Worth a read this week

 Things I have been reading: 

• This story from The 74 on how Boulder, Colorado parents worked with their district to change (very much in process) how students with autism are worked with in the district.:
  

  Modern practitioners defend the intervention, saying ABA no longer subjects children to physical punishment. Yet documentation of its harms is mounting, as researchers — including autistic adults who underwent ABA as youngsters — gather evidence that the therapy has caused widespread PTSD. Autistic children may no longer be subjected to electric shocks or slaps to the face — and the word “aversive” may sound kinder than “punishment” — but they are routinely denied food, toys and comfort items, as well as adult attention, a strategy practitioners industrywide call “planned ignoring.” ABA providers still frequently restrain children or confine them in isolation — practices recognized as so dangerous and traumatic as to be illegal in most circumstances in Colorado schools.

   I learned from this that the person who created ABA, Ole Ivar Lovaas, also created conversion therapy, which is of course banned many places. 
  
  

• The Boston Globe looks at parents who are organizing for more recess in schools. From this I learned that there is a national "Say Yes to Recess" group. 
  I will say, though, that I'm a little tired of the Globe doing this "in a bill pending before the state legislature" coverage when the Legislature is done with formal sessions. 
  
  

• In the state ballot questions campaigns here in Massachusetts, it's Smith and Wesson bankrolling the "no" vote on question 9 (which would repeal some gun control measures), with the largest funding for "yes," which keeps the legal language, seeing its biggest funding from the teachers' union. You can find that reporting here.
  
  

  

  not hard, eh? Vote yes on 9.

  
  
• Connecticut, which is among the states that allows no religious exemption to school vaccine requirements, just had that requirement upheld in the courts.

Recess for all

 New this morning, the American Academy of Pediatrics has issued today their first updated guidance on recess, and they're doubling down on its importance. From the AP's coverage: 

The group “has always supported play – free play for kids – but it’s been increasingly threatened over time,” partly by the drive for higher test scores, said Dr. Robert Murray, a lead author. “It has a very powerful benefit if it’s used to the fullest.”

The new guidance, published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, is similar to the previous policy statement but cites the latest research on why these breaks are essential for kids’ academic success and mental, physical, social and emotional growth.

You can read their full publication, which includes links to relevant research, here.  

I will opine only as I have before that there is a solid argument for Massachusetts counting recess as instructional time, which is the main holdup on increasing such time. That would take the Board of Ed passing a change to the time on learning regulations, 603 CMR 27.04.

Some things to read this week

From tabs I have open today:

• I thought this look at the "anti-conviviality" of generative AI was very interesting and important for those who are in education: 
  

  The expertise you would have gained by growing your own fruit, by trying in fits and starts to make your own vision a reality—these opportunities for growth are completely lost. Unless you actively work against the natural way to use these tools, you become increasingly dependent on them. You can produce and produce without ever growing yourself. Even worse, it's not hard to see how the skills you do have will slowly atrophy from lack of use.

•  Intriguing question being raised by the courts in Canada on if social media companies might hold a "duty of care" to school boards: 
  

  Should the Court recognize a novel duty of care in this case, social media companies could be found liable to individual users and public institutions, such as school boards. 
  
  

• And speaking of Canada, a recent report from the Ontario Ministry of Education yielded this post on the importance of recess: 
  

  As researchers who have long studied the links between school environments and children’s well-being, we know that reducing or restructuring recess time can negatively impact learning and development.
   Indeed, research consistently shows that recess plays a vital role in academic success, mental health and overall well-being.

• You should always read what Zahava Standler at New America writes; today she writes on the crucial role a national Department of Education fulfills and what we stand to lose by not having that: 
  

  Across these policies runs a common thread: We are not in this together, we owe each other nothing, and the future is not our concern. It is a small, mean vision of America.

• Relatedly, the New York Times has a lengthy piece on the damage the Trump administration is doing to community colleges, and, by extension, our communities: 
  

  Community colleges already subsisted on budgets that most four-year schools would find laughable, lean operations that delivered hefty returns on investment for their areas. Get care at a local doctor’s office, or prepped for surgery at a hospital, or treated after an accident, or have someone come to your home to do repairs — “those are all community-college grads, all of them,” the community-college leader told me. “This collateral damage is going to end up being regional economic damage.”

  and the joy in this quote! 
  

  “Milton is the GOAT!” he cried out. “‘Paradise Lost’ is everything that I love!”

What happened at the first March meeting of the Worcester School Committee

And my apologies: it has been a big news week in Worcester, and I have been ill so I haven't been updating (I plan to spend some of the time I anticipate being snowbound this weekend catching up). Here, in any case, is what happened at the March 3, 2023 Worcester School Committee meeting, for which I was remote. As always, this is my perspective as a member of the Committee, so keep that filter in mind!

The agenda is here; the video of the meeting is here.

Note that we did open with executive session covering our negotiations with seven collective bargaining units, and we had public comment regarding those negotiations.

The report of the Superintendent was on Innovating in education. It starts about 11minutes into the video. Among other things, this gave us a demonstration of Chatbot GPT writing a lesson plan. Let me highlight a few things:
Here's where we were going:

                  

And education is caring for the present, while enabling for the future.
        

And we're moving towards this Vision of a Learner (which is how we're continuing what had been the Portrait of a Graduate) and then what that would mean. 

We had two reports out from Standing Committees: the February meetings of both Finance and Operations, and of Teaching, Learning, and Student Supports. I never got to summarize that F&O meeting, so let me just quickly note a few things:

• in terms of transportation, all of our large buses are now owned as well as operated by the Worcester Public Schools. We have added back, for the first time in two years, athletic after school runs (only two so far; more to come for spring). There is another delay on the midsize buses (yes, supply lines, still).
  
  
• There's $22.8M in ESSER funding going to HVAC and hot water. The bulk of this is going to HVAC work in nearly every WPS building. HOWEVER, in doing the full look at what is necessary, the report also noted that we need $200M in HVAC work alone. We have to pay attention to the enormous backlog we have in facilities.
  
  
• If there's anything at all that you're wondering about from a capital budget--that is, big work on buildings--side, the quarterly facilities report is the place to look. Our eyes, of course, are closely on (for example) Burncoat, where the wait for acceptance in the MSBA pipeline for a full renovation or rebuild has now resulted in a NEASC accreditation issue; we're in the process of getting a full review of exactly what it is that they are looking for and what that will cost (as, again, we've discussed over several meetings now). As always, though, there is a lot more in the report, as we have a lot of buildings. 
  
  
• we transferred a million dollars as a result of this report, and if you review the quarterly budget report (and do read our quarter budget report! They are an incredibly clear way to follow what goes on with our budget!), you'll see why: utilities are up! Way up! And we also (like many districts!) continue to have positions open, and so we've transferred money from salaries to overtime (specifically for custodial coverage). And on that last, as I said above: we have a lot of buildings, and a lot of space, and we're doing it with many fewer people. That has an impact. 

On TLSS, they discussed the ongoing use of tutoring services in the district; at this point, the administration is determining if the usage and utility justifies the cost. They also discussed school lunch and recess times--families and students may be interested in this comprehensive chart of all of them--with a motion to move all elementary schools to a 20 minute lunch without impacting the 30 minute recess, and reporting back on feasibility. The administration reported that lunch time at the secondary schools is sufficient. There will be further work and reports forthcoming on the district providing drivers ed and of the discussion on conduct and effort in grading policies. 

WE ARE CHANGING THE DATES OF OUR APRIL MEETINGS due to so many holidays and a vacation week! Stay tuned!

We are also required by state law to hold a public hearing--of the full committee!--on our budget after it comes out but before we deliberate. This year, WPS budget day--mark your calendars (you think I'm kidding? I do!)--will be FRIDAY, MAY 12! We will be deliberating and passing the budget on Thursday, June 1 and Thursday, June 15, so the hearing will be sometime between May 15 and 31. Stay tuned for that, too!

And in response to a parental concern, I've asked the administration to look at our bullying policy. More on that in a forthcoming report of the superintendent. 

The full Committee next meets Thursday, March 16. Please note that there is a meeting of Teaching, Learning, and Student Supports on Tuesday, March 14; Finance and Operations meets on Monday, March 20. 

Worcester School Committee meets Thursday

...for their final meeting of the year and of the term.
The agenda is online here.
Interestingly, there are a boatload of minutes from executive sessions dating back to 2016 being released. Even more interestingly, the City Council is doing the same on minutes dating back as far as 2010! That doesn't seem random, and I wonder what it is that has happened that pushed this sudden influx of public information?
I am reviewing these quickly, but here's a section from the first executive session of January of 2016 which seems prescient:

The minutes are for the reviewing of proposals for the superintendent search; Jack Foley makes a recommendation which was a recommendation coming out of an executive session of Finance and Operations, that Hazard, Young, and Atea be hired. Instead, Dianna Biancheria makes a motion to cancel the national search, which is approved, 5-2, Foley and Mayor Petty voting in opposition. 

We should note here that the guidance from the Attorney General's office is clear that minutes are to give indication as to what the discussion was, not simply give a record of votes. These on the School Committee side do not do that.

I'm going to loop back around to the report of the superintendent which is the midcycle review in another post.

There is a meeting of Governance and Employee Issues on Tuesday (agenda here) which will be reporting out; the agenda appears to be policy amendments (they're updates from the state).

There are several midyear appointments and retirements.

There is a report coming back on after-school programs, as requested by Mr. Comparetto, though it does not include the attendance and results requested.
There is a list of responses to the question "what is your policy to ensure school safety during arrival and dismissal times?" (note these are procedures, not policies).
There is a response to Mr. Monfredo's ongoing questions around cursive.

There is a request for two prior year payments, neither with any backup:

• in the amount of $1,144.18 to a teacher.
• in the amount of $625.00 to MicroNet Associates, Inc.

Regarding fiscal year reporting, the annual memo from Associate Commissioner of District and School Finance says this:

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and I take the accountability requirements of the Education Reform Act seriously. Our ability to track progress toward reaching the goals of the Reform Act depends on accurate and timely data collection and reporting. We must be able to rely on the data that you report to administer Chapter 70 and other state and federal funding programs in a timely manner.

The previous fiscal year of course closed June 30.

The Committee is being asked to approve the following donations:

• $380.00 from Dogfather Vending, LLC to Worcester Technical High School
• $100.00 from donors to the George & Marie Maloney Scholarship Fund
• $100.00 from 495 Truck Center to City View School
• $27.00 from a donor to the Worcester Public Schools

Miss McCullough is proposing that the Baker/Polito public awareness campaign "RESPECTfully" be included in future sex ed curriculum.

And Miss Biancheria is proposing: 

Request that the Administration consider forming a Committee consisting of School Committee administrators, staff and a representative from the Mayor’s office to discuss plans to initiate a fitting tribute and dedication to Brian A. O’Connell, an outstanding former member of the School Committee who served from 1983 to 2019.

Perhaps I should note here that the naming of facilities remains a power of the School Committee.

The administration is also recommending the filing of six pages of items that are with administration, which are worth reviewing, as there is some interesting stuff here! To wit:

• the administration speaks of a "human rights" attorney in their response over using in-house verses exterior counsel. My understanding is the School Committee has a contracted special education attorney and one who specializes particularly in contracts; who is handling the human rights aspects?
• the administration is planning to hire a part-time PR person; they are currently interviewing candidates. One should note that this is a new position, which was not in the FY20 budget and for which the School Committee has neither seen nor reviewed a job description.
• the district has costed out renovating the modular classrooms. Are we at any point going to talk about the comprehensive facilities plan? Those were never intended to be a permanent solution!
• to an item regarding increasing recess in kindergarten, the administration responds that they are unable to due to state structured learning requirements. This is of course not the case; so long as the students have 900 hours in elementary instruction, other time can be used for recess. That may, however, require other considerations including lengthening the day. 
• There is active work going on around parking at the downtown administration building.
• Discussion of Doherty's vocational programs is being kicked down the road to the final plan for the building 

There is an executive session at 6 to discuss worker's comp cases for a bus driver and a facilities coordinator.

Joint Committee on Education hearing: recess, sexual assault, translation and other matters

You can find the bills being considered online here. Posting as we go once we start

Chair Peisch opens the hearing; looks like mostly reps here on the committee
(this is going in the order posted, hearing each bill at a time, skipping any bills on which no one has signed up to testify)

Joint Committee on Education hearing tomorrow

Just an FYI that there is a Joint Committee on Education hearing tomorrow--you can find the posting here--and I'll be blogging and tweeting from it.

Fall Joint Committee hearings

These are always shared as "subject to change," but the Joint Committee on education as of right now has two hearings scheduled for this fall:

• Wednesday, September 4 on a whole host of things, but the big ones are recess, the make up of the Board of Ed, and nutrition
• Monday, October 7 mostly on charter schools

Both start at 11 am in Room A-1 at the State House 

Worcester School Committee meets Thursday

Let me note by the way that we've entered the biannual "city council takes up school committee items" that happens every election year; that was last week, but there are more items on this week's agenda. We're also seeing the school committee agenda flooded with items, as happens every election year. That'll get a lot of reports generated (maybe) but it doesn't get work done.

In any case, the Governance subcommittee has a meeting scheduled this week on Tuesday (it says Thursday, but I'm going to guess the date is what's right) with a number of items that...look like they belong in finance? However both a possible lunch policy and adherence to the recess policy are the agenda, which I know is of interest to many.

As a side note, having to click through means one can miss meetings; Teaching, Learning, and Student Support met on March 20. This report on Hanover Academy raises more questions than it answer. There was also a report on snow day remote learning (which looks mostly as though it is another copy of DESE's information on it).

The full Committee meets Thursday. The agenda is here. The superintendent's report is on AVID.

The mostly-online back and forth over a post by Mr. Comparetto (see the first Worcesteria item here) is being taken up by the EAW president Roger Nugent, who calls Mr. Comparetto's comment "racist."

Mr. Nugent is also requesting additional speech and language pathologists.

There are appointments and recognitions.

The same backup is coming back on online grading and has anyone yet asked about doing it in house?

Mr. O'Connell is suggesting the use of Confronting White Nationalism in Schools: A toolkit. I'll just leave that there.

Somehow we're still seeing prior year payments, this one for $60.00 to the LearnWell for in-district tutoring.


There is a request that the committee accept a donation of $5,700 from the Goddard Scholars Academy PTO for Chromebooks.

Mr. Monfredo is collecting books and suggests that administrators highlight programs in their schools during the report of the superintendent.

Miss McCullough is proposing "Adulting Days."

Oddly, Mr. Monfredo and others are suggesting now that the Committee send a letter requesting "Foundation Funding Bill that would benefit the GateWay Cities," which is odd coming from a committee that received the clear comparisons they did.

There is a request for dates and times of spring cleanups.

Mr. Comparetto is proposing: district school committee seats; mentorship opportunities; a report on teacher diversity; a grow your own teacher program; a report on One City, One Library; a report on farm-to-school programs; an internship program; a moratorium on high-stakes testing; a report on progress of the strategic plan; a request for additional budget hearings; a report on wraparound coordinators; an update on immunizations; after school and out of school programming.

Mr. O'Connell is asking for information on Stembus.org

Miss Biancheria is asking for a report on "Stand for the Silent."

And there is an executive session on a grievance, a workers comp case, possible litigation around a teacher, and Jane Doe v the Worcester Public Schools.

The Worcester School Committee meets November 1

You can find the agenda here.
There are a number of recognitions, including a request for a letter (a letter?) to congratulate Elm Park on exiting Level 4 status.

First up, the report of the superintendent is the accountability report. If you follow state reports, a lot of this will look familiar, as Worcester's doing something valuable here: more than half the presentation is explaining how the accountability system has changed. (More of this!) To do this, they've essentially swiped the DESE slides in walking through how it has shifted (this is not an easy thing to explain; I'll be interested in how it goes!) for the first half. The second half is Worcester data and (sigh...how about we don't do this) comparing Worcester results with other urbans. What I don't see here--I'll be interested to see if it comes up--is some discussion of what in particular are the areas of needed focus within the district and school by school.

The Administration is forwarding "for informational purposes" (hmph) job descriptions for two new positions: Assistant Director of Finance and Operations for Nutrition and Marketing, Communication, Initiative and Outreach Coordinator. There's no public backup.

The administration has given the Perkins grant allocation, as requested.

The ongoing saga of chasing homeschooling families around on paperwork has a response back from administration. By my read, the form doesn't appear to agree with what's said in the report, for starters. 

The administration has responded to the request that administration clarify with staff participation in the electoral process by...sending them back the committee-approved policy GBI.

Miss McCullough is seeking a possible policy on lunches (the length of them, particularly in elementary schools); a review of IT password creation and security; and a review of the recess policy "to ensure it is being adhered to districtwide" (that's school committee agenda-speak for "it isn't; let's fix that").

Mr. O'Connell is asking about possibly renting modular classrooms for Burncoat Prep (This would be additional modulars, as Burncoat Prep already has several).

There are also donations:

• $1381.09 to Worcester Arts Magnet School from the Parent Teacher Group for the purchase of a new water fountain 
• $1090.00 to Tatnuck Magnet School from various donors through fundraising efforts 
• $2500.00 to the Worcester Public Schools from DonorsChoose.org 

...and prior fiscal year items:

• in the amount of $7,724.18 to Wheelabator Millbury, Inc.
• in the amount of $238.39 to Home Depot Credit Services.
• in the amount of $241.65 to Northeast Electrical Distributors.
• in the amount of $172.50 to Signet Electronic Systems, Inc.

There is a 6pm posting for an executive session for collective bargaining with Tradesmen, Plumbers and Steamfitters, and Aides.

Joint Committee hearing on start times, recess, innovation zones

The agenda is here, 'though I don't, as yet, know in what order they'll be taking testimony.
The hearing starts at 10. Posting as we go. 
It appears they'll be taking the "zone" bills first. They are H.304 and S.279
Senator Chang-Diaz is calling the joint committee hearing to order. More on the House than the Senate side represented.
"We have a full house today; we anticipate going very long today."

Worcester School Committee meets tonight, November 17

Falling way behind on these, I fear...
The Worcester School Committee meets tonight at 7 pm. You can find the agenda here.
The main item on the agenda--pursuing a lawsuit against Monsanto regarding PCB use--has not only already been previewed by Scott O'Connell, but we already know it's going to pass: yes, a quorum of the School Committee indicated in the article that they plan to vote in favor of the item, thus violating the Open Meeting Law. While there are plenty of lawsuits against Monsanto, the ones that have been successful, as far as I can tell, were individuals suing Monsanto for cases of cancer. There isn't a clear trail of cases that show this could work.

The student representative is bringing forward something about the cell phone policy (cheers!)

The report of the Superintendent is on the revamped Office of Curriculum and Professional Learning.

There are some retirements, resignations, and appointments.

There is a response regarding services for Deaf students.
There is a response regarding recess equipment.
There is a response regarding school accountability levels  and what is being done in response to them.

Mr. O'Connell is concerned about the accessibility of the website.
He also wants Worcester to be part of DESE's "Planning for Success"
He also wants WPS to have net metering (which would be up to the city).

There are a number of donations that the administration is asking the School Committee to accept.

Miss Biancheria would like a report on manufacturing options.

There is also an executive session at 6 pm, for negotiations with plumbers and pipefitters, computer technicians, tradesmen, instructional assistants; for three workers compension cases; and for the lawsuit with the union regarding PCB testing. I wouldn't expect the meeting to start on time.

and no liveblog from me 

Recess four times a day

The pilot in Fort Worth of kindergarten and first grade students getting four 15-minute recess periods a day has been getting a bit of press. While this is a start, note that Liink is a broader program beyond that of only the additional recess.  They're also working to:

1. Increase the amount of physical activity/recess in the schools
2. Create equality across content areas; add ethics/character development as a content area
3. Assess students differently (assess with developmental tracking instead of grades twice a semester); less standardized testing – more local control
4. Restructure the school day (less hours in classroom for K-6 students; extra time in play/creativity)

You can read more about their results here.  You can follow their blog here. 

Seattle Teachers' contract includes student recess

Yesterday, the Seattle Teachers' Union voted to ratify a contract, thus ending the strike that began two weeks ago. Besides raises, what's included in the contract? Student recess. And not just that:

 Highlights include: 

•  Recess: Guaranteed 30 minutes of recess for all elementary students.

• Reasonable testing: New policies to reduce the over-testing of our students.

• Professional pay: Base salary increases of 3 percent, 2 percent and 4.5 percent, plus the state COLA of 4.8 percent

• Fair teacher and staff evaluations: Test scores will no longer be tied to teacher evaluations, plus there is new contract language that supports teachers' professional growth.

• Educator workload relief: Additional staff to reduce workloads and provide student services.

• Student equity around discipline and the opportunity gap: Creating race and equity teams at 30 of the district's schools.

• The administration's proposal to lengthen the school day: Teachers will be compensated for additional work.

How was the recess money spent?

You can find the report here.

Summer week links round-up

Summertime, so I'm not posting as often. Some things you might like to read:

• This Atlantic article about why some schools are getting rid of their iPads is a worthwhile read, as we have conversations around what technology we invest in. As always, it's not about the technology; it's about what we're doing with the technology. 
• Guess where kids best learn executive function? Not in the classroom. 
• I've been largely staying out of the Campbell Brown/Whoopie Goldberg/insert-person-who-doesn't-understand-due-process-here dustup, but here's a good response on why due process matters and is in the best interest of kids. 
• You may or may not have been following what's going on in Boston around the Dearborn Middle School; either way, here's a good update on that.
• And if your kids are in the Worcester Public Schools, you may well know a lot of this, but read on for why you should choose the Worcester Public Schools!  

Recess supplies

I'm referring this list to PTOs and to CPPAC; check it out! Are some schools buying things that your school should?

Worcester School Committee meets Thursday

The FIRST Worcester School Committee of the new term is on Thursday at 7pm. You can find the agenda here.
First of all, we have (as usual) an executive session at 6 pm. As I mentioned, the reasons for the executive session now are posted as part of the agenda (it's the final item). On Thursday, we have three disciplinary hearings, a grievance, negotiations with the Coordinator of Nurses (one on that list of positions whose contract is with the School Committee), and negotiations with the union of the administrative secretaries.
At 7 pm (or thereabouts), the public session begins.
We have a public petition regarding the naming of the new North High softball field.
We'll have both the Joint (F&O/Education) and Finance & Operations subcommittees reporting out (Remember, F&O meets tomorrow at 5 pm).
We have a beginning-of-year flurry of personnel items: resignations, appointments, transfers.
We have a response to some queries Mr. O'Connell had on preschool, including a list of service providers and options for the other half of the day.
At Miss Biancheria's request, we have a list of STEM events (she asked for February and March, but it looks as though this is the year).
We have a response on middle school sports.
My One Library item is on again, so I can ask a few questions (still no MOU, though, so I'm going to ask that we hold it again).
We have an extensive answer to Mr. Monfredo's questions on summer school and its efficacy.
We also have another preschool item coming back.
We have an answer to my question of where the $1 per pupil recess money went. (Bonus points to whomever put the chart together and added relevant clip art!)
We also have an answer to which schools have bike racks: Claremont Academy, North, South, Worcester Tech, Burncoat Middle, Sullivan Middle, Chandler Elementary, and Flagg Street. (Anyone out there who wants to work on this?)
We have a response from administration on dealing with increasing enrollment, as well as one on questions about items at North.
We also have the awaited FY14 additional budgetary allocation! And, sorry, it's not an exciting recommendation from administration, but it's a necessary one.
We have items coming in asking for honors and thanks!
We also have items asking that admin work with CPPAC on their annual expo and on parent enrichment activities, that the POW/MIA chair be available to schools for programs, that the process for using School Dude be reported on, that the WPD set up a text line for reporting unshoveled sidewalks, that we get a list of every school to which graduating seniors have been admitted, that we get a report on fitting out of North High (and remaining funds), that safe routes to schools be reported on, and that teachers get their retroactive pay in full at the next check.
Administration will be sending along new courses to subcommittee!
We have a prior year payment of $1072 and one of $3088.20 up for approval.
We also donations: $6408.01 to Lake View School from the parents; $1000 from National Grid for Doherty robotics; $500 from a Mobil retailer to Grafton Street.
And Mr. Monfredo wants to be sure that we celebrate Read Across America Day!
At City Hall at 7 pm and live on Channel 11!

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!

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!