The Doherty draft Preferred Schematic Design

All 864 pages of it are online here, and this is what will be voted on tomorrow evening. I should also note that I was not at the last building committee meeting (postponed meetings due to snow), so I can't vouch for what was and wasn't said then, let alone what has come up in other places.
I'll say that the thing that really concerns me about this is it continues to be framed--including by the district itself, in repeated phone calls to families--that this is a vote on the preferred site.
It is much much more than that. It is a vote on the preferred design of the school, including what's included in what is being requested.

As you'd expect in 864 pages, there's a lot there (this is a report that could do with both page numbers and internal hyperlinks).

Doherty Memorial building committee: vote (?) on preferred option

Tonight the Doherty building committee is supposed to vote on a preferred option. Some of the language being used to describe the meeting is making some of us wonder if that is what is going to happen. 
In any case...posting as we go once it starts. The presentation is not online as yet, but it will be here.
I'd say this is a bit more of a mixed crowd...not only or even mostly current Doherty parents or even near-future Doherty parents. Let's say it is still not representatives of the demographics of either Doherty or the city of Worcester, however. 

Worcester School Committee meets Thursday, May 18

You can find the agenda here.
While it does not appear until later down the agenda, in honor of the anniversary of Ernest Thayer's death, the Worcester School Committee will be doing a reading of "Casey at the Bat" as part of the meeting.
There are also a number of congratulations.

The report of the superintendent is end of cycle reports on the innovation plans of Chandler Magnet, Goddard Scholars, University Park Campus School, Woodland Academy, and Worcester Tech. Each of the schools is requesting a renewal of their innovation plans; remarkably, all that is being offered to the committee for this decision is 2 to 4 page charts. Most schools are requesting no change in their innovation plan. The one change that is being requested is from Goddard Scholars, which is asking to eliminate the "proficient" tier for the 4th grade MCAS, which is the sole determent of admission. They would thus be taking only "advanced" students. Interesting in that it more concretely sets the academy's emphasis on test scores, and does so in a year in which testing is through a new system. 

There are updates on restorative justice programs at Claremont Academy and at North High School.

The committee is being asked to accept an "Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education Grant" for $51,602, which surprisingly is actually for machine shop training (with an ESL component).

Mr. Monfredo is requesting a summer reading kickoff.

The committee is being asked to accept a number of donations to Tatnuck Magnet, to Woodland Academy, to Burncoat Street Prep, to Worcester Tech, to Canterbury Street, to Belmont Street, and to the administration (?) for the opening of school in 2017. They're also being asked to vote a prior year payment of $1,685.00 to WB Mason.

There is also an executive session on teachers' contract negotiations, a worker's comp case, and a grievance.

No liveblog; I'm off to cover MASBO's Annual Institute! 

Most read in 2015

Unless I suddenly start getting a lot of traffic on a blog post I wasn't I expecting, I don't pay a lot of attention to my analytics, but here's my once-a-year look at what was most read.

As usual, the top hit is just the front page, meaning that there are a lot of you who just come by to see what's new. That's increasingly unusual these days; most blog traffic is driven by links. I appreciate--and will try to stay attentive to--the faith that I have something new and worth reading up!

1. The single post with the most hits (not surprising, given last year's weather) was this post on how snow days and the Worcester Public Schools calendar works. That was an evolving post, as I fielded questions about how the calendar works and how WPS was going to deal with the days off. With luck, we won't need that information so urgently this year!
2. Governor Baker's FY16 budget proposal and its impact on urban districts had the second highest number of hits this year. YES, YOU SHOULD BOOKMARK THIS ONE FOR THIS YEAR!
3. This one seems to be caught in a bigger search: "special education" brings you the interviews for a new special education director back in 2012. 
4. Given that the national Massachusetts education story was on testing, it makes sense that the liveblog of the Board of Ed's deliberation on that decision would make this list.
5. For a bit the only place with any public information on this was here: the proposal to make Chandler Magnet's field a parking lot for Worcester State. 
6. My notes from the March 5 update on North High at Worcester School Committee saw a lot of traffic.
7. I posted my testimony before the Board of Ed on MCAS or PARCC. 
8. Governor Baker appointed two new members to the Board of Ed in September, and Google is our friend on these.
9. Baker's inaugural a year ago had some language on education, but not much for the education of most kids. 
10. ...which was borne out a month later by his choices in midyear budget cuts. 

It's always interesting to me to see the mix of Worcester and state on these. As I said earlier, my blogging on Worcester will continue, but will be more focused on the superintendent search and the budget; the state blogging will continue...and more to come on that. 

Coda

And I believe that today's T&G editorial, Dianne Williamson column, and this Bizarro McGrath rewrite of the classic "Monorail" bit from The Simpsons marks a coda on Chandler Magnet having 800 spaces of parking on their field.
Keep paying attention, though.

And thanks, Bizarro: I'll take the Marge Simpson part anytime!

Chandler Magnet Dreams of a Playground

So Chandler Magnet is not slated to have 800 parking spaces out their back window, but they still don't have a playground. The PTO and school staff have been working on this since the fall, but they could use your help.

So come to their party!

Friday, May 1
Fiddler's Green Pub
19 Temple Street, Worcester

Salsa lesson at 7
Dancing starts at 8

$20 if you'd like the lesson; $15 for just the dancing
All ticket holders also entered for raffles.

ALL PROCEEDS WILL BENEFIT THE CHANDLER MAGNET PLAYGROUND!

And if you can't come, a check to Chandler Magnet (memo: playground) will work. Send it either to the school or to the WPS Business Office, 20 Irving Street, Worcester, 01609. 

T&G on Chandler Magnet

If you're following Chandler Magnet, the T&G has a report today.
Earlier post from me (as quoted in the article) here.

Email from the City Manager and WSU statement regarding Chandler Magnet

I have just received the following from the City Manager:

Mr. Mayor, Members of City Council, Dr. Boone and School Committee Members,

As word of efforts to resolve the parking issues in the neighborhood surrounding Worcester State University is becoming public, I am writing to assure you it has been my intention from the beginning to provide the community with the opportunity to hear the concept of this plan in its entirety at a public forum.  This public hearing has been scheduled for Wednesday,  April 1^st where all will be able to provide input and ask questions. I would hope folks would wait to hear all aspects of this proposal before taking a position. The hearing will be held at the Chandler Magnet School at 6:00 p.m. 

---------------------------------

Also, Worcester State has issued the following statement:

As City Manager Ed Augustus has publicly stated, the process fordeciding potential future uses of city-owned land adjacent to Chandler Magnet School is just beginning; no decisions have been made. The city has scheduled an open forum for Wednesday, April 1 at 6 p.m. at the Chandler Magnet School, where the city's plan will be presented and concerns heard. Worcester State University looks forward to collaborating with the city in developing a holistic approach to the area parking and related traffic issues that we and our neighbors face.