEgvK7rs7ZdoY6nczWO_sN7WYvWzYBNabT_b6YQjuSL8FcUfaOY-0wHaOjH8YNdBvlqT1wk8LYMz4UHAEGymxPmk2cWajxy85HQ1uszUeclWXvWsGGT7RvQEPx/w400-h295/Screenshot%202024-03-03%20092839.png" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I have ongoingly said that the conversation Massachusetts never wants to have is how segregated its school districts are. Even in all the ongoing "number one for some" and descriptions of achievement gaps, we are allergic as a state to discussing why it is that some districts don't even have statistically significant enrollment of students of color or whose first language isn't English.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I don't think that serves any of us well. </div> <p></p><div><br /></div><div>PS, because you know I'd never leave off Worcester; you can do these comparisons <a href="https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/a26502575732433b9e759572c15c0a67/page/Interactive-Map/?draft=true">with any school district borders here.</a> <br />Here's Worcester Public Schools compared to surrounding on low income enrollment:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl9h4OdzPJYSjkXJFo1PS9KJEDiVfobVXQBhW44j-_e1Qsbsd2lU4Yd7UT2SpZ3FqMDO9EixxeAbu2CGOuA-3gbkJscTFVItX5QxmE4j3gz9mb5qj8ZhU2dPTkt3o0c1bfxBcI7MM73fRkgu6jgWHOG5pYIHJsDM93XwhDMqLHo4iBsBWBXGiSqJphtANt/s1573/Screenshot%202024-03-03%20093958.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="968" data-original-width="1573" height="394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl9h4OdzPJYSjkXJFo1PS9KJEDiVfobVXQBhW44j-_e1Qsbsd2lU4Yd7UT2SpZ3FqMDO9EixxeAbu2CGOuA-3gbkJscTFVItX5QxmE4j3gz9mb5qj8ZhU2dPTkt3o0c1bfxBcI7MM73fRkgu6jgWHOG5pYIHJsDM93XwhDMqLHo4iBsBWBXGiSqJphtANt/w640-h394/Screenshot%202024-03-03%20093958.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>And on students of color:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLJFEOZ9C1YoMGIQEmEZYiff8omouVoWznKhX-J9FEpnsshTqKcRuH2N-6OtPQ5gJeasGd8ZKwTK4bnuMzh7DHqTlqVbYeWeOMRj432IjxImBmK0T1eU5VsQ21FOKsQlYk0ZNIrNdiK6ZBG5LCrj2nk9vKVr1FQOpduee7NqZ5CtvJSvzd3v0Ml6BZtbgq/s1707/Screenshot%202024-03-03%20094018.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="1707" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLJFEOZ9C1YoMGIQEmEZYiff8omouVoWznKhX-J9FEpnsshTqKcRuH2N-6OtPQ5gJeasGd8ZKwTK4bnuMzh7DHqTlqVbYeWeOMRj432IjxImBmK0T1eU5VsQ21FOKsQlYk0ZNIrNdiK6ZBG5LCrj2nk9vKVr1FQOpduee7NqZ5CtvJSvzd3v0Ml6BZtbgq/w640-h358/Screenshot%202024-03-03%20094018.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>Tracy Novickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988285248618452154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420931743669274643.post-19775633737355294702024-03-01T15:56:00.000-05:002024-03-01T15:56:58.441-05:00MASC President Ways and Means testimony <p><i>I am posting here the whole of the oral testimony of MASC President Mildred Lefebvre of Holyoke.<span></span></i></p><a href="https://who-cester.blogspot.com/2024/03/masc-president-ways-and-means-testimony.html#more">Read more »</a>Tracy Novickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988285248618452154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420931743669274643.post-63824922404955372422024-03-01T11:16:00.047-05:002024-03-01T17:44:39.293-05:00Joint Committee on Ways and Means hearing on FY25: local and education aid<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTMxXJVDyLEvn24EZmLEdf44D8IlCeT7n18LEC37P1l0J9LYWPlgpfgPstk_sKCqx2QWP5iNTzJ8bhl0z--uTlE59_WyJE8C-h7fz4Q_TzSbfyN-YiCJnTiBc4eKQ7Bf5ltK6uhAnqeLPUOy6uEBagpcnwngbzC_NLdIuDuBc543NYiDxcc-neqfdUMlkq" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="680" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTMxXJVDyLEvn24EZmLEdf44D8IlCeT7n18LEC37P1l0J9LYWPlgpfgPstk_sKCqx2QWP5iNTzJ8bhl0z--uTlE59_WyJE8C-h7fz4Q_TzSbfyN-YiCJnTiBc4eKQ7Bf5ltK6uhAnqeLPUOy6uEBagpcnwngbzC_NLdIuDuBc543NYiDxcc-neqfdUMlkq=w400-h300" width="400"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Greenfield Community College atrium</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><i>I was just asked why I sit where I do, and the answer is "next to the outlet when there is one!"<span></span></i></div><a href="https://who-cester.blogspot.com/2024/03/joint-committee-on-ways-and-means.html#more">Read more »</a>Tracy Novickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988285248618452154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420931743669274643.post-6064821098717443002024-02-27T11:40:00.003-05:002024-02-27T11:40:33.661-05:00February Board of Ed: commissioner transition<p> Riley calls out health standards as most important work, noting recent things that have happened across the country<br />recommends Johnston as acting "with all my heart"<br />Craven opens discussion on that recommendation</p><p>Moriarty praises literacy effort coming from Department rather than from Legislature</p><p>Gardiner thanks "on behalf of almost million students across the Commonwealth"</p><p>Hills "one set of images that's always going to stick in my mind" seeing "Jeff possessed with getting kids back into schools" in the fall of 2021<br />asked by his wife how the Commissioner was doing, Hills said "I don't know...he's just swearing a lot"</p><p>unanimous vote in favor of appointing Johnston acting</p><p>Johnston: "student-centered has been the theme of the day; we're going to keep that theme moving forward"</p><p>Motion to go into executive session due to "pending litigation"<br /><i>which it is not</i><br />roll call is unanimous </p><p>end of public session<br />Next meeting March 26</p>Tracy Novickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988285248618452154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420931743669274643.post-39117305226979984562024-02-27T11:26:00.001-05:002024-02-27T11:26:43.722-05:00February Board of Ed: budget! <p> <i>and about damn time!</i></p><p><a href="https://www.doe.mass.edu/bese/docs/fy2024/2024-02/item5.docx">back up for Bill Bell is here</a><br /><br />Gov. has released budget; Legislature now up<br />Joint Committee on Ways and Means hearing on education aid in Greenfield this Friday<br />"have hit the eight billion mark in the Commonwealth" for aid<br />fourth year of six years of Student Opportunity Act<br />total increase $260M for Ch. 70; about 4%<br />other programs "meet statutory requirements for" programs<br />working with Legislature to ensure they understand reimbursement<br />Secretary's budget: $30M for early literacy<br />"actively working with staff at Executive Office" and staff of W&M so they understand what is behind those numbers<br />a multi-year initiative<br />new funding for social emotional <br />additional early college funding<br />continued support for universal free school meals<br />expect House W&M budget just before April break<br />Senate W&M mid-May<br />"then we'd be looking to month of June to reconcile two bills"</p><p>Through January <br />ESSER I and II have been obligated and expended<br />$1.2M of ESSER II in late liquidation being spent out<br />ESSER III: 52% of all funds claimed ($860M)<br />about 48% left <br />would expect that a number of districts will want late liquidation authority<br />have to have obligated funds by end of September, but would have 18 months to spend out<br />"would expect late liquidation to be a little bit higher than on ESSER II"</p><p>Hills: does ch. 70 have "look back or make whole"? and how far back does it go?<br />Bell: it goes back to prior year<br /><i>yes, Newton has been a hold harmless district</i><br /><br />West: some new research on recovery from pandemic from Tom Kane<br />guidance and resources for districts in how they spend their money<br />"how we're serving districts that are serving low income students"<br /><br /></p><p><br /><br /></p>Tracy Novickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988285248618452154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420931743669274643.post-18275232089010906072024-02-27T11:05:00.002-05:002024-02-27T11:06:07.479-05:00February Board of Ed: charter school matters <p>City on a Hill Charter: returning charter and request to change grades served<br />moves straight to vote: approved</p><p>amendment requests to Boston charter schools for removing grade 6 at one and consolidating UP Academies<br />then amendments to enrollment patterns of charters<br />full list</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSdrHyzbAEJvTVULJEdHdUV9jlsiCXmqhhmpP4BnfOC4X3iBz4xsbO9F2OEachqJQKFZs9Zc6g_fg1RL4SAHlZ8p5w5nLxQ0wXu0Pqk2mEjE5WF1KsvO1JWXprq_JG1ewE0I_FBq24hMyXHsJFadG1c2MPaY7vyne2PX2etVfIu-yawZ1J0YYJwGtItFp5/s806/Screenshot%202024-02-24%20113048.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="441" data-original-width="806" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSdrHyzbAEJvTVULJEdHdUV9jlsiCXmqhhmpP4BnfOC4X3iBz4xsbO9F2OEachqJQKFZs9Zc6g_fg1RL4SAHlZ8p5w5nLxQ0wXu0Pqk2mEjE5WF1KsvO1JWXprq_JG1ewE0I_FBq24hMyXHsJFadG1c2MPaY7vyne2PX2etVfIu-yawZ1J0YYJwGtItFp5/w640-h350/Screenshot%202024-02-24%20113048.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />West: can I confirm that we have an accurate understanding of region request: students already can attend, but they'd be granted priority in attendance<br />Yes<br />Tutwiler: don't want to make a habit of bringing up things in public comment<br />earlier denied request for Prospect Hill<br />DESE: was not possible to grant earlier request due to spending requirements and such<br />Fisher: two schools for charter region; are both needing to do this to meet legal requirements<br />DESE: yes, in order to address requirements in charter school law<p></p><p>Being voted together: <br />Rocha: no<br />All others: yes<br />9-1 approved<br /><br /></p>Tracy Novickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988285248618452154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420931743669274643.post-2759585375665461262024-02-27T10:23:00.005-05:002024-02-27T10:54:43.971-05:00February Board of Ed: awards and recognitions <p> Colin Moge of West Springfield High School is being recognized as School Counselor of the Year<br>introduced by noting need for counselors in schools: mental health, bullying, college admission and financial aid<span></span></p><a href="https://who-cester.blogspot.com/2024/02/february-board-of-ed-awards-and.html#more">Read more »</a>Tracy Novickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988285248618452154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420931743669274643.post-90556628761205974552024-02-27T09:58:00.003-05:002024-02-27T09:58:55.290-05:00February Board of Ed: opening remarks by Board<p> Chair Craven: "just want to take some time to go over the past six years" of Riley<br /><i>hey, this is not when this is on the agenda! And I'm not going to take extensive notes on this part</i></p><p>Secretary Tutwiler: Massachusetts "long been celebrated for first in the nation outcomes"<br />"largely from the efforts of really talented educators"<br />lists lifetime award recipients: Kontos, Scott, Warwick<br />"I personally have learned so much from each of you"<br /><br />Riley: AG, MASS, MIAA, free regional trainings for districts and athletic inititives on addressing hate in school sports<br />more to follow<br />FAFSA: "to the families struggling with FAFSA: it's not just you"<br />upcoming workshops<br />"as soon as the student data begins to flow--and there is a meeting tomorrow...--we'll get the data out to you as soon as possible"<br />notes it is worth it, especially in Massachusetts<br />"please don't give up"<br />Brockton: deficit<br />mayor appointed (?) acting superintendent<br />outside fiscal review<br />DESE last month requested safety and operations audit which it is funding<br />will support findings going forward</p><p><i>minutes approved</i></p>Tracy Novickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988285248618452154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420931743669274643.post-1935023824162932002024-02-27T09:33:00.005-05:002024-02-27T09:46:43.560-05:00February Board of Ed: opening comments from public <p> <i>Coming to you live from Everett...<a href="https://www.doe.mass.edu/bese/docs/fy2024/2024-02/">the agenda is here</a>.</i></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-style: italic; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh6zayWqeY-8pgS6UlvDBLm0F_fXb5gVFbK8iMnAAaPoO28W9Ti3hiOdKjo39fJ1ioV09KoswK2zB3pCalevrhX6Lla-vFvDiPB-GEXEopdUp0wPF4WSFeb3fiPoODk-Cdag_kreAqrp66fMnDAYRf6W0tasNV9bTEMp2orp3QJrGijHyiupgWFsMl_U4r9" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="510" data-original-width="680" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh6zayWqeY-8pgS6UlvDBLm0F_fXb5gVFbK8iMnAAaPoO28W9Ti3hiOdKjo39fJ1ioV09KoswK2zB3pCalevrhX6Lla-vFvDiPB-GEXEopdUp0wPF4WSFeb3fiPoODk-Cdag_kreAqrp66fMnDAYRf6W0tasNV9bTEMp2orp3QJrGijHyiupgWFsMl_U4r9" width="320"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Please enjoy this lovely view of the Malden River willows <br>from under the Revere Beach Parkway</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br><i>Muhammed and Rouhanifard participating remotely<span></span></i><p></p><a href="https://who-cester.blogspot.com/2024/02/february-board-of-ed-opening-comments.html#more">Read more »</a>Tracy Novickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988285248618452154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420931743669274643.post-54514439939153709402024-02-24T11:57:00.001-05:002024-02-24T11:57:03.247-05:00The Board of Ed meets Tuesday, and that's the first of three state education meetings this week<p> The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meets Tuesday, February 27 at 9 am; you <a href="https://www.doe.mass.edu/bese/docs/fy2024/2024-02/">can find the agenda here.</a> <span></span></p><a href="https://who-cester.blogspot.com/2024/02/the-board-of-ed-meets-tuesday-and-thats.html#more">Read more »</a>Tracy Novickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988285248618452154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420931743669274643.post-57302763718483312252024-02-23T13:46:00.002-05:002024-02-23T13:49:45.691-05:00The second February Worcester School Committee<p> <i>Yes, it's taking me about a week to get to these. It's budget season...<br>Hey, do note that due to this being a Leap Year and February having five Thursdays, there is NOT a Worcester School Committee meeting Thursday; you can have this week off. There is, however, <a href="https://worcesterschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/TLSS-1-4.pdf">a Teaching, Learning, and Student Success meeting </a>on Monday at 5 pm.</i></p><p>The <a href="https://worcesterschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2.15.24-Agenda-Face-Clerk-and-Chair-5.pdf">February 15th agenda can be found here</a>; the <a href="https://youtu.be/KoWxhqiUaL8?si=gX-HL1_IZV_-dHbZ">video is here</a>.<span></span></p><a href="https://who-cester.blogspot.com/2024/02/the-second-february-worcester-school.html#more">Read more »</a>Tracy Novickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988285248618452154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420931743669274643.post-53449382433846616302024-02-22T07:27:00.004-05:002024-02-22T18:46:16.532-05:00The new literacy crusade<p><i>And I mean that with all the negative baggage that carries, yes. And a periodic reminder that the only person I speak for here is me </i></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUdg1JfU9rwt_PnFOwzwwXn0U9gaIOfE2q96vtbojF0bi4btOjOc4gvREgLrupx3iVfF9PQsZcJFEZjq00b496EK66o5RjDQgn7Z2gmwXrZGpf9CrleK8aQb5ThCEPGnGJZXGgeC2JG9csrI4_6RpFHSK21KStLeeIvdoDAUBud2V3c2efqFSNrK23JHer/s941/Screenshot%202024-02-22%20073239.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="348" data-original-width="941" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUdg1JfU9rwt_PnFOwzwwXn0U9gaIOfE2q96vtbojF0bi4btOjOc4gvREgLrupx3iVfF9PQsZcJFEZjq00b496EK66o5RjDQgn7Z2gmwXrZGpf9CrleK8aQb5ThCEPGnGJZXGgeC2JG9csrI4_6RpFHSK21KStLeeIvdoDAUBud2V3c2efqFSNrK23JHer/w640-h236/Screenshot%202024-02-22%20073239.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://xkcd.com/1167/">xkcd 1167</a>, acknowledging that the world may not need more written on this</span></td></tr></tbody></table><i><br /></i><p></p><p>I had a friend ask me earlier this month what I knew about what Governor <a href="https://www.wbur.org/news/2024/01/18/healey-proposal-literacy-instruction">Healey announced in the State of the State as her administration's "Literacy Launch"</a> and more largely about what Massachusetts is doing on literacy and public education.</p><p>If you read the linked article, you'll see that Secretary Tutwiler outlines a $30M effort from the state that seems reasonable. They're planning to fund professional development and grants for districts to purchase curriculum that more strongly supports kids learning to read. That seems fine, and it's the role of the state to support districts in this way.</p><p>Let me be clear: while teaching kids to read is not my professional background, it's demonstrable that:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>kids need different things in order to learn to read; not every kind of instruction works with every child (kind of like everything else)</li></ul><p></p><p><i>As a local side note: this is where Worcester was. It wasn't until we got a new superintendent, and the leadership that resisted getting teachers the curriculum they needed was gone, that we made a change. $7M or so in ESSER funds went to a new elementary reading curriculum; Worcester's elementary schools now have Core Knowledge for Language Arts or CKLA.</i></p><p>Where this becomes something else, as too often in education, is when it becomes a crusade. </p><p>And all, we are there in spades. </p><p>I have been struggling for weeks on how to tackle this issue on here, because it is so big, so heated, and, at ground, so breathtakingly missing the mark. Yesterday, though, I had shared with me <a href="https://literacyresearchassociation.org/stories/the-science-of-reading-and-the-media-how-do-current-reporting-patterns-cause-damage/">the third </a>of Maren Aukerman's of the University of Calgary's three part series on the Literary Research Association site "The Science of Reading and the Media" which hits the mark; you can find <a href="https://literacyresearchassociation.org/stories/the-science-of-reading-and-the-media-is-reporting-biased/">the first part here</a>, and the <a href="https://literacyresearchassociation.org/stories/the-science-of-reading-and-the-media-does-the-media-draw-on-high-quality-reading-research/">second here</a>.</p><p>I particularly found useful how she frames the state of coverage, which will sound familiar to any readers of the <i>Boston Globe</i>:</p><p></p><blockquote><p>From how much of the media tells it, a war rages in the field of early literacy instruction. The story is frequently some version of a conflict narrative relying on the following problematic suppositions:</p><p>a) science has proved that there is just one way of teaching reading effectively to all kids – using a systematic, highly structured approach to teaching phonics;</p><p>b) most teachers rely instead on an approach called balanced literacy, spurred on by shoddy teacher education programs;</p><p>c) therefore, teachers incorporate very little phonics and encourage kids to guess at words;</p><p>d) balanced literacy and teacher education are thus at fault for large numbers of children not learning to read well.</p></blockquote><p></p><p>The upshot? "Unfortunately, these suppositions turn out to be highly misleading."</p><p>In the first part, Professor Aukerman starts by asking if reporting is biased, using as an exemplar <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/22/us/reading-teaching-curriculum-phonics.html">Dana Goldstein's piece from 2022 on Lucy Calkins</a>. Aukerman walks us through the lack of balance, use of straw man arguments, myopic lens fetishizing phonics instruction, and logical fallacies. One could--and I would argue, we need to!-- do the same here in Massachusetts with the <i>Globe</i>'s three part much-touted series on literacy. </p><p>In the second part, Aukerman looks at if media is using high quality research. The lack of deep understanding and use of research across education (and I dare say, in other fields) is an ongoing issue of the current state of media, and we certainly see it here in Massachusetts. Even something so basic as the basis of the argument in their literacy series, which the <i>Globe</i> has based on ELA MCAS scores reveals this sloppiness, as MCAS scores do not tell us much about literacy; ELA MCAS tests much more than literacy and is not, on its own, a test of literacy. <br />But more broadly, you can see this in the coverage:</p><p></p><blockquote>By drawing mostly on vociferous advocates of one approach and bolstering their claims primarily with other journalism, journalists create an echo chamber which itself is disconnected from reading research. </blockquote><p>And would you guess this from reading the popular coverage?</p><p></p><blockquote> ...there is insufficient evidence to conclude that any single approach, including the particular systematic phonics approach often elided with “the science of reading,” is most effective.</blockquote><p>Nearly all coverage also lacks both historical context:</p><p></p><blockquote> The idea that phonics can fix children’s reading ills is at least 70 years old, yet results from other large-scale phonics reforms have also yielded disappointing results, including during the Reading First era in the U.S. and as England’s recent national curriculum mandates have played out</blockquote><p>And, I would argue, a disturbing ignorance about how curriculum works in the classroom. The <i>Globe</i>, for example, waved their hand and deemed "outdated" curricula that they found in their survey that districts are using. But that both a) leans on the above poor understanding of what is quality curricula and b) understands "curricula" as if it is taken from a box and inserted into children's heads without going through educators who always use a variety of resources to best meet the needs of children.</p><p>The third part of Aukerman's series brings us to where I am concerned we are in Massachusetts: the consequences. The latest Massachusetts iteration of this is the push to pass <a href="https://malegislature.gov/Bills/193/H579">H579</a>/<a href="https://malegislature.gov/Bills/193/S263">S263</a>, frighteningly favorably reported out of the Joint Committee on Education on the last available day*. This would not only add another report to the pile of reports that districts have to submit to DESE--let me know when that fixes something, eh?--but would give the Department the authority to select curriculum, with districts selecting from a list generated. As the bill reads:</p><p></p><blockquote>each local school committee shall use programs and curricula from the lists developed by the department or an approved alternative program</blockquote><p>This honestly makes me both so angry and so frightened about the state of education in Massachusetts that words fail me. There are much more articulate words in the <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dA4ki4-K7DHhSmVDcyC1o1fX2X_c5eHiAkrmXK7sqJY/edit">actual practitioners of the letter I shared earlier this month</a>, of the <a href="https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:US:4d1217e1-2138-465a-8cfb-7f4ff170432d?viewer%21megaVerb=group-discover">position statement of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents</a>, and <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vT2wGy-LK5hlTNshyuY_v5Fgr7-yMBEbRibMTsOagsCi7PcMA8fysWIwOppOo6bKKWEwjrEeQZzuCM-/pub">the four fallacies of the reading wars</a>.</p><p>One cannot, of course, separate this out from context: this is the same "my local elected officials are not doing exactly what I want, so I am taking it to the manager" that brought us mandates over everything from COVID to other nonsense. And someone, somewhere, is going to write a great book about the economic anxiety of the white middle class and its impact on public education and lines of governance.</p><p>But in the meantime, here we are. </p><p>So, please go read all of Aukerman's series. Share it. Email it to your legislators. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>____________________________________________________________________</p><p>*and if you think the <i>Globe</i> "just happened" to choose the hometown of the Senate chair of that committee for one of their articles, I have a bridge to sell you.</p>Tracy Novickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988285248618452154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420931743669274643.post-1085426586206565662024-02-21T14:36:00.005-05:002024-02-21T16:34:41.220-05:00how do we make sure it can't happen here: on Nex Benedict<p><i>Content warning: death of a trans student </i></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUFUW_cmAabI7VzJIeQ0E3eK_65r9h8zN8dQpNUkMzqcXPe4-QU-hun9Q5GfhyjoaNzwlARuq9trCMiwpPwH8jHOCqVHiXxeG0weO3Ifgy9EOrVMZyleoeu83qUcBBe-VGkSlUw-5Hxul55oZI9QEqffFNB6Ss0pUlt2Ry8HbnelxoJkX0FQyucCnXng39/s1474/IMG_2475.HEIC" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1474" data-original-width="1337" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUFUW_cmAabI7VzJIeQ0E3eK_65r9h8zN8dQpNUkMzqcXPe4-QU-hun9Q5GfhyjoaNzwlARuq9trCMiwpPwH8jHOCqVHiXxeG0weO3Ifgy9EOrVMZyleoeu83qUcBBe-VGkSlUw-5Hxul55oZI9QEqffFNB6Ss0pUlt2Ry8HbnelxoJkX0FQyucCnXng39/s320/IMG_2475.HEIC" width="290"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">MTA button and sticker read "Protect Trans Kids" on a trans flag</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>I've been profoundly disturbed by <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/nex-benedict-dead-oklahoma-b2499332.html">the death of Nex Benedict </a>since I heard of it. </p><span></span><a href="https://who-cester.blogspot.com/2024/02/how-do-we-make-sure-it-cant-happen-here.html#more">Read more »</a>Tracy Novickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988285248618452154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420931743669274643.post-83858672000762639552024-02-21T07:27:00.003-05:002024-02-21T07:48:58.597-05:00Sounding the alarm on the low income count<p><i> </i></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimokJphytZKsnjUw8zqzkXmRaFAlPHTOgG_p_FRRgXs59Yu_AWZTzzgxAlNFjdIcP8CwqNDniMVZZCJAGFDTzSxSEQlYNyHiJJb8w8LUzhlehNfI5IcIQgp7OkSQeGLYXrDdiDarr4wCFjEYEIAYesd64uApGkAW-EJoU7utTD9-qq80jMGtQHY_6NHYH0/s1080/C72C9557-5FCB-41D7-8FFD-2C307134EBB3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimokJphytZKsnjUw8zqzkXmRaFAlPHTOgG_p_FRRgXs59Yu_AWZTzzgxAlNFjdIcP8CwqNDniMVZZCJAGFDTzSxSEQlYNyHiJJb8w8LUzhlehNfI5IcIQgp7OkSQeGLYXrDdiDarr4wCFjEYEIAYesd64uApGkAW-EJoU7utTD9-qq80jMGtQHY_6NHYH0/s320/C72C9557-5FCB-41D7-8FFD-2C307134EBB3.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i><p></p><p><i>If you'd prefer to review this with funny Muppets gifs, you can do that on <a href="https://x.com/TracyNovick/status/1759749633402687832?s=20">my Twitter thread here</a>. </i></p><p>As I<a href="https://who-cester.blogspot.com/2024/02/no-dese-didnt-make-numbers-up-bit-of-q.html"> mentioned in my Q&A on the FY25 state budget </a>(as well as elsewhere), the state funding formula for schools is enrollment-driven. In other words, it's at ground based on the kids that are enrolled in your school district. Setting aside the changes within the Student Opportunity Act, the two ways that a district's foundation budget can change is through changes in enrollment and changes in the inflation rate.</p><p>Reminder: you should be concerned about this year's inflation rate of 1.35%!</p><p>On enrollment, in addition to a student being in a grade (or, for high school, vocational or not program), students are also designated as English learners, which has an additional funding increment, and low income, which has an additional funding increment. And the low income increments going up are the biggest drivers of change in the Student Opportunity Act.</p><p>Those following budgets may remember that in the first years of SOA we not only had the dollar amounts going up from that; we also had the count of students who were considered low income going up. This was due to the state being tasked with coming up with another means of counting students. Since FY17, the state has counted as low income students who are participating in state public assistance programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC), MassHealth, and foster care, or who are homeless. Part of what has been going on since SOA, and what has been driving the count upward, is that the state's system of matching kids has improved. They literally take the two databases, one of students enrolled in the above, the other of students enrolled in schools, and they match them. And they've really been getting much better at it.</p><p>To that, the state has added a supplemental program, where the district can, through paperwork, say "hey, you missed one" to be sure that student is added.</p><p>Note that none of the above has anything to do with free and reduced lunch enrollment. If your district isn't funded for universal free lunch by the federal government, the state's supplemental program fills in for nutrition funding on top of the students whose forms you have, but those forms in no way impact your low income student count.</p><p>Still with me?</p><p>The above matching to count low income is called "direct certification," as students are directly certified by the state as being low income. The place where an issue arises is if anything impacts enrollment in those other programs. And something has, in a big way.</p><p>During the pandemic, the federal government froze enrollment in Medicaid programs for the period of the public health emergency. When that public health emergency was declared over, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/access-to-health-care-48d1f565c800139bb397bb886436968f">states had to go back to reviewing the enrollments</a>. This <a href="https://www.mass.gov/news/healey-driscoll-administration-marks-the-start-of-the-masshealth-eligibility-redeterminations-process">"redetermination" started last March</a>, and there have been ongoing concerns about <a href="https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/10/22/masshealth-expecting-pretty-steep-uptick-in-disenrollments/">how many people are going to lose coverage</a>, many <a href="https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/08/24/massachusetts-medicaid-insurance-enrollment">due to speaking a first language other than English, mobility, homelessness, and so forth</a>. </p><p>And some of them are kids.</p><p>Between the FY24 and the FY25 counts, there are 6715 fewer kids counted as low income across Massachusetts (in an overall enrollment that went up). We haven't seen that count drop in years.</p><p>Because this count runs on a four year basis, that is only going to get worse.</p><p>And again, it isn't that those kids necessarily are no longer poor. In fact, it's good guess that they still are. They just aren't being counted.</p><p>That's bad in a number of ways, but from a school budget perspective, it undermines the major driver of increased funding for schools that serve predominately low income kids, and it will do so in the final two years of Student Opportunity Act implementation.</p><p>We need to be sounding alarms on this. </p>Tracy Novickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988285248618452154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420931743669274643.post-8789725687235987002024-02-15T16:14:00.004-05:002024-02-15T16:21:32.064-05:00Big news from DESE this evening: Commissioner Riley is resigning<p>Commissioner Riley is ending his tenure with the Department, submitting his resigning effective March 15 of this year:</p><blockquote style="border: medium; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">I am writing to let you know that after six years of service, I am stepping down from my position as Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education, effective March 15, 2024.</p></blockquote><p>The full letter, as shared by MASS, <a href="https://mcusercontent.com/d8f37d1a90dacd97f207f0b4a/files/d5a62415-f614-63ac-1013-a476b095a3dd/Cmsr_Riley_2_15_24_letter_final.pdf">is here</a>. He says it is due to needing to care for elderly parents, as well as the Department needing someone who can devote the next five years to service.<br /><i>I will reserve comment.</i> </p><p>So what happens now? <br />For this, we look to <a href="https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleII/Chapter15/Section1f">MGL Ch. 15, sec. 1F</a>:</p><blockquote style="border: medium; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">Whenever a vacancy occurs in the position of commissioner, the board shall by a two-thirds vote of all its members submit to the secretary, for the secretary's approval, a recommended candidate to fill that vacancy. The secretary may appoint the recommended candidate as commissioner. If the secretary declines to appoint the candidate, the board shall submit a new candidate for consideration. The secretary may appoint the commissioner only from candidates submitted to the secretary by the board.</p></blockquote><p>Riley is recommending Russell Johnston as the interim (like a superintendent, we have to have a Commissioner); that very much does not preclude further action. I would suspect, as last time, that they would do a full national search, with a confidential round of interviews with a search committee. But that is only my hunch. <br /><br /></p><p>The rest of that section, incidentally, reads as follows:</p><blockquote style="border: medium; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>The board may in its discretion by majority vote of all its members remove the commissioner. The commissioner shall be the secretary to the board, its chief executive officer and the chief state school officer for elementary and secondary education. The commissioner shall receive a salary to be determined by the board.</p><p>The board may delegate its authority or any portion thereof to the commissioner whenever in its judgment such delegation may be necessary or desirable. The commissioner shall exercise such delegated powers and duties with the full authority of the board.</p></blockquote><p>As Riley noted at his last meeting was then approaching his six year anniversary; he was <a href="https://who-cester.blogspot.com/2018/01/vote-of-board-of-elementary-and.html">appointed in January of 2018</a> after <a href="https://who-cester.blogspot.com/2017/06/commissioner-chester-has-died.html">Commissioner Chester died the prior June</a>, with Jeff Wulfson serving as interim (after being appointed at <a href="https://who-cester.blogspot.com/2017/06/june-board-of-education-meeting-opening.html">genuinely the weirdest and saddest Board meeting ever</a>).</p><p>Also, I had <a href="https://who-cester.blogspot.com/2018/01/what-we-missed.html">some thoughts about how I'd do if if I were in charge</a> (which I very much am not) the last time we did this. I may give some more thought to that now, in, as always, my personal capacity.</p><p>Images of full letter:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6aZQzbHXpVhwhBA3HXkITHPj25MfJhPu67jrUvaUofSUUYQWows8MktavgMwfuBduoux7HKV7XixQEvzdU4ocdnxLTjBwKiEnhLESzGA-YOzhh3Qj-8KOfJiHHxsKnwYMFu3m-ZsnK_0eY9GSaSb3f2pq4ug383gdrjuTFpX6KnEOwHm6EEjWFkCkAm7Q/s1487/IMG_6616.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1487" data-original-width="1170" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6aZQzbHXpVhwhBA3HXkITHPj25MfJhPu67jrUvaUofSUUYQWows8MktavgMwfuBduoux7HKV7XixQEvzdU4ocdnxLTjBwKiEnhLESzGA-YOzhh3Qj-8KOfJiHHxsKnwYMFu3m-ZsnK_0eY9GSaSb3f2pq4ug383gdrjuTFpX6KnEOwHm6EEjWFkCkAm7Q/s320/IMG_6616.jpeg" width="252" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXhucoNKLik5ZrZRK2y7zuGj-bceZ13b86biLQ6aIPVdsc9do_qKJGiTK11t7fD2APNBLfP0LN6khrOFEF2OfQEGknU_MxAPZOVNtn_WSkShI3lWL4Z0jsMhsFE0PkK-BZi8dqLJ094E4z88uMRx2jgTR9ijmnt05iSQjsyyGeRBv_Ee6ChLFxL4mmktQD/s1519/IMG_6617.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1519" data-original-width="1170" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXhucoNKLik5ZrZRK2y7zuGj-bceZ13b86biLQ6aIPVdsc9do_qKJGiTK11t7fD2APNBLfP0LN6khrOFEF2OfQEGknU_MxAPZOVNtn_WSkShI3lWL4Z0jsMhsFE0PkK-BZi8dqLJ094E4z88uMRx2jgTR9ijmnt05iSQjsyyGeRBv_Ee6ChLFxL4mmktQD/s320/IMG_6617.jpeg" width="246" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>More as there is anything! </p>Tracy Novickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988285248618452154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420931743669274643.post-88262505436653710582024-02-11T19:40:00.003-05:002024-02-11T19:40:34.000-05:00No, DESE didn't make the numbers up: a bit of a Q&A on FY25<p>While it's not uncommon this time of year for me to get questions about the state budget, never have I found myself standing in front of quite so many groups, answering so many phone calls, typing so many emails that involve some version of "no, DESE doesn't make these numbers up."</p><p>To that end, a bit of a Q&A on FY25. <span></span></p><a href="https://who-cester.blogspot.com/2024/02/no-dese-didnt-make-numbers-up-bit-of-q.html#more">Read more »</a>Tracy Novickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988285248618452154noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7420931743669274643.post-35378801457111091972024-02-11T11:40:00.001-05:002024-02-11T11:40:04.490-05:00And there's a Worcester School Committee meeting this week<p> And while I again will not offer commentary, this week is going to be the week if we see if the Committee caves to being ombudsmen. As a reminder, items filed by members per rule 26 of the Committee:</p><p></p><blockquote>...shall be under the purview of the Committee, focus on the business of the Committee, and should be concise and specific. Members shall not file items that can be disposed of via contact per rule 9. Items not following this rule shall not be placed on the agenda.</blockquote><p></p><p>The <a href="https://worcesterschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/2.15.24-Agenda-Face-Clerk-and-Chair.pdf">agenda is here</a>. <br />The report of the superintendent is on the implementation of the Family and Community Engagement framework. </p>Tracy Novickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16988285248618452154noreply@blogger.com0