Looking for more on the Superintendent's evaluation? updating with comments from members

It was early in the meeting; scroll down!

Let's take a look at comments from members!

Questions from the members

posting as we go
Monfredo: why are some schools using paper for PARCC?
Boone: lack strong technology infrastructure, scheduling
Perda: assessment of all schools readiness for PARCC; comprehensive review of all machines available and of network speed
factored into decision; some preferred to do paper, even if they had the technology to do computer

O'Connell: urge colleagues not to adopt the recommendation
not in the best interest of children, parents, teachers, schools; staying course on MCAS
"children thrive on consistency"
"have the drill down quite effectively...go into test really well-equipped"
instructing in new technology will take away from regular instruction
MCAS gives some sense of somewhat confusing data for parents to figure out how kids are doing
transfer of information "a challenge"
teachers to spend time on instruction with new test; more time lost from instruction
real carrot for using PARCC as hold steady on accountability "safe harbor"
"ultimate success depends on how students are doing"
suggest that our best course at this point...is to hold the course
Boone: we should value the voice of our principals...the idea of the carrot was not the decision on why they decided to use PARCC
standards in the curriculum are the same regardless of the assessment; teaching curriculum to meet the standards, we're not teaching the test

Foley: not a great supporter of the test
full portfolio of assessment is the way to go
"stay with MCAS allows to stay on academics; I'd argue that there's a lot of time in the classroom that'd be spent on academics if we" got rid of these tests
same approach on MCAS
it isn't going to stay the same, regardless; this gives us a chance to test it out
Petty just came in

Novick comments: (this is sorta what I said, but I forgot the keyboarding note. Dang.)

Biancheria: glad to see conversation and decisions made with principals
recommendation for Jacob Hiatt to take PARCC; but a high number of students opted out there
Goddard has 10.4% opt out; but taking PARCC
"not just one test, not just one assessment"
test makes determination of how students are doing
consistency lacking in what is going on with schools (due to state not making decision yet)
"down the road, there might be something else"
"I am at the level of waiting for something else"
which principal (new or last year) made a decision?
Boone: on point of consistency, number of students that were scheduled to tested; this was a sampling
Biancheria: 90% of refusal of students to be tested
Boone: Worcester Tech had students taking industry certification then; some students were taking AP
Perda: student results were not being provided, that's one reason people opted out; also, students taking the field test also had to take the MCAS last year
"I feel that we have two bad choices in front of us"

Petty: know there are some concerns, but we're going to move ahead in the future
passes 5-2
motion to suspend rules- 5-2
motion to reconsider: fails 2-5

School Committee members on PARCC

I just made two motions: 

• To ask that we petition the legislature, governor, and state board to waive our accountability system until the switch is live
• Until such a time as an action is completed, the Worcester Public Schools will not field test the PARCC

Superintendent's self-evaluation and goals

Notes from my comments here.
You can find the suggested goals here.

To consider an additional appropriation

Boone: not one time funds, will carry over into coming fiscal year
challenge of allocation and what we do with it
issues and needs
went back to $5 million request for additional appropriation; how close we had gotten to those goals
have included only a few personnel items
for filling a position, would be close to the end of the fiscal year
instructional materials, teacher training,
free up that money for next year
different make-up for next fiscal year as a result
able to use them in the four remaining months of this fiscal year
address past and current needs
adjustment to NSS line item
parking lot lease: issues around Gates Lane School ; large school on a small footprint
city has asked us to address the parking issue

Adequacy study (joint committee)

...which is what we're calling it on the School Committee agenda
Foley: welcomes conversation regarding how money is spent, where it comes from, requirements

Allen: notes that all school spending items go through the city auditor; two other audits done, PLUS other individual funds
$50,000 in audit fees spent each year

Colorio: comments that much confusion
Economou: would love to have business leaders involved
O'Brien: laying out expenditures, requirement
then give us a foundation to education the community
collect CFO's from local community to look at spending

Novick: much of the school budget precommitted
encouraged by change in tone

Allen: preview of new snazzy budget presentation

Request to find a common date in the next few weeks to meet together for the budget
Foley also points out public hearing on budget :

May 9, 7 pm

North High School

Budget...

Workers Comp:
recommended at $952,300
(we're expected to expend over a million again this year)
Monfredo asks if there's anything we can do to bring down the necessity of this
Luster talks about training, contacting people who are out

O'Connell asks if we can cut it
Allen points out (in so many words) that we're underfunding it

Retirement: we have an early retirement incentive here
Novick checks to be sure she's reading right; there's money in here that funds those "whose service began prior to 1939" (so, prior to the creation of Social Security). Allen says that we do have those who had service prior to 1939, adding that their numbers are declining.

Coaches account: Boone points out that the cheerleaders are added here (they were moved from last year)
O'Connelll asks how long it's been since we had freshman sports; Allen says he believes 2004
O'Connell: middle school is limited to basketball
requests a report on expanding sports in connection with health and wellness
Biancheria asks if the wrestling is citywide...we're getting a report
Monfredo talks about grades 5 and 6 sports...finding ways of getting some of those schools to elementary sports
Novick asks how we're deciding what sports to offer where
Boone: interest and size of schools
Monfredo speaks of corporate sponsorships
Boone overall goal of ad-hoc sports group
Biancheria asks for a list of needs of sports...Boone says a full report from the ad-hoc committee is coming...Biancheria asks when...some question on when the committee could have it back

Special education audit

Done by District and Community Partners
Good stuff:

• staff committed and passionate
• instructional coaches
• formative assessments
• leadership team (from sped director down)
• reasonable level of related service providers
• increasing level of student achievement
• "bold leadership"

Things they think ought to be changed:

• high rate of identification (Worcester 21.3%; MA is 17.6%): so they think we ought to "refine" the criteria for those below first grade; add supports for young kids; employ expert behaviorists
• use common formative assessments "to identify effective practices, programs, schools, and teachers" (yeah, that means comparing student data by teacher, folks)
• focus on core instruction (there's an MCAS chart here); saw variation from building to building
• lower out-of-district placement; substantially separate classrooms, resource and inclusion (they're suggesting those kids are not held to the same standards)

Results were shared with some on April 29
"no additional funding" necessary from the "vision of the report"

Monfredo: "I want to make sure that everyone understands the good things you said about Worcester first"
asks if we could expand full-day preschool, preventive items

Foley: "I see this as the beginning...strategic plan for the district...restructure and reform..improve services for all children..quibble on...don't use the state average; compare us to other urban districts...kids being identified in first grade; failure of getting the right referrals from pediatricians; Early Intervention is undergoing major cuts...kids entering kindergarten not ready to be in school..working on getting those kids able to be in school...how do we do a lot more with kids zero to five...ready to learn when they hit kindergarten...subgroups to a certain level..modify expectations of substantially separate"

Novick: asks how we paid for it and how much it costs ($45,000, of which the state covered $10,000; our portion was stimulus funding), echoes Foley in not comparing us to the state average (nor the national average), reassessing younger students again (rather than not assessing the younger students), will be paying close attention to tracking by students

Biancheria: setting a trend, rather than best practices moving from California, from us

Recess policy

Mulqueen:
"followed through with contributions you all asked for"
"all of that information came to me"
"parents typically are finding at their school is what they like"
"principals are working with their site council and things are working at their schools"
strong feedback from principals asking for more autonomy
"general policy is acceptable to everyone"
"to adjust from a very solid 30 minutes to 15-30 minutes"

STEM initiatives: science. And CW, I got the start of an answer

Two pages on STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) initiatives in Worcester Public Schools
Biancheria: list of projects
"consideration of family science nights and parents math nights"

Novick: Colleges of Worcester Consortium college and career night: debriefing (possible annual event? CW, to answer your question: we don't know yet, but I put in a good word for it!)

enormous numbers of partners that make all of this run, from field trips to robotics
March 26: Women in Science program at the Ecotarium (middle school)
April 2: Men in Science

O'Connell speaks of the enthusiastic participation in the robotics tournaments (but not all our high schools)

FOIA* request

You may have caught that Dianna Biancheria and I are filing (already have filed with WPS) a request for all documents related to Goddard and Belmont under the federal Freedom of Information Act (and MGL Chapter 66, Section 10). They're mostly boilerplate, but you can find the one for the state here, and the one for district here.

*technically, not a FOIA, as it's being filed with a state agency and a local one. Cited here as it's recognizable. 

sorry, losing track here: Race to the Top

I had to look up the Act Relative to the Achievement Gap
Mayor O'Brien argued that much of this is going to happen to us anyway (even if we didn't take the money)

Novick on Goddard

It's here.

Budget reduction

O'Connell rises to oppose
doesn't object to the administration's recommendation, but "a reduction of our budget by vote of the City Council"
(this is only sort of true)

Mullaney

"hears the frustration of an elementary school parent"
not in a gifted program, but could identify the Eiffel Tower
cites the article that said Chinese parents wanted kids who had the American model, because they don't learn how to think
"I think that Mrs. Novick is acting--and I say this as a compliment--as a Cassandra...people have to speak out at this level"
"you're both right...we just have to speak out against this silly process that's going on"

Novick

Yeah, sorry...you're just going to have to look that one up.

Travel

motion from Biancheria and O'Connell asking for a report on all travel, basically, for this year
also, we appear to have a police officer here tonight
Boone wants to walk through the back-up of this item
"provide some information that was provided to the T&G"
Boone points out that all out-of-state travel has been expended only from external sources
backup is not what Biancheria asked for: wants a full report
"we discuss the budget every single time we have a meeting"

Novick

question on whether the T&G editorial board reads their own newspaper
money from state and fed comes with rules around how we spend it: we are required to spend money in particular ways
Boston School Committee voted last night to close 18 schools
that will save only $10 million of a $63 million deficit that BPS is projecting
we're now above enrollment level we were at in FY07 when four elementary schools were closed (painful, long term planning)

what effect does a cut in local aid to the city have on the foundation budget?
the state (if it fully funds foundation) has to make up the difference (the part the city can no longer fund)

redistribution of ch.70: some districts have been held harmless (despite drops in enrollment) and/or have had minimum levels of aid increase ($25 per pupil); that's put some communities (largely suburban) over foundation
not surprised to see that redistributed this year (that will keep cities above foundation, but cut suburban districts)

We don't know federal grants (Title 1, IDEA)
We don't know, for certain, cost centers

Report on transfers

Biancheria: 150 students that have been mobile...would like some information on the mobility of our students
"I'm not sure if we have all the information about why they're moving so much..."
..what we can do to help some of the students who have moved three times in one year
"Do I have an answer for this? No. Am I concerned with it? Yes."
Boone: "mobility is a risk factor for school failure"
Biancheria asks for a similar report for quarter, "for a full picture"
Boone suggests that we send it to accountability

University Park Campus isn't here...Novick asks why not...and...no one knows.

O'Connell asks about the Tech student who moved for curriculuar reasons. We're guessing Horticulture (which was dropped this past year).

Goal setting

Core values and operating principals..and goals separated to be approved
"less is sometimes more..no more than five goals (recommended by MASC)"