Live from the April Board of Ed

 vote to solicit public comment on proposed amendments to educator licensure regulations

Rouhanifard: discussion across the country on teacher shortages, only had real data more recently from a few states; do we have any data on actual shortages?
Riley: special ed, ESL, not just education: nursing
"Be a little more flexible than we have been in the past, with the understanding that at some point we'll probably tighten back up"
Moriarty: 150 hour internship? model?

• initial or professional license holder can obtain a provisional license in special ed or ESL
• create a new preK-2 license for moderate and severe disabilities
• permit "demonstrate of knowledge" as a way to prepare and maintain students with disabilities for general classrooms
  
• create a new professional license for school nurse

Hills: always leave this conversations asking what's the trade off here?
any reason you want to state, things we want to be concerned about
"don't consider these life-altering massive changes to our education system...what am I missing?"
A: that's why we have this public comment

Canavan: question about the labor shortage
wonder about nurses having to pass the communications MTEL
Seems an unnecessary barrier, given what is happening in the nursing field
"not within regulation" but is written into the law

Moriarty: I advocate for every adult in the building having strength in communication and literacy
adults should regard it as a "development milestone" of third grade reading
(there is literally not basis in psychological development to support this)
does MTEL evaluate that "that's a stretch"
we talk about trauma: what about trauma of not being able to perform at grade level
(what the heck?)

Lombos: not necessarily a labor shortage, but workers not being paid what they are worth, when they are using their feet to leave their professions (to a smattering of applause, which is not a thing that happens often)

Worcester joint education and finance & operations meeting

 which is mostly on the work being done on schools before reopening; the agenda, including backup, isn't here
Allen: limitations on return to instruction; used MSBA tool for measurement
spacing allows for bringing students back only a single day a week
district doesn't have the capacity to add more buses (due to cost, drivers, and manufacturing)
limitations on spacing severely cut down on number of students can be on
HVAC: use outdoor air instead of recirculated air and increase air filtration
adjust settings, open windows and doors, prevent or minimize recirculation, upgrade filtration
all basement classrooms "have been taken offline and will not be used as classroom spaces or other multi-purpose spaces until further notice"

Worcester School Committee meets Thursday

The agenda, it appears, did not make the inital posting of the new website (go look!), so I couldn't do this until this morning.

There are recognitions.

While the superintendent's report is her end-of-cycle goals, there is no backup posted, so there isn't any way for anyone to evaluate what is being reported.

There is a returning report on head lice, in which the district is aligning with best practice. 

The School Committee is being asked to consider and pass 2019-20 and 2020-21 school calendars (not a great copy, but if you scroll down, the dates are spelled out).

Mr. Monfredo is bringing forward a resolution that has been passed by several other committees regarding the foundation budget.
--Can we talk about this resolution for minute? As is readily apparent from this blog and elsewhere, I am fully in on passing an update on the foundation budget. But as a Worcester parent, I have some major issues with this resolution. First, it depends on model 4 of MassBudget's report of July; Model 4 has minimum per pupil aid. What that does is A) nothing for Worcester, and B) drives up expenses by ensuring that EVERY DISTRICT SEES INCREASES. Why would Worcester drive up the costs of the proposed solutions to the problem that keeps Worcester hundreds of teachers short every year? Further, this resolution, out of frustration with inaction, sets a date of May 1 for solutions. This will not happen. This is a new legislature; they will need new committees; they will not pass bills until those new committees have heard them. In short, this is a resolution that poorly serves Worcester AND sets itself up for failure.
I hope the Committee heavily amends this one before they consider it.---

Mr. Monfredo wants grade 3 reading set as a priority (doesn't the School Committee plan to set goals after the superintendent's evaluation? Why is this here?).
Mr. O'Connell wants staff to be able to use laptop computers in school (an item which clearly has more going on than posted).

The $2M in federal emergency impact aid for the students displaced by Hurricane Maria has come through and is being recommended for allocation to the salaries for 24 teaching coaches.

Miss Biancheria is asking for a list of Ch. 74 programs and for the process for changing bus stops.

There is also two prior year payments for approval: $697.50 for transportation, and $32.50 to a custodian.

And there are donations:

• $347.50 from Dogfather Vending LLC/Mark Gallant to WTHS 
• $1,000.00 from Gomez Enterprises LLC/McDonald’s to Roosevelt Elementary School
• $1,000.00 from Gomez Enterprises LLC/McDonald’s to the Worcester Public Schools to be used as a scholarship to a deserving student
• $2,000 from the Pappas Scholarship Fund to be divided equally to a student at South High Community School and another at Worcester Technical High School

The Committee also has an executive session posted for 6 pm for...no clear posted reason.

Worcester meetings this week

Two Worcester school meetings this week:

• The Governance subcommittee continues their power drive through policies with a meeting on Tuesday at noon (very conducive to public input). Note that this section includes those on students (J), on negotiations (H), facilities (F), community relations (K), and educational agency relations (L). Most of the policies are MASC boilerplate. Interesting that the superintendent's chief of staff (I have to check the org chart; I didn't know there was such a position) is being given the power to approve WPS statements.

The School Committee meets Thursday at 7 pm with an executive session at 6. In executive session, there are still negotiations with custodians, computer techs, IAs, and educational secretaries, plus there is a teacher discipline case and pending litigation.

MASC will be out to give a series of awards to community members and to Mayor Petty, who is this year's All-State School Committee winner in Division IX (urbans). 

The report of the superintendent is on nursing in the 21st century. There are the usual beginning of year appointments, resignations, and retirements. 

There is a response that the Capstone project--which is the big AP push--was funded in the current year budget; a short response on the wraparound coordinators working at schools; a response on the QUEST program at QCC; a response on the "Seeds to STEM" program from WPI; and a response on improved manufacturing options. 

There's also a response on possible federal grant impacts, which begins with "Federal initiatives are very much in a state of flux," which may be the understatement of the administration. 

There is an update on the  "management plan activities" on the PCB situation at Doherty and Burncoat. The committee (again?) proposes to review the resolutions before the Delegate Assembly of MASC in November. There's a proposed building fee change (no report) and the close of the FY18 books (also no report as yet).

The administration is proposing participating in the model Educator Evaluation system (?no backup?).

There are a series of donations.

Mr. O'Connell wants to invite a representative from MNA to tour the schools; to modify the McKinney-Vento grant to include hurricane impacts (uh...); to investigate licensure options for those coming from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands; and to ask DESE to extend the October 1 count to later, considering those who may be evacuating elsewhere.

Miss Biancheria wants to discuss the Community Addiction Response Program.

I'm also confused by a series of financial responses coming in from Mr. O'Connell and Miss Biancheria from the last meeting, as there were no fiscal reports on the last agenda, nor any items filed. There's a chart from the Operational Services Division of tuition rates. There's the Educational Divisions supplies account from the FY18 budget. There's an explanation of the changes in the administration account from FY17 to FY18. And there's a report on the Environmental Systems Management. These all feel like budgetary questions, coming during second quarter; did someone just review their budget now?

Quarterly budget transfers

Consalvo: 17% expended or committed
all new FY14 positions either filled or long term sub
projected balance in custodian account: vacancy of second shift custodial supervisor, as well as others
clerical overtime: training for new SAGE
one additional wheelchair bus added
projected balance in health insurance: actual increase did not reflect city projections
personal services: special education, and legal counsel (collective bargaining now ongoing)
being paid for electronical recycling
no transfers recommended at this time

Allen: projects an almost $400,000 deficit
expect adjustments in second quarter
suggest Spirit of Knowledge closure funds may mitigate
making sure students are appropriately classified as they enter

Changes from June: special education services: in district autistic services...fully growth in number of students, was not expected (also some unanticipated out of district placements)
nurses: showing a deficit: working with their staff to appropriately cover
workers compensation "something we really need to think about...to align that closer to what expenses are"

Foley: custodial overtime balances vacancy
demand for nursing rising
special education: managing those dollars
seeing an increase in workers' compensation: ask for an analysis. Requiring physicals pre-employment?

Novick: did not increase number of nursing substitutes when we increase number of nurses? No.
support realistic funding level of workers' compensation
query on utilities: increase of 40% in energy management services: even with rebid of contract
Allen: recommendation coming back from administration for FY15 on perhaps bringing this back in house

Worcester School Committee meets on Thursday

The Worcester School Committee will have its second February meeting on Thursday at 7 pm at City Hall. You can find the agenda here. 
(And it's a lengthy one; that's what happens when there's an extra week in between meetings!)
Governance and Employee Issues is reporting out from their meeting on Valentine's Day.
Administration is reporting back on:

• additional training for IA's (this is the backup, which doesn't make a lot of sense to me; asking)
• snacks for athletes: USDA After School Snack program is being implemented
• CORI's in other languages (in English, Spanish, Porteguese, Vietnamese, Albanian and downloadable in Arabic)
• principals hired over the past three years
• a change in an account name (to "Supplemental Programs Salaries")
• scheduled student (nursing) screenings
• a Constitution Day report
• evening meeting locations 
• notifying teachers of the state ethics commission finding on class gifts
• distribution of donated instruments
• music lessons citywide (there are more than I'd thought!)
• changes in the school nutrition regs (not a new change; just discussing a previous one)
• the articulation agreements
• Friday is READ ACROSS AMERICA DAY, which means there's a decent chance you'll see a Cat in the Hat hat at the meeting.

In other news: we still have $45,000 to allocate from the $500,000 the City Council sent to WPS.

The cross-country course at Newton Hill needs preservation, as the Fire Alarm Building changes hands.

There's a request for a waiver for the 180 day requirement.

Congratulations going to kids who received awards on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and on Valentine's Day. 

A request is coming in that we look at the summer learning collaborative.

There's a suggestion that we celebrate September 2 as "World War II Commemoration Day."

A request that we look at establishing mock trial and debate teams at the secondary level, as well as after school activities at the middle schools.

Mayor Petty is suggesting that we name the gym at Columbus Park School after Sergeant William Benjamin Soutra, Jr.

We need to look at the findings of the Civil Rights Secretary on sports participation and the Title IX finding, also on sports.

We're congratulating on Thomas Greene Award winners!

Mr. O'Connell has filed items regarding both changes to IDEA (on parental consent) and proposed Local Educational Agency Governance, Flexibility, and Efficiency Act.

We're congratulating South High's bowling team.

There's a request coming in for projected changes in principals for next year.

And we're asking how that increased supply budget was spent.

7 pm, City Hall!

Subcommittee today at 5:30

There is a meeting of the Standing Committee on Teaching, Learning, and Student Supports this evening at 5:30. You can find the agenda here.
Coming up on it:

• Nursing coverage at our summer school programs
• How far we've gotten on implementing the anti-bullying program
• Reporting out on the review of the special education report ('though I don't see an actual review here...hmmm)
• A report on this summer's programs
• A answer on crew requirements (including cost)

No live-blog from me tonight (it will be broadcast, as always, live on Ch. 11 and online via worcesterschools.org).

Note that the full School Committee meets Thursday at 4 (I'll do a post on that agenda later this week).

Worcester Public Schools FY13 budget

Publishing as we go
Boone: "set the stage from what has transpired since we issued the budget to the school committee"
additional funding and shifting funds to meet priorities
"addressed the request the $5million additional funding for four key areas"
plus class size
work with the city  manager to get additional funds above net school spending
additional dollars to accomplish this
$350,000 from the city for operating
$350,000 match from WPS
city agreed to capitalize funds for environmental mitigation