The stories we tell ourselves: Worcester's past 75 years of superintendent transitions

Stories are how we make meaning for what has happened to us; they give form to the past. Sometimes, though, our stories about how things happened once become stories of how they always happen, and we can miss pieces that might make better meaning of the current time.

Thus it is with superintendent transitions.

Thus, here, with my particular gratitude to the Worcester Public Library for having Worcester Telegram & Gazette archives, to whomever scanned decades of Worcester City Council manuals, and to L.H. Larned, whomever you are, are the past seventy-five plus years of Worcester superintendent transitions.

Sometimes you have to say 'we told you so'

The Worcester School Committee voted in 2021 to break from the current vendor provider, Durham, and take busing in-house, with issues being cited regarding a lack of drivers and excessive costs. A 2019 study by the district projected that taking busing in-house will lead to $3.5 million in savings. A subsequent analysis conducted by the department revealed that the actual savings for fiscal 2023 were $5 million, and that email complaints from parents fell by 76%.

from today's Worcester Telegram & Gazette 
You can find the actual report finding $5M in the June 20 backup for the Committee meeting.

The T&G itself links to their report from the time, which includes the following: 

But Superintendent Maureen Binienda recommended Worcester not take on busing entirely on its own, and continued to defend Durham’s track record of collaborating with the district.

without commenting further

 ...let me strongly recommend that you read the latest in Bill Shaner's substack, from WPS parent Aislinn Doyle, entitled 

"I'd love to see actual proof"
Would you, though? On buses and Binienda

A post that actually is about WPS Transportation

 I did promise you an actual WPS Transportation post; here it is! Note that a transportation update is part of this week's Finance and Operations Subcommittee meeting on Thursday at 5 pm. You can join us in person in room 410 of 20 Irving Street, or the Zoom link is at the top of the agenda, plus the meeting will be streamed online as usual.

If I can just reflect for a moment...

What a thing to go from this in the FY17 budget:

Text reads: Student Transportation: The Administration will explore the feasibility of directly providing all in-district student transportation services beginning in 2020. The analysis and recommendation will be forwarded to the School Committee in advance of the next student transportation contract period. Further, the current capital equipment budget funding level is insufficient to provide a reliable replacement cycle for special education buses. With 35 buses and 1-3 vehicle replacement funding per year, the Administration will need to explore the lease of vehicles through the operating budget in the near future.

...to this for the first day of the 2022-23 school year:

I can't think of anything I've been part of that's gone from vision to execution in quite this fashion. So when I tell you that I choked up a bit when I saw this on my phone Monday morning, I'm not exaggerating:

As I said at our meeting on Thursday, one thing that has mattered enormously in this undertaking has been the degree to which it has been embraced by the community. From the vote just over a year ago (how was it only that long??) by the Worcester School Committee over the objections of then-superintendent Binienda, the degree to which the community has been solidly on the side of making this work has been abundantly clear. This past week, the overwhelming number of messages I got from parents (and there were a lot!) had some mention of how much they appreciated the district was doing transportation in-house, even if they were contacting me with a concern or a need for information. This was Worcester's project, which Worcester embraced, and Worcester is making it work.

It's far far too early for "Mission Accomplished" banners, but I don't think it's too early to note the vision that got us here was Brian Allen's--those are his words above in the FY17 budget--who has continued to ask how we can run our systems more effectively and more efficiently.
"Cycle of continuous improvement," anyone?

And, speaking as a school committee member, I'd sure as heck rather be paying our local bus drivers $30 an hour than sending any of our limited public dollars off to the international shareholders of National Express.

ON TO ACTUAL INFORMATION (much of this drawn from this week's update from Superintendent Monárrez):

• We started the week with 74 full-sized buses for the 74 routes those run, but we had several buses in and out of service for the first few days. That's clearly going to be less of an issue as more of the new buses--of which another 10 will be ready for this coming Wednesday--come into service and fewer of the buses we're renting are what we're using. That also will increase the number of buses we have overall, which will take some of the pressure off each bus.
  
  
• We have more drivers being trained, tested, and starting all of the time. (I think we even had someone pass a test Thursday?) Remember, we're training in-house, too, so new drivers are learning all of the time. It's going to be a bit before we get up to full (budgeted) strength on the number of drivers, but we're getting there. 
  
  
• For those who are asking when things, particularly in the afternoon, will be more dependably on time, the answer is twofold: the first few weeks are always creaky (they always have been), PLUS as we cycle more drivers in and can both decouple routes and have spares, there will be much smoother afternoons. So you'll see improvement over the next few weeks, with further improvements over the next few months with more drivers and buses on.
  
  
• Enter this number in your cell: 508-799-3241. That's WPS Transportation. They start answering the phones about when the buses leave the lot, and they're there until buses get back. 
  Crucial point about the phones: the wait time quoted is inaccurate. I know a number of people calling early in the week (include School Committee vice-chair Jermaine Johnson!) who had a quoted wait time of an hour; that was never actually the case! They're working to disable this message when you're on hold, but in the meantime, please don't believe it.
  Also, please note that liaisons speak Spanish and Portuguese in addition to English, so share that!
  
  
• On the app: The app available for students and families is called VersaTrans MyStop, made by Tyler Technologies. You can find district directions here. As a student or family member, you need only student ID and birthday to sign in; it syncs with our student information system to pull up and give access to the bus to which your student is assigned (and no others). 
  A few things to remember: you'll only see the outline of the route once the bus has started out, and you'll only see the bus on your student's route. However, we do have a few buses that are running double routes in the afternoons (they pick up at the high school, drop a busful at the stops closest to school that clear the bus, and go back to school for a longer, second route), and that it IS a double route isn't clear on the app. The schools do know this, and it should be clear to your student. The GPS also can't tell if what the bus is running is a consolidated route (in other words, the bus is picking up students from more than one route); this has happened when families might not see their bus running, and then a bus appears. Both of these will be resolved as more buses and drivers come online, and we can stop having to do this.
  If you are still having issues with your app, please call Transportation during the day and have them walk you through a reset. At this point, with the exceptions of the above, the app is operational, so if you're having issues, it's your connection with the app that needs to be fixed.
  
  
• If you are interested in how this is going and where this is going, please do read the backup for this week's meeting (that links straight to the page) for more information of where we are now, where we're going this year, and what happens next. And again, that meeting is at 5 on Thursday, and the public is welcome (online or in person).
  
  
• And if you have questions, please continue to send them along. The changes and improvements on this have been more than daily, and I know the feedback, questions, issues, and so forth getting back to those running the system have made a difference. Keep 'em coming. 

This post from Robert Reich this Labor Day reminded me of the spirit that's clear every time I walk into the Transportation Department. We'd gotten a few questions over if there'd be a division, for example, between those who have driven directly for the district right along, and those who were working for contractors. Through goodwill on all sides, a self-identification among staff as "Worcester Public School" bus drivers and monitors (that's what the buses all said, after all!), and management that genuinely values people, there has been an ongoing sense of (as with the larger community) this being a group effort to make this the best dang public school bus system around. 

Finally (and with the caveat that lists are dangerous things and always leave people out!), what a difference leadership makes: having Dr. Monárrez walk through the things that were not working (not denying they were there), while discussing what concrete steps were being taken to improve a system that people were working very hard to improve is what makes a system actually get better over time. I appreciate her thoughtful consideration of what is working and what isn't, her honesty about it, and then her leading concrete planning to improve systems.

I do want to note that having a transportation system directed by John Hennessey, who can 'make sense' of transportation in a way that's a combination of innate skill and experience that can't be matched, has been part of my level of confidence that this all can fly.
I also want to note the enormous amount of work done by assistant director of transportation Mike Freeman this week (and before and probably after!); I know I personally talked to him one morning before 6 am, and I got an email from him one night at 9 pm, and I know I wasn't alone. Mike is ongoingly devoted to making this all work better, and we couldn't be in a better position there.
The supervisors who are overseeing all that's going in and out--Wayne Cardwell, Angel Carrasquillo and Benjamin River--remind me of those movie sailors at the wheel, steadily steering a ship through a hurricane (sorry, gentlemen; I may just have condemned you to having that metaphor follow you!).
Yelitza Garcia is HR over at Transportation; one of my favorite tidbits from the FY23 budget is that Transportation staffing has increased 174.4%. That's Yelitza!
If you connected with someone at Transportation this week specifically about MyStop, that was Cassie Shea in IT, and thank goodness for her! 
We have had routers working for us for years at this point--did you know we have ongoing changes over the course of the year?--and Kerri Collins and Joy Winnie have been stalwarts through all the changes these past years.
If you are among those who have ever said "I could never do that" about driving a school bus: imagine teaching others to drive a school bus? We could not be making this work without the trainers and safety people--Marianne Bryan, Kathy Everett, Jason Crue, Dawn Cavanaugh, and Peggy Holloway (some of whom were driving buses themselves this week!), and I know they've also been key to that cohesiveness among the drivers and monitors, too. 

Anyone who answers phones to respond to questions and does it well consistently (said this elected official) is performing an underappreciated service, and the transportation liaisons responding in particular to parents these first weeks of school are so crucial to making this all work. That's Owen Tessier, Annaliese Estabrook, Becca Carlberg, and Adriana Campbell. 

Those actually keeping the buses running--the mechanics who are Jani Nakollari, James Hicks, and John Holmes--are literally keeping it all going.

And of course, to all the drivers and to all the monitors who are actually making the transportation happen: thank you! 
Onward to week two!
If I missed anyone above, that's my error and please tell me!

December 2 meeting

What happened at our December 2 meeting:

• We once again had a thoughtful and insightful report from our student rep ex officio Stacio Zoghbi and South High rep Shelley Duodu. Our student reps are in the midst of collating data from student surveys (if you're a student and haven't yet taken it, please do!), but they did share two concerns that have come to the fore. The first is COVID, and in particular, student concerns that masking isn't being enforced at schools.
  The second was mental health, and I want to quote here part of what they said: 
  

  For those of us who do make it to graduation day, we spend 14 years of our lives in and out of school houses, growing, learning, and hopefully thriving. Yet, for a myriad of reasons and pressures, these places of learning and development are becoming places students dread arriving at. 

  This is not okay. I asked at our last meeting for an URGENT report on student disregulation, and it seems every day we see further evidence of how far afield we are on this issue.
  

• While we did not have a formal report of the superintendent, we did have an update from Superintendent Binienda at the request of Mayor Petty on COVID. DESE met with superintendents earlier this week; they expect an increase in cases between now and the first week of January. That was all that was shared; I don't know if they left it there or have more about it.
  The Committee was asked to vote to extend test and stay to Worcester Public School students who are considered close contacts at an after school program approved by Early Childhood Ed. It is very specifically ONLY that. We did vote all approval.
  We also heard this week's COVID numbers--those are updated on the website here--which is 140 students and 28 staff.
  We requested an update on where we are with vaccinations of students; I'll share that once we get it.

• Mrs. Clancey shared the report from Governance, after which Mr. Monfredo attempted to get passed the original item that had been rejected in subcommittee, a contract that the district would require of all families that would hold them responsible for $300 for a lost or broken Chromebook, $30 for a missing cord, and so forth. This was not moved forward from subcommittee. The subcommittee report moved the financial impact question to Finance and Operations, but did not move the superintendent's recommendation on creating a contract forward, noting that it was covered by our current policies.
  We, the district, have chosen to require these devices for students; students are required to have them; families cannot refuse them, even the three-quarters of our families who are low income.
  The superintendent argued that "kids don't take care of them," and that "we have to instill in kids that they have to take care of them." She said that we were more like a 1 to 3 district; this was later in the discussion contradicted: we are short more like a thousand now, which makes us close to one to one. We also expect to have orders coming in next week.
  If you're interested in watching the discussion, the report starts about 28 minutes into the meeting and goes from there. Mr. Foley noted that talking about about "malicious destruction" is loaded language, and that we have a responsibility as a district, as a one to one district now, to figure out how to make the funding work. Ms. McCullough called attention to the part of the student handbook that includes technology; it was decided that updating that language would be discussed in Governance at the next update. Miss Biancheria strongly noted the burden this requirement would impose on families, speaking of our students getting free breakfast and lunch for a reason, and rejected this as a family's responsibility.
  During the discussion, part of what we discovered was that some--certainly not all, but some--of the Chromebook shortage is artificial; when the new South High opened with Chromebook carts, students there were told that they could simply leave their Chromebooks at home for homework, and use the new ones for schoolwork, all while at least hundreds of other students across the district didn't have Chromebooks at all. The motion which was made on this--which passed, 5-2, Biancheria and Monfredo opposed--was to distribute the resources we currently have to our students as soon as possible. 
  The report of the Governance committee was accepted as presented.
  Later note: If you read the T&G on this, and you can't make the math work from what is said, that is because the math doesn't work: 500 Chromebooks times $300 each doesn't equal a million dollars (it's $150,000), nor does $1 million equal ten teachers, as we don't pay teachers $100,000 each. 

• Annually, the district officially counts our enrollment, and you can find our report for this October 1 on pages 36 to 39 of our agenda. This was sent to Finance and Operations for further discussion, for two reasons: 
  1. this is the best look the School Committee has at how many students are where and how that is changing. This has, of course, facilities implications.
  2. our enrollment is our budget determiner! We are down 250 students from last year. That's a $3.7M loss, per Mr. Allen. Note, further, that because our enrollment did not go back up this year, the $9.7M of ESSER funding that we used as hold harmless funding last year now needs to be...something. Considered? Thus we're starting the FY23 budget deliberation--welcome to the FY23 budget deliberation, by the way!--short $13.4M.
  It's worth noting that we have students who have joined the district since the October 1 count; the Mayor asked for a report on that. As those students are ours but are not yet counted, there was also a motion to bring this to the attention of our state and federal delegation
  

• Mr. Monfredo's item on cursive was sent to Teaching, Learning, and Student Supports.

• Ms. McCullough's item on considering "the use of Fountas and Pinnell Literacy Program in light of recent data" also went to Teaching, Learning, and Student Supports.

• Ms. McCullough's two athletic items went to the respective committees: coach salaries to negotiations and the athletic budget item to budget

• And Mayor Petty announced his appointment of the superintendent search committee, which will conduct the preliminary interviews for superintendent. They are:

Kola Akindele  

Jennifer Davis Carey 

Alex Corrales  

Patty Eppinger  

Lisa Houlihan  

Jermoh Kamara – after being sworn in. 

Laura Maloney 

Roger Nugent  

Joe O’Brien 

Hilda Ramirez 

Laurie Ross, Ph.D. 

Kimberly Salmon 

Ahn Vu Sawyer 

Kay Seale 

Ivonne Perez

Fred Taylor 

Alex Zequeira 

Stacia Zoghbi

But wait, there's more!

I feel as if I am back in the days when I started this blog, when there'd be the single article about the School Committee meeting, and anything else that happened, you didn't hear about. While admittedly both voting to move to fully in-house transportation and voting to start a national search for a new superintendent are news of the headline making sort, there are other things that happened at our meetings in the past two weeks. 

Here's a rundown on the highlights:

Over the past number of weeks, we've ratified contractual agreements with EAW units A&B (that's anyone classified as a teacher plus assistant principals and the like); drivers and monitors; custodians; computer technicians; 52 week administrative secretaries;  and educational secretaries. In every case, those contracts brought them at least up to date as of the close this past fiscal year OR brought them up through the end of this one (this last is the case with the teachers). As a result, the School Committee this past week voted an increase for the non-represented (non union) employees, which is everyone from administrators to crossing guards. 
I can't talk out of turn on the units that are outstanding save to say that negotiations are ongoing. 

We had an update on the dual language program at the August 26 meeting, which, among other things, noted that the state assessing our dual language learners only in English doesn't accurately assess their actual knowledge and skill in subject matters. We asked to be apprised of which districts are running dual language programs, so we might work with them on advocacy, though this obviously is larger than the dual language program.

While the report out on the August 18 Finance and Operations subcommittee meeting attracted attention largely due to the recommendation to move fully to in-house transportation, I don't want to overlook the closing of the fiscal year. Worcester had, remember, a $372M budget for FY21, after we cut $16M once we finally got a state budget. For municipal districts, anything that isn't spent--down literally to the penny--goes back to the municipality to be certified as free cash for the end of the year. That is a difficult and complex process. 
And how much did the Worcester Public Schools give back this year?

$3. 

Thus, if a dollar went to the Worcester Public Schools for education last year, that's what it was spent on. 

And so when folks ask "how can you have confidence in the projections for transportation?" the answer is this: when you have a finance office that has been doing this (and the associated budget transfers) and the back and forth with RTTT and grants that disappear during budget seasons and all the other swings that we've seen over the past more than a decade, and yet year after year, these are the results, you trust your people and their work.

At our August 26 meeting, on Mr. Monfredo's motions, we voted to send mandating vaccinations of our employees to executive sessions to take up as part of negotiations. I'd note that the EAW leadership has already been public on their agreement with this, so it's largely a matter of working out the how and when. There are negotiations going on now regarding bargaining around issues related to back to school. 

Several of us have received concerns about how lunch is being eaten in this return to school in the pandemic time, so I had filed an item at the August 26 meeting, urging outdoor as possible and creativity everywhere. While some schools are doing some very neat things, I've continued to get heightened concerns from families around what looks a lot like regular operations at some schools, however. 

I had also filed at the August 26 meeting a request for the list of outstanding contracts the superintendent has with employees; that is, the employees whose contracts are not collectively bargained but are directly with the superintendent. We have a number of them that are expired for a year or more. That report was due back at our meeting on September 2, but we did not receive it. 

At our August 26 meeting, Ms. Clancey filed an item regarding the concerns the neighborhood around Lincoln Street School has had with community homelessness impact on the school. We heard something of an update at the meeting of attendance at the community meeting regarding this, as well as work going forward. 

At our September 2 meeting, Ms. McCullough filed an item regarding parking for students at Doherty during construction, which there are a few things going on with.

Also at our September 2 meeting, the Committee on a 6-1 (Biancheria opposing) vote agreed to send a letter to our delegation requesting that the state Department of Public Health mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for students as it is permissible, and, if that does not happen, request that the Legislature do so.

We also asked the administration to look into the recently released update that districts may provide remote education to students who are ill or quarantining due to COVID. We were told, however, that the Department recently said that they'd bar districts from using remote learning for snow days. 

Next meeting of the Committee is September 23 (moved from September 16, which is Yom Kippur). 

My remarks on tonight’s vote

First, Mr. Chair, I need to deal with a procedural matter. I want to be very public about my declaration of not having a conflict of interest under M.G.L. c. 268A, § 20(b) in this superintendent search. My employer, the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, does conduct superintendent searches, but as noted in the memo I am filing with the Clerk this evening, MASC as a matter of policy will not respond to requests for proposals for superintendent searches published by districts on which a current staff member serves. This is deliberate, to avoid even the appearance of impropriety, and to ensure that school committee members can fully participate in their role as a member. 

I will this evening address the item before us. I have, in prior meetings, particularly in evaluations, addressed the performance of the current administration, as is our responsibility. I will continue to do so. That is, however, not the matter before us in this item.

I first think it’s important to note that this is our job. School Committees in Massachusetts under MGL Ch. 71, §37 are described as having four core responsibilities, one of which is “to select and terminate the superintendent.” This is not the job of interest groups, of business interests, of non-profit entities…it is the job of the Worcester School Committee, period. I intend, and I believe my colleagues intend, to do our job, as it is our job to do. 

It is the governance of the school committee that determines the direction of the district. I have heard it said that the superintendent is a reflection of the school committee. In selecting the superintendent, the school committee expresses a set of values and communicates the level of professionalism the committee expects of its employees. It ultimately also determines the quality of the education the district delivers to students. 

Second, the most important thing that any committee needs to do in conducting a superintendent search is tell the truth to their community. If they intend to appoint an internal candidate, they should say so. If they are going to do a full, inclusive national search, then they have the responsibility to not only say so, but to do so.

The Worcester School Committee will conduct a full, inclusive national search, period. 

What that means is the following, as much as it may disappoint the city rumor mill: 

• The person who will be the next permanent superintendent of the Worcester Public Schools has not already been selected. I am telling you now, regardless of what you heard at the gym, at the grocery store, or in the Facebook comment section: that hasn’t happened.

• Those who work for the Worcester Public Schools do not have an advantage in applying for this position. There is not, there will not be, a guarantee that those who work for the district will be forwarded in any fashion that is an exception to the rest. 

• The above, incidentally, is also true of those who work for the larger City of Worcester, in any capacity. 

So much for what the Committee will not do. 

What it will do is the following: 

• Conduct a fully comprehensive, inclusive public input process, as the item says. That means that all voices, particularly those of our students, our families, and our educators are involved very early in determining the needs of the district in the next superintendent. 

That means, Mr. Chair, that our input needs to be multilingual with interpreters and translators. It needs to be accessible by public transit and accessible to those with disabilities. It needs to be in different locations, not all schools, and at different times of day. It needs to involve childcare. It needs to go far far beyond any outreach that this district has done anytime in the recent past. It is absolutely incumbent on this Committee to ensure that this happens with this search, alongside whatever search firm is hired. 

• Elevate marginalized voices. That means that those who have our cell numbers or who inhabit the Zoom sessions we most frequent do not have the ear of the School Committee more than those whose lives are most impacted by the decision we are about to make. I want to hear more from, and I want to prioritize the values and needs of, any elementary English learner in the district over anyone who works downtown in a tie. 

I also expect our ultimate choice will be reflective of that perspective. 

• Conduct an actual national search. Worcester is one of the very largest districts in Massachusetts. We do not have points of comparison in this state. We have 25,000 students; we have nearly 5,000 employees.

This means, at ground, the first thing we are is a very large organization. Not just anyone successfully can run an organization that large. It takes training. It takes experience. It takes, as much as education often seems allergic to the word, an administrator. 

Does that mean we don’t want an educator? No. But it does mean that not just any teacher, not just any educational administrator can do this job. 

And let me very clear about my own perspective on this: it has been abundantly clear to me how much talent and experience this district has hemorrhaged over the past six years. 

We do not, in my view, have anyone currently employed in this district that has the level of experience, talent, perspective, and skillset to become the next permanent superintendent of the Worcester Public Schools. 

• Draw on the experience of the current Committee while embracing the next Committee’s perspective. One of the smart choices being made here is timing. This timeline allows for the current Committee, including the experience of Mr. Monfredo and of Mr. Foley, to set the position description under which the search will take place. It then turns to the actual hiring, after the work of the search committee, being done by next term’s Committee, which we know will include at least two new members. 

This embraces the strengths in both directions. This is a wise decision, Mr. Chair. 

Finally, Mr. Chair, I want to say how very much hope, in this fifteenth year of my being a Worcester Public School parent, this vote tonight gives me. Superintendent searches are about looking forward to the future, something very much in line with what public education is about. They are about what matters most to our children.

I hope, will put my effort towards, and will vote in favor tonight of a comprehensive, inclusive public process driving a national search that results in the next superintendent of the Worcester Public Schools who will well serve our students and our city.

The Committee voted 6-1 (Monfredo opposing) to decline to renew Superintendent Binienda's contract to move forward with a national search. Mayor Petty appointed Ms. McCullough to chair the search committee, with Miss Biancheria and myself serving as the other two School Committee members. We are to report back with a timeline and an RFP for the meeting on September 23. 

Worcester School Committee agenda for Thursday has a proposed superintendent search

 The agenda for Thursday just posted. As a member of the Committee, I will, as per our ethics, save my remarks for the floor, but I did want to note that this is the final item on the public agenda:

To consider options, if necessary, to begin the process and engage with a search consultant to conduct a national search to recruit and hire a Superintendent of schools for the Worcester Public Schools with an effective start date of JULY 1, 2022. Prior to the commencement of the search process, the School Committee, in collaboration with the consultant, will develop and implement a comprehensive, inclusive, public process to solicit input from all members of the Worcester community regarding the needs of the district and the characteristics and skillsets required in the next Superintendent of schools.

There is also, I should note, a back to school report.  

Superintendent Binienda's goals

I realized that in the flurry of, well, everything, I never did a post on Superintendent Binienda's goals for this year. After a lengthy subcommittee discussion, and further editing at the full committee level, they were passed December 17; they can be found online on page 23 here.

They're important to know both because, of course, they're the grounds on which the superintendent is evaluated, but I think also they reflect a number of the concerns that have been forwarded by the community over the past several years. 

Professional Practice Goal:

During the 2020-21 school year, create a school and district community environment that promotes two way communication with families and provide resources for effective student learning and performance.

Student Learning Goal:

Fifty percent of students in grades four, five and six that participated in the Fall start baseline assessment will achieve a student growth percentage of forty or higher by June of 2021.

District Improvement Goal 1:

Increase diversity of new hires to 17% by June 2021 and continue to improve both the recruitment and retention rates. (Strategic Plan Benchmark 2021)

District Improvement Goal 2:

By June 2021, develop an annual budget that is aligned with the Strategic Plan.

District Improvement Goal 3:

Lower the out of school suspension rate by five percent for Special Education Group C students with emotional disabilities through evidence based targeted intervention and resources by June 2021.

What I proposed

 Since the list of what I'd proposed as alternatives to the goals proposed by Superintendent Binienda made today's paper, I thought I'd post in full my list. I didn't put the numbers in for the meeting, as I thought we should really have the discussion as part of that, and it was clear it was going to subcommittee. 

• Professional practice goal: Superintendent Binienda and her cabinet will participate in specifically implicit bias training of an ongoing monthly nature. aligns with indicators IV-B and IV-D
• Student learning goal: The Worcester Public Schools will lower the dropout rate of English Language learners to the average district rate of 2.5%. aligns with indicator I-B and I-F
• District Improvement goal: Using restorative justice as a best practice as supported by the FY21 budget and closely collaborating with families, the Worcester Public Schools will lower the student suspension rate across all subgroups to no more than 2%. aligns with indicator I-E, I-F, III-D
• District Improvement goal: Superintendent Binienda and the Worcester School Committee will collaborate with the City Manager and the Worcester City Council on a comprehensive facilities renovation timeline for municipal buildings by the end of calendar year 2021. aligns with indicator II-A

There was also some discussion at the meeting at putting some numbers behind the hiring directions, which I think makes a lot of sense. 

Proposed goals by Superintendent Binienda

 For those who haven't had a chance to check the Worcester School Committee agenda for tomorrow evening, the following are being proposed by Superintendent Binienda for her goals this year:

• Starting in August 2020, participate in ongoing professional learning opportunities to further develop my leadership skills and to inform district decisions.
• By June 2021, use data to identify achievement gaps and implement improvement practices and resources to support learning for each student.
• Throughout the 2020-21 school year, develop a plan for staff recruitment and retention and implement strategies that will increase access to well qualified, diverse professional candidates.
• Throughout the 2020-21 school year, create a school and district community environment that promotes two-way communication with families and provides resources for effective student learning and performance.
• By June 2021, develop an annual budget that is aligned with the Strategic Plan and ensures equitable and efficient distribution of resources.
• By June 2021, create a learning environment that reduces barriers through use of the frameworks of Culturally Responsive Teaching, Universal Design for Learning, and strength-based decision making.

A few reminders:

• The superintendent proposes goals, but ultimately the decision on what those goals are belongs to the School Committee.
• Goals are required to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
• Goals of the superintendent should be specifically aligned with the district strategic plan.
• Goals of the superintendent should be responsive to the most recently completed evaluation, to district data, and to community need.

Should you have thoughts, please be in touch.

Worcester: what we know so far

Let me just say up front: this is not going to be exhaustive, it is still going to abide by the ban on direct dealing, and things may well change this week.

A path forward?

UPDATE (8/12): PROPOSAL TO SCHOOL COMMITTEE

The plan as proposed so far: Most students start the year remote for at least the first quarter (mid-November). Students with the highest amount of need have the opportunity for in-person learning. The district then shifts or phases into a hybrid model (of 1/4 students each one day a week) sometime after the first quarter.

What needs to be decided now by families: The district is asking families to fill out a form to denote if they will switch from fully remote to hybrid when that becomes available, which at the earliest will be in November, in the district proposal. That does not change what will happen on September 15. The following Connect-Ed is going out to families this week: 

This is Superintendent Binienda. I am calling this afternoon, to let you know it is time for you to select your choice of learning plan for Quarter 2 for each of your children who attend the WPS.  Although we are beginning the school year with 100% remote, we need a count of each child's selection for Quarter 2 to effectively plan for any transitions. There will be a process for you to change your response as we progress into the Fall semester.  Please go to the WPS website worcesterschools.org.  click on the yellow ribbon, then click on the Educational Model Selection Form. You will need to use your child’s WPS ID and date of birth to fill out the form. If you do not know your child’s student number, call Coralys at 774-303-9719 or Michelle at 508-799-3115.  

Please fill out this form by Monday, August 17.

Yes, the form still has what was to be the original due date of Friday. Don't let that throw you off.

What happens this week: There is a meeting for Spanish-speaking families Tuesday evening at 5:30.

The Worcester School Committee meets and votes Thursday evening starting at 5:30. Yes, this is mostly still pending Committee vote (we won’t, for example, be changing to send everyone back into buildings, as we have already made clear, but this is subject to deliberation and further amendment). Entirely unsolicited opinion? Fill the form out Friday or over the weekend. 

Will the remote learning be taught by WPS teachers? Yes, for the entire year. 

Even after the hybrid kicks in? Yes.
Can we switch our answer later? Yes (see Superintendent Binienda's Connect-ed above)

Will my child still be in the school or program they currently are in if they choose to be remote this year? Yes, they will.

This will be updated as there is more to say or things change.

The Worcester superintendent is evaluated this week: how does it work?

The Worcester School Committee evaluates Superintendent Binienda this week, so it seemed a good chance to talk about how this works.

Worcester School Committee: Budget update and fall planning meeting

The agenda is posted here.
Allen: To the best that we know at this time
ASBO /AASA costs that would be needed for cleaning, supplies, nursing, custodial
average district of $1.7M; 10-14% of our size
estimate for us would be $12.7M

"We've failed these kids."

The Boston Globe on remote learning and the Worcester Public Schools:

Now, as summer vacation starts, Worcester officials have yet to assess the damage done to the education of 25,000 Worcester students. They have no idea how many students’ schooling ground to a halt in March, since they have yet to analyze fully data on the numbers who logged into online classes.
“I’m horrified that we didn’t get this right,” said Worcester School Committee member Jack Foley. “We failed these kids.”
School districts across the state have struggled with the abrupt shift to online learning. But Worcester has had an unusually rocky experience. Interviews with more than 20 parents, students, teachers, and school committee members, and a review of a half dozen district documents paint a portrait of a district focused on process and procedure at a time when nimbleness was imperative.

The Worcester School Committee evaluates Superintendent Binienda on July 16. 

Proposed FY21 Worcester Public Schools budget

A budget is a moral document.
What we fund is what we value. pic.twitter.com/4xRtRdOoSR

— Tracy O'Connell Novick (@TracyNovick) March 18, 2019

This year, of all years, I'd urge you to think of what we are doing in this light.

If you're here looking for information on budgeting for policing in schools, that post is over here.

Probably the most important thing to know about the FY21 Worcester Public Schools budget is that the budget as proposed is unlikely to be the budget we end up with. The budget is based on running a regular year, and it's based on the Governor's House 2 budget proposed back in January, pre-pandemic and before the resulting economic catastrophe. Both of those are things that we're going to have to change.
Everyone is awaiting the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's guidance reopening schools--and awaiting if it is something that we are able and willing to follow, to speak for myself--and awaiting the state budget. The first is supposed to come out in three weeks or so; the second we may not have until August.
So to some extent, this is a bit of a fictional universe. And thus, this is kind of a hard blog post to write, because my heart isn't really in it, as we're...not going to do this.

Nonetheless, we are required to have a budget by June 30, so on June 4 and 18 at 4 pm, the Worcester School Committee will deliberate the budget proposed by administration, and we'll have to pass something.
And then we'll have to come back and do it again over the summer, one assumes.

On the 4th, we start with public comment at 4 pm, so please do weigh in as you have thoughts. 

At my OLD school, we...(Worcester School Committee, May 7 meeting notes)

It feels only right as we complete eight weeks of not going to school and instead...whatever it is we are doing, that we open with some acknowledgement:

xkcd 911: Magic School Bus
Title text: At my OLD school, we used Microsoft Encarta 2005.

Last night's Worcester School Committee opened with an executive session that started at 5:30, went to public session around 6:45 which lasted until 9:45, and then continued in executive session until 11.
That's a five and a half hour meeting. 

The agenda is online here; the video of the public session is here.

At administrative request, we took the request to purchase new geography texts out of order (it was late on the agenda). I think it's important to note here that general process is that new texts are sent to Teaching, Learning, and Student Support for vetting before coming back to the full Committee for approval. Curricular approval remains with the Committee in Massachusetts. The administration argued that the item needed to go through now so teachers could receive training in the new texts (which, to be frank, doesn't make a lot of sense to me); I believe there probably also is a budgetary issue here with when things need to be ordered in order to clear the fiscal year. The issues I have with this, and thus why I voted against this, are two-fold: poor time management on the part of administration shouldn't be a regular reason to circumvent process (and it seems to be a habit); and second, why are we buying geography textbooks? Had this gone to subcommittee, processwise, I would have asked that there, but this didn't give time or space for such a discussion.
In any event, it passed 6-1.

We next moved into something we haven't done before, done at student request: we had our student reps and some of those on the Superintendent's student advisory council meet with us. I have put my notes from that section over here. Mayor Petty closed by saying we'll do this again soon; I personally hope they plan to attend our budget hearing (which should be at our next meeting?).

We then had a series of teachers and staff testify about their experiences with remote learning. Let me just note here that the School Committee has been receiving a constant stream of messages from teachers about their working conditions around remote learning, particularly when it comes to the tracking that is being required, the communication, and consistency across the district. The testimony offered last night was of a piece with that, as Scott O'Connell covered in the Telegram & Gazette today. We're actually in negotiations right now--thus the lengthy executive sessions--so I won't say more than that, other than to encourage those concerned to keep contacting us.

The response to Mrs. Clancey's item on special education meetings came in at about 1:25, so for families to which that is of interest, you might pick up there in the video. While there are IEP meetings being scheduled during the school shutdown, they're being triaged, with students in transition (particularly those aging out of the public schools) going first.

The response of administration to a request for clarification on the source of work gave as backup the state's April 24 guidance as well as both the elementary and secondary standards for what is needed for the next grade (I have that all saved here, if that's useful.) That, not surprisingly, led to a fairly lengthy discussion (starts about 1:27) around remote learning in the district at this time. A few things that were repeatedly brought up by more than one of us: 

• There continues to be a massive gap around access. The district isn't, for example, giving out Chromebooks to any students beyond the handful that have gone to special education and homeless students for another week, despite our being eight weeks into this, and despite more districts that I can name coming up with little to no contact ways of having given out literally thousands of devices across the state. We also have done nothing on access beyond pointing students to Spectrum offers and free hotspots. At the same time, the district has mailed out one paper packet of work over the preceding seven weeks; the work has been pushed out online. . "We have failed our students...We could have found a way to get these Chromebooks into the hands of these kids much faster," is what Mr. Foley said, and I agree.
  As I noted, the response we repeatedly got from administration was that the city said no. However, the city has also provided for (these are my examples) me to be able to eat a hamburger from the Fix, a pizza from Blue Jeans, a McFlurry via a drive-thru, and buy a plant for my mother for Mother's day; plus this week we're opening up the yard waste site. It has to have to do with how administration was describing what was going to happen in pick-up or drop-off of Chromebooks, as otherwise, this doesn't make sense in terms of the health guidance the city has been given.
  To his credit, Mayor Petty said that he'd work with the city to come up with a way to get it done sooner.
  Superintendent Binienda then said it would not be possible for the district organize sooner.
• Even for those with access, we aren't being thoughtful on use. We have been told that schools will be requiring (!) attendance for particular classes at particular times starting next week. As Ms. McCullough noted, this presents a very big problem for families with multiple children. If you have one device, who gets it if the times overlap (which they well might, if you have students at multiple schools)? And how much bandwidth does your family have? You aren't--I speak here from personal experience, as a parent who has had a college student home doing courses online--going to have enough. Both are why districts are specifically advised against having synchronous lessons online (check page 12 of the state guidance linked above). They create an equity issue.

As a side note, we still have an outstanding item to schedule a town hall, which I know we'll be following up on.

Miss Biancheria noted that the High School Voter Registration and Pre-Registration Grant that we were being asked to vote to accept need to have half of it used by June, which seems complicated with school not meeting. The administration plans to have this organized online.

Miss Biancheria also had filed an item requesting additional information about the acquisition of the property adjoining Roosevelt Elementary for traffic flow.

There were also a series of items that went to administration regarding, in essence, school being closed:

• Request that the Administration provide a report with a breakdown by high school for seniors regarding reimbursements for all trips, events, graduations and any other costs. In addition, provide an additional report for all student events and trips that have been paid for and need to be reimbursed. This, because we've gotten some uneven reports over if seniors are getting funds paid to schools for senior activities that are not happening refunded to them. Ms. McCullough expanded this item to include all students in the report.
• To forward a letter to Congressman McGovern to support the Emergency Education Connection Act of 2020 to ensure that K-12 students can be connected and continue online learning and instruction.
• Request that the Administration provide a report on the district’s plan to enhance extended learning for the remainder of the school year that will ensure students are meeting the standards and are ready for the next grade level. 
• Request that the Administration report on the number of seniors eligible for the modified competency determination as passed by the Massachusetts Board of Education on April 28 and the process through which their application for competency will be submitted. This is the MCAS thing.
• Request that the Administration consider the number of Worcester Public Schools’ students in a family in the distribution of district Chromebooks. This is happening, but the second and third rounds of Chromebooks won't go out until the week of May 25 for elementary and middle and the week of June 8 for high school, with the ultimate goal of every district family being 2-1 on Chromebooks. That's at 2:14 on the video, if you'd like to hear that. The Mayor has also put together a group to be working on internet connections. 
• To clarify the structure of the feedback rubric vis-à-vis district assigned work versus extended work. We have had students being told they can't get a 4 unless they do, in essence, extra work. This item led to the Superintendent clarifying that no points can have been earned toward final grades so far; that is only to be going forward. Students who do not have online access are to take photos with their phones and email them to teachers; failing that, teachers will be calling.
• To create and administer a survey for students, families, and staff regarding current remote learning, to inform Phase III remote learning planning and work. We sent this to Governance, which meets this Wednesday.
• To clarify the district’s directive requiring the recording of teacher-student interactions. This has come up a LOT in discussions with teachers. That starts about about 2:38, but takes a substantial sidetrack around recording online interactions, but the crux of documenting interactions starts more like 2:47. 

Our next meeting is May 21, which should include a public budget hearing. 

Worcester School Committee mid-April meeting notes with lots on finance

I'm still working out how to do this both A) this go-round and B) when I'm doing it from home without a desk. I'm still taking lots of notes, but I'm finding it trickier to type. Because my notes on my blog have always been as much for me as for anyone, though, I'm going to continue to post things from the meetings, even if I have to do it later.
Should you want to take a look, the video is online here. It was, of course, again an entirely remote meeting.

Technically, we had two Worcester School Committee meetings last night: the first was the school choice hearing. This is, note, school choice in to Worcester; school choice out is simply allowed by state law. We actually don't have to have the hearing if we are allowing school choice, and last night, there wasn't a presentation or deliberation; we simply voted in favor of it.

On the regular agenda, the first item was, as I noted earlier this week, Ms. Biancheria's filing of reconsideration of the vote to waive the requirement this spring that students take the AP exam to achieve AP GPA credit. There is no deliberation prior to the vote on reconsideration, and the vote went as the vote on the item itself had gone: 5-2, Biancheria and Monfredo opposed. This, again, means that students who are currently taking an AP course can choose or not to take this spring's AP exam; their Worcester Public Schools GPA will not in any way be impacted by that decision (not taking the exam usually gives only honors level credit).

Our student representative Kwaku Nyarko asked during the section of the agenda that is theirs that we make plans to meet with our student advisory council soon, particularly given the current circumstances. The Mayor agreed, and we haven't set a date, but we'll keep you posted. 

The report of the superintendent was not something that usually happens in April: an update on the next year's budget.
The crux of the problem is this: since our February initial look at FY21, the economy has borne the impact of what UMass Dartmouth Professor Michael Goodman has called "a medically induced coma," in which we have intentionally made choices that have slowed the economy in order to bend the curve of the infections of coronavirus. That may well impact the current fiscal year; it will for certain impact next fiscal year, as was reflected in Tuesday's state economic roundtable (my liveblog is here; the MASC coverage is here). This not only raises questions around Student Opportunity Act funding; it raises questions around regular year to year funding.
I will always tell you watch Worcester Public Schools budget presentations, and this one is no exception; it starts about nine minutes into the video.

Worcester Public Schools administration joint statement with the EAW

This was sent out last night to all WPS staff; note that this is a joint statement, which is the forerunner of the actual joint agreement, which will be voted by the EAW membership and the Worcester School Committee. (The union has 10 days to ratify, then it comes to the Committee.)

April 4, 2020

Dear Colleagues: 

We would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding as the district and the EAW have worked to create a reflective and responsible way to deal with the ongoing Pandemic. We have been forced to take a break from our normal lives and this pause gives us a time to connect, reconnect and reach out in new ways to families and friends. This includes our students and their families as we are all under the umbrella of the Worcester Public Schools. We are grateful to those in our community who have demonstrated their unwavering support and compassion for our WPS community as we navigate our way forward. 

We recognize that these unprecedented times around the Coronavirus Disease/COVID-19 pandemic are unsettling to all in our school community. We also recognize that there exist many questions around next steps for students and staff. The Governor’s Extended Mandatory Closure resulting from his Order, dated March 25, 2020, extended his Initial Mandatory Closure and presently precludes the reopening of schools before Monday, May 4, 2020. At this point it is difficult to determine whether the Extended Mandatory Closure will be further extended. 

Since the closing of school, the District Administrative Team and the Educational Association of Worcester have engaged in many hours of negotiations with regard to changes to terms and conditions of employment for the EAW’s various employee bargaining units, including teachers and assistant principals; bus drivers and bus monitors; and those in positions collectively regarded as educational support personnel, such as instructional assistants; parent liaisons; therapy assistants; and tutors. These negotiations occurred over the span of multiple days, and occurred both after the Governor’s Extended Mandatory Closure order on March 25, 2020 and prior thereto. These formal negotiations were in addition to the many informal conversations between the District Administration and the EAW President since the closing of school on March 13, 2020. 

Through these efforts, the District and the EAW have arrived at Memoranda of Agreements for the various employee groups in an effort to memorialize the changes in the terms and conditions of employment for these employees as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic and the need to modify the manner in which we educate all of our District’s students. These changes will also help to ensure that all of the Worcester Public Schools families receive outreach and support from the Worcester Public Schools during these very difficult times.Based on the discussions this week, we have reached a number of fundamental agreements and understandings around what the expectations are for educators and administration during the period of the Governor’s Extended Mandatory Closure. 

The collective work of the educators and the administrative team has already produced many examples of alternative learning opportunities for students. These have been the result of creative thinking by all involved and have helped to keep our students engaged and poised to return to school when that is possible. In accordance with guidance from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, we will now turn our attention to providing remote learning to all of our students through various means of communication. 

At a time such as this, we consider that among our most important roles is to maintain regular contact with our students and their parents or guardians. These times are extremely stressful to the students and their families. Educators have already taken it upon themselves to reach out to their students. Your school leader will be coordinating a system to ensure at least one adult in your school connects with every student. For our students, we are an integral part of their support network and we provide, as a District, many social and emotional supports over and above what we provide by way of educational services. Again, this commitment of our educators and Administrative Teams to ensuring the well-being of our students is both admirable and appreciated. The provision of remote learning opportunities for students will be another means by which family and student contact will be provided. 

We also share the belief that in order to provide for the meaningful remote learning opportunities for all of our students, we must have opportunities for collaboration among educators and administrators. These opportunities will be part of the regular activities expected of educators at this time. Building principals will collaborate with staff in their buildings to make this time as productive and meaningful as possible.We also see this time as one which presents the opportunity for more professional development, although virtually of course, for our educators. These opportunities will be available through the recently launched Worcester Public Schools Enhanced Learning Website for its employees and other scheduled professional development events. 

Included in these three fundamental areas of concentration, educators will be expected to continue to meet their other customary professional obligations. Educators will continue to work on report cards for the third quarter, with that work ultimately needing to be completed by April 13, 2020 at noon. Educators will also continue to work on the completion of special education progress reports which must be completed by April 13, 2020. Guidance Counselors will continue to work on individual student schedules as we look towards a promising 2020/2021 school year. Turnaround work will continue; early college work will continue; and AP work will continue. Educators will not be expected to be present in their buildings, but will be expected to check their District e-mail at least twice per day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon, as this will continue to be the most commonly utilized communication tool with staff. 

With regard to wages, the District has committed to provide compensation and benefits to its educators and other employees during the period of the current Governor’s Extended Mandatory Closure. We hope that knowing this will assuage any fears you may have about compensation. We recognize that clear and consistent communication is essential at this time. All district directives will come from the superintendent or her designees, including principals, but shall be consistent with the agreements reached through negotiations or the already existing terms of the Parties’ collective bargaining agreements. Every effort is being made to ensure that principals, assistant principals, coaches and department heads are sending the same clear, consistent message subject of course to unique needs and circumstances at different schools and grade levels. 

The Memoranda of Agreements reached will be presented to the School Committee and the EAW for ratification votes. However, in light of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s expectation that the remote learning will be ready in early April, the Parties have agreed to implement the new terms and conditions of employment as a show of good faith pending the ratification votes. 

With our collective gratitude, 

Maureen Binienda, Superintendent of Schools and Roger Nugent, President, EAW

On student work in Worcester

Please note that this is a Worcester-specific post; however, the state guidance at the end does apply to all of Massachusetts.

I'm still getting plenty of messages about some...interesting expectations going out to students here in Worcester, so just to clarify on what is what, here is the pertinent passage from Superintendent Binienda's email to all staff from Wednesday, March 25, which has not been superseded at this time:

The WPS District team and the EAW have been working on an agreement for work expectations since Monday, March 23 through this afternoon. Due to the announcement this afternoon by the Governor to delay school reopening to May 4, the EAW and the District decided to meet again after DESE sends updated guidance on student learning expectations. Therefore, we agreed to encourage all staff to continue what you have been doing currently with students, conversations with principals, and contact with families. 

I do want to clarify once again a few points:

• Teachers will only grade student’s work submitted by March 12, 2020.
• At teacher’s discretion, late work may be submitted.
• Teachers should not be sending students assignments and deadlines for submission at this time.
• Only Dual Enrollment Early College teachers should be requiring student assignments and grading

As you may know, the state issued guidance to districts on Thursday after Governor Baker announced that schools will remain closed through at least the beginning of May. I recommend reading it all (and I hope to do a longer post just on that), but for now the pertinent passage there is:

To the extent practicable, teachers should provide feedback on student work completed at home. That said, if districts and schools have not already implemented policies regarding credit-bearing courses (determining credit for academic work at home), we strongly recommend that academic content be graded as “credit/no credit” so as to incentivize continuous learning while acknowledging the challenging situation we face. Non-credit bearing courses, such as those for elementary and middle school students, could incorporate other incentives to keep students motivated to continue their learning. 

Before moving forward with any determinations of “no credit,” we strongly urge districts and schools to consider whether the students have had equitable access to learning opportunities during this closure, keeping in mind the variety of technology, health, disability, and language challenges that could occur.

Worcester has not, as yet, had the "thoughtful planning period" called for in the Department's call for the creation of the "remote learning module," so that is, as yet, not moving forward.

I'll also continue to stress that the state leads with this:

• The safety and well-being of students, families, and staff has been and must continue to be our top priority as an educational community. We are focused not only on physical health, safety, and nutrition, but also on social-emotional and mental health needs, which could intensify during this time. 

• This crisis disproportionately affects our most vulnerable students in terms of their physical and mental health, as well as academically. Equity needs to be a top consideration in local planning efforts, especially as districts and schools make plans to manage an extended closure. To support these efforts, DESE will issue further guidance on how best to support special populations, including students with disabilities and English learners. 

• Maintaining connections between school staff and students is paramount, particularly for the most vulnerable members of our school communities. These connections will provide natural conduits to guide districts and schools in addressing students’ specific needs.

We need to be absolutely focused on student well-being right now, and we need to be hyper aware of the systemic inequities.