Top ten (plus?) read posts of 2019

As we close out the year, I did one of my periodic checks of the analytics to see what you all have been reading around here in 2019.
As always, far and away the most read is the front page, whatever it happens to be. I'm still stunned/amazed/impressed at how many of you simply swing by to see what is on the front page without coming in from anywhere in particular or to see anything in particular. Frankly, this is what pushes me to be faithful in posting (and makes me feel guilty when I am not!). I will continue to endeavor to make sure you have something to read when you come by!

So to the top ten actual posts:

1. It sometimes happens that someone about whom I have had reason to blog hits the news for some other reason, and the magic of Google will take people here. So it was when Rhode Island selected one of the finalists for Massachusetts Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education, Angélica Infante-Green, for their own new Commissioner of Education back in March. Google turned up my liveblog of her interview for the Massachusetts position in January of 2018, and Rhode Islanders came here to read what she'd said then. While the big news out of Rhode Island has been the state takeover of the Providence schools, she hasn't held back on other (in some cases, related) issues, including teacher diversity, racism, and the needs of English learners. One hopes she is heard on the need for accompanying resources. 

   My latest take (actually, Providence down their with them in my most recent model runs, but yes Woonsocket still last) pic.twitter.com/DRGME9d8MQ

   — Bruce Baker (@SchlFinance101) October 19, 2019



2. I am still angry about this, particularly as I see victory laps from his office, so let's not forget this post from October 3, calling out Governor Baker's blatant attempt to sink the Senate's passage of the Student Opportunity Act. It's the second most read post this year. Thank you to everyone who read it, everyone who shared it, everyone who got it, and everyone who remembers.
   This is why the Senate for certain and this year the House (and prior years, everyone in the House who fought for full implementation) gets credit from me, but short of the single "proof it happened" photo, you're not going to see me given Governor Baker credit for his signature. He tried to sink the bill. I will not forget that.


3. Demonstrating that those interview liveblogs just keep on giving, Tennessee appointed Penny Schwinn, who had been the third finalist for Massachusetts Commissioner, Education Commissioner in January, and her interview liveblog was the third most read blog post. Schwinn was told by lawmakers to slow down changes in Tennessee's accountability system; I am confused how this would work: "Schwinn has mentioned a 'best-of model' as one option, allowing schools to choose whether they want to be evaluated mainly on growth or on proficiency." Tennessee til now had emphasized student growth in their measures.
   This coming year, Tennessee will be among the states implementing a voucher program (do read Jennifer Berkshire on this!). Gosh, best wishes, Tennessee!


4. Back in February, the Worcester School Committee--finally--took up sex ed after twists and turns in which the only positive upshots were that Bill Shaner's coverage of it got an award and the entire field of candidates for the Worcester School Committee committed to comprehensive sex ed* in the new term. My post on reviewing the then-proposed Michigan model is here.
   
   *whatever that means, as I said on 508: A Show About Worcester back in May. I guess that is part of what we'll find out this coming year!


5. This was--hurrah, hurrah!--the year we finally, finally, finally got the foundation budget overhauled, and so the filing of Senator Sonia Chang-Díaz and Representative Aaron Vega and Mary Keefe's Promise Act is the "five golden rings" (da-da-da-dat) of this year's top ten. I have to be honest: the Legislature made me work for it this year, what with explaining how the Boston piece worked here, what the possible holdup was on negotiations around the bill (it looks like maybe I was kind of right?), and chasing down the pieces of the final Student Opportunity Act (see number 10). I know I learned a lot: I hope some of you did, too!


6. Bringing us back to the reason why I started the blog in the first place--you're never going to get everything in a newspaper article!--the sixth most read post was the liveblog of the Worcester Doherty building committee meeting at which they were to vote a preferred option and didn't. This was the one at which the Chandler Magnet community showed up and reminded folks that that wasn't empty space over on Chandler Street.
   Don't forget that lesson.


7. One of the things about which I was reminded this spring was this: Worcester, for all that we are sometimes insular, plays on a pretty big stage. When the second largest city in the state, with the third largest public school system, has sustained public concerns expressed regarding systemic bias that then impacts the negotiation of the superintendent's contract renewal, the state (not just DESE, though that's true) pays attention. The seventh most read post was just my running through the released student disciplinary data from the district and comparing it to the student disciplinary data that the state had posted from the district, following an earlier post.I did find myself for much of April attempting to at least share what was happening in Worcester.
   We shouldn't forget that, either.


8. The Boston Globe's new foundation-funded education shop did a long piece on the Boston Public Schools' bathrooms, which left me with decidedly mixed feelings. 


9. Thankfully, it isn't often that we have a crossover into public education of the ongoing fight for transparency and accountability around sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Church, but this year we did, and it hit Massachusetts. I am still very very concerned about how the Department did not, frankly, choose to handle this, from my seat as a mother and from a district policy level. There should have been an open call from the Department for anyone with any concerns or history to contact someone outside the Department; that should have gone out to every district with a request that it be shared through every district channel.
   DESE officials have a lot of implicit trust around children that comes with their positions, and I really don't think the Department did what it needed to in order to keep and maintain that trust. 


10. And then we had a bill! And I had all sorts of people tweeting me gifs of their waiting for me to read it!
    And lo and behold, it actually passed and was signed.

This did not make the top ten, but it came close, and it's making me laugh, because it may be that kind of a year again: you gotta make up snow days.
And seniors? You can't get out earlier than the 168th day of school (sorry!). 

And in 2020?
Locally, yes, I'll be blogging the Worcester School Committee and other meetings; as per past practice, I don't tweet from the floor, but blogging is my taking notes, so that you'll have.
At the state level, we have the Student Opportunity Act to implement (with those district spending plans due in April!). The Board of Ed is considering vocational schools admissions, we're still implementing the ESSA plan (will there be alterations?), and I, anyway, am still wondering about the vision of K-12 education coming out of Malden now.
And, nationally, we of course have a president to elect!

I feel very, very lucky to do what I do. Thanks for reading, but thanks also for asking questions, for pushing me on policies, and for all, named and otherwise, who answer my sometimes repetitive and often inconveniently timed questions.
I couldn't do it without you. 

For the coming year, I can't say it better than Molly Ivins:

So keep fighting for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't forget to have fun doing it. Be outrageous... rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. 
And when you get through celebrating the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was!

Happy 2020! 

City of Worcester Inauguration

Yes, it's open to the public, and please do come.

Reflections on Worcester's election

You can find Worcester School Committee election news here and here. 

cross-posted from my personal Facebook page


Something that I've gotten better at over the past few years is learning that when you don't know the answer, sometimes you should shut up and let other people talk first.

And another is that there are things that you can do off of School Committee that you can't do on it, and some of them are more profound than letting your face show what you're thinking during meetings.

Congressman Jim McGovern reminded the candidates on Saturday--those who showed at a primarily Spanish-speaking Main South church, yes, but it was meant for all of us--that we were running to represent all of Worcester.
And MASC always reminds members that we are the group of elected officials whose most important constituency is largely unable to vote for us.
That is no less true of the Committee Worcester elected last night than if Worcester had made other choices.
We ran to represent all of Worcester.
We will, come January, have a constituency that is all of Worcester's children.
And that is true whether we all recognize it or not.

It hurts like hell to lose. I have reason to know it. I do think that one of the virtues of the city calendar is we get this breathing space between the election and the swearing in to mourn what could have been before moving to what will be.
Let me add to those who have already said it, though, how glad I am that you ran, how very proud I was to cast votes for you yesterday, and how grateful for the race we ran together.

This election made us have conversations that have never never been had during any city election I remember. That is still true. That is partly due to who ran, but it also is due to the community forcing all those running, incumbents and otherwise, to have those discussions.

Please don't stop.

Last night shows only what we already knew, what Frederick Douglass said: "Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will."

We must keep demanding.
Thank you to all who worked and voted for me: please know that I intend to keep demanding.

Because it's also still true: We deserve better.

And in Worcester news

The Election Commission has confirmed her position, so Donna Colorio rejoins the School Committee for November and December.

Donna Colorio sworn in moments ago at Election Commission meeting to fill out the School Committee term of Brian O’Connell, who died last week. She said she is honored to fill out his term. pic.twitter.com/44DPfJ2oZY

— Steven H. Foskett Jr (@SteveFoskettTG) October 25, 2019

Also, posted next to the specimen ballots at each polling place on Election Day will be the following notice:

DECEASED CANDIDATE NOTICE

Please be advised the following candidate is deceased

BRIAN A. O'CONNELL

54 PROVIDENCE STREET

SCHOOL COMMITTEE

Please note the name of the deceased candidate is on the ballot and cannot be removed. Any votes cast for the candidate will be considered a tribute vote. The candidate cannot be elected.

Any voter who has already cast an absentee ballot may request a new one by making a written request to the Worcester Election Commission.

If you have any questions please contact the Worcester Election Office at 508-799-1134 or elections@worcesterma.gov. 

So if you already sent in your absentee ballot, you can re-vote, knowing that Brian will not be able to serve. 

UPDATE: here's the article; do note that it isn't a law but the city charter that sets up this succession.

A collection of Worcester School Committee candidate readers

We have a forum tomorrow:

Worcester School Committee forum: 7 pm, Tuesday, October 22
at Mechanics Hall

I know not everyone can make everything, though, so here's some reading as we prepare for the election in two weeks.

The Telegram & Gazette has done profiles based on a standard questionnaire; these were published before the preliminary and are REALLY not easy to find!

The Worcester Education Collaborative has been conducting what they've called an online forum, where the candidates get a question each week and respond (it's been a lot of writing!). While I'm pretty sure we've all missed at least one, there are some telling choices in who has chosen not to respond, and also some good contrast in who knows what or is arguing what.

The Worcester Commission on Disability sent us a questionnaire and the answers are now online here.

And Nicole did make the September 25 forum, if you'd like a liveblog.

Continuity in governance

On the general blogging principle of anything that I've been asked more than once, even more people are wondering.
You aren't wrong to ask: continuity in governance is a basic element of political stability.

Under the section 4-6 of the Worcester municipal charter (starts on page 92 over here) regarding vacancies on the Worcester School Committee:

If a vacancy shall occur amongst the six at-large members of the school committee, said vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as provided in section 2-10(a) for the filing of vacancies in the office of councilor-at-large, from among the candidates for election to the office of school committee at the preceding regular municipal election

To be clear, section 2-10 says:

(a) Councilors-at-large - If a vacancy shall occur in the office of councilorat-large, the vacancy shall be filled in descending order of votes received by the candidate for the office of councilor-at-large at the preceding regular municipal election who received the largest number of votes for the office of councilor-atlarge without being elected, provided such person remains eligible and willing to serve. The board of election commissioners shall certify such candidate to the office of councilor-at-large to serve for the balance of the then unexpired term

That would be the November 2017 election, in which the results were:

School Committee election results from November 2017: O'Connell, Foley, Monfredo, McCullough, Comparetto, Biancheria, Colorio. The first six serve on the Committee. 

The seventh place finisher was Donna Colorio with 7,534 votes (behind sixth place Dianna Biancheria with 7,824). Colorio is not running for Worcester School Committee at this time; she is, however, running for Worcester City Council at Large and has left her name on the ballot for mayor.

It does, note, take a meeting of the Election Commission to certify the filling of the vacant seat.

There are no Worcester School Committee meetings remaining before the municipal election on November 5. There are two meetings in November and at least one in December. The newly elected Worcester School Committee will be sworn in the first full week of January (January 6th, if memory serves).

And yes, the municipal ballots for the November election already exist; in fact, absentee ballots have already gone out to voters.

UPDATE: Per Nick Kotsopoulos, the Election Commission will meet October 25. Among the things they'll decide upon is what will be shared with voters about Brian O'Connell's passing.

Questions I'd like to ask the Worcester City Council candidates

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a candidate seeking a Worcester City Council seat must act as if they are running for Worcester School Committee.

However, there are questions that one legitimately can ask a Worcester City Council candidate about matters under their purview that are related to education and the Worcester Public Schools. As a parent of children in the Worcester Public Schools and a Worcester super voter, here are some of mine:

• In the FY20 budget, the Worcester Public Schools were funded at the smallest amount over the minimum required in three years. 

  

  Note that this was budgeted: it may well be less than this by the time we get done.

  
  The Worcester School Committee voted to continue their transportation contract with Durham for at least two more years, and this year, that contract will increase by $1M. That increase cannot be absorbed by state dollars. As this increase will further erode and possibly entirely erase the amount the city funds the schools over required, is it your intention to support funding beyond the net minimum, more in line with other districts?
• Should the House support and the Governor sign (or the Legislature pass over his veto) the Student Opportunity Act, Worcester is among the districts that will most benefit. However, Worcester is also among the small number of districts that will, due to its slender voluntary funding, be required to increase local funding for schools. How do you intend to fund that increase?
  (Pro tip: it will be necessary before the ballpark is projected to bring in much, so that doesn't work as a answer.)
• In May of 2018, the Worcester Public Schools, after years of requests, finally received a facilities master evaluation. It found that there was, at that time, a $75M backlog of urgently needed repairs in the Worcester Public Schools. The report was never taken up by the full Worcester School Committee nor by the Worcester City Council. As the body charged with captial funding, how do you plan to address this issue? 

more as I have them! 

Worcester School Committee meets Thursday, September 5

You can find the agenda here.
Should you be wondering if the Worcester Educational Collaborative's weekly question for candidates makes any difference at all, you might go read this week's responses on balancing constituent needs and the work of the committee, which was published Tuesday, August 27, and then look at how many agenda items that reflect challengers' concerns were filed on Wednesday, August 28.
Right. So.

There is no report of the superintendent.
As I noted in my own response to WEC's question, there is again an enormous number of recognitions and appreciations.
There are some beginning of the year appointments.

There's a response to the item asking about the teaching of cursive in the Worcester Public Schools; this is one of the better responses I've seen in some time, as it cites the state standards, reviews where the state is going, lays out where the district is and plans to be, and brings it home with research. 

There's a question about mold at Columbus Park (see above on filing items that should simply be referred to administration for solution).

There's a one page request for acceptance for an $80,000 security grant upon which the only description is "locks and cameras" with program location "the Worcester Public Schools." That's a lot of money to spend so vaguely.

There's likewise a one page request for acceptance of an innovation pathways grant of $28,683, and...I have no idea what it is being spent on, as here's what it says:

• To support the development of new and effective strategies to scale high-quality career pathways, and significantly expand student access to, participation in, and successful completion of pathways that culminate in meantiful postsecondary and workforce credentials
• To provide participating students with supportive, rigorous academic experiences and career development education relevant to their next stepss after high school
• To enhance a student's ability to gain awareness and prepardness of future employment opportunities

I mean, it's the innovation pathways, so it has stuff to do with getting kids to work, but what is the $28K going to?

xkcd 1860: Communicating

There's likewise a one page request for acceptance for the $116,250 21st Century Exemplar program which is going to Burncoat Middle "to provide activities rooted in project based learning practices that were developed around the need for enhanced literacy programming." So the funding buys...what?

Lest you think I'm being overly particular, I know for a fact that the district had to supply significantly more information than this to the state to get the grant, and the district within recent memory was reporting enough information to know where the money was actually going on grants.

Miss McCullough is asking for a report on the JumpStart orientation programs at the secondary schools. I assume, incidentally, that there will at some point be a report of the superintendent on back to school?

The usual settling up from the prior fiscal year is on here without a backup at this point; it'll be referred to Finance and Operations.

The auditors are coming! The reports aren't attached; this will go to Finance and Operations, too.

Mr. Monfredo thinks there should be:

half day professional development for staff in light of the training provided to principals that dealt with SEL, the impact of homelessness and foster children and on disciplinary alternatives.

Just a reminder that professional development time in the Worcester Public Schools is very, very limited.

Mr. Monfredo also offers this:

Request that the Administration continue its collaborative work with various agencies in dealing with the needs of homeless and foster children and consider reviewing the Cincinnati model entitled “Kids in School Rule.”

Yes, that is really a "keep doing what you're doing" item.

There's a request to pay a prior fiscal year item $2,323.00 to CliftonLarsonAllen, LLP for the student activities account audit which is a little odd.

Mr. O'Connell is coming in with two alternative district policies banning cell phones in different ways, both of which made the rounds of the news this summer: San Mateo and Crestwood. It's always interesting to me which ones get picked; one could just have easily cited Stoughton's: 

Stoughton High School Student Handbook changes for 2019-2020 regarding the Electronic Device Policy.

Parents and guardians please review this policy below with your child & encourage responsible and appropriate use of electronic devices during the school day. @StoughtonPS pic.twitter.com/plisODjFt1

— Alan Bontya (@BlackKnightsAP) August 29, 2019

Note also that, so long as the district both requires technology to complete work and does not provide said technology, having a cell phone ban is literally barring students from doing their work, or requiring that they violate district policy to do so.

The Committee is requested to accept donations:
– $67.55 from a donor to the Worcester Public Schools
– $100.00 from a donor to the Patricia Falcone Memorial Scholarship
– $3,820.00 from Worcester Area Mission Society for the Summer Cubs Program held at Woodland Academy

Mr. O'Connell has put the updated superintendent rubric on the agenda for consideration; note that the redraft is only for superintendents, not for district administrators as on the agenda.

The Committee is also being asked to accept (surely we could even just group these together?) the Comprehensive School Health grant for $200,000. While the backup on this one is of no more use than any of the other grants on the agenda, luckily we know from the FY20 budget what this grant is going for: "trauma informed teams" that would go to schools in most need (that's on page 262). More specifics about how many positions are being hired should be included here, however.

Mr. O'Connell (on August 28) suggests that the School Committee should establish goals for itself. Note that during Mr. O'Connell's extensive tenure, I do not believe he has ever before made this proposal.
...and wants to review the siting of Doherty (citing the city charter, which I don't think is going to carry weight with the MSBA).
...and wants to send leftover food home with kids (as you no doubt saw on Facebook this summer).
...and wants to know when site councils are meeting (as he does this one time each year; it does not get connected to goals or evaluation at any point).


Mr. Comparetto asks for an update on ongoing transportation issues. Note that the Committee was to have the Durham bid and the WPS report on the in-house alternative by now. Keep your eye on the schedule of Finance and Operations meetings, as that report will appear there first. This is the appropriate place to bring your concerns about WPS transportation. I would think it would have to happen before the next full committee meeting on September 19. UPDATE: Note Scott O'Connell's article on this; Finance and Operations expected to meeting 9/1716, with the full committee taking it up 9/19. Again, this is the right place to bring your transportation concerns.

There is another prior year payment of $5,252.25 to Harbor Networks; since there's no backup, we don't know for what, but they do "managed IT services" which leaves more questions than answers, really. 


Mr. Comparetto, on an item co-sponsored by Mr. Foley, Miss McCullough, and Mr. Monfredo (that's interesting) calls for:

Request the establishment of an inclusive and transparent process for selecting and implementing a comprehensive Sex Education Curriculum that is age-appropriate, evidence-based, medically-accurate and LGBTQ inclusive in the Worcester Public Schools.

And yes, the candidates have been asked about that quite a bit.

Miss Biancheria would like a count on Worcester Tech enrollment and applicants; a list of Ch. 74 programs and enrollment; and AP courses, enrollments, and results (they won't be able to do a full list of this as some of the sizes will be too small; FERPA violation); and to "highlight its successes in the STEM/STEAM programs" during a week in October.

There's prior fiscal year payments totalling $7800 going to nurses, which does actually have a backup.

Miss McCullough, no doubt noting the ongoing calls these past weeks for class supply lists, request clear links to such lists, as well as calendars and forms. Might we go a step further and remind all involved that such lists can only always be optional, which is not something I saw emphasized nearly enough? For these to be expected in a district like Worcester is, bluntly, wrong.

And there's an executive session at 6: three collective bargaining sessions and three litigation consultations.

Worcester can make a change

A word on the Worcester election:

Note from me: all School Committee challengers were invited to participate. Seven did. 

Worcester School Committee election events

Someone stopped me downtown today to ask what events were coming up, so I thought I'd stick it here, as well. This is what I have; I'm sure more will be added:

• Thursday, August 29; 5:30 pm: Commission on Disability Candidates' forum in the Levi Lincoln Room at City Hall
• Tuesday, September 10: PRELIMINARY ELECTION (eliminates 1 of the 13 candidates)
• Wednesday, September 25, 6:30 pm: League of Women Voters forum in the Sullivan Auditorium at Worcester State University
• Tuesday, October 22, 7 pm: Worcester Regional Research Bureau forum which I don't seem to have any additional information on...
• Wednesday, October 23, 6pm: NAACP forum at the Worcester Youth Center
• Wednesday, October 30, noon: Worcester Senior Center, candidates' luncheon
• Tuesday, November 5: ELECTION DAY! 

Worcester School Committee candidates' forum Thursday evening at Worcester State

While the actual candidacy stuff is over on tracynovick.org, I'll post Worcester election stuff here as it is relevant. 

Thursday, August 15 at 6 pm in the Blue Lounge at the Worcester State Student Center
Co-sponsored by Worcester State, the YWCA, the League of Women Voters, MWPC, and MAWOCC

Elbows

"Elbows: the most important weapon in a politician's armoury."

from Yes, Minister

In the past several months, the Worcester School Committee has recognized or honored:

• the winners of Worcester Regional Middle School (grades 6-8) Science and Engineering Contest at WPI 
• the seniors who have been awarded the state Seal of Biliteracy
• students for "exemplifying behaviors that meet the Core Values at the Goddard School of Science and Technology as part of their turnaround process." 
• a South Central Noonan Scholar
• the Doherty Memorial High Powerlifting team
• an International All-Women's Choir member

...and I could go on.

The science fair winners did not have their projects reviewed by the School Committee prior to their being honored. The Seal of Biliteracy seniors did not have their language skills checked by the School Committee prior to their being recognized. The students with exemplary behavior, the athletes, the vocalist...none had the skills or performances for which they were being honored checked the the School Committee prior to their being recognized.

Thus Scott O'Connell is right to remark on the highly unusual hold Mr. O'Connell requested be placed on the item to honor student researchers who presented at Harvard. He has insisted--and the committee agreed, as the Worcester School Committee does not have a personal hold--that the research be given to the Committee first.

This is the research that students did outside of school on their own time and presented first at the Mayor's Commission on Latino Educational Advancement regarding student perspectives on teaching. These same students, based on the way their presentation and they themselves were treated at that meeting and subsequently by the superintendent and other administrators, then called for her resignation. 

That's the first indication that this is not about the research.

The second indication is that this research was presented to the Mayor's Commission months ago and has been in the news consistently since. If Mr. O'Connell and other members of the committee were as interested in teacher diversity as their introductory remarks in the budget hearing claimed, they would of course wish to have read it. They have had ample opportunity to do so. 

Worcester election season round # ?

Two from this week already:

• For about as long as I've been paying attention, spring of an election year in Worcester brings the biannual City Council filing of items around schools, and while this week's item on policing wasn't the first (there were, for example, items requesting specific sports teams at specific schools), it met with a strong rebuke. Let's acknowledge, of course, that this reaction stems as much from where the item came from--Councilor Lukes--as it did anything to do with the item, as it seems councilors also took the chance to swear one by one that they would of course always support any police department request. 

• If the way this Governance meeting played out doesn't strike you as odd, brush up on your roles and responsibilities. The School Committee does policy/budget/evaluation/goals, and the administration does day to day management. Pop quiz, then: from whom should a list of specific directives on how the schools would manage heat come? 

I'm in.

Note that there will not be a lot of Worcester election posting here.
I want to cover this here, too, though.

I pulled papers for Worcester School Committee this morning. 
I want to be really clear that I am encouraged by those who have pulled papers this year, especially parents of Worcester students, who haven't been at the table recently.
Worcester needs a school committeee FULL of strong members. 
That's six seats. Sign those papers! Vote for good people!
I'm running to be one of them.

You can find more about me here, FAQ here, what I think about education here (as well as on this site for the past eleven years). 

And you can donate over there, too!