March 7 meeting of the Worcester School Committee

 The agenda is here. The report of the superintendent is here. The video of the meeting is here.

The National Anthem was sung by City View Elementary School's chorus.

The consent agenda passed as proposed.

Chhhhanges...

...or Round two of "No, no expansion in administration"

Should you be checking in on WPS internal postings or hearing of them, you will have seen some or all of the following from this past week:

• Facilities Director
• Technology Focused Instructional Coach
• Health and Physical Education Liaison
• Evaluation Team chairperson
• Focused Instructional Coaches at Clark Street, Canterbury, Elm Park, and Burncoat High

All of the above are current positions in the Worcester Public Schools. 

Very briefly: the Facilities Director is THE person who oversees any and everything having to do with buildings and grounds for the 50 buildings that we have for the Worcester Public Schools; he (currently) is the point person on everything from snow removal to heat to construction and renovation. 

The Technology Focused Instructional Coach is the person who gets teachers to the place they need to be for our kids to be able to do with computers and other technology that we want and need them to be able to do (and, not at all incidentally, one of the most in demand people in the district). 

The health and PE liaison is the one person in the district ensuring that the information that literally saves kids lives is being delivered in the classroom everywhere--in every school--in the district. 

The evaluation teams are the special education IEP teams; the person who coordinates those meetings with parents, staff, and others, and works through the decision making process is both legally necessary and crucial to the process. 

The focused instructional coaches--funded by Title IIA funds for that are for professional development and thus are not able to be used for other staffing positions--are how WPS does in-house professional development. 

All of these positions are projected to be continued in next year's budget.

Worcester School Committee meets Thursday

The Worcester School Committee meets Thursday. You can find the agenda here. 
We're thanking Hanover for the donation of a playground to Wawecus, and we're honoring both Roberta Schaefer and Maureen Binienda.
We have both Finance & Operations and Governance & Employees Issues subcommittees reporting out.
There are a few staffing changes coming through (normal for October).
We are being asked to accept a Target donation of $28.76.
We have several recognitions going forward: Worcester Tech, and the Distinguished Alumni and Friends.
We're being asked to accept a donation for Worcester Tech of $5501.
We're being asked to accept a 21st Century Learning grant of $145,000 for the Center for Non-violent Solutions.
We have several requests for reports: the recess spending, the feasibility of expanding gym to year round for all, expanding Let's Go WEMS for gym, the legal opinion on parental opt out, bike racks (or where they aren't), and a protocol for pedestrian accidents around schools (and yes, those are all mine. I had a few meetings last week...)
7 pm at City Hall!

Day by Day subs; supplemental programs; coaches; athletic OM

I'd just like to comment here that the AC is on and it is FREEZING
Colorio: jump in number of subs since 2007
Luster: quality individuals to continue instruction
"best effort that administration was able to do"
Novick asks: concerns with substitutes should go to the building principals or to HR
Biancheria asks about salary
Luster: ability to pay (this is less than local)
passes
Supplemental programs
O'Connell: PE for Creamer evening
only for students in the program?
Boone: open to students across the district
asks for a report
Monfredo: returnee program: how many students are in that?
Gribouski: 18 students this year, pilot year
as they finish, more students can access the program
extending through the summer
have students finish their credits over the summer and graduate by fall
Biancheria: could streamline costs of translators
community schools (Clark St, Canterbury, Elm Park, and Quinsigamond): what we consider a community school program? What are we offering?
back-and-forth and had a number of conversations
Boone comments that there was a report in TLSS on community schools; asks that it be reviewed
was there any change?
Boone: description has not changed; grants that have sunset (ed?)
Biancheria: "they have not changed their rates since 1994" (WPD)
additions to the Creamer Center of sped and ELL as well as the school adjustment counselor, can't find it in the site based budget
Luster: they are system-wide employees, they don't show up at the school budget
Allen: not a position, it's additional time (at $30/hour)
Gribouski: they're an hourly rate; both in evening program or credit recovery program
Novick: translation: how's it going?
we've added two languages! Twi and Patois (that's to Spanish, Portguese,Vietnamese, Albanian, and Arabic)
Colorio: if we aren't using services, will it be less?
Coaches:
O'Connell: do we assume everyone will field a team?
Allen: blanket amount, not sport or school
Shea: notes that some of girls soccer teams did not have enough numbers; softball in the spring (JV)
look at increasing participation for female athletes throughout the district
O'Connell: great success at citywide teams: should we switch some of these to individual high schools?
Shea: where we have seen it, we have tried to do so
O'Connell: can have both citywide and school-by-school teams? Yes.
asks for a report in spring for expanding sports teams
Colorio: middle school expansion: boys and girls basketball in winter
Shea: asked to go from Sept to May: intermurals throughout the year in three sessions
what are the sports? soccer, tennis, baseball, softball, floor hockey...all space dependant
working with principals
Biancheria: cheerleader advisers under athletes as they should be
bowling which is run as an after school program
approved
Athletic OM:
Novick: requesting a report on gymnastics equipment throughout the district, including location and condition
the Title IX survey showed girls most interested in gymnastics; major expense is equipment
complaint on MIAA costs, which Boone shares (I told her she had my support to lead a revolution)
supplies being cut due to purchase of new helmets last year
costs of rental of ice time and pool: underfunded
Colorio: urging gate revenue increase: get more people to games
Monfredo: could we look at the cost of a citywide gymnastics team?
rental of Foley Stadium sign
Allen: has been bid out four or five times with no success
O'Connell: how about an RFP?
Biancheria: report on athletic transportation; dollars spent by school
Shea: could be broken down by season, hard to do by school...Durham
Allen: can do in house
gate receipts offset costs in account: general spent on game officials

This is it for today!

Kids need more gym class

Sorry for the late posting on this one.
You may have caught some mention late last week of a recommendation for more gym class for kids in schools. It's a report from the non-partisan Institute of Medicine of the National Academies (you can read it online at that link for free).

 In this light, the IOM was asked to examine the status of physical activity and physical education efforts in schools, how physical activity and fitness affect health outcomes, and what can be done to help schools get students to become more active.

The recommendations specifically on physical education are: 

 elementary students engage in 30 minutes of physical activity in gym class daily. High school and middle school students should have 45 minutes of physical education. At least half of these classes should consist of vigorous or moderate-intensity exercise, the IOM said.

...in all cases, daily.
Students in the Worcester Public Schools, K-6, have gym class once a week. In grades 7-12, students have gym on a rotating basis; no student has gym for the full school year.

There's thus a MAJOR difference between our reality on the ground and this recommendation. Any increase here would absolutely require increased funding (and I would expect to hear a request for additional time in the day, too, though I'd rather see us to less of some of what we currently do).

The report further recommends:

children should get more exercise during recess, breaks and classroom exercises as well as in after-school sports, the report said. It advised against revoking recess privileges as a punishment for misbehavior at school.

Absolutely agreed!

The overlooked benefits of physical activity

Yet another article on the research. Yes, it increases test scores, but also GPAs and classroom behavior. Why are we arguing about time spent in gym and recess, again?

And yes, WPS policy does say 30 minutes a day. It can be inside at the discretion of the principal, but it does have to be 30 minutes, total, DURING the day.

Gym class reconsidered

Gym class is back on the Worcester agenda next week, as Mrs. Mullaney has filed for reconsideration.
Apparently much of what we were told during the meeting...wasn't the case.

What happened with gym class?

The T&G article covers what was a confusing conversation pretty well ('though the headline writer was going for cute rather than clear). For those who wonder what happened last night with the proposal to have sports (and outside activities, like dance and karate) count for gym credit in high school: it got sent back to subcommittee. Here's why:
Currently kids in high school in Worcester have to take a year (two semesters, four quarters) of gym in high school. The item proposed by some of my colleagues on the committee would allow team sports to count for that credit. This was done out of concern for kids who are maxing out their AP credits, for example, and are trying to pack more into the day.
The administration's response added outside activities--dance class, karate, anything where the student can get a "supervisor" to sign off--to count as well.
What was not clear from the written response to the item, but came out in questions, is the state requires gym in all four years of high school. Worcester thus has not been complying with state law. The administration's proposal would be available only to students who had already completed their in-classroom gym requirement. It thus would not replace the current gym requirement.
This came as a surprise to most of the committee--most of us didn't even know we were out of compliance--and clearly this is a different conversation. The administrative proposal is only due to staffing and (possibly) space issues, as we'd have to hire more gym teachers to offer gym for all four years.
Either way, we're going to need to change how we handle gym in high school.
So, back to subcommittee for more information!

Teaching, Learning, and Student Support reporting out (with lots o' conversation around gym!)

(this includes both the question of kindergarten age and the sports counting as gym items)

 several motions coming out asking for information and funding formula changes on the kindergarten item, including a request that preschool be included in state funding, and that teachers have conversations in April with parents about potential holdbacks
report coming back in December

Counting sports as gym class

We've got a letter here as backup which says gym "shall be taught as a required subject in all grades for all students" (MGL 71, s.3)...does that mean they all have to take it?
It appears that the Commissioner is saying that sports cannot count as gym class.
Some conversation from Mullaney and O'Connell in the lack of understanding this demonstrates of students who participate in sports.

Guess what can make kids smarter?

Gym class.

Foley: recess

Foley: "we suffered through math wars for several years; now we're living in recess wars"
"the data (on health) is frightening"
"we have got to make some changes now...I come from that perspective"
Part of the problem we're facing is the loss of physical education
"additional demands of time on learning"
"caught between principals and principles"
"if it's a guideline, it's less important..."
"recess is important...we've hearing from parents that recess is not being held..recess is important for child development"
"recess should not unnecessarily be withheld from children"
"have to have a good balance there"
"commonsense approach to the weather"
"I support the idea of site-based management"
"learn more about what happens in the schools...any ideas that you have to make it work better...talk about it with the site council..what's working, what won't work in the schools"
"Struck by the before school activity...maybe that can be blended into the school day"

PQA report

There were two superintendent's reports on Thursday. The Comprehensive Program Review, done by the state, coordinated on our end by Dr. Gribouski, was the second presentation.

Coordinated Program Review: done every six years: complience with federal and state mandates
done every six years with a three year follow-up

• WPS corrective action plan developed by WPS in November, approved January
• Progress report submitted Monday
• 2nd progress report due May
• full progress report due in October
  

safety issues have all been addressed as of January 2010
training and development of materials and protocols in the first progress report

District Program of studies so all students know what options are avaliable to them, and what it takes to get there (so no surprises in high school math, for example)
May report is implimentation report
budgetary impacts:

• translation services,
• additional hours of ESL services,
• ELL professional development,
• gym for all kids,
• more guidance counselors,
• keeping kids in special needs in age-appropriate classes,
• monitoring needs,
• services for kids who are eligible for ELL and sped,
• physical restraint training (ongoing),
• protocols and processes within and across depts,
• program of studies/admission policy implimentation may take money,
• articulation agreements,
• embedding academics in Tech

And in the "we could have told you this" file...

Gym class humiliation can ruin exercise for the rest of your life.
(thanks, Brendan)