Joint Finance and Operations/ Education subcommitte TONIGHT!

with apologies for the late update...I've been out of commission for a few days

There is a joint meeting of the City Council Education committee and the School Committee Finance and Operations subcommittee. We're meeting tonight at 5:30 pm at City Hall.

You can find the agenda here, though the agenda itself doesn't tell you much more than that we're meeting. The real information is in the backups.
There is a facilities update, including the great news on both Nelson Place and South High from last week, and including administration's recommendations for accelerated repair projects, which are:

• Flagg (windows)
• McGrath (windows)
• Grafton Street (windows, boiler)
• Jacob Hiatt (windows)

The F&O subcommittee votes these, then the full School Committee, then the full Council, before they are submitted to MSBA. The Statement of Interests are due by April 10 this year. 

We also have the transportation information, much of which you know already if you have been following this. What's new is the School Bus Consultants report, which comes with an attached memo from administration regarding their findings. 

While we don't have a written update on budget, I wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Foley asks for one at the meeting. 

Principal and Assistant Principal appointments

This afternoon, we received the following from Superintendent Boone:

I am happy to announce the Principal and Assistant Principals selected for the following:

• Siobhan McKenna Dennis, Principal, Columbus Park School
• Lauren Chuk, Acting Assistant Principal, Canterbury Street School
• Susan Donahue, Acting Assistant Principal, Rice Square School
• Patricia Murphy-Brown, Acting Assistant Principal, Vernon Hill School
• Maureen Power, Assistant Principal, Jacob Hiatt Magnet School
• Joanne Quist, Acting Assistant Principal, Sullivan Middle School
• Tina Schirner, Assistant Principal, Grafton Street School

Finance and Operations: Signage

schools that need additional signage so you can find your way in
addressed as budget funding permits
still needing signage: Wawecus, Canterbury, Grafton Street, Union Hill, Elm Park, Goddard

Worcester School Committee meets Thursday

The FIRST Worcester School Committee of the new term is on Thursday at 7pm. You can find the agenda here.
First of all, we have (as usual) an executive session at 6 pm. As I mentioned, the reasons for the executive session now are posted as part of the agenda (it's the final item). On Thursday, we have three disciplinary hearings, a grievance, negotiations with the Coordinator of Nurses (one on that list of positions whose contract is with the School Committee), and negotiations with the union of the administrative secretaries.
At 7 pm (or thereabouts), the public session begins.
We have a public petition regarding the naming of the new North High softball field.
We'll have both the Joint (F&O/Education) and Finance & Operations subcommittees reporting out (Remember, F&O meets tomorrow at 5 pm).
We have a beginning-of-year flurry of personnel items: resignations, appointments, transfers.
We have a response to some queries Mr. O'Connell had on preschool, including a list of service providers and options for the other half of the day.
At Miss Biancheria's request, we have a list of STEM events (she asked for February and March, but it looks as though this is the year).
We have a response on middle school sports.
My One Library item is on again, so I can ask a few questions (still no MOU, though, so I'm going to ask that we hold it again).
We have an extensive answer to Mr. Monfredo's questions on summer school and its efficacy.
We also have another preschool item coming back.
We have an answer to my question of where the $1 per pupil recess money went. (Bonus points to whomever put the chart together and added relevant clip art!)
We also have an answer to which schools have bike racks: Claremont Academy, North, South, Worcester Tech, Burncoat Middle, Sullivan Middle, Chandler Elementary, and Flagg Street. (Anyone out there who wants to work on this?)
We have a response from administration on dealing with increasing enrollment, as well as one on questions about items at North.
We also have the awaited FY14 additional budgetary allocation! And, sorry, it's not an exciting recommendation from administration, but it's a necessary one.
We have items coming in asking for honors and thanks!
We also have items asking that admin work with CPPAC on their annual expo and on parent enrichment activities, that the POW/MIA chair be available to schools for programs, that the process for using School Dude be reported on, that the WPD set up a text line for reporting unshoveled sidewalks, that we get a list of every school to which graduating seniors have been admitted, that we get a report on fitting out of North High (and remaining funds), that safe routes to schools be reported on, and that teachers get their retroactive pay in full at the next check.
Administration will be sending along new courses to subcommittee!
We have a prior year payment of $1072 and one of $3088.20 up for approval.
We also donations: $6408.01 to Lake View School from the parents; $1000 from National Grid for Doherty robotics; $500 from a Mobil retailer to Grafton Street.
And Mr. Monfredo wants to be sure that we celebrate Read Across America Day!
At City Hall at 7 pm and live on Channel 11!

Worcester School Committee: committee reports and new principals

Sorry, chairing for the beginning of the meeting; I'll catch up with public testimony later...now on standing committee reports...posting as we go
Accountability and Student Achievement: which you've seen as I was there...
Taking a break to introduce the new (and moved) principals:

• Joanna Cackett to Grafton Street
• Deb Catamero to Burncoat Prep
• Paula Gibb-Serverin to McGrath
• Kendall Grigg to Goddard
• Ricci Hall to Claremont Academy
• Charles Healey to Rice Square
• Patricia Jordan to Jacob Hiatt
• Daniel St. Louis to University Park Campus

TLLS: reporting back on gaming, anti-bullying...
We've also got a report back on the use of sports to fulfill the gym requirement (not a lot of students taking us up on it, actually, except at North in the fall)
(there's also a bunch of clean-up items being filed)
Claremont Academy now has a full-time librarian; this was a NEASC concern in that building

G&EI: social media policy is on here for approval (sorry, I can't find it online...it wasn't a backup for the agenda of either this meeting or the subcommittee)
filing federal legislation item
missing trees and shrubs at Durkin (concern from the Crown Hill Neighborhood Association)
Novick: concerns with social media policy: basically this is a new area of interaction between students and faculty/administration
What about subscriptions? what about groups on Facebook? What about students following to teachers on Twitter or vice versa?
motion to send it back to subcommittee to consult with teachers and students
Monfredo: no problem taking it back to subcommittee
Colorio: very intrusive, how much does this go over the line?
Luster: held to same standards when acting in professional capacity
O'Connell: clear statement by the school district on the behavior expected by the school employees
wishes approval
Foley: "basic policy...state standards that are there
Colorio: "that we are now asking our teachers that they are now working 24/7...when they're home...going far beyond the means"
Boone: "is a realistic statement that teachers do end their workday when the times that they leave the school site...involve contact with students...adopted a policy of students"...sorry, missed this...basically that students can be held responsible for actions in the community
passes 5-2
TLSS (yes, again; they've met twice since we last met): anti-bullying policy, special education review (some question here regarding costs for the next budget), summer programs: what is their impact on testing, and can we join forces with other providers of summer programs, and crew (the answer came back that crew costs are minimal and optional)

Mercury

Biancheria: thanks for holding...a learning lesson for anyone...can't afford to point any fingers..knows administration will work...school committee members open to questions from public
asks that the item be filed

School Committee meeting Thursday

The Worcester School Committee meets on Thursday. You'll find the agenda here. Up this week:

• goal setting! This time, we narrow them down to a managable number.
•  a TLSS subcommittee report. Look for much talk of a) the Common Core and b) foreign field trips. I wasn't at this meeting and I haven't seen the backup on this yet, so I don't know what recommendations are coming out of the subcommittee. Look for the foreign field trips part to be lively!
• mercury, mercury, mercury
• a few recognitions and donations (mostly setting dates and accepting money)
• looking at the priorities set by the state on our building replacements
• a few items around student referrals and special education

There is an executive session preceding, as per usual. I haven't seen an agenda for that, but don't be surprised if the meeting starts a bit after 7 pm. And so long as the wifi is up, I'll be blogging.

Worcester School Committee meeting tonight!

The Worcester School Committee meets tonight at 7 pm in City Hall. You'll find the agenda here.
Among the items of interest:

• both the Teaching, Learning, and Student Support subcommittee and the Finance and Operations subcommitees are back with reports. TLSS has the innovation school model coming forward; F&O has the latest quarterly report.
• there's communication back on several grants
• just what is going  on with Nelson Place and replacement?
• we're receiving some donations (!)
• mercury reappears on the agenda (it was held last time)
• a rundown, school by school, grade by grade, class by class, of how many kids are in each class. Give it a look. Fascinating stuff there. (Try the link again; fixed, I think, though the whole list isn't there. I'll work on it.)

Quarterly report

Unemployment over at this point, transferring in from teachers salaries. We have a number of teachers still collecting unemployment, more than we'd expect at this point based on past experience (aka: people aren't finding work).
Massachusetts replaced federal stimulus funds with education jobs money, so we're shifting money from special ed tuition (where the federal stimulus money could be spent) to special ed IA salaries (where edu-jobs can be spent).
Added special ed buses bumping up transportation, as is after-school programming transportation for Level 4 schools (for Monday, as the other days they'll run on a parallel schedule).
It was hotter than we expected this summer, so electricity is up.
Clean-up for Grafton Street: mercury.
Workers Comp is up.
The boilers need to be inspected and insured each year.
Foley: doing two year budgeting, projecting for FY12.
Required environmental abatement services: did we expect these? Can we plan for them?
Allen: plan to move them into the capital expenses (building rehab)

That number is

$44,946.26

That's how much the cleanup of mercury at Grafton Street School cost the Worcester Public Schools.
Full breakdown of costs in this week's agenda backup here.

This week's School Committee agenda

Tomorrow night's School Committee agenda has a little bit of everything in it.
(For those who don't know how to find the agenda, go to worcesterschools.org, click on 'School Committee,' and the link to the agenda will be on the righthand side of the page. This works after Friday of the week preceeding a meeting.)

• The Superintendent is giving her "Start of School" report (you might remember that this got postponed the first week of school). If you're looking for numbers of kids enrolled, classes of a particular size, who's a new hire, number of buses used this year...have we got a report for you!
• We're thanking Target for the new Union Hill library and those from the court system for the painting this summer.
• Reports are coming back both from the Accountability subcommittee and the Teaching, Learning, and Student Supports meeting. That's the new accountability system, AP, innovation schools, vocational ed, community schools...
• We're going to (I think!) hear something about the South High swimming pool.
• There's a request going in on Latino education in the city of Worcester and creation of a group looking at that (more and more relevant all the time).
• Considering policies on bullying and on Facebook (social media; always a popular one!)
• A request for information on integration of early childhood ed with K-12 ed.
• A few things about Grafton Street. I've heard that we won't yet be getting a report on Grafton Street tomorrow night, but that it will be forthcoming soon.
• Approving some applications for the state's Green Repair program. This is for windows and doors at Burncoat High, roof repair at Jacob Hiatt, and HVAC/boiler at Union Hill (the old building: it's 117 this year!).
• We're seeing some grants coming in (including one from Homeland Security).

Executive session starts at 6; the public meeting will start right about 7 pm tomorrow night at City Hall.

He beat me to it

Chris sent me these excellent photos over the weekend from the mercury spill cleanup over at Grafton Street School. I didn't get them posted, but he's got them up today. Go check them out!