"my colleagues and I are here this evening to bring to you our concerns about student and staff safety"
when students act out
difficulties Worcester teachers face in our efforts to educate all of the students in our classrooms
"concerned that the acts of a few restrict the rigths of many"
ask that any effort to review student discipline include teachers
Showing posts with label Zaluskas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Zaluskas. Show all posts
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Worcester School Committee meets this Thursday
The Worcester School Committee meets this Thursday, January 17. You can find the agenda here.
We're being asked to reopen negotiations with the EAW units A and B; that's our teachers. And if it seems as though we just voted a new contract: we did, but our teachers were working under an expired contract, so the new one expires in June.
We'll also being hearing from union president Len Zaluskas.
We have a number of congratulations and thanks going out to students, to schools, and to community groups.
There are a large number of security items filed by various members. All of these are being sent to administration, and I'm told they'll be taken up at our next meeting in executive session.
We have two reports of note: the report of the superintendent this week is the first of the FY14 budget reports. The back-up is not yet posted (I suspect we'll get it later today).
The second is the 2012-13 enrollment report. We're getting this now due largely to miscommunication on my part (sorry!). This gives the overall enrollment by school, including ethnic and other breakdowns; the enrollment by class in both elementary and secondary classrooms. There is LOTS to talk about here, and I'd urge you to give it a look (and post to come on this!).
7 pm tomorrow at City Hall!
We're being asked to reopen negotiations with the EAW units A and B; that's our teachers. And if it seems as though we just voted a new contract: we did, but our teachers were working under an expired contract, so the new one expires in June.
We'll also being hearing from union president Len Zaluskas.
We have a number of congratulations and thanks going out to students, to schools, and to community groups.
There are a large number of security items filed by various members. All of these are being sent to administration, and I'm told they'll be taken up at our next meeting in executive session.
We have two reports of note: the report of the superintendent this week is the first of the FY14 budget reports. The back-up is not yet posted (I suspect we'll get it later today).
The second is the 2012-13 enrollment report. We're getting this now due largely to miscommunication on my part (sorry!). This gives the overall enrollment by school, including ethnic and other breakdowns; the enrollment by class in both elementary and secondary classrooms. There is LOTS to talk about here, and I'd urge you to give it a look (and post to come on this!).
7 pm tomorrow at City Hall!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
School Committee for Jan. 20: EAW president addresses the committee
Len Zaluskas (as is becoming a tradition) addressing the committee on PCBs:
"we need support from the members of this committee...to clean up dangerous levels of PCBs" at four schools...
The PCBs are in cauking at Doherty, Mill Swan, North, and Burncoat Middle...
"told that there is no proof that PCBs cause cancer in humans"
"especially concerned about the preschool students at Mill Swan"
"recently filed an unfair labor practice" with the state...union has the right to test a workplace for hazards
contaminated dust...ventilation
asking for testing, asking for results of testing...in accordance with EPA
asking that Mill Swan and Burncoat Middle get new windows
cleaning ventilation system..twice..plan on taking care of issues
Boone responds that the district has created and is implementing the environmental plan for the district (and that includes PCBs, among much else)
also the five year plan (with increased capital funds voted by the committee and by Council) for rehab allows for much to be done on aging buildings
O'Brien mentions that there is a grievance pending and thus comment must be limited and circumspect.
O'Connell makes a motion for an update on the environmental plan...also mentions the consideration of specific buildings
Monfredo asks if we can have the ventilation of those four schools cleaned out...O'Brien points out that we have a grievance pending and this deals with that issue
"we need support from the members of this committee...to clean up dangerous levels of PCBs" at four schools...
The PCBs are in cauking at Doherty, Mill Swan, North, and Burncoat Middle...
"told that there is no proof that PCBs cause cancer in humans"
"especially concerned about the preschool students at Mill Swan"
"recently filed an unfair labor practice" with the state...union has the right to test a workplace for hazards
contaminated dust...ventilation
asking for testing, asking for results of testing...in accordance with EPA
asking that Mill Swan and Burncoat Middle get new windows
cleaning ventilation system..twice..plan on taking care of issues
Boone responds that the district has created and is implementing the environmental plan for the district (and that includes PCBs, among much else)
also the five year plan (with increased capital funds voted by the committee and by Council) for rehab allows for much to be done on aging buildings
O'Brien mentions that there is a grievance pending and thus comment must be limited and circumspect.
O'Connell makes a motion for an update on the environmental plan...also mentions the consideration of specific buildings
Monfredo asks if we can have the ventilation of those four schools cleaned out...O'Brien points out that we have a grievance pending and this deals with that issue
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Len Zaluskas
on Level 4 schools:
(note, by the way, that this is pending litigation...)
"one of their key recommendations was an extended day take place at these schools...we bargained over extending the day at both schools...Joint Resolution Committee..I'm disappointed that there was a decision rendered and this body has chosen not to honor that, as of now...have you asked the city of Worcester..or the state...could you come up with the money for it? Understanding it's not free...if 90 minutes are too expensive, why not extended the day by 60 minutes, which by my math, could be done?...the kids deserve it, the city deserves it...I think that we can come to some sort of a resolution, but we could put our minds together..invitation to bargain is much different than just meeting...did you ask the City Manager for extra funds..did you contact the state...the 60 minutes..it seems you could afford it."
(note, by the way, that this is pending litigation...)
"one of their key recommendations was an extended day take place at these schools...we bargained over extending the day at both schools...Joint Resolution Committee..I'm disappointed that there was a decision rendered and this body has chosen not to honor that, as of now...have you asked the city of Worcester..or the state...could you come up with the money for it? Understanding it's not free...if 90 minutes are too expensive, why not extended the day by 60 minutes, which by my math, could be done?...the kids deserve it, the city deserves it...I think that we can come to some sort of a resolution, but we could put our minds together..invitation to bargain is much different than just meeting...did you ask the City Manager for extra funds..did you contact the state...the 60 minutes..it seems you could afford it."
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Innovation school questions
Question if this would allow for innovation at the new North High
Mulqueen: the original thinking has been around the South quadrant (coming out of readiness schools), timing of North in line with innovation schools. "It may be that the school committee says this makes sense" for North as well
Question: what's the goal?
"always looking for how to boost student performance...might bring to the table some new thinking from teachers..to launch some really good practices..freedom, flexibility, self-governance...doing what they think is best...flexibilities built in that maybe other schools wouldn't have"
Flexibility in what manner?
Budget, staffing, curriculum, professional development, scheduling
who would be in charge of the school if the proposal gets in approved?
could be several models, says Mulqueen: maybe an assistant principal, another entity, (other places have teacher committees that run schools, though he doesn't mention this)
Mulqueen points out that teachers must opt in
what if the idea gets approved but no teachers opt in?
Staffing has to be part of the plan: no viability without teachers to staff
EAW president Len Zaluskas: why have I never been informed of this, the screening committee, why haven't you gone to South to have these conversations?
Mulqueen: "for me to go there, that was by invitation"
"I'm still open to doing that...I don't jump over the principal and his or her responsibilities with their staff; it's for them to talk about it with their staff"
"this is a proposal...we're just starting off here..the school committee could say, we're not really interested...haven't actually started the work...if you could just have a clean slate, what would that look like...if we got approval from the school committee, then it could move forward"
"my work to this point has been just to keep up with the legislation"
Zaluskas: Reville said if the building and the staff are the same, then it's not a new school
"if it went forward that way, it would be a real issue for us"
"how much funding is involved in this, and is the funding coming from Race to the Top?"
there is no funding
Zaluskas: you still want to start a school at South High?
Mulqueen: won't push past the principals
not every school needs to be an innovation school
a lot of good work over at Sullivan, for example
Zaluskas: you don't really know how many schools you want to do with this
Mulqueen: not for me
Zaluskas: should proceed cautiously, control model, try one and see how it works, "doing any more would be asking hastily"
O'Connell says it had been our intent for the EAW to invited, also reads from the regulations regarding conversion of existing schools
Mulqueen: the original thinking has been around the South quadrant (coming out of readiness schools), timing of North in line with innovation schools. "It may be that the school committee says this makes sense" for North as well
Question: what's the goal?
"always looking for how to boost student performance...might bring to the table some new thinking from teachers..to launch some really good practices..freedom, flexibility, self-governance...doing what they think is best...flexibilities built in that maybe other schools wouldn't have"
Flexibility in what manner?
Budget, staffing, curriculum, professional development, scheduling
who would be in charge of the school if the proposal gets in approved?
could be several models, says Mulqueen: maybe an assistant principal, another entity, (other places have teacher committees that run schools, though he doesn't mention this)
Mulqueen points out that teachers must opt in
what if the idea gets approved but no teachers opt in?
Staffing has to be part of the plan: no viability without teachers to staff
EAW president Len Zaluskas: why have I never been informed of this, the screening committee, why haven't you gone to South to have these conversations?
Mulqueen: "for me to go there, that was by invitation"
"I'm still open to doing that...I don't jump over the principal and his or her responsibilities with their staff; it's for them to talk about it with their staff"
"this is a proposal...we're just starting off here..the school committee could say, we're not really interested...haven't actually started the work...if you could just have a clean slate, what would that look like...if we got approval from the school committee, then it could move forward"
"my work to this point has been just to keep up with the legislation"
Zaluskas: Reville said if the building and the staff are the same, then it's not a new school
"if it went forward that way, it would be a real issue for us"
"how much funding is involved in this, and is the funding coming from Race to the Top?"
there is no funding
Zaluskas: you still want to start a school at South High?
Mulqueen: won't push past the principals
not every school needs to be an innovation school
a lot of good work over at Sullivan, for example
Zaluskas: you don't really know how many schools you want to do with this
Mulqueen: not for me
Zaluskas: should proceed cautiously, control model, try one and see how it works, "doing any more would be asking hastily"
O'Connell says it had been our intent for the EAW to invited, also reads from the regulations regarding conversion of existing schools
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