FY14 transfer to WPS

Among the myriad of things the Worcester City Council did last night is make a few adjustments to the FY14 budget ahead of setting the tax rate. In the case of the schools, the closure of Spirit of Knowledge meant that an adjustment had to be made in the education allocation, particularly if the city wished to stay above Net School Spending. Thus $1.2 million was moved to the WPS line. 
I would suspect that we may be getting a memo ahead of tomorrow night's meeting with the administration's proposed allocations (which we got a preview of in Mr. Allen's last memo), as we have needs to take care of. I'll post if and when we do!

Where the money is coming from (and a few more updates)

If you read carefully this morning or were listening last night, you got this, but for those who were wondering how the projected budget gap will be covered, Mr. Allen has the answer in today's Friday Letter:

It is expected that the City Manager will recommend to the City Council that an additional $1,258,321 be appropriated to the Worcester Public Schools to reflect the tuition assessment change.

The Administration will provide a full report and the recommended use of these funds for the December 19th School Committee meeting. These recommendations will primarily focus on (a) identifying resources necessary to reflect increased enrollment at schools resulting from the SOKCS closure, (b) address the FY14 budget shortfall identified in the First Quarter Budget Report, and (c) make strategic investments to best position our resources in anticipation of the FY15 budget.

Look for this on the Council agenda when that comes out later this afternoon. 

In other news, there have been heating issues across the city; this year, whether you're too hot or too cold appears to be almost random. Here's the latest from Mr. Allen on that:

The Facilities Department has been working to address a number of heating issues at schools this year, whether too hot or too cold, with many of the issues likely related to the implementation of ESCo projects with the City and Honeywell. The WPS is fully aware of each of the issues in the school and the Facilities Department is working daily with the City and Honeywell to rectify these situations.

And if this is affecting you, believe me: your frustration is heard. And shared!
And speaking of Facilities, the latest on the repair projects:

New Citizens Center: The boiler replacement portion of the project is complete. The window replacement portion of the project is essentially complete with punch list items remaining.
Lake View: The window replacement project is nearly complete with some trim work and door replacement work remaining
May Street: The window replacement project is fully underway at the school and is progressing towards completion in the next 45-60 days.
Chandler Magnet: The window replacement project will begin (as scheduled) in the Spring 2014 and continue through the summer vacation period.
Nelson Place: The building architect has been selected and the feasibility study process will commence with building committee meetings/input as well as the input from other building stakeholders.
Worcester East Middle Science Lab: The project continues with expected completion in the next 45-60 days.
Heard Street Roof: The project continues with expected completion in the next 45-60 days.

And new computers are on their way!

Increase in students: increase of budget?

Biancheria: students back from Spirit of Knowledge, need for supplies for students that have enrolled
Boone: enrolled in seven different schools
all across the city (except Worcester Tech, as there's no midyear enrollment there)
nominal to moderately significant
Allen: generally instruction supply dollars are based on enrollment a year ago
changes our charter school tuition and reimbursement; happens quarterly
would happen later this month
City Council sets tax rate next Tuesday; finalizing with city what the change and increase funding to Worcester Public Schools would be since Spirit of Knowledge
in a Friday letter tomorrow, ahead of the City Council agenda coming out tomorrow
allocation recommendation on December 19 meeting "really in three areas":

• placement of Spirit of Knowledge students
• budget deficits
• resources for FY15

Spirit of Knowledge update from Superintendent Boone

We got an update tonight from Superintendent Boone tonight regarding students matriculating from Spirit of Knowledge, which reads in part:

As of this afternoon, at least 65 families have enrolled their children into one of the WPS.It seems that the enrollment process has gone fairly smoothly...We continue to work very closely with DESE on various operational matters for transition, including how to count new students since they are enrolling beyond the October 1 enrollment reporting date.We will provide a full report to the school committee on the financial changes as a result of the school’s closure once we’ve finalized all details with DESE.

As the second quarter begins on Monday for Worcester, there is a natural beginning place for students who are entering. Parents began enrolling their children (some parents had more than one student in the school) in WPS as soon as they retrieved their records from Spirit of Knowledge, and, thus far, students seem to be distributed throughout the district (keep in mind that Spirit of Knowledge was grades 7-12, thus middle and high school). District personnel have reviewed all courses being taken by students coming in to best place them in courses in WPS, with special regard for seniors.
Families are also being invited to an open house early next week, so they can have their questions answered by school and district personnel, and be welcomed to the district.

Transitioning Spirit of Knowledge students

As you probably caught from today's paper, Spirit of Knowledge Charter School's board voted last night, 4-3, to surrender their charter and close the school.
As all but three of the students there are from Worcester, the majority of those students are our responsibility. We received an email from Superintendent Boone this morning which explained the transition plan for those students (note that they are in grades 7-12). I've included some of it below:

Originally, the parents would have received a letter from me on Monday welcoming them to WPS and sharing information about two open houses - one that was scheduled for last night at 6:30 pm and another that was planned for the afternoon of Thursday, October 31st. Friday, November 1st was planned to be a "jump start" day with students spending the day at the school they would attend to meet staff, finalize schedules, receive lockers, textbooks, etc. SOKCS promised that students would have available their current schedules and final first quarter report card to use during enrollment in WPS.  This is a good time for transition because our new grading quarter begins Monday, November 4th.

We will be working today to develop a new schedule for transition.  Additionally, we will have to work to notify parents since the school's closure means hand delivery of the letter to parents may not be possible. We have received the student enrollment information and will try to create a group in CONNECT ED to reach the parents by phone.  Two things impact a transition schedule that begins in the middle of the week - Halloween is tomorrow and holding an evening meeting will be virtually impossible as many of the staff who have been tapped to support the meetings have plans for their families and many who prefer to be at home that night.  The second issue focuses on holding an open house on Friday evening and the conflict wtih high school football games where principals and assistant principals are generally in attendance.  We have already identified the following core staff to support the open houses:  principals, assistant principals, guidance counselors, school adjustment counselors, DAB staff from ELL, special education and the curriculum liaisons.  A separate session for seniors is planned during the open house due to their very specialized needs siince the senior year has started.

This is a most unfortunate situation for the students and families at SOKCS.  Marco and I have met with principals twice to ensure that the transition occurs as seamlessly as possible.  John Hennessey is completing an analysis of bus routes, based on student addresses, to determine if any route adjustments will be required.  It is our hope to have students sitting in WPS classes by the middle of next week. Should any parents show up at our schools seeking enrollment prior to the open house, principals will welcome them and facilitate their enrollment and have them ready for classes as soon as possible.

And those students, all as students who come to us in the Worcester Public Schools, are most welcome. We will do our very best for and by them.

Still no progress on Spirit of Knowledge (with update)

No word of additional funding or credit, and this from this afternoon's emergency meeting:

Worcester - Spirit of Knowledge school mtg - a vote to shut the school down will not happen tonight - Chair Barry Henry
— Kim Ring (@KimmRing) October 27, 2013

(Kim Ring is the T&G reporter at the meeting.)

I've also gotten a few questions about what happens to assets if the school closed--the students have public school options, the teachers unfortunately lose their jobs, but what happens to the "stuff" of a school--and was directed to 603 CMR 1.13(8), which reads as follows:

(8) Upon the revocation, non-renewal, or voluntary return of a Commonwealth charter, title to all of the property of the charter school shall immediately vest in the Commonwealth, subject to the rights of any secured party holding a perfected security interest in the property of such charter school. Any funds remaining after the satisfaction of the charter school's obligations shall be deposited in the General Fund. 603 CMR 1.13(8) shall not apply to the extent the charter school or any other interested party demonstrates that charter school property was purchased solely by, or solely with funds paid to the school by, persons or entities other than the Commonwealth, in which case ownership of the property shall be transferred to such persons or entities, unless otherwise voted by the board of trustees.

Thus it largely goes to the state. The only thing I'm not clear on is if the bit about property "purchased solely by, or solely with funds paid to the school by,  persons or entities other than the Commonwealth" applies to the City of Worcester which, as it does for the Worcester Public Schools, has supplied approximately one-third of the funding of the school.
And thanks to those at the state for answering my email on a weekend!

UPDATE: Worcester Magazine's Walter Bird was also at the meeting. He has some additional information about finances, and he reports that the Board of Trustees is meeting Tuesday, and a vote regarding the school's future is expected at that time.

On Spirit of Knowledge financing

Today's T&G article and the Worcester Magazine coverage left me rather confused on how the Spirit of Knowledge's funding works (or doesn't). The school's trustees say that they need $200,000 to meet the next payroll, as they've spent their first quarter money, but that this is all that they need. So where is the money coming from? Or is it?
I asked a few questions.
The first quarter goes until the end of October (it began with the start of the fiscal year on July 1). Charter schools get their funding quarter by quarter, BUT: while the first quarter of funding is based on the projected student body numbers, the second quarter is based on their actual October 1 count.
Not only that, but any differential between the first and second quarters must be repaid.If they didn't have as many kids as they got money for, they have to give the money back.
Thus one would hope that the charter's budget would be based on the students that they knew they had, with money set aside to repay the state, if necessary, or to fund students, if they come. If they don't have any money to meet the October payroll, though, they not only haven't done that; they haven't even budgeted to meet current expenses from money on hand.
It's not clear to me, therefore, how the school is going to repay any line of credit, since they don't have the money to meet this quarter's expenses or to repay the state.

And I've said it before, but I'll say it again: the Worcester Public Schools will take Worcester students. Period.

And on Spirit of Knowledge...

@telegramdotcom: Revealed at Spirit of Knowledge trustee meeting tonight that school lacks enough money to get through November.

And right on cue...

...comes, as forecasted by the T&G comment section, the "Spirit of Knowledge may have failed but that DOESN'T MEAN that charter schools are bad!" editorial from our stalwart charter supporters (right down to having relatives working in them!) at the Worcester Telegram and Gazette.

You know, guys, this would all be a bit more believable if the department and the Board actually vetted the applications of charter schools. Spirit of Knowledge got their charter--I was at the meeting--because they were the only ones left. The Lynn applicant was going to get them into legal trouble. The proponents didn't have a good history in managing schools; they didn't have a solid financial plan; they had little evidence that they were going to attract a solid and reflective student body.
But they got their charter, anyway.
Then, they had issues with how they were dealing with students, to the extent that parents finally went to the Worcester School Committee for help. Legally, of course, we had no authority. However, when next Spirit of Knowledge came before the Board, I went to the meeting and in essence said, "Do your job. You are their School Committee. Act like it."
And still, they kept their charter.
Even this year, when they were on probation, they reportedly had NOT A SINGLE VISIT from the state.
You can talk of oversight and reaction and such all you like. It's not panning out on the ground.

And it's the kids who get hurt.

Spirit of Knowledge gets "daily monitoring"

I was not able to attend today's Board of Education meeting this morning in Malden, but luckily, Jackie Reis from the T&G was! In terms of Spirit of Knowledge (on which I am sure she will have more in the paper), we have the following:

From Cmsr Chester's memo to the state bd re @SpiritCharter: Audits found "significant deficiencies in internal controls," no sig. savings.
— Jackie Reis (@JackieReisTG) October 22, 2013

And:

No vote on @SpiritCharter today. State will monitor daily.
— Jackie Reis (@JackieReisTG) October 22, 2013

I don't know what that means, and I don't know what difference it will make, but the state's record of giving the charter schools a pass over and over and over continues.

Spirit of Knowledge before the Board of Ed next week

Spirit of Knowledge Charter School, Worcester's most recently opened charter, is back before the Board of Ed next Tuesday. The school has been on probation since the spring due to lower than projected enrollment, low MCAS scores, and concerns about financial stability.
The closest parallel to this the state has seen thus far is probably Gloucester Community Arts Charter, where the state voted to revoke the charter effective the end of this past school year, but the trustees of the school closed it in January; since its closure, State Auditor Suzanne Bump has issued a report critical of the fiscal management there.
Generally, no one wants to close a school mid-year due to the utter turmoil it wrecks with (particularly) the students, not to mention the school district receiving them. That doesn't mean that it doesn't, or can't, happen.
While long-term a closure would be a good thing, both for the school and for the district--note that Moody's last week reported that charter schools pose the greatest credit threat to economically weak urban area school districts--short term, it is not a happy thing for anyone.
And while I hate to say I told you so...we did.

You're not entitled to your own facts, Mr. Nemeth

It's been some time since I hit a nerve with Mr. Nemeth over at the Sunday Telegram, so I suppose I was overdue. 

For those wondering just what he's referencing, the letter to the editor was in the Boston Globe, not the T&G, so you may well not have seen it. It was in reference to their (not surprisingly for the Globe) one-sided coverage of the charter school hearing at the State House last week. And the Globe has a strict 180 word limit on letters to the editor (mine clocked in at 178 before it was edited further by them), thus it was rather short. 

However:
With all due respect to Mr. Nemeth, I was at the hearing last week at the State House. It's not that big of a room, so I know that he was not. Thus I not only heard the testimony of the pro-charter forces; I heard the testimony of the gentleman from Stanford, flown in specially by the Boston Foundation to present his findings. Representative Denise Garlick of Needham, the House Vice-Chair of the Joint Committee on Education, directly asked him if he had controlled for the affect of parents on educational attainment when comparing charter schools and regular public schools.
Not only did he concede that they had not; he said that any such study would be unable to do so, as parents had "opted into school of choice."
That's not dishonest, Mr. Nemeth; that's what he said. 

As for whether charter schools exclude particular students, the numbers speak for themselves. Here, for example, are Spirit of Knowledge's 2012 numbers as compared to the Worcester Public Schools:

• Spirit of Knowledge serves 31.2% low income students; WPS serves 70.1%

• SoKA serves 11.9% special education students; WPS 20.9%

• SoKA serves 15.6% ELL; WPS 24.3%

Here, in case you're interested, are SOKA's 2011 numbers. I haven't asked for 2013, because frankly it's rather depressing to keep asking the same question and getting the same answer. Perhaps now that SOKA is on the Board of Education's agenda for Tuesday, I will. Of SOKA, Commissioner Chester says:

 In nearly three years of operation, SOKCS has employed four executive directors, has not maintained a sound or stable financial condition, has failed to maintain adequate membership on its board of trustees, has not provided the academic model proposed in its charter, has not shown promising academic results, has a significantly decreased enrollment from what it projected in its application, and will face financial challenges as a result of its drop in enrollment.

And that's just one of Worcester's charter schools. While Worcester's other two charter schools are (thankfully for their students) not so benighted, the comparisons of population would reveal similar trends.
So the makeup of Worcester's charter schools is not that of the general WPS population, Mr. Nemeth. That's the truth.

I'm more than happy to argue the relative merits of charter schools with Mr. Nemeth or with anyone. 
I do take issue with being called a liar in print on the Sunday editorial page.
I get my facts straight before I write or speak. I would suggest that Mr. Nemeth do the same.

You're entitled to your own opinion, Mr. Nemeth; you're not entitled to your own facts. 

Testifying at the Board of Ed

Yesterday David Perda and I testified before the Mass Board of Ed about the Spirit of Knowledge Charter School. This is mostly keying off of these numbers, thought Mr. Perda added a slightly different chart on the MCAS scores of students. Remember, this is a school chartered under the new Ed Reform law, so this wasn't the deal under which they were granted the charter.
More or less what I said is here. It seemed to me that the Board was shaken (as were we) that parents were applying to local elected officials for help in dealing with their own administration--elected officials, remember, who have no power under state law to help them directly.

Spirit of Knowledge profile (and Seven Hills, too)

so, let's all remember: New charter schools were to serve UNDERSERVED students to close the achievement gap.
So we asked about Spirit of Knowledge...
You can find the charts here. Admin has included information about Seven Hills, as well, as we had an outstanding motion on that as well. Go look at the numbers!
Spirit of Knowledge serves 31.2% low income students; WPS serves 70.1%
SoKA serves 11.9% special education students; WPS 20.9%
SoKA serves 15.6% ELL; WPS 24.3

Board of Ed wrap-up

Yesterday the Massachusetts Board of Education, after an interesting conversation, voted to grant charters to 16 new charter schools across the state. According to the Herald, "Ten of the 16 schools are in Boston. Two are in Lawrence and the others are in New Bedford, Chelsea, Salem and Springfield." Two of those in Boston and the one in Salem are Horace Mann charters, subject to their local school boards.
The one charter that was denied, despite the endorsement of the Commissioner, was Lynn Prepartory Charter, which was also denied a charter last year, and for similar reasons:

The school was proposed by the founders of the Hathaway School, a small, private elementary school in Swampscott, and some concerns had been raised about the distinction between the private and public schools.
Chester originally recommended against a charter for the Lynn school because it might violate a prohibition against converting a private school into a charter school. He reversed course and recommended approval after assurances that the private Hathaway school would not close if the charter for the public school was granted

Last year, as you may recall, Chester pulled his endorsement of Lynn Prep at the last minute, leaving only Spirit of Knowledge in Worcester on the table for the Board's consideration.
Tellingly, all of this is not good enough for the Mass Charter School Association who are now, according to the same report, considering calling for an end to all charter school caps. This despite the repeated assurance (I remember being in several meetings in which this argument was made by Stand for Children staff) that this would be "off the table" if the new ed law passed. I didn't buy it then, either.

Worcester's Seven Hills Charter was put on probation pending improved MCAS scores. Principal Krista Piazza is quoted in today's Telegram and Gazette as saying that the report on Seven Hills doesn't consider many of the school's successes. I couldn't agree more. That's been true, however, of all schools put on probation, labeled as "failing" or "Level 4," and otherwise considered lacking by the state.
But if all one looks at are MCAS scores, then that's the answer you're going to get.

Mayor O'Brien

"there might not be a consensus number" this year
(there often is...might not be this year)
Spirit of Knowledge charter school: looking for the data on closing the achievement gap
information is requiring "a hand match"
"as they look to grow it's going to cost us dearly"
Boone points out that the Commissioner has recommended 17 new charter schools (none in Worcester); Board of Ed votes next week

Transportation

...which was the original report..
Biancheria asks who does the work on planning out transportation
"entirely the Worcester Public Schools staff" that plans the transporation
"we assume all costs" for doing that work (says Allen)
Biancheria says an average of seven stops for elementary school buses
"why we would have an average of seven stops per school"
"two in particular that have 24 stops...I do have a problem with students who are getting on their bus at 7 am and getting off at 8:30...they're on a bus for an hour and a half"
asking if we could have a timeframe for when this is resolved
"we have to come up with a result...this is elementary school, they're little...not for an hour and a half on the bus"
funding for charter schools and the impact it has on infastructure, says Boone, does challenge us
possible one adjustment, says Allen, as of the five buses that serve the school (a citywide magnet), three start at the fartherest corners of the city
he adds further, that this time last year we'd have three more buses to add...we're using those for the Spirit of Knowledge students "at the cost of our own students"
Biancheria is asking for "no more than one hour"
Allen agrees that it's our goal to get them on time, no more than one hour
Biancheria asks for communication to parents telling them how the issue is resolved
"a drastic difference"

a student rep choses to speak to the issue: asks if we could combine stops, or we could suggest to parents that the kids could go closer to their home
Allen says they looked at combining stops, but there aren't a lot of possibilities in terms of student safety

Student Enrollment at Spirit of Knowledge

...heading to the Commissioner, Secretary of Ed, Governor, Lt. Governor, and our legislative delegation

Spirit of Knowledge by the numbers

There are some fascinating charts in the backup to this week's School Committee meeting regarding the new Spirit of Knowledge Academy that's opened in Worcester this fall. You might remember that this charter school has opened under the new requirements; it must reflect the population of the Worcester Public Schools. So, how's it doing?


The Worcester Public Schools, according to Title 1 numbers (free and reduced lunch), is 72% low income. SoKA is less than half low income.

Twenty-seven percent of Worcester Public School students are English Language Learners. Seven percent are ELL students at Spirit of Knowledge Academy.
One in five students in the Worcester Public Schools are students with special education requirements. Eight percent at Spirit of Knowledge are on IEPs.

The big way that Spirit of Knowledge will of course be measured will be by their MCAS data. So what sort of kids are they starting the year with?

Nearly sixty percent of the the students attending SoKA this year attained advanced or proficient on their math MCAS for 2009; a full 65% attained advanced or proficient on their ELA MCAS for 2009. So that's where they're starting from in educating these kids: two out of three are already in good shape on the MCAS exam.

About the only place SoKA does appear to be close to reflecting Worcester is in ethnic demographics:
...more students of African-American and Asian profiles, fewer of Hispanic, about the same on whites.
How does that line up with serving the under-served populations in Worcester?

(UPDATE: you might also find relevant my notes from the Board of Ed approval in January, and the Act Relative to the Achievement Gap, which lays out the requirements of attraction and retention of various student groups. See Section 7, subsection e.)