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. 

Here come the marathon meetings: School Committee meets June 5

The first of our two long ones is this coming Thursday, June 5.
Remember that our June meetings are effectively double-headers: budget at 4, regular session at 7.
Thus, beginning at 4pm, we will be considering the FY15 Worcester Public Schools budget, beginning with the School Committee account (for our salaries, set by city charter) and continuing on from there.
We'll break at six for our executive session, and come back at 7pm for the regular agenda.

On the agenda:

• honoring the teacher of the year and finalists (as announced last night)
• recognizing the students who are going to the international DECA conference
• The report of the Superintendent is the mid-cycle report (no back-up as yet...)
• We have a boatload of recognitions and congratulations on this agenda, so I'd recommend you take a look at them all!
• And speaking of which, we are being asked to vote acceptance of the donations from EOS for our universal school breakfast programs. 
• We're being asked to accept the $75,000 state planning grant for Claremont Academy's innovation plan.
• We're being asked to accept the $51,753 state grant for math and science (which looks like it's for professional development? But I'll ask).
• We're being asked to accept the $94,292 state grant for academic support and learning (which is for getting kids to pass MCAS? I think?).
• We have the annual request that the Superintendent be allowed the discretion to transfer funds as needed within the budget to close the fiscal year.
• Mr. O'Connell wants to review the second grade pedestrian safety training with an eye to expansion (as yet it's a pilot). 
• He's also, per the opinion received this week from the Mass Association of School Committees that this is a policy decision, suggesting that the Worcester School Committee vote to use the MCAS rather than the PARCC next spring. The early submission deadline on that is June 30.
• I have three items, all asking that we look at what it would mean to bump back secondary school start times (through the research, through the impact on teaching and learning, and through operations), all heading off to subcommittees.
• And I've asked for what the calculation would look like if the foundation budget funded actual enrollment of special education, rather than the flat percentage that it does now.

Worcester School Committee meets tomorrow: UPDATED

The first regular meeting of the Worcester School Committee is tomorrow evening at 7 pm at Worcester Tech. You can find the agenda here.
In addition to recognizing the work recently done at Doherty by Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, approving minutes, filing a number of retirement and other personnel items coming in, and a variety of new business being sent off to subcommittee, we are getting our first report on the FY13 budget (yes, it's that time of year again; check out the report! It should have a works cited page!) and getting an update on Burncoat Prep (which you'll remember has Level 4 status).
Burncoat Prep backup still to come.

Honoring summer programs

Lots and lots of people here this evening to be honored for their work with summer programs for kids in the Worcester Public Schools.

back in public session

And on the regular agenda...
We have a number of honorees tonight to begin with, including the Nurse of the Year and the Teacher of the Year.

Ellen Capstick from Sullivan Middle is the Nurse of the Year.
Siobhan Petrella from Worcester Tech is the Teacher of the Year.