Board of Ed for January: opening comments (and a bit on Lawrence from me)

Today's Board of Ed meeting has been moved to fully remote--you can catch the livestream here--which I presume means that they're actually allowing remote public comment (which they should do all the time, not that anyone asked me). In addition to two rounds of regulations coming back for votes (on the seal of biliteracy and on student records), the main presentations are on educator preparation and "accelerated early literacy program" and the Commissioner's goals. 

My driveway yesterday,
for some perspective on why the meeting is remote

While we wait, I'm going to write a little about Lawrence, which I've been meaning to write about...

The big news, of course, remains that the Commissioner has appointed Deputy Commissioner Lauren Woo as the receiver of Lawrence, meaning that the strange appointed board that didn't seem accountable to anyone at all is out. I suspect, and it was explicitly stated in the letter to Lawrence, that this is designed to move them closer to being out of receivership: 

In the letter, Education Commissioner Pedro Martinez said an individual as receiver, rather than an organization, could better prepare the Lawrence School Committee to take over leadership of the school district when it’s ready.

“This change is designed to support a thoughtful and phased-in transition while also allowing the work to move efficiently,” Martinez said in the letter.

Also of note, the Department actually responded to the letter sent by Lawrence School Committee member Jonathan Guzman about current Superintendent Ralph Carrero: 

“Since the appointment of the current leadership, Lawrence Public Schools has descended into a culture of fear, intimidation, and retaliation,” Guzman said in the letter.

The letter claims that “promotions and hiring decisions” were made based on “personal and political connections” and that 23 people were hired who “are known to have personal and political ties to leadership.”

The current leadership was also accused of “belittling staff in front of peers, employing intimidation tactics, and engaging in retaliatory actions,” Guzman wrote.

“The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has seen Mr. Guzman’s letter and appreciate him bringing his concerns to us,” a spokesperson for the agency said in a statement sent to the Globe on Friday.

“We take these allegations seriously and will work with the receiver to take appropriate next steps. The Department also continues to work closely with Lawrence Public Schools to support its students and staff.”

Deigning to answer--something I don't think we previously saw a lot of--acknowledges that the Lawrence School Committee has legitimacy in representing the city and its students, which is also something we haven't seen much of previously. 

I was not actually going to post on Lawrence

 ...which, State House News Service reports, has now lost its fully elected school committee, as Governor Healey has now signed the bill empowering mayoral appointment for some of the seats. 

Lawrence, of course, has been in receivership since 2011, faithfully electing a school committee that lacks authority over its own district ever since. Rather than moving out of receivership, it moved to a receivership committee; it is difficult not to see Lawrence's fate tied far too closely with the previous Commissioner, the only one with power to remove it from receivership, having served as a receiver there himself. Riley, of course, did not remove any district from receivership during his time; Acting Commissioner Johnston has moved Holyoke out, despite having served less than a year, as yet. 

It was the remark in support of the mayoral appointment that particularly catches my ire: "There was a superintendent that was indicted. All of us knew what was going on with that superintendent. Yet that person kept getting bonuses, was never fired," as State House News Reports.

Yes, the former Lawrence superintendent was indicted in 2014. 
Lawrence's mayor, though he avoided being himself legally held responsible, at the time was subject to a federal investigation, as well as a host of...a lot of mess, including a lot of people close to him actually being held legally responsible.

All of that is bad. But here's the thing: not only is no one saying that because the mayor in 2011 was at least contiguous to a lot of bad stuff, Lawrence should never elected a mayor; the argument is that the current mayor should have more power and the school committee less because the superintendent in 2011 did bad stuff. 

This makes no sense. And it does a disservice to the people of Lawrence. 

And frankly, the way the Legislature and the Governor just went along with this is lousy.

Also, this is being regarded, by many who keep an eye on such things, as lack of support for local elected control of schools. That this could be a pattern was the source of Senator Fattman's objection to the bill; those in Boston hoping to regain elected control of their own schools are watching; and frankly, anywhere that the school committee occasionally goes head to head with the municipal side is a bit shaken today.

Not good. 

___
PS: The T&G appears to have reviewed the above and taken it that this is a move towards trying to get Lawrence out of receivership. It has no bearing on that. This isn't a "new pathway" out; that's just off base.

Checking in on some major stories

•  Sure seems like it was a wise decision for the Worcester City Council and Worcester School Committee to remove police from the Worcester Public Schools back in 2021 on the recommendation of then-City Manager Augustus during the superintendency of Maureen Binienda, doesn't it?
  
  
• Barring action (or lack thereof) by the Governor, Lawrence, which hasn't had an empowered school committee since 2011, is on its way to no longer having a fully elected one, as the Senate passed the mayor's planned takeover of seats last week, after an 11th hour effort by Senator Fattman (who represents Southbridge) to stop it; cheers to Senators Jehlen and Elbridge who spoke in opposition as well. 
  We're well accustomed to blaming lack of local control of DESE; this one sits squarely on Lawrence City Hall collaborating with the state legislature. 
  
  
• In this same "we're past extra innings" time, we also saw the school bus camera ticketing bill emerge from the Senate, and it's on Governor Healey's desk. It'll now be up to local districts to actually implement it (please take this as a hint to get ready to do so). 
  
  
  
• The Education Law Center's 2024 "Making the Grade" report on school funding equity by state (using 2021-22 data) again demonstrates that Massachusetts isn't what it thinks of itself as:
  
  
  Yes, that's a D in both distribution and effort.
  
  Read the report itself for what those mean, but the ability of local communities to raise any kind of money they vote for just their school plus the Massachusetts devotion to increasing funding without any attachment to need, enrollment, or local ability to contribute combines to come home to roost here. We're perpetuating inequity, and far too much of the advocacy is pushing for more the same sort of increasing of disparities. 
  
  

The Board of Ed April meeting: opening comments

Seal of Wellesley Public Schools as a mosaic on the floor of the high school

 

Live from the Board of Ed: Lawrence

 the backup is here though there should be a presentation, too

Presenting: Deputy Commissioner Russell Johnston; DESE Strategic Transformation Director Lauren Woo; Interim Superintendent/Receiver Juan Rodriguez; Patricia Mariano, Interim Chair of the Lawrence Alliance for Education

Rodriguez is talking about photos that are on the screen...
science of reading modules for PreK-2 educators through HILL for Literacy; will expand next year through grade 5
"Lawrence Leadership Consultancy Cohorts": 26 schools with instructional vision statements, targeted instructional priorities
increased co-teaching classrooms in special ed and multilingual
monthly learning walks; PD

Promoting paraprofessionals with BAs into teaching through emergency licensure
partnerships with post-secondary institutions: Regis, Merrimack, UMass Lowell
(That's diversifying the workforce)

family engagement specialists at all schools

SOA: 

Mariano: thanks lots of people, talks about early college and such

Craven: "this receivership was basically a function of the town wanting to work with the state"
that's...one spin
"and we know that a lot of the lessons learned can apply to other districts in the state"

Hills: how you see the governance model helping you or not in what you want to achieve?
what you expect to see over the next few years?

Rodriguez: have been in the district since 2005
Currently don't see anything inhibiting us from anything we want to do
continue to meet with elected School Committee
Met with City Council on school safety
"as far as the governance structure, to me it's working well right now. I don't see it inhibiting anything we want to do right now."
Mariano (chair): "I believe our structure is working very very well"
think that moving forward "we'll be ready to take the district back"
Rodriguez: strategic literacy plan to increase reading at every level 
"takes me back to a lot of things we were doing 30 years ago"
increase students in after dark programs
two people in his house: one at UMass Lowell, one an electrician
both "doing great"
doing more things for more students 
"amplify programs that are working well for our students right now"

Lombos: appreciate hearing an update
great to see how you're taking advantage of the SOA "which we all fought so hard for"
(the Board largely did not)
Lombos: Who decides when a district exits receivership?
Riley: decision is up to the Commissioner of education
Lombos: so, you
Riley: yes
Lombos: what do you need? What is the criteria?
Riley: stepping down over time
"hope that this will be the final step down...obviously will have to see how this works out"
updates part of that
"think we're in the next phase of that...yes, that's where we're at"

Moriarty: you're very new, inherited strategic plan for literacy
heartened with background in literacy

Rodriguez: attendance liaisons increased last year (in response to Q from Moriarty)

Canavan: do you set goals annually? "we hope that our Dibels scores will be X?"
Rodriguez: done by schools during budget process
setting goals in growth
SEL goals: out of school suspensions, mediation, training in restorative practices
Mariano: schools have evolved to a point, where initially they weren't looking at the data, but now more focus on the data and what the tests are telling them
"planning action steps to meet the needs of the kids"
"think the whole focus of the district has changed in the past four or five years"
(uh...so Riley didn't do that? Interesting timeframe there)

Craven: know that you were on School Committee under the old model
"things you want to keep about the receivership model"

"what are those things you'd say we need to keep as part of the learnings of receivership"
Mariano: I hope that the district just continues to move forward with the successes
Craven: I'm actually looking for these specific things that you could not do under an elected school committee, but CAN do now
Mariano: would like to keep the budget process running the same way
curriculum focused on data when planning for instruction
just want to see the successes continue

Q on DESE's involvement
Johnston: so pleased about the changes that have been mutually agreed upon 
support in mayor's office

May Board of Ed: The Boston one (opening and public comment)

 The agenda is here. Livestream will be here. Looks like public comment might be something:

If you build trust you don’t get a line waiting to get into your meeting to call out your racism pic.twitter.com/io96MLNFvD

— Roberto A. Jiménez Rivera (@hashtagRoberto) May 24, 2022

Outfall from Tuesday's Board of Ed meeting

This week saw an unusual amount of attention to a passing comment at the Board of Ed--unusual in that I'm accustomed to few people noting what happens at those meetings at all, let alone the comments that are said in passing. 

The Globe (for all that it leaves some pieces out) does a good job describing this, so I'm going to quote their work:

In the meeting, prior to the vote, Moriarty, who previously served 13 years on the Holyoke School Committee, commented that while this year “there’s no getting away” from freezing the designations, the state’s accountability system is vitally important in districts like Lawrence and Holyoke that have been labeled chronically underperforming.

“That’s a period of time now that we’ve been unable to take the kinds of actions that are necessary because of the deep inequities that exist from one district to [the] next, and we know they can’t change themselves, ‘cause they never do,” Moriarty said.

“So if there’s any place where there needs to be a very serious conversation and a very serious intentionality about moving forward, it’s going to be in a revived accountability system that follows the end of this pandemic,” he added.

Lawrence Mayor Kendrys Vasquez demanded Moriarty's resignation in an interview Thursday, calling the remarks a dog whistle. Vasquez was joined by much of the City Council, some of the state delegation, and the city's Congresswoman Lori Trahan in a letter written by State Rep. Frank Moran saying the same on Friday:

Today, I joined members of the Lawrence State Delegation, the Lawrence City Council, the Lawrence School Committee, and Congresswoman Lori Trahan in calling for the immediate removal of Michael Moriarty as a member of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, pic.twitter.com/abVGAjgTf2

— Rep. Frank Moran (@RepFrankMoran) April 23, 2021

 As best as I know, there's no mechanism by which a Board member can be fired, though I imagine the Governor can demand someone's resignation. 

There are two things that I think are key to keep in mind here. First, as the Globe itself notes, Moriarty was himself a member of the Holyoke School Committee for thirteen years; he was first elected in 1999. There is, thus, I'd argue, no "they" here, really. He was a member of the governance team in Holyoke for a good long time. 
Holyoke itself, of course, has a political leadership history reflecting ongoingly growing Latino population in a city that had white leadership for a long time. Moriarty himself also reflects that--as he frequently notes in meetings, he is a multi-generational Holyoke resident--and I think the "they" there thus is a tell.

Second, of course, there's the question of just what it is that we're doing with the receivership districts, and how any decisions there are tied up in a now-Commissioner who regards this as his road to success. Lawrence has shifted to a receivership board in 2017, and there's been not a whisper of next steps, despite it having now been in receivership since 2012. Holyoke has recently had another round of upheaval around its receiver. Southbridge--don't forget Southbridge!--has also has unevenness in leadership. 

The state decided that the only way to "fix" the districts was to remove their democracy. It did this in districts that are majority students of color. As I noted in another context this week, generally remarks about needing less democracy raise red flags. For some reason, they seem not to with school districts.

They should. 

Milken Award presentation at the Board of Ed: Dan Adler

Adler says he'll miss Riley's snow days tweets
appreciates that the Milken is not a lifetime achievement award, believes his students have not yet seen his best work yet
"obligation to serve all children of the Commonwealth...and we can do better"
excited about the changes in accountability, changes in ELL, and in teacher development
"identity of the singing science teacher"
singing with gestures is "total physical response" as a learning technique
"I'd rather have recognition for serving our language learners" rather than singing in science
teacher leadership brings out the best in staff
encourage districts in developing and evaluating endorsement programs in EL programs
parents advisory for EL programs; "could we have a similar program for teachers?"
calls for continued and increased involvement of teachers
Riley: professional learning communities and sharing best practices
"teaching can often be an isolating profession"
allow time for teachers to work together and learn from each other

McKenna: keeping students still in the classroom is such an old fashioned view
"we need to listen and involve teachers more"
speaks of the support needed for teachers who are coming into the classroom

Moriarty: contrasting Pekarcik's entry with Adler's; asks how much that has to do with the turnaround
Adler: perspective on time
develop new interventions, pilot them, and share with staff and students
Riley: teacher leader cabinet
"Many schools have this set up" in Lawrence; teacher leadership teams at the school level
"enlistment" rather than compliance
"getting people involved" is the best way to bring about change
peer observations and peer evaluation

in response to Q from Fernandez: school places a huge emphasis on family engagement
"we push really hard every quarter to have 100% of our families come in for conferences; if they don't come in, we come find them"
call ten families every week is a requirement
"it is a huge priority...and it is something we're even thinking about doing more of next year"

Trimarchi: you use the word 'scholars' to describe your students; what difference does that make?
Adler: the role the students have in their own education
"when I say 'scholar,' I'm empowering them to decide...I think of their role in empowering their education"
and their ambitions and how far they can go

Mass Board of Ed for April: opening comments

The agenda is here. The new commissioner is on today. Chair Sagan is travelling, so he'll be participating remotely, and Vice-Chair Morton will be chairing the meeting.
Updates as they're warranted.

Riley: thanks everyone for welcoming and support in transition, "which happened last week"
need to bring back "teachers and students at the forefront of education"
officially delegated Lawrence receivership to the board in Lawrence
went to vocational award ceremony in Worcester
joint committee event on early college

Public comments:
Lisa Guisbond, Citizens for Public Schools
know all are dedicated to making schools successful, strong as they can be
giving each member a copy of The Testing Charade by Daniel Koertz
from which she is quoting...

March Board of Ed: Lawrence and Holyoke

Update on Lawrence and Holyoke
first time presentation from John Connolly
Wulfson: being the first, it's the first on how we exit from receivership
people around the country on exiting from receivership situation; the advice we got is "you can't just turn a switch"
"an interesting transitional governance model"
receivership board who will hire a superintendent to oversee day to day operations
Connolly presenting with Ventura Rodriguez, associate commissioner for the statewide system of support, who also serves on Board
all others live in Lawrence

Connolly: Lawrence Alliance for Education will assume quasi-governmental role as receiver
currently overseeing search for new superintendent
really appreciate work of outgoing receiver Riley, work of teachers and community as a whole
taught for five years "would be the first to say that does not make me a teaching professional"
tremendous hope and tremendous challenges
"so far a very easy process" in working with people who know Lawrence very well
community process going forward on searching for superintendent
finalize slate by end of April; final interviews by early May; hire shortly thereafter; start date July first, we hope
open architecture system that is supported by community
improvement in connection, in morale, and most important in education of students; need someone who will continue that
Rodriguez: honored to be serving on board transitioning back to local control
go through the search process and get qualities for next candidate
important details to get people out there
two consultants from search firm running those sessions
10-15 person sessions
roughly 250 people over the two days; good representation of all of the stakeholders
food, childcare, translation
open to current Alliance for Ed or school committee members who want to speak

Wulfson: new contract "overwhelmingly ratified" by teachers' union
Mary Lou Bergeron, current deputy, will serve as acting during search

Moriarty: don't want to transition to a "less bad" urban school district

Stewart: many of gains in last years have been very technical; challenge of next step is need for change
Connolly: very much in transition, orientation session at which will be extensively briefed
"where the Lawrence schools stand specifically" part of session
one aspect of an innovative idea, need for teachers of color
Stewart: people you have there have good experience; looking forward to next experience

Doherty: role of curent School Committee
Connolly: two are on Alliance for Ed
"have met with each member of the...I have reached out to each member, I have met with all but one"
look for ways "to make sure the elected school committee has a voice"
"from a baseline starting point, two members serve on Alliance Board"
Doherty: do they still meet and take votes?
Connolly: do meet, outgoing superintendent has set meetings with them
"in the receivership, they obviously don't have powers over school budget and such things"

Sagan: want to thank you for stepping up and taking next step
"no one is more eager than us to restore it to local control"
but no one will be more deliberate than us
"we see this as a long term and a slow process"
that will involve local school committee showing that they are prepared to govern in a way that they have not done before
Connolly praises DESE staff

SHIFT TO HOLYOKE
Wulfson notes that Zrike's contract has been renewed
Sagan: thanks him for staying "we all know that this is really hard work"
Zrike: expect Holyoke graduates to be prepared to succeed in college and career "with more than a diploma"
multiple educational pathways offered to students; progress by the numbers cited
early literacy improving
challenges being addressed: retention of effective teachers, student engagement, discipline referrals, budget gaps
"we know our teachers need more support...the bar has shifted"
struggle to provide staff with competive wages "while health care costs are going up and charter reimbursement has declined"

reorganization to three middle schools (from seven), one high school
"one thing people can agree on is they want a move away from the K-8 model"
"more middle school options"
Veritas charter (from Springfield) "an in-district charter operating as a neighborhood school with some choice seats" as one of the middle schools opening
STEM Academy opening for 6-8
science scores are surprisingly low in Holyoke
teachers who are teaching across multiple grades and multiple subjects; "it makes it hard to do the job well"
"students want a middle school experience...don't want to be treated like babies, they've told me"

"thrilled where we are with high school efforts"
"igniting student interest and passion...sustaining their energy to perserve"
merge high schools into one campus with seven academies and three graduation pathways (early college, college prep, career/technical)
vision that students will learn across the city of Holyoke
continuing freshman academy
theme based academy structure
newcomer academy for students who have recently entered the mainland U.S.
"Holyoke has the highest percent of arrivals of any district in the state"

Moriarty comments that Board has responsibility to monitor resources Holyoke has available and make sure it doesn't fail for lack of support
Fernandez: also concerned because it is an economically depressed area
and "a little more to the influx of Puerto Rican families to the area"
Zrike: great that kids are graduating in greater numbers, but what happens next
know data of what happens to kids at Holyoke Community College
for students who are first generation college whose opportunities have always been closed off from us
McKenna: echoing Moriarty
"there's nothing harder than middle school...most challenging time to teach"
"finding good teachers and supporting good teachers"
"recruiting middle school teachers in STEM is a very high bar with a limited budget"
competing for a very limited pool of teachers
"I think it's absolutely the right thing to do...you've got a challenge"
Zrike: teachers supportive of middle school effort
Stewart: very ambitious resign, I like it a lot
asks about linked learning academies starting in tenth grade
all this great work at secondary level; is preK four years old? what partnerships below that?
Zrike: has been the vision to offer preK for all families; shift to middle school opens space
"the issue is funding...the seed funding to get it off the ground"
Stewart to Peyser: grant opportunities for early childhood?
Peyser: preschool expansion grant, which Holyoke is already getting
"at some point, in theory, that program will end"
"that's the largest [grant] by far"

Morton and Craven "want to understand budget issues more deeply"
will come and visit

March Board of Ed: Opening Comments

This gets rolling at 8:30; the agenda is here. Posting as we go.

Sagan: was heartening to see this (competency) adopted in some schools, more that we could do
didn't get to what we could do; could come back to
next Commissioner to be sworn in at 10 am next Thursday at the State House as part of the Leading the Nation celebration (to which all are invited)
still being decided which Commissioner will sit at April meeting
May will be in Marblehead, as student member Hannah Trimarchi will be hosting, plan on a late start

Wulfson: never expected to be in this role
fully expected to finish in school finance
"has been a very humbling experience"
"many inspiring leaders" in the Commonwealth
"very full nine months"
"we've dealt with transitions in Southbridge and Lawrence and hurricanes in the Caribbean"
got the ESSA plan
thanks to the Board, to all at the Department, to MASS, Commissioner's office
goal is to make every one of our 1800 schools one we'd be proud to send any of our children to
Sagan: thanks for work; "sounded more like a retirement speech than we think you intended"
normal that we'd be doing a formal review; not for acting

Peyser: in light of Jeff's valedictory, express deep gratitude for Jeff's leadership
"not lost any momentuum to drive reform and change in our schools"

McKenna: will there be a chance to do something more formal?
Sagan: yes

Public comment

on last night's presentation: adaptive assessment is the policy level that gets districts to look at individual student growth
incentive to dramatically change their models
allows students to flow through the ladder of the sequence at their pace
qualities and skills developed in students


Testimony in favor of appeal of Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter:
student lives in Springfield and attends school; speaking in favor of expansion
grandmother read about it in the newspaper
"so much more being taught here"
"more academically inclined than other schools"
student: if asked why I was there, I would say because my mom made me go
now can understand almost 2.8 billion people in this world.
let my sister attend this school
Sagan: why doesn't your sister get in with sibling preference?
student: still on the waiting list
Sagan: why are students leaving?
student: looking for more variety
student: looking for sports after school
Morton: no coop sport program with other schools in area?
student: used to have a soccer program..."it was definitely not what we hoped for"
have own soccer program now, it's JV, we're still trying to build that up
have more students to build up clubs and teams would really build up our program
parent of fifth grader from Holyoke: daughter can speak three language
"I'm an impoverished citizen..."has never beent treated differently
"don't understand the attack from adjecent towns and districts"
"think it's jealousy"
glad daughter has the chance to even the playing field in life

panel in opposition to the appeal
Peter Demling, Amherst School Committee
ask that the Commissioner's decision be upheld
reasons for rejecting expansion have not changed
school has not addressed concerns
gaps of achievement subgroups have not been addressed
addressing this should be first action
prior to any future consideration
Cara Castenson, chair of Pelhem School Committee
four students in PVCICS would be contribution to regional district
"has become a reality"
paying almost $90K in charter tuition
town also forced to take measures
Pelhem voted to pursue full regionalization with Amherst
"were the school being forced to close, it would be a loss to the town of the Pelhem"
school is doing well for students served
school is center of community
"small community schools have served as the backbone of public schools for generations"
Sagan now pressing on reimbursement of students to charter
Castenson notes that district was notified late, after budget had been passed, that students had moved
Sagan presses issue of reimbursement
John Provost superintendent in Northampton
spirit of advocacy and spirit of inquiry
last speakers on how they've been involved in students relocated by Hurricane Maria
15 communities in PVCICS have taken over 900 students; all of us have been immersed in this process
Sagan: "were you implying that the students didn't answer your question? Don't answer that."
he  wasn't

Greenfield Virtual says last night is "preaching to the choir"
competency based will take us to the next level
"we will to transcend the confines of time and space"
"truly grateful for the increase in funding accorded in September"

Two follow-ups on February's Board of Ed meeting

I tweeted these out this morning, but I thought they needed a more permanent place.

You'll remember that the Board voted in favor of the contract Chair Sagan had negotiated with Jeff Riley for Commissioner of Education. Part of the discussion was start date: while everyone was looking for sooner rather than later, there was recognition that Lawrence, too, needs a smooth transition as it moves from single receiver to a board receiver appointing a (still being searched for) superintendent. "By July 1" was the date set. Today's Eagle Tribune, however, has an article in today's paper which says he'll leave within weeks. The receiver board has just started meeting, and they've just posted the position of superintendent; they are not going to have a superintendent in place any time soon. The article speaks of Riley leaving his assistant superintendent in charge, but can he even do that under a receivership?


There was much fervor over the Boston Globe actually publishing--can it be?--a less-than-rosy charter school piece today. In the rundown of the recent setbacks, Jamie Vanzis most notably puts together last year's Mystic Valley's violation of their students' rights over hairstyles and the unquestioning and non-public renewal of their charter this year. I had mentioned this in passing at the time of the meeting, but I'll note this again here: under the Mass General Laws, charters are granted and renewed by the Board of Education, not by the Commissioner. That is not what has been happening, however, as the Board has voted their authority to the Commissioner. Note this memo from the February agenda: Any Board member may call for the renewal to be discussed at a public meeting, but there is no allowance for the public to have input, to hear deliberation, or to otherwise be part of the process. And in this case, DESE has even refused the Globe documents about their decision. That isn't what was laid out by the Legislature as a process. Charter schools are much more complicated than a nice, neat little process with an office in Malden, and the public is owed more than that.

Board of Ed for February: Commissioner transition

the backup is here

Sagan: "effectively, I agreed to pay Jeff what Mitchell was making before"
it's a 2 1/2% raise from what he is making now
talking about start date
"full new receiver board has been appointed"
new superintendent being search for Lawrence
"this might come as late as July 1...everyone is hoping that it can happen sooner"
"work with the board in Lawrence in a transition"
APPROVED

Board of Ed for February: Opening comments

We're in a fairly crowded Board meeting which we've been told will be starting at 9 rather than 8:30. The crowding is largely a busload of KIPP Lynn supporters, here, one assumes, to testify in opposition to the recommendation their charter not being put forward (recall that this had to do BOTH with Lynn's improved MCAS performance AND with concerns about KIPP elsewhere in Massachusetts). 
The agenda is here. Updating as we go.
Sagan comments that the late start was "unavoidable on my part," so it appears he's why we're starting late.
Sagan "some request to Jeff to walk us through safety preparedness in our schools"
initial restraint data and the graduation rate, "worth noting"

Wulfson: three significant data releases in the last week or so
Graduation data
College Board released AP test results; "Massachusetts was number one in the nation" of percent of graduating class that scored 3 or higher
"we applaud our schools for those efforts"
restraint data was issued earlier this week "we obviously believe this data is important" but caution from jumping to too many conclusions on a first report
"wide variations in schools and the populations that they serve"
seeking panel members for revision of arts standards
"send a strong signal to the field that arts are an important part of the curriculum"
$15M for schools in this fiscal year; sending instructions to districts on how to report exact number of students and their attendance; two payments (one in April for those by March 1; supplemental later in the year); also federal government approve additional funding
working with Puerto Rico to exchange data to get seniors diplomas from Puerto Rico
allow high school guidance counselors to monitor if students have completed their FAFSA
"using data to improve student outcomes"
some conversations with Tom Scott of superintendent
Department providing links on school safety issues
state requirement for multi-hazard plan, requiring plans for all sorts of situation
"confident that local administrators and teachers are working with their public safety on their plans"
great deal of variation among towns: "not clear to me that additional state mandates at this time would be useful"
in prevention: work we are already doing: social emotional learning, early warning, pathways
"keep students engaged and try to catch those who might be falling through the cracks"
speaking only for himself: "the notion of arming our teachers...strikes me as an incredibly bad idea"
only result that innocent people will get caught in the crossfire
"pleased to see Massachusetts educators speaking out strongly against the idea"
walkouts: "confident that administrators will handle matters sensitively"
We have spoken about civic involvement: "this is it: this is as real as it gets. If this is not a teachable moment, I don't know what is."
Peyser: very much on point
underline remarks on school cultures
"a lot of great work going on in the Commonwealth right now...how we can do more and do better"
McKenna: asks about liability for students walking out: Q&A
"here are some of the things you might want to think about"
Wulfson: will have that conversation with superintendents

Public comment
Phoenix Academy in Lawrence: new head of school speaking in support of approval of charter
Phoenix was running an alternative school within the district of Lawrence; now it will spin out
"believe that college is the path for every student...want to provide them that choice"
another: "I believe that education is an equalizer"
"I believe in the relentless support we provide to our students"
student: "to be able to give this wonderful opportunity to other students"
Doherty: current staff is employees of the Lawrence Public Schools and members of the teachers' union
assume they'll need to resign from Lawrence schools; what about those who aren't selected to remain or want to stay with Lawrence? Will they be absorbed back into Lawrence?
head says application is with district; teachers and students will be absorbed back if that is their choice

Veritas Prep in Springfield (requesting an expansion)
"open Veritas to be a proof point for our city"
adding an additional classroom per grade level
add more staffing and more supports, particularly for those who struggle and those with special needs
mother "teaches our students to excel and to develop great study habits"
head of Mass Charter Board
no new seats in Lynn "shared at the last minute"
lost creditably
asks for review of charter cap process so that movement is predictable

Davis Leadership Academy with probation
"some fundamental differences of opinion on what the data says and what the data speaks to"
particularly around governance and finance
asks Board to review data and renew charter unconditionally
former Marlborough finance: school "got a clean opinion"
see what the bottom line was: they budgeted a loss of $100K, it came in at $99,011
"accountants develop their own language, too"
"any cost can be determined to have a negative impact on the budget...but that doesn't mean the decision to have [that cost] is a negative thing"
Moriarty: had packet this morning and it's coming to a vote today
"I don't know that there's a feasible option to the delay the vote"
"how much of a financial burden is being imposed on you?" for an escrow account
response: one of the smaller schools in the Commonwealth
"I can't speak right now directly what that impact would be on the budget...but it's not an ideal situation"
McKenna: there is no amount determine
Sagan: "if you want to make a counter argument...this is not a surprise item...we are talking apples and oranges..the report I got spoke to duty of care...with all of that on the record, you chose to speak to ancilliary items"
"I still think one seems to be missing"

KIPP Lynn
parent: student is a currently a freshman at the University of San Francisco
three children still at KIPP
"this school is different than any other school I have been a part of"
support expansion so more children can be given the opportunity my children would be given
"I also learned that because of fourteen words written into the law, children will not have this opportunity"
hundreds of families waiting for a change
"families being served by the charter public schools must suffer now"
her nieces chances of getting a seat next year is very slim
"you are sending a message to the kids of Lynn that their education doesn't matter"
someone else (employee?)
has impacted this family and so many more
only 33% of middle school students will have chance to attend high school
"the restriction of school choice" impacts historic disadvantaged children of color
as a daughter of West African immigrants "my family did not move across the Atlantic Ocean" to a country that historically oppresses people who look like me to settle for anything less than an excellent education
"please consider the impact on our current families"


Tom Gosnell, AFT MA
here on the issue of arming faculty
"I don't think that I need to go over the fifty or so reasons against something as insane as arming teachers"
could create more murders in the school
access to weapons that they don't know
"changes culture of the school..that is massively important"
"it appears that the President of the United States is not backing down from this"
"the American Federation of Teachers will vigorously oppose this insane proposal"
"would strongly urge you...to take a formal position" opposing such a proposal

Board of Ed meets Tuesday

Apologies for the late posting on this...we're back to the normal place and time: Tuesday at 8:30 am in Malden. The agenda is here. It will be livestreamed here.

After the usual round of comments from the Chair, the Commissioner, and the Secretary, then the public, the first item on the agenda is an update on the transition to appointed Commissioner Jeff Riley. Specifically, the Board is being asked to vote on his contract terms, though the contract itself is not appended. He is to start July 1, unless his term with Lawrence ends earlier (as that position just was posted last week, that seems unlikely). His salary is to be $241,000 per year, with a travel reimbursement. The only details on pension, vacation, health insurance and such is he is eligible for "standard benefits available to state employees, including four weeks (20 days) of paid vacation leave accrued on an annual basis." That salary is more than most, but not all, superintendents of districts in Massachusetts.

The update on Level 5 schools and districts has updates on the Dever School and UP Academy Holland in Boston, Morgan School in Holyoke, and Parker School in New Bedford. Each is reporting on successes and challenges. Additionally, the new receiver in Southbridge Jeffrey Villar will be at the meeting.

It is charter school consideration month, and several of the pieces have already made news. The only new charter being recommended is Phoenix Academy in Lawrence, which did not face marked local opposition. The Equity Lab application in Lynn did not receive a recommendation largely due to changes within the district:

DOE predicts Lynn Public Schools will no longer be in the bottom 10 percent this spring, further limiting the number of charter school seats. “We recently found out MCAS test scores are up, which is a good thing that Lynn Public School are no longer in the bottom 10 percent,” said Joel Abramson, a KIPP board member. 

There is an additional memo to the Board on this farther down the agenda.
That is not the only reason Equity is being denied:

in his memo to the board, Wulfson said another factor that contributed to denying KIPP’s request for more seats was the increased rates of student discipline at its Lynn and Boston schools, and the fact that the school has yet to complete the expansion approved in 2015.

Veritas Academy in Springfield is requesting an amendment to their charter to add 108 seats, which would bring it to its maximum enrollment of 432 seats.
Davis Leadership Academy in Boston is being recommended for renewal on probation (for some reason, that's a Word doc):

My recommendation to place the school on probation with conditions is based on my concerns about recurring poor governance practices and new evidence revealing a lack of financial oversight and mismanagement of the charter school by the board of trustees. Additionally, throughout the charter term, DLA’s academic performance has declined.

The Board is being asked to formally adopt the change in regulations that will set an interim graduation standard for MCAS for the classes of 2021 and 2022; they've already assented to this in concept.

State graduation and dropout results for 2016-17 are on the agenda, but there is, as yet, no backup. UPDATE: It was so they could do a Monday release of the eleventh consecutive year of improvement of graduation rate.

There's a report on the Governor's FY19 budget recommendations; note that there is a spreadsheet available to download. 

Not for formal discussion, but made available, is a report on rural schools.
There's also a renewal of charters for Abby Kelley Foster Charter Public School, Baystate Academy Charter Public School, Boston Day and Evening Academy Charter School, Mystic Valley Regional Charter School, Sturgis Charter Public School, and UP Academy Charter School of Dorchester; a removal of conditions from Pioneer Valley Charter and Barnstable Horace Mann; and a renewal of loans outside the terms of the charters for Argosy Collegiate Charter School, Atlantis Charter School, Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School, Boston Collegiate Charter School, Boston Preparatory Charter School, Boston Renaissance Charter Public School, Brooke Charter School, Community Charter School of Cambridge, Christa McAuliffe Regional Charter Public School, Foxborough Regional Charter School, Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School Pioneer Charter School of Science, Veritas Preparatory Charter School.
Can we talk about the Board delegating its renewal authority to the Commissioner on this stuff, please?

"Baker's pick"

Okay, I don't want to belabor this point, but I keep seeing this said, so I'm going to stick this here:

The notion that Jeff Riley was Governor Baker's pick misses how Riley became receiver in Lawrence.
He was appointed by the late Commissioner Mitchell Chester in January of 2012

• when the Governor was Deval Patrick
• when the Secretary was Paul Reville
• under a law that was passed by two Democratically controlled houses and signed by a Democratic Governor
• under a board of which no member is currently still serving

Interviews for Massachusetts Commissioner of Education: Jeffrey Riley

You can read WBUR's profile here

Sagan: mission of Department
Riley: "I spent the majority of my time on this earth in public education"
"this near and dear to my heart"
"someone who build consensus, able to work with wide variety of stakeholders to get things done"

Craven: diversity
Riley: children come to public schools from a variety of backgrounds, races, religions,
wide range of skills and abilities and differences
"As a white man, I'm very cognizant of the privilege I've had in this world"
spent most of career trying to get results "for city kids, most of the kids in poverty, most of them kids of color"
Lawrence "more than double number of Latino teachers in the district"
almost tripled the number of people from Lawrence

Moriarty: gap
Riley: achievement gap doesn't start in kindergarten; starts at 18 months!
Edwards Middle: able to close gaps significantly
"but it takes time"
Moriarty: three to close gap
Riley: "word gap that starts" early
an educational campaign, information to families
"we talk about third grade reading...key metric area..."
acceleration academies to make up ground
using data
"sometimes second language learners need a little more time"
"BUT that does not mean as a community and a department that we can't put a mandate at the third grade level" to identify kids who need support

Morton: role of K-12 in meeting the needs of differently abled
Riley: started career as a special education teacher
have a child who has different abilities
were concerned that she might be treated differently
school in Boston "that met my child's needs"
coming home every day wanting to play school when she got home
taking daughter off IEP
"this is a problem, particularly in special education...and this is a problem, especially in urban education"
need to get kids back in classrooms
"equity issue around this"
Morton: leverage expertise?
Riley: come together to find ways to discuss what's happening in our special education program
some of that is about being more inclusive
"machinery inside the structure is still broken"and needs fixing

Craven: management
Riley: budget in Lawrence is almost $200M
"when I first came, the city was not meeting that minimum number"
got a deal together that they will at least fund at the minimum level
things we wanted for our kids "like art and music and step dancing"
a few years ago, Foundation Budget Review Commission said districts like Lawrence should be getting more
"but I'm a realist" may happen when revenues may return to the state
what can we do in the meantime?
Craven: what specifics?
Riley: replace LED lighting
busing
raising money outside

Stewart: team
Riley: historically have been more of an operator
policy support
"I'm going to need to get up to speed"
"from the Belichick school of drafting, [people] who can do many things"
"there was a lot of call to fire all the teachers and replace the schools with charter schools"
took six months to assess
"found a lot of assets...used incredible talent inside the district"

Trimarchi: stakeholders
Riley: "the children in Lawrence have no problem tweeting to me the winter forecast about closure of school"
BUT also have said "we need an extra late bus" or changes in high school
"I didn't just tweet back to them"
went and met with them
"it would be a mistake not to listen to the kids" as they know what the issues are

Trimarchi: legislature
Riley: starting with ELT school in Boston, went to Beacon Hill
comings and goings of political process
not new to Beacon Hill, doesn't have a depth of experience there
would be learning

McKenna: people have different visions of state agencies
Riley: "lose/tight administration"
"how can we support them"
tight on certain things and people know what the rules are, but they also know they're going to be supported
McKenna: balance state oversight and local control
Riley: former superintendent went to jail, 50% of kids weren't graduating from high school
"that was a time"
"but it should be done very delicately"
had to change reputation: "we are not here to blow everything up"
"yes there are things that need to change...but at the same time, we were able to rally people to change"
"when you talk about the zone idea...I've seen a lot of press about it...it's too early in the process if it's been a net positive for kids"

West: charter schools
Riley: "I've always been a moderate on this issue"
I've always thought that parents don't care what kind of school "parents just want a good school for their kids"
charter schools in MA "single most effective charter sector in America, and a lot of that lies at the feet of this board"
always said that if I got the chance, we'd work together
"a place for charter schools in Massachusetts, and we need a more collaborative spirit on both ends"

TEN MINUTE SPEECH:
strong policies at the state level that have continued
gains made have benefited many but not all
"moral and legal obligation" to ensure all kids
engaged with stakeholders
listen and bring back to Board
three key concepts: 1. rigorous academics supported by quality professional development
references teaching classes
2. high quality enrichment
3. push for equity
working group on issues of equity
rolling out and expanding key initiative: early college, vo-tech (in both vo-tech schools and comprehensive schools)
auditing DESE itself to ensure balance on oversight
"may be areas where we are overregulated"
know that only peanut butter will get gum out of a child's hair; that if you're trapped in a middle school with 500 middle school students by a freak snowstorm, your only hope is in sending out teachers for pizza

West: "at the risk of repeating one of the more infamous moments of our national education secretary's hearing," view on growth and proficiency
Riley "I do not think it should be one or the other"
"for me, I believe that effort is the key to success"
"would like to see them rewarded for improvement"

West: teacher eval and role of state
Riley: new system "more user friendly for administrators"
"not sure we've agreed on what good instruction looks like"
the question is does this Board pick up on that
"talking about good instruction...giving teachers and administrators chances to share"
"I think we can start with that work first"
"give teachers opportunity to have that time"

Fernandez: communication
Riley: don't always take the time to go back and review policies
better job on communicating to our families
"What we don't want to do, like I had to do last week, was tell 46% of my teachers that they're going to have to switch health care"
high school test: a real opportunity
let parents go into the schools "and be partners in the work"
"it's an amazing community in Lawrence and we did not do a good job of inviting them in"
Sagan: sitting here, what should department do
Riley: regional meetings for superintendents
commercials
op-eds in newspapers
"many different forms of communication these days to get the word out"

Fernandez LOOK act
Riley: one of the most important pieces of legislation to come out in a long time
parents more choice and more say
seal of biliteracy "a very elegant statement about how profound it would be to have students graduate biliterate"
celebrate second language learning acquisition
"blown away by how engaged and excited the kids are"
"learning a language, you have to put yourself out there"

Doherty: I want to make a public disclosure that my mother's name was Riley
socio-economic status and test scores
Riley: "I think poverty is a real thing. I also know we've seen outpost where we've beaten it back."
"more time with good teachers"
"at the end of the day it's a question of fairness for our kids"
kids aren't starting at the same place
poverty is real, hunger is real, word gap is real
"we have to recognize that these things are real, but we have to have high expectations"
Doherty: use of scores in accountability
Riley: I'm more interested in their improvement
"I do recognize that poverty is an issue; it can be demoralizing to people in the field to see progress and not seen that recognized"

Peyser: focus on reading and math
Riley: believe it has led to a narrowing of the curriculum "and I believe that's wrong"
believe we have to value different types of intelligences
"I think there's a balance there"
"We have an awful lot of testing there...and that's a lot of missed instructional time"
have we looked at adaptive testing?
"how can we make [testing] better"
Peyser : a great theater production can't offset poor math skills
Riley: tells a story of a kid who performed as the lead in "Godspell"
"for me, my question is this 'Is Michael scoring as high as he can on math and English? If the answer is yes, then I feel like we've done our job. I also feel like we need to find a way to celebrate Michael's other skills"

Peyser: vocational education
Riley: some kids want to go to college, some want to work, and some are in the middle
"incredible demand" for vocational schools
"so what can we do to meet this demand?"
increase seats, add voke programs at comprehensive schools
"we need to be able to have great options for our kids"

Peyser: "one last question and don't take this the wrong way"
this job has to do with policies, process, systems: do you really want this job? And how to transition?
Riley: "I did apply for the job and I want it"
at every step, people have asked if I really wanted that job
"for me, I've been clear, there'd be a lot of learning"
passion for education in Massachusetts and a willingness to learn
would rely on your guidance

Sagan: any reservations?
Riley: "I didn't before this meeting."

Riley: appetite for engaging with public on policy?
Morton: Board has people with different perspectives...how do you manage us?
Riley "I've always worked for one person, not a collective"
"having those interpersonal skills and personal relationships"

McKenna; achievement gap; what's it going to take?
Riley: improvement over time before counting testing

Commissioner finalists: Jeffrey Riley

We have three finalists for Commissioner of education

Jeffrey C. Riley, superintendent/receiver of the Lawrence Public Schools
Angélica Infante-Green, deputy commissioner, Office of Instructional Support P-12 in New York State Education Department
Penny Schwinn, chief deputy commissioner of academics at the Texas Education Agency

Next up: Jeffrey Riley

Jeff Riley is on Linked-in and on Twitter.

Round-up of links on the education commissioner

I thought a central repository might be useful

Here's the official press release from the Department.
I put the CV's of the three finalists in my Dropbox here.
My blog post on how this works--eight votes to recommend to the Secretary for appointment--is here. Note that since that post, Noyce has stepped down; West and Fernandez are new members.
The State House News Service article by Katie Lannan can be found (among other places) here.
WBUR's Max Larkin pulled this together yesterday.
You can read Michael Jonas in Commonwealth Magazine here.
The Texas Tribune gives a Texas angle on Penny Schwinn here.
Here's New York's Chalkbeat note on Angélica Infante-Green.
Katherine McKiernan at the Herald has this on responses to the finalists.
Chalkbeat notes that over the weekend, New York City parents began circulating a petition, calling on Mayor DeBlasio to appoint Infante-Green Chancellor of the New York City Public Schools.
Michael Jonas of Commonwealth writes an in-depth look at the finalists, postulating that "as goes the Commissioner, so goes the direction of education.)

My blog post with what I can find on Penny Schwinn is here.
My blog post with what I can find on Angélica Infante-Green is here.
My blog post with what I can find (and what I know) on Jeffrey Riley is here.

The interviews are on Friday, January 26 beginning at 9 at the Omni Parker House in Boston and will be livestreamed here.
The Board meets again Monday, January 29 in Malden at 12:30  to vote for their recommendation.
And yes, I'll be there to cover it. 

November Board of Ed: update on Lawrence

You can find the backup here.
Sagan: some announcements of changes in receivership in Lawrence
Wulfson: joined others up in Lawrence; Riley announced he'll step down at the end of this year
recap where we are in progress on this district
after his presentation, will talk more about moving forward on receivership
Riley: "I wasn't sure I wanted to come...I was pretty happy in the Boston Public Schools...it was very hard to leave"
"best experience of my professional career"
"parents, teachers, kids are amazing"
strong gains particularly in mathematics, science has nearly doubled
"growth scores big" over 50 in new MCAS
Graduation rate now up over 71%, "heading hopefully to 80 in the coming years"
dropout rate has been cut in half
used school funding to fix the buildings
"perhaps one of the most important things we did to parents to buy in"
"we've gone too far in the world of education in just assessing students by a test"
arts, enrichment, "these are things that are valuable"
"I hope that these things will continue"
"This was a home-grown investment...if anything, my role was a facilitator"
still more to do
special education road map for next years: "structure of special education has to be fixed"
"And I would be remiss if I did not talk about the budget"
"The foundation budget is not working for Gateway Cities; we need to revisit that...and the city needs to go beyond the minimum."
"It's incumbent on this Board" to work on foundation budget
"there is virtual nowhere left to cut"
"there is still persistent achievement gaps that aren't being addressed, there are still communities that don't have what they need to address the needs of their students"
"positive first step" to shift to board
look forward to day that schools will be returned to local authority

Wulfson
state receivership seen by some as punishment
take responsibility in Constitution
step in where it is not working
Lawrence in a much better place than it was six years ago
"see it as being a partnership with the district"
next step: will be a board
"really two things that need to happen" to leave receivership: continue progress, ensure there is a local governing structure and climate that the gains will be sustained once the state leaves
"starts to bring more local voices into the mix"
the receivership board will select a new superintendent who will report to receivership board (who will report to Commissioner)
Board will be between five and seven members: good educational policy foundation "regardless of where they live" and some from Lawrence
Board will act as if it is a governmental body: comply with public records law, open meeting law
"important step in re-engaging community and being transparent about its work"
hope and expect that it will meet with school committee, members of community
Sagan: is there a model of moving towards shared responsibility
Wulfson: some school committee members re-elected
Sagan: "I don't know how that's possible with what they did!" (wow)
Wulfson: will engage in conversation with mayor if that's the best structure of long-term governance
(so are we contemplating governance changes? We don't like school committees now?)
saw in New Bedford "a respected superintendent" stepping down as she didn't receive the support she needed
spoke of long-term continuiting of superintendents at MASS/MASC conference (he did, but didn't mention the school committees!)

McKenna on continuing to raise graduation
Riley: a lot of it is bringing students back
now about academic engagement: keeping kids in
kids have internships, work studies, college credits

Craven: lessons learned?
Riley: trust teachers
"strength of our district is our teachers"
"believing in teachers and letting them have a voice"
collaboration: "getting people from all sides" in

West: insight into final step to return to local control
"possibility to make changes to the school governance structure"
"or whether you have an appointed committee"
Riley: I don't think there should be anything taken off the table
"anything to make sure kids in Lawrence are getting a better and better education every year"
structure remains to be seen
McKenna: Connecticut has Commissioner district that are majority funded by state; board is majority appointed by state, some appointed by local

Moriarity on third grade reading
Riley: agree but also need to give students time to learn second language; we know it takes several years to acquiring language