Board of Ed for October: State Student Advisory Council

 The backup provided is here, though it doesn't tell us anything

Sara Khan speaking to this from slides that are hard to see
SSAC Summer Leadership retreat
analyzed a lot of data, data gathering and analyzing

November Board of Ed: on Holyoke

 on to Holyoke

but first a student performance; a section of "Miss Nelson is Missing" which Holyoke High performed this past week

updating as we go

The second Worcester School Committee meeting of the term

 ...and if I let these get too far away from me, we'll never catch up!

The agenda is here; the video is here.

Please note the important takeaways from the FY25 budget presentation here. I managed to catch just the second half of WEC's FY25 forum this past week, in which Mr. Allen replicated his presentation, and I was concerned that the questions didn't seem to be those stemming from a $22M budget gap. Let's start to get ourselves into that mode, folks. 

And as a reminder, here's the advocacy at the state level: 

Board of Ed in sum

Crossposted from MASC 
The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education met on Tuesday, November 28. The agenda is posted here. 
The meeting opened with updates from Acting Commissioner Wulfson, who spoke of the recently signed LOOK bill on bilingual education. He commented that it was "designed to provide additional flexibility for English language learners," and he told the Board that they would receive a complete update at their December meeting. He also spoke of the results of the first school climate survey, which students took after completing the MCAS this past year. He said it was a "first attempt to quantify some qualitative measures." He noted that the influx of students coming from Puerto Rico not only has continues, but appears to have picked up, with the state having passed 1400 new students last week; the state continues to monitor that and is discussing what is to be done with and for districts both this year and next. Finally, he warmly praised East Boston's McKay School, which he recently visited and was among the schools positively profiled in a recent Boston Globe article.
Secretary Peyser gave a brief update on the administration's interagency opioid work.
Public comments included opposition to wireless internet access and testimony from the head of the two virtual schools in support of the proposed tuition increase (see below).

Novick Reports: Massachusetts plans for ESSA

cross-posted from the MASC site, as I thought having it here might be useful 
Also, read this EdWeek report on how states in general are responding
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education intends to submit their plan for implementation of ESSA to the Board at their March meeting, with submission to the federal government at their earliest due date in April. This would allow for a response by the U.S. DoE prior to the beginning of the next school year, such that districts would know the direction intended in implementation.
The plan thus far was the topic of the Board's special Monday night meeting, with some continued discussion on Tuesday morning. The presentation to the Board can be found here. A two page highlights of the plan can be found here. An executive summary is here.

Board of Ed: another round of public comments

these non-charter related in topic
Katie Ryan from Mass Advocates for Children
Trauma and Learning Policy
support inclusion of a school climate measure in the ESSA
state has taken two steps: Safe and Supportive School law; Chapter 222 "positive responses as opposed to suspension"
both a survey measure and a data measure
students, parents, and staff on perceptions of safety, relationships, access
Sagan: with you in concept but questioning how you can do it in a meaningful, accurate and measurable way
Letter from Boston Student Advisory Council
"we are the reason for schools' existence, but too often voices are not heard"
DESE has opportunity to reset the standard on which schools are measured
measure school climate
survey should not be attached to the MCAS; delivered in a place that encourages thoughtful engagement

Jonathan Rappaport: Arts Learning
applauds inclusion of well-rounded education
"clearly one of the main goals of the new ESSA law"
appreciate DESE clearly listened to parents, teachers, and students over past eight months
Sec'ty Peyser questioned what an arts indicator might look like
brought an example adopted by CT, NY and others
Massachusetts has never had any requirement
10% of elementary time devoted to arts by arts certified teachers
request for data on arts: we have that too!
arts should be included among other successful turnaround strategies
no questions