October 1 enrollment

the report is here
O'Connell: asks for individual class enrollment
Allen: motion on that outstanding item is to be reported in a Friday letter
waiting for 9th grade at Worcester Tech to be assigned
25,191 students as of October 1
497 students up from last year.
87.5% of students K-12 who are enrolled in school attend the Worcester Public Schools

and I said a whole bunch more...notes to come! It did get referred to Accountability.
UPDATE (from my notes): we not only have a rising enrollment; we have a rising rate of low income. Now reported at 74.5% of students, but is probably underreported, as students in secondary don't fill out the form
That's the district: in schools, rates vary from mid 30% to high 90%
While as a district, we do not disadvantage our schools with more low income students on funding--in fact, they may have an advantage due to Title I, for example--they do have a disadvantage when it comes to parental capacity in fundraising, which impacts the school in other ways.
Important to note as well, thinking of this weekend, and that "Truly diverse schools are an educational imperative," concerned as well about wide racial disparities among schools: some as high as over 70% white, some as high as 80% children of color. If we take our Constititutional charge seriously of education including "sincerity, good humor, and all social affections," we need to pay attention to that, and, while not forcing family choices, work for a more integrated system.
Refer to Accountability

Rule 50

(this is on deisolation)
Petty asks that it be held for the next meeting for a report
as we're under a Department of Justice settlement, getting legal advice is what we need

Interested in our enrollment numbers?

...which would be this report, including percentages of poverty, race, and such?
Just sent to Accountability

Policy handbook

Mr. Monfredo reporting out

Policy handbook is being considered on Thursday

Among the items on Thursday's agenda is the Worcester Public Schools Student handbook, which is the policy manual for students. The proposed changes can be found in the Governance and Employees Issues agenda from last week. I'd look at those changes along with the edited handbook. 

First of all, if you have any thoughts on what is or isn't in the policy handbook, now is the time to let us know. We do a review of this once a year in the spring for the following year, so if you have a thought on what should be in or out, please get in touch.

Beyond that, there are some specific changes that might be of interest:

• First of all, the entire opening piece on page 3 regarding majority and minority students is proposed, by the administration, to be deleted. That would mean that the Worcester Public Schools would no longer have a desegration/deisolation policy. I see from the minutes of the subcommittee meeting that my colleague Brian O'Connell has raised concerns about this, which I share. If you do, too, I'd suggest getting in touch with us and/or being there on Thursday. 
• Second, the school transfer for both magnet and out of district students could now be rescinded "whenever the Quadrant Manager determines that the district school would more likely better support student outcomes than the magnet/out of district school." (that's in the proposed changes). That was not previously the policy.
• It is proposed, in line with DESE policy, that "gender identity" be added to the nondiscrimination statements throughout.
• There are some changes in the languages around testing (I'm planning to propose some changes from the floor on this as well).
• It is proposed that we delete the entire section on excessive tardies and demerits leading to suspensions. 
• We're adding a section on head injuries, per state law.
• We're changing the course graduation requirements to bring us into line with MassCore (four years of math and two of the same foreign language are the changes).
• There's also a change in the calculation of class rank.

Again, this will be decided on THURSDAY. Please get in touch with concerns or thoughts!

Deisolation plan report

...going to accountability...
How are we doing:? How were we doing? Where are we going?
How is this going to work, in light of our having a more segregated school system, nationwide, at any time since 1968?

O'Brien: magnet programs: a very peaceful integration of some schools
more and more schools majority students of color
talk about resources devoted to magnet schools (which is the next item on the agenda)

Magnetism

If you're interested in reading more, per today's T&G article on deisolation, of the effect of magnet schools on students, I'd recommend this research brief from the National Coalition on School Diversity.
Two things of note:

• magnet schools are schools that parents choose to send their kids to (usually due to the programs offered). Thus the desegregation and deisolation that happens occurs as a byproduct of parents opting in.
• magnet schools generally improve results for all kids, including those who often would be more academically advantaged.