NSBA Trainers Conference: Adverse Childhood Experiences and Trauma Informed Schools

periodic posting coming in this week from the Annual National School Boards Association State Trainers Conference in Juneau, Alaska
This morning is Patrick Sidmore, senior mental health planner for the Alaska Mental Health Board and the Advisory Board on Alcohol and Drug Abuse

Trauma informed schools
a school that used have kids line up for tardy slips when they were late "and then we realized that a seven year old getting to school on time isn't really the seven year old's responsibility...now we greet them and ask if they've had breakfast"
and if the kid has gotten themselves up, due to household circumstances, gotten themselves to school and they're three minutes late, they warrant congratulations not punishment

NSBA Trainers conference on ESSA

I'm in Columbus, OH this week for the National School Boards Association Trainers conference. We're getting an update from the Ohio School Boards Association on the Every Child Succeeds Act. 

updating as we go...
Initial comment "This gives so much power back to the state...all that control...still needs to be developed" Important for school boards to stay involved as states develop their own plans under ESSA

TONY WAGNER! closes NSBA conference

"such respect for school boards in work across the country"
"the formulation of the problem is often more essential than the solution" Einstein

GASB Update: NSBA session on Governmental Accounting Standards Board

"I always like it when I get in front of a group because everyone gets to the front of their chairs in excitement"
not accounting 101, but give you some things to look for in your finances

NSBA Conference: Saturday General Session including Robin Roberts

Robin Roberts: wanted to be here to say thank you "for your passion and compassion"
"proud to stand before you and say that I am a product of the public school system of this country"
first job was driving a school bus

NSBA Conference: ESSA update

updating as we go...
Zola runs policy and advocacy in DC for NSBA
all material is on the app
"we're only about 50% done; we have the law. Now we have to implement"
"be careful what you ask for"
got more local control; our responsibility to do right by this new law

NSBA Opening Session: Dan Rather

posting once we get there
so much ground I want to cover with you today
Lincoln: never take the time to deny it; the audience will find out soon enough.
moment of silence for "people serving in dangerous places far from home"
product of public schools, including "little Sam Houston Teachers' College" (at the time had 900 students)

National School Board Association Conference posts coming!

I (and the rest of the MASC staff, as well as plenty of School Committee members from across the country!) am in Boston this weekend for the National School Board Association annual conference. I'll be posting here from sessions through Monday. The Twitter hashtag is #NSBAConf, if you'd like to follow along there.

National School Boards Association Advocacy Institute Opening Session

So this very quickly became a giant waste of time that I stopped blogging. We spent two hours, and by the end, we'd met several people, and then listened to four lobbyists congratulate each other on how clever their reorganization was. Wow. Awful.

NSBA President Anne Byrne:
"Of course, we can't do this alone; we do it all together"
introduces NSBA Board of Directors, staff
commitment and service of school board members "makes such a difference...for all of American's schoolchildren"
all of us together advocating for public schools and public schoolchildren
"up to us to make sure that we are the best, most effective advocates we can be"
"how public education is making a difference in the livers of our children"

• Public advocacy
• Legal advocacy
• Legislative advocacy

We are also elected "some of us by more people than elect them"
"to do what is right for the future of America which is in our classrooms right now"
continuing to advocate in the court for federal policy that may increase federal reach in the classroom
Justice Kenney cites NSBA in his legal briefs

"365 day challenge...we are not here for only one day"
"a lot of talk about reauthorization of ESEA...about time, I say"
"we all must lead children to excellence"

Executive Director Thomas Gentzel: "Why are you here?'
"we need to stand and speak together to do what's right for the kids in this country"
"not a special interest group"; elected officials lobbying for public schools
"comprehensive advocacy program"
"this is our mission; we're your Washington office"
"what difference will that make? What will we do about it?"
"our work leaving here is make sure that that advocacy happens throughout the year"

John Tuttle, president-elect
"always great to come, advocate for our children, our schools"

introduces Alex Nock (works for Penn Hill Group, a lobbying firm)
Lisa Bushey, Associate Executive Director, Public Advocacy, NSBA (she came up with "Stand Up for Public Schools")
Francisco Negron, General Counsel and Associate Executive Director, Legal Advocacy, NSBA
Michael Zolo, Associate Executive Director, Federal Advocacy, NSBA

how NSBA goes about public/legal/legislative advocacy
Zolo: NSBA has to be visible, such that people not only take it seriously, so that people ask us to help them do their jobs
"an incredibly valuable resource"
Bushey: "show you how to get involved, how to be the best" you can as being an advocacy
Gentzel's HuffPo article on school choice
opponents of public education are using trained "agency counsel"
"share some of the science with you about effective communication"
Negron: "file very frequently employment cases...we, collectively, are the biggest employer in the country"
"we're going to be there to talk about the impact on public schools"
"work with our state associations" on legal advocacy
Bushey just did a whole thing on "optimizing" and "leveraging" and "operationalize"
Zolo: "what do we want to communicate, what words do we want to use"
There's really not much here to take notes on: this is NSBA congratulating itself on its reorganization and four lobbyists talking to each other. 

Return to federalism?

The National School Boards Association, meeting in Washington this week, today published a press release along with draft legislation calling for a return to a federalist model of educational policy:

The proposed legislation would ensure that the Department of Education’s actions are consistent with the specific intent of federal law and are educationally, operationally, and financially supportable at the local level. This would also establish several procedural steps that the Department of Education would need to take prior to initiating regulations, rules, grant requirements, guidance documents, and other regulatory materials.

The draft legislation is here. It reads in part:

 As the focus of the federal government in education has grown, the vital national interest in local self‐governance of local educational agencies has been weakened through federal agency regulation, grant conditions, guidance materials and other requirements that are either unnecessary to achieve the specific direction of legislation enacted by the United States Congress, or that impose unnecessary limits on the flexibility that local educational agencies need in order to meet local, state, and federal goals in education

More on Duncan before the NSBA conference here.

ESEA moving?

Swiped from the National School Boards Association weekly email:

 House Committee Takes Step Toward ESEA Reauthorization

In the first action since the February 28, 2012, markup of  the two major ESEA reauthorization bills, H.R. 3989, the Success for All Students Act, and H.R. 3990, the Encouraging Innovation and Effective Teachers Act, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on Thursday, May 3, released the two committee reports that accompany the bills.  The release came on the heels of a letter sent by NSBA Executive Director Anne Bryant and other  state and locally-based organizations to House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urging both chambers to complete the ESEA reauthorization so that it may be completed before the adjournment of the 112th Congress.   That the Committee chose to issue House Report Nos. 112-458 and 112-459, which total 1000 pages, is a sign that the House leadership may be preparing to move forward and take the bills up on the floor.  The reports will be published in the Congressional Record when the House reconvenes on May 7.  While the Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions Committee marked up its still unnumbered version of the ESEA reauthorization on October 19, 2011, the committee report has heretofore not been released.

National School Boards conference!

A bit of a warning: I'll be liveblogging from the NSBA (National School Boards Association) conference, which is in Boston this weekend, tomorrow through Monday. Posts (and tweets!) to follow!
You can follow the tweets from there by searching #NSBAConf.

Foley: F&O

We've "developed the beginning" of a master plan for the Worcester Public Schools, says Foley, reporting out of F&O subcommittee

Foley runs through how the in-kind contribution city-side is determined: $4.2 million is "in-kind" contribution, as WPS is 54% of the full city budget, though the schools clearly do not use 54% of those offices. The city takes credits for that amount of municipal offices.

Grant recovery: costs that the city incurs in administering those grants. Awaiting a legal ruling from the state on this. The difference between 1 and 3% is $1 million.

Monfredo asks that we get the legal opinion from the state when it comes in.
Monfredo also opposes sending four member to the National School Board Conference in Boston thsi spring.

O'Connell speaks in favor of sending as many people as possible: as it's a renewal of the ESEA act renewal year, among many other things.

Novick: amend to send three members, which is $2760 instead, which passes unanimously.

HOLDing the foundation budget report pending the joint meeting with the Education subcommittee of the City Council (as they sent their report on WPS budgeting there on Tuesday night)

President of the National School Boards Association

speaking here of public education being under attack
speaks of push to privatize, to pull money away from schools
Chester Finn on school boards:
"this sense of urgency provides a catalyst for us to move"
"cultivate a culture of caring...make sure our work is about cultivating curiosity, wonder, passion"
"not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire"
"we've got to start yelling about our successes"
"a great cornerstone of our democracy"

Signing on

to the National School Board's Association letter asking for NCLB regulatory relief

Worcester School Committee meeting Thursday

There will be a regular meeting of the Worcester School Committee this coming Thursday at 4 (NOTE THE TIME!) pm at City Hall. You can find the agenda here.
The Superintendent's report this month is on school choice.
Teaching, Learning, and Student Supports is also reporting out.
There are also several items coming back with reports (some dating back to Mayor Lukes!): elementary National Honor Society, cell phone use by school bus drivers, update on capital needs, funding of the Clark Masters' program, continuing of CPR training, security cameras at South High.
There are also a number of new items filed by members (it's been a bit since we've had a regular meeting!): signing onto the NSBA's waiver request (of which more later), National Walk to School Day, second round Promise Neighborhoods grants, increasing mileage (which we are required to do; going up four and a half cents!), update on North, looking at summer reading, considering outside signage on buildings, reviewing emergency management, reviewing the hiring of principals, sending someone off to the state school committee conference in the fall.
Again, 4pm Thursday at City Hall, and also on Channel 11.

National School Boards Association President Earl Rickman

presents a devastating critique of "Waiting for Superman"