I didn't blog this last night (as I was out of battery), but there was a discussion later in the meeting that may matter later: Mr. Comparetto spoke to his item on the need for wraparound services and staff in every school, and of their being allowed to do their actual job rather than other things. Mr. Monfredo, responding, rather oddly remarked that while the Student Opportunity Act would get the district more money, it wouldn't be enough to get wraparound coordinators in every school.
...er, what? If the School Committee decides that's the most effective way of working on the issue of poverty in the schools, yes, there will absolutely be enough money for wraparound coordinators in every school. That's a pretty out-of-touch remark.
Mr. Foley said that he had been planning to wait to make a motion on the budget until the bill passed (wise), but since it had come up, he made a motion that either the full committee or the Finance and Operations subcommittee plan on holding a public hearing early on regarding use of the funds. Mayor Petty deflected it back to Foley, saying that it should probably be done by the subcommittee.
Miss Biancheria then stood to insist that it had to be done by the full committee, 'though her argument seemed to be about every member being included rather than about, say, public transparency.
I should note that Mr. Foley has brought this up more than once, most recently at the Legislative update held by the Worcester Educational Justice Alliance last week.
Anyway, as I've said elsewhere, we are going to need a more thorough and inclusive public budget process, and that was stepped towards last night.
Showing posts with label wraparound zone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wraparound zone. Show all posts
Friday, October 18, 2019
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
June Board of Education: Level 5 report focuses on the Parker
backup is here
Johnston: new receiver for the Parker School in New Bedford; receiver team
Fran Roy of School & Main was assistant superintendent in Fall River
School & Main "a non-traditional receiver" started at Brandeis in 1985
rooted in challenges that underperforming schools or economically challenged schools face
technical assistance for wraparound zones; evaluation of online learning
systems for students success
"have incubated a Schools for the Future model" for kids that are overage and undercredited
Roy: work to date at the Parker
transition from in-house superintendent to outside receiver
wanted to do own assessment of school
needed to find a principal; believe they've found a candidate
certainly "have been a lot of eyes on the school"
collaborating with staff for professional development in July
family and community partnerships
"the Parker needs community supports"
"there's a list of partners that's a bit catch as catch can...has been all hands on deck"
"next level of work...is let's have a ship where all of ships are headed in the same direction with partners playing the roles they're best suited to play"
"a group same direction kind of push"
"capacity to improve Parker lies within Parker"
moving to tiered family support model
parents build their own capacity to lead
"this is a 'we' situation and we're all moving ahead on the work that we do"
"tight-knit collaborative and committed staff" at the Parker
Moriarty: using the STAR assessment and measuring summer assessment
"call that out as a really good process...hope you can patent that and sell elsewhere"
hope that there are practices in place
ELA students did better than general population "but I can't praise it [cites stats]...it's appalling"
Riley: "you have an opportunity to win the fall with parents"
"we hope you seize it"
Johnston on the other schools
asked to have more comparative data; report focuses on inputs and some outputs
data in the fall
Johnston: new receiver for the Parker School in New Bedford; receiver team
Fran Roy of School & Main was assistant superintendent in Fall River
School & Main "a non-traditional receiver" started at Brandeis in 1985
rooted in challenges that underperforming schools or economically challenged schools face
technical assistance for wraparound zones; evaluation of online learning
systems for students success
"have incubated a Schools for the Future model" for kids that are overage and undercredited
Roy: work to date at the Parker
transition from in-house superintendent to outside receiver
wanted to do own assessment of school
needed to find a principal; believe they've found a candidate
certainly "have been a lot of eyes on the school"
collaborating with staff for professional development in July
family and community partnerships
"the Parker needs community supports"
"there's a list of partners that's a bit catch as catch can...has been all hands on deck"
"next level of work...is let's have a ship where all of ships are headed in the same direction with partners playing the roles they're best suited to play"
"a group same direction kind of push"
"capacity to improve Parker lies within Parker"
moving to tiered family support model
parents build their own capacity to lead
"this is a 'we' situation and we're all moving ahead on the work that we do"
"tight-knit collaborative and committed staff" at the Parker
Moriarty: using the STAR assessment and measuring summer assessment
"call that out as a really good process...hope you can patent that and sell elsewhere"
hope that there are practices in place
ELA students did better than general population "but I can't praise it [cites stats]...it's appalling"
Riley: "you have an opportunity to win the fall with parents"
"we hope you seize it"
Johnston on the other schools
asked to have more comparative data; report focuses on inputs and some outputs
data in the fall
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Worcester School Committee "Community and Schools Forum" at Worcester State
I'm blogging tonight from the "Community and Schools Forum" at Worcester State University tonight. It's co-sponsored by the Latino Education Institute, Adelante, CENTRO, Southeast Asian Coalition, and African Community Education. This is a good one, because Worcester is a majority children of color system; the stats for last year are:
Worcester has--and will continue to have, regardless of the results of the November election--an entirely white school committee.
| Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity (2016-17) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race | % of District | % of State | |
| African American | 15.4 | 8.9 | |
| Asian | 7.4 | 6.7 | |
| Hispanic | 41.8 | 19.4 | |
| Native American | 0.2 | 0.2 | |
| White | 31.1 | 61.3 | |
| Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander | 0.0 | 0.1 | |
| Multi-Race, Non-Hispanic | 4.1 | 3.4 | |
Sunday, October 15, 2017
Worcester meetings this week
Two Worcester school meetings this week:
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.
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?
- 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.
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).
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.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.
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?
Thursday, December 17, 2015
MassBudget discussion on the Foundation Budget Review Commission
Opening with this quote from Horace Mann:
Interesting to look at education: better educated workforce is correlated with stronger economy. Virtually no outliers (Alaska and West Virginia are the two; if you have coal or oil, you're an exception)
"The way to have a stronger economy IS to have a better educated workforce"
35 years ago, the picture was different (look at Michigan auto plants, for example)
early education, access to health care, other supporting systems working
"important to strengthen our economy in twenty to thirty years"
"it's not going to take one thing, it's going to take these things working together"
covering early education, wraparound services, and extended learning time
early ed: students are going to be better set-up for success; for parents, have a standard place for kids to go, where they'll be safe and well-cared for
kids will have higher rates of employment
programs need to have small class sizes, developmentally appropriate curriculum, appropriate facilities
about a third of low income kids in MA lack publicly supported pre-K
(and more kids who don't have public support above that threshhold)
quality pre-K cost exceeds EEC subsidies and foundation budget
"getting to the quality that we need" means getting from (to use NJ) from $5K to $1 3K
in some schools, 50-60-70% (or higher) kids coming from low income background
set of programs doing something about it, integrated with schools, sometimes co-located with schools
health service clinics, mental health services, prevention, wellness, family resource centers
"not effective to ask the same people to do more work"
"not just in moving social indicators but also the academics"
$1300 in cost per student (total statewide cost of $468M)
increased learning time
highest income families are spending $9800 per year per kid on enrichment out of school
"this is where policy can come in and level the playing field"
"you have to not just do more of the same"
"great opportunity for, not just for kids to get extra support, for teachers to work together"
improved academics combined with engaging enrichment
also working with wraparound services
citing $1600 for ELT, summer, after-school ($575M)
higher ed: for tuition free community colleges and state universities
net cost of $325M
what are the most important things we could do?
I'll give names if I know them; apologies otherwise
someone from early childhood: if the focus on what happens at zero-three a little more strongly, but in a way that also engages parents as partners
build skills that make them more successful at this level
kids learn early, pretty significant savings down the road
member of the Hingham School Committee: education funded by the local towns (Hingham is a minimum aid community); schools don't necessarily get that money
important for towns to understand that
Norma Shapiro: local level important to understand that much of the research that has been done has been done in urban areas
"the place that it really makes a difference is in the urban communities"
"majority of the students that living in Massachusetts live in those urban communities"
successful economy, success of children in urban communities are tied together
particularly important for state to support urban schools
former Rep. Alice Wolfe: how can you actually disseminate the information adequately to the towns and throughout the state
"before we have a ballot question...we have to have the messenging done really well"
so the decisions are really made wisely
otherwise opportunity will be wasted
UMass: someone who would say you should do this tomorrow
fear you may have oversold the advantages of education
median wages (and economic inequality)
if you correct graph for cost of living, suspect graph might not be so steep in gains
connection seems important in figuring that out
"education often presented as a panacea...it's not"
"a lot of other things outside of education are important as well"
MassBudget: inequitities are because our top earners do better, not that our low income people do worse
prof at Northeastern Law (MassBudget board): resisted urge to add up numbers and add another $1B to take care of the low-hanging fruit first
which produces the greatest benefit per buck?
MassBudget: not a scientific answer
One option for generating revenue for generating this thing
state collecting a smaller share of economic outlook today than in the early 90's
largely due to changes in the personal income tax
"cost around $3B a year in lost revenue"
income tax rate, dividends & interest, personal exemptions
weak wage growth, and a lot of the growth that has happened has gone to top 1%
"not the way the economy has to function, not the way the economy has always functioned"
how does that effect revenue?
"sometimes termed an 'upside down structure'"
the bottom 99% pays a higher share of taxes: 9.4%
top 1% 6.5%
most of that is the sales tax
$2B lost from top level is gap discussed
proposed constitutional amendment to additional 4% rate to any income over $1M
raise about $1.7B in new annaul income dedicated to education and transportation
makes system more fair (though there would be a 1.4% gap remaining)
rate only applies to any dollar over $1M
federal government will reimburse about 1/3 of that (as funds paid to state are deduced from federal income)
most states tax higher rates of income at higher levels
Massachusetts would be in line with NY, VT, DC, NJ if it passed
Chelsea superintendent: gap is huge, need is huge
"our needs are great and the money is not there"
"where does this intersect with the foundation budget review commission...it seems like the the report was the tree falling the forest: it's big and nobody heard it"
now getting review of FBRC said, which I'm skipping notes on
and yes, then I kicked the question of "what about this year?" up, with a suggestion that a negative inflation year, if budgeted as a regular inflation year, gave the state potential room to make progress on something (I suggested inflation); they also should at least discuss how to make low income work
Noah Berger from MassBudget agreed that the inflation suggestion was a possibility
something of a piecemeal review of history of the foundation budget
FairShare amendment is three years away: "I don't think we can wait...I think we need to be thinking of strategies to move this forward" sooner
Hingham rep: "the answer was 'we don't have any money'"
"if we can get the leadership together to agree to get together and agree to start chipping away at issues...to start building on it and tackling it"
Tom Scott, MASS Executive Director:
special ed and health insurance are funds that we are required to fund
have to pull money away from other programs: "limited number of places for school committees to go"
"expression coming of 'how long can this path continue?'"
"we talk about Chelsea and our large urban districts...we have a lot of suburban communities that have an urban experience"
social-emotional development number one need for communities
Chelsea "where is the moral imperative?"
MassBudget: don't look at us, we're a research organization
MassBudget interesting first step on foundation budget on inflation factor, as it is a negative factor this year:
"that could create an opportunity...does open up some space...there is that extra room"
Barbara Madeloni: change the conversation
begin to talk about the kind of schools our kids need
social-emotional needs of our kids
begin to make income inequality a critical issue in public education
"need to be deeply democratic conversations at the school committee level"
experience of people in their daily lives, and how does that impact the experience of young people in the classroom
giving us some aspirational goals for this
"There's a lot of powerful people at this table, and we have the power to do this."
Shea (from Senator Chang-Diaz's office): how are we going to pay for it? but not in FY17 in the FairShare amendment
concerned about losing momentuum
Senate increased earned income tax credit; took away a tax credit that no one had ever heard of
"there are other ways to do this in the short term"
"needs to start thinking of incremental ways that we can move the dial"
Boston Children's Hospital
changing tide of divestment in our kids to help them really be successful
one place that we as a community may want to be looking for resources
$1B in state tax benefit for business investment: research that shows that they're at best marginally successful
early childhood much more successful
Dave Verdolino, MASBO: if we're trying to convince taxpayers in this state that more resources...early childhood, you leverage that investment for the next twelve years
that's the impetius for having people get behind why we need to spend more money
"that's a universal thing"
Norma Shapiro: how do we convince people on this? fewer and fewer households without children
many more people who have no connection to the school system
MassBudget: people have the sense that why Massachusetts is a good place to live is the education system
making that point that investment now in education is going to shape the economy
Having no other mines to work, Massachusetts has mined into the human intellect; and, from its limitless resources, she has won more sustaining and enduring prosperity and happiness than if she had been founded on a stratification of silver and gold, reaching deeper down than geology has yet penetrated...From her earliest colonial history the policy of Massachusetts has been to develop the minds of all her people, and to imbue them with the principles of duty. To do this work most effectually, she has begun it with the young. If she would continue to mount higher and higher toward the summit of prosperity, she must continue the means by which her present elevation has been gained. In doing this, she will not only exercise the noblest prerogative of government, but will cooperate with the Almighty in one of his sublimest works.Connection between level of taxation and economic strength: there is no correlation!
Interesting to look at education: better educated workforce is correlated with stronger economy. Virtually no outliers (Alaska and West Virginia are the two; if you have coal or oil, you're an exception)
"The way to have a stronger economy IS to have a better educated workforce"
35 years ago, the picture was different (look at Michigan auto plants, for example)
early education, access to health care, other supporting systems working
"important to strengthen our economy in twenty to thirty years"
"it's not going to take one thing, it's going to take these things working together"
covering early education, wraparound services, and extended learning time
early ed: students are going to be better set-up for success; for parents, have a standard place for kids to go, where they'll be safe and well-cared for
kids will have higher rates of employment
programs need to have small class sizes, developmentally appropriate curriculum, appropriate facilities
about a third of low income kids in MA lack publicly supported pre-K
(and more kids who don't have public support above that threshhold)
quality pre-K cost exceeds EEC subsidies and foundation budget
"getting to the quality that we need" means getting from (to use NJ) from $5K to $1 3K
in some schools, 50-60-70% (or higher) kids coming from low income background
set of programs doing something about it, integrated with schools, sometimes co-located with schools
health service clinics, mental health services, prevention, wellness, family resource centers
"not effective to ask the same people to do more work"
"not just in moving social indicators but also the academics"
$1300 in cost per student (total statewide cost of $468M)
increased learning time
highest income families are spending $9800 per year per kid on enrichment out of school
"this is where policy can come in and level the playing field"
"you have to not just do more of the same"
"great opportunity for, not just for kids to get extra support, for teachers to work together"
improved academics combined with engaging enrichment
also working with wraparound services
citing $1600 for ELT, summer, after-school ($575M)
higher ed: for tuition free community colleges and state universities
net cost of $325M
what are the most important things we could do?
I'll give names if I know them; apologies otherwise
someone from early childhood: if the focus on what happens at zero-three a little more strongly, but in a way that also engages parents as partners
build skills that make them more successful at this level
kids learn early, pretty significant savings down the road
member of the Hingham School Committee: education funded by the local towns (Hingham is a minimum aid community); schools don't necessarily get that money
important for towns to understand that
Norma Shapiro: local level important to understand that much of the research that has been done has been done in urban areas
"the place that it really makes a difference is in the urban communities"
"majority of the students that living in Massachusetts live in those urban communities"
successful economy, success of children in urban communities are tied together
particularly important for state to support urban schools
former Rep. Alice Wolfe: how can you actually disseminate the information adequately to the towns and throughout the state
"before we have a ballot question...we have to have the messenging done really well"
so the decisions are really made wisely
otherwise opportunity will be wasted
UMass: someone who would say you should do this tomorrow
fear you may have oversold the advantages of education
median wages (and economic inequality)
if you correct graph for cost of living, suspect graph might not be so steep in gains
connection seems important in figuring that out
"education often presented as a panacea...it's not"
"a lot of other things outside of education are important as well"
MassBudget: inequitities are because our top earners do better, not that our low income people do worse
prof at Northeastern Law (MassBudget board): resisted urge to add up numbers and add another $1B to take care of the low-hanging fruit first
which produces the greatest benefit per buck?
MassBudget: not a scientific answer
One option for generating revenue for generating this thing
state collecting a smaller share of economic outlook today than in the early 90's
largely due to changes in the personal income tax
"cost around $3B a year in lost revenue"
income tax rate, dividends & interest, personal exemptions
weak wage growth, and a lot of the growth that has happened has gone to top 1%
"not the way the economy has to function, not the way the economy has always functioned"
how does that effect revenue?
"sometimes termed an 'upside down structure'"
the bottom 99% pays a higher share of taxes: 9.4%
top 1% 6.5%
most of that is the sales tax
$2B lost from top level is gap discussed
proposed constitutional amendment to additional 4% rate to any income over $1M
raise about $1.7B in new annaul income dedicated to education and transportation
makes system more fair (though there would be a 1.4% gap remaining)
rate only applies to any dollar over $1M
federal government will reimburse about 1/3 of that (as funds paid to state are deduced from federal income)
most states tax higher rates of income at higher levels
Massachusetts would be in line with NY, VT, DC, NJ if it passed
Chelsea superintendent: gap is huge, need is huge
"our needs are great and the money is not there"
"where does this intersect with the foundation budget review commission...it seems like the the report was the tree falling the forest: it's big and nobody heard it"
now getting review of FBRC said, which I'm skipping notes on
and yes, then I kicked the question of "what about this year?" up, with a suggestion that a negative inflation year, if budgeted as a regular inflation year, gave the state potential room to make progress on something (I suggested inflation); they also should at least discuss how to make low income work
Noah Berger from MassBudget agreed that the inflation suggestion was a possibility
something of a piecemeal review of history of the foundation budget
FairShare amendment is three years away: "I don't think we can wait...I think we need to be thinking of strategies to move this forward" sooner
Hingham rep: "the answer was 'we don't have any money'"
"if we can get the leadership together to agree to get together and agree to start chipping away at issues...to start building on it and tackling it"
Tom Scott, MASS Executive Director:
special ed and health insurance are funds that we are required to fund
have to pull money away from other programs: "limited number of places for school committees to go"
"expression coming of 'how long can this path continue?'"
"we talk about Chelsea and our large urban districts...we have a lot of suburban communities that have an urban experience"
social-emotional development number one need for communities
Chelsea "where is the moral imperative?"
MassBudget: don't look at us, we're a research organization
MassBudget interesting first step on foundation budget on inflation factor, as it is a negative factor this year:
"that could create an opportunity...does open up some space...there is that extra room"
Barbara Madeloni: change the conversation
begin to talk about the kind of schools our kids need
social-emotional needs of our kids
begin to make income inequality a critical issue in public education
"need to be deeply democratic conversations at the school committee level"
experience of people in their daily lives, and how does that impact the experience of young people in the classroom
giving us some aspirational goals for this
"There's a lot of powerful people at this table, and we have the power to do this."
Shea (from Senator Chang-Diaz's office): how are we going to pay for it? but not in FY17 in the FairShare amendment
concerned about losing momentuum
Senate increased earned income tax credit; took away a tax credit that no one had ever heard of
"there are other ways to do this in the short term"
"needs to start thinking of incremental ways that we can move the dial"
Boston Children's Hospital
changing tide of divestment in our kids to help them really be successful
one place that we as a community may want to be looking for resources
$1B in state tax benefit for business investment: research that shows that they're at best marginally successful
early childhood much more successful
Dave Verdolino, MASBO: if we're trying to convince taxpayers in this state that more resources...early childhood, you leverage that investment for the next twelve years
that's the impetius for having people get behind why we need to spend more money
"that's a universal thing"
Norma Shapiro: how do we convince people on this? fewer and fewer households without children
many more people who have no connection to the school system
MassBudget: people have the sense that why Massachusetts is a good place to live is the education system
making that point that investment now in education is going to shape the economy
Tuesday, November 17, 2015
DESE's FY17 budget priorities
The Board of Ed Budget subcommittee established the following priorities for their FY17 budget:
- curriculum & instruction/ early literacy
- educational time & after school programs (to which, on a suggestions from Margaret McKenna, they added 'summer' as well)
- student well-being: nutrition programs, safety, social-emotional well-being
- civics education
- school-to-career connection activities
- educator development
- student assessment
- targeted assistance for schools and district turnaround work
Note that Secretary Peyser recused himself, as these requests then go to his office for discussion before being submitted to Governor Baker in his creation of House 1.
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Meeting the needs of students in poverty (MASC conference)
Margaret McKenna, who introduces herself as the daughter of two Central Falls (RI) schoolteachers.
"the first thing we should do is say the word 'poverty'"
"you don't hear it much said now...it should be the number one topic"
"the first thing we should do is say the word 'poverty'"
"you don't hear it much said now...it should be the number one topic"
Monday, September 28, 2015
Foundation Budget Review Commission is BACK
After a summer hiatus, the Foundation Budget Review Commission is meeting today at the State House at 9:30 in hearing room A1 (which is in the basement, if memory serves). I'm heading in on the train to take notes.
As the initial report took up out-of-district special ed (though not to the degree necessary) and health insurance, they'll be looking at what's left at this point. The list they've put together is:
As the initial report took up out-of-district special ed (though not to the degree necessary) and health insurance, they'll be looking at what's left at this point. The list they've put together is:
- in-district special education
- low income increment
- ELL increment
- mental health/ wraparound services
- Professional development/common planning time/instructional coaches
- extended learning time
- technology
- full day preschool
- K-3 pupil-teacher ratios
- operations and maintenance
- inflation adjustment
They're also going to be looking at their effective use and efficiencies charge, and they've floated several items on tying expenditures to particular uses.
Notes to come!
In
-
District SPED cost rate
Low
-
income increment
ELL increment
Mental Health/Wraparound ser
vices
PD/Common Planning Time/Instructional coaches
Extended learning time
Technology
Full Day Preschool
K
-
3 pupil:teacher ratios
Operations & maintenance
Inflation adjustment
In
-
District SPED cost rate
Low
-
income increment
ELL increment
Mental Health/Wraparound ser
vices
PD/Common Planning Time/Instructional coaches
Extended learning time
Technology
Full Day Preschool
K
-
3 pupil:teacher ratios
Operations & maintenance
Inflation adjustment
In
-
District SPED cost rate
Low
-
income increment
ELL increment
Mental Health/Wraparound ser
vices
PD/Common Planning Time/Instructional coaches
Extended learning time
Technology
Full Day Preschool
K
-
3 pupil:teacher ratios
Operations & maintenance
Inflation adjustment
In
-
District SPED cost rate
Low
-
income increment
ELL increment
Mental Health/Wraparound ser
vices
PD/Common Planning Time/Instructional coaches
Extended learning time
Technology
Full Day Preschool
K
-
3 pupil:teacher ratios
Operations & maintenance
Inflation adjustment
Friday, September 11, 2015
It goes beyond academic
h/t to Fitchburg Superintendent Andre Ravelle and to Professor Mary Walsh for their editorial speaking of the sorts of services our students need. Foundation Budget Review Commission, take note!
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
WPS FY16 public hearing on the budget: UDPATED with slide screenshots
posting as we go (Note that the meeting is now online)
Economou: one of the things I ran on was trying to find a better working relationship between schools and Council
"it's starting to show the fruits of our efforts"
cut in fee on grants from city
"more pro-active working relationship"
"as we do progress forward as a group...a better working relationship between City Hall and here at the School Department"
think foundation budget needs to be changed; "when it came on, it came on outdated"
Foley: two items on the school side
one to consider items of joint interest, but also to consider the city's contribution for FY16 and years following
working relationship: "Great meeting yesterday"
"very positive, very collegial"
"what I heard yesterday was really about one city"
continuing to move the city forward positively
Councilors were talking about the need for students support
later in timeline than in past years
city has approved bottom line; committee has not reviewed ours yet
(Note that you can find Mr. Allen's presentation online here)
Economou: one of the things I ran on was trying to find a better working relationship between schools and Council
"it's starting to show the fruits of our efforts"
cut in fee on grants from city
"more pro-active working relationship"
"as we do progress forward as a group...a better working relationship between City Hall and here at the School Department"
think foundation budget needs to be changed; "when it came on, it came on outdated"
Foley: two items on the school side
one to consider items of joint interest, but also to consider the city's contribution for FY16 and years following
working relationship: "Great meeting yesterday"
"very positive, very collegial"
"what I heard yesterday was really about one city"
continuing to move the city forward positively
Councilors were talking about the need for students support
later in timeline than in past years
city has approved bottom line; committee has not reviewed ours yet
(Note that you can find Mr. Allen's presentation online here)
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Liveblogging: Foundation Budget Review Commission meeting
Posting from the Mass Bar Association, 16 Beacon Street. It looks as though the Commission is having a presentation from MassBudget today. Members of the Commission as originally constructed here; note that the Governor has turned over and that some send designees.
Updating as we go.
Peisch: very very few rooms of this size at the State House (and all were booked)
reminder that meeting is being recorded
two presentations today on 'what works' when looking at effective and efficient policies
Rennie Center and MassBudget:
"a whirlwind tour of what works in education"
this is a surface level: "What we want to do is be useful to you all"
20th anniversary of Ed Reform on 1993
create a comprehensive vision of education: tried to say what does our entire educational system need
largely focused on schooling: K-12 education
"we now define education quite differently; we talk about what happens in school, but also what happens outside of school"
many of the reforms we're looking at take place outside the traditional school day
state expanding how it supports education: early education, innovation schools, educator evaluation
"state is grappling with an expanded definition of education"
early childhood education: large proportions of students not scoring proficient/advanced in third grade testing
serving less than 2/3rds of low income children who would benefit from high quality education
expanding access and improving quality
strong short and long term benefits: for kids, for parents, for economy (parents working, then kids going on to do better)
for all 3 and 4 year olds in MA under 200% of poverty:
I've got a photo of the chart to put in here:
other models: NJ has done a hybrid expansion of preschool (Abbott districts)
state fully funds full-day pre-kindergarden: funding goes to districts, which either does it or subcontracts it out
spend just under $13,000 a student
statewide average for K-12 in MA is $14,547
NIEER quality estimate for a full year, 9 hour day: $13,900
currently 1/2 day low income: $5,297 (base rate plus low income increment)
Q: implication that you need full day not half day? Any data that full day is neessary?
Schuster: providing information; helps family to have full day, not necessary role of school to provide that
Q: have we tracked comparable students as they go on?
response: childcare as well as education
we've now clarified the question!
yes, students who are in preschool (versus not) do benefit; there is data, 'though not the statewide evaulation of preschool (as there is no single statewide model of preschool)
Q: inputs here are clear; the outputs...do you see anything that involves reducation of cost for special education
A: getting early prevents misclassification and gets in correct program early on
Schuster: a lot of the dollars are already being spent on early education; they're just being spent by parents, not the public
Early childhood Sec'ty: just starting to get some data on children now: "just a very small slice" of children in programs, though
Condition of children in
12% of kids absent 10% of days enrolled or more
10% or kids 16-24 are not in school or employed
9% of students transfer in or out of school in a year
children are bringing a complex set of issues into school: homelessness, poverty, mental health issues, etc
wraparound services: in school or around school
per pupil costs estimates 2011-12 (not full costs)
"something that costs as high as what the Creamer costs to provide would not fit into the current per pupil expense model" I think I got that right
early college designs: early college credit in high school, but also early ID of academic needs and college counseling
looked at Amesbury High/Northern Essex CC; Winchendon High/Mt Wachusett CC; Marlboro High/mulitple partners
in some of these models, parents are funding; if not through grants, college, federal funding
creating flexibility to enable these strategies provides new opportunities
Q: raising age of requred attendance impact? No impact on graduation rate in states that have done it
athletics as an enrichment opporutnity
break
Presentation from the Revere Public Schools, Paul Dakin, Superintendent
Updating as we go.
Peisch: very very few rooms of this size at the State House (and all were booked)
reminder that meeting is being recorded
two presentations today on 'what works' when looking at effective and efficient policies
Rennie Center and MassBudget:
"a whirlwind tour of what works in education"
this is a surface level: "What we want to do is be useful to you all"
20th anniversary of Ed Reform on 1993
create a comprehensive vision of education: tried to say what does our entire educational system need
largely focused on schooling: K-12 education
"we now define education quite differently; we talk about what happens in school, but also what happens outside of school"
many of the reforms we're looking at take place outside the traditional school day
state expanding how it supports education: early education, innovation schools, educator evaluation
"state is grappling with an expanded definition of education"
early childhood education: large proportions of students not scoring proficient/advanced in third grade testing
serving less than 2/3rds of low income children who would benefit from high quality education
expanding access and improving quality
strong short and long term benefits: for kids, for parents, for economy (parents working, then kids going on to do better)
for all 3 and 4 year olds in MA under 200% of poverty:
I've got a photo of the chart to put in here:
other models: NJ has done a hybrid expansion of preschool (Abbott districts)
state fully funds full-day pre-kindergarden: funding goes to districts, which either does it or subcontracts it out
spend just under $13,000 a student
statewide average for K-12 in MA is $14,547
NIEER quality estimate for a full year, 9 hour day: $13,900
currently 1/2 day low income: $5,297 (base rate plus low income increment)
Q: implication that you need full day not half day? Any data that full day is neessary?
Schuster: providing information; helps family to have full day, not necessary role of school to provide that
Q: have we tracked comparable students as they go on?
response: childcare as well as education
we've now clarified the question!
yes, students who are in preschool (versus not) do benefit; there is data, 'though not the statewide evaulation of preschool (as there is no single statewide model of preschool)
Q: inputs here are clear; the outputs...do you see anything that involves reducation of cost for special education
A: getting early prevents misclassification and gets in correct program early on
Schuster: a lot of the dollars are already being spent on early education; they're just being spent by parents, not the public
Early childhood Sec'ty: just starting to get some data on children now: "just a very small slice" of children in programs, though
Condition of children in
12% of kids absent 10% of days enrolled or more
10% or kids 16-24 are not in school or employed
9% of students transfer in or out of school in a year
children are bringing a complex set of issues into school: homelessness, poverty, mental health issues, etc
wraparound services: in school or around school
- health services clinics
- mental health services, prevention, wellness
- family resource centers (homelessness, parental unemployement, etc)
- school and district level coordination needed
need someone whose sole job it is to coordinate these services
"not asking teachers to be social workers"
need to be aligned with a strong academic program: stabilize food, shelter, health, then frees up kids to learn
increasing recognition that this matters: Tulsa (TACSI)
can't prescribe what programs are; responds to what needs of community are
achievement closed or significantly narrowed in fifth grade test scores
incredulity (from commission member): "if you can wipe out the gap in one year, then why do you need preschool?"
'cause maybe something other than test scores matter?!?
took significant work to get there
Reville: is it simply enough to optimize instruction in the school or does mitigating other issues have an impact?"
(and they do)
Chang-Diaz: not necessarily moving one kid over a year: snapshot
also "we're always happy to follow up"
whole school intervention versus schools that did not: no math gap and 75% elimination of reading test gap
Madeloni: what constituted a strong academic program? Had afterschool, had Head Start, "can't say what all of the interventions were"
can follow up
CityConnects model in Boston and Springfield run out of Boston College
"were found to have an impact on high school completion and rention", following a middle school intervention
operate in elementary, middle, high school
cost: $1312/students: health clinics, mental health, wellness, prevention, family resource centers, district and school level admin
suggestion from Early Ed Sec'ty that intervention could be in early ed and multiply impact
comment: read by grade three: have not mentioned anything about after kindergarten; suggestions that there's all kinds of tradeoffs
"what does each one cost, which does each one contribute?"
A: what are the core resources of this work? "provide resources to provide non-academic resources"
Reville: a fallacy that any of these are an inoculation
support provided in a year but then withdrawn loses the effect
which ones have the longest lasting impact if we can't afford to do all
Chelesa super: have to be careful in looking for that magic bullet
"and it's at every age bracket that we need wraparound services"
Q: what does the $1312 include?
A: a mix and match of outcomes in the field (from Columbia Teachers' College in health clinics, KY family resources adjusted to MA dollars...)
but was not an effort to look at what dollars exist in the system and are currently being used in this way
Increased learning time: low income children not getting rich out of school learning that higher income peers are: $1450 to $9800 per family (comparing lowest 20% to highest 20% by family)
"need to do new things with that time...can't just do the same thing longer"
time is also for teachers to collaborate
improved academic engagement with enrichment
small group tutoring
also works well with wraparound services
Nearly all turnaround schools have done some sort of extended learning time, but it hasn't always worked the same
Orchard Garden: working with children with community partners, teachers twice amount of time to collaborate
supported MCAS score growth
"It shouldn't be thought of as three years and then it's done for life"
"the money is gone, but the kids are coming in with the same challenges"
Peisch asks if the drop off happened when fund went away
Reville: another case of providing services until improvement, then withdraw them 'and hope the growth continues'
for Orchard Gardens: $1651 (plus $1640 from Citizen Schools)
after school in LA $1747
summer learning $1440 for BELL summer program
High Schools:
multiple pathways to a diploma: flexible schedule, muliple ways to earn credit
more personalized learning, remediation, socio-emotional interventions, applied learning
increase completion rates
The Creamer center (hey, WPS!), Gateway to College at Massoit CC, Drury High Learning Lab, and I can't read the last one; inserting chart, which you probably won't be able to read, either. I'm going to see if I can dig it up:
'cause maybe something other than test scores matter?!?
took significant work to get there
Reville: is it simply enough to optimize instruction in the school or does mitigating other issues have an impact?"
(and they do)
Chang-Diaz: not necessarily moving one kid over a year: snapshot
also "we're always happy to follow up"
whole school intervention versus schools that did not: no math gap and 75% elimination of reading test gap
Madeloni: what constituted a strong academic program? Had afterschool, had Head Start, "can't say what all of the interventions were"
can follow up
CityConnects model in Boston and Springfield run out of Boston College
"were found to have an impact on high school completion and rention", following a middle school intervention
operate in elementary, middle, high school
cost: $1312/students: health clinics, mental health, wellness, prevention, family resource centers, district and school level admin
suggestion from Early Ed Sec'ty that intervention could be in early ed and multiply impact
comment: read by grade three: have not mentioned anything about after kindergarten; suggestions that there's all kinds of tradeoffs
"what does each one cost, which does each one contribute?"
A: what are the core resources of this work? "provide resources to provide non-academic resources"
Reville: a fallacy that any of these are an inoculation
support provided in a year but then withdrawn loses the effect
which ones have the longest lasting impact if we can't afford to do all
Chelesa super: have to be careful in looking for that magic bullet
"and it's at every age bracket that we need wraparound services"
Q: what does the $1312 include?
A: a mix and match of outcomes in the field (from Columbia Teachers' College in health clinics, KY family resources adjusted to MA dollars...)
but was not an effort to look at what dollars exist in the system and are currently being used in this way
Increased learning time: low income children not getting rich out of school learning that higher income peers are: $1450 to $9800 per family (comparing lowest 20% to highest 20% by family)
"need to do new things with that time...can't just do the same thing longer"
time is also for teachers to collaborate
improved academic engagement with enrichment
small group tutoring
also works well with wraparound services
Nearly all turnaround schools have done some sort of extended learning time, but it hasn't always worked the same
Orchard Garden: working with children with community partners, teachers twice amount of time to collaborate
supported MCAS score growth
"It shouldn't be thought of as three years and then it's done for life"
"the money is gone, but the kids are coming in with the same challenges"
Peisch asks if the drop off happened when fund went away
Reville: another case of providing services until improvement, then withdraw them 'and hope the growth continues'
for Orchard Gardens: $1651 (plus $1640 from Citizen Schools)
after school in LA $1747
summer learning $1440 for BELL summer program
High Schools:
multiple pathways to a diploma: flexible schedule, muliple ways to earn credit
more personalized learning, remediation, socio-emotional interventions, applied learning
increase completion rates
The Creamer center (hey, WPS!), Gateway to College at Massoit CC, Drury High Learning Lab, and I can't read the last one; inserting chart, which you probably won't be able to read, either. I'm going to see if I can dig it up:
per pupil costs estimates 2011-12 (not full costs)
"something that costs as high as what the Creamer costs to provide would not fit into the current per pupil expense model" I think I got that right
early college designs: early college credit in high school, but also early ID of academic needs and college counseling
looked at Amesbury High/Northern Essex CC; Winchendon High/Mt Wachusett CC; Marlboro High/mulitple partners
in some of these models, parents are funding; if not through grants, college, federal funding
creating flexibility to enable these strategies provides new opportunities
Q: raising age of requred attendance impact? No impact on graduation rate in states that have done it
athletics as an enrichment opporutnity
break
Presentation from the Revere Public Schools, Paul Dakin, Superintendent
80% poverty, when MCAS started was 7th from bottom, now all Level 1 and 2 schools
"part of the reason why are fiscal, but part is consistency with administration and consistency in policy with school committee"
have been superintendent for 14 years
"have embraced education reform"
"first from a foundational belief perspective"
philosophical: when we can agree to something, moral imperative goes on the table: "what is best for kids"
"has saved a lot of noise"
continuity and the successes we've had bring people back
"see in my head the vast degree of need...of children who are struck with poverty"
force of parents,
"some of prime elements of wraparound services are critical"
"with $7000 more, to people who believe that money doesn't matter, we could do it"
"part of this is economic"
look at income: "can work down costs and investigate the avenues you have"
not many ways to maximize income anymore
foundation budget, local contribution, not as many competitive grants as there used to be
work to pull kids back from private schools: "have enough choice in the district that you don't need to go elsewhere"
"it's a determined strategy and it's a real strategy"
parents won't think to send child without a rigorous system
philosophical belief that all kids can learn and work on that
how efficient we can be; most cost
agreement that if they took over transportation, they could keep any money that they saved
keep life skils students in district
adding programs for children with autism: "space is becoming an issue"
"can educate them in the community"
have children appreciate those academic and social differences
restructured administration: redesigned to put administrators working in curriculum working on the floor
adminstrators are "managing student life on the floor so order can prevail"
"guides in the school with teachers working with teachers so they have to collaborate"
"probably have five times the social workers that we had five years ago...that's not lower class size, but...kids can go to the classroom...and aren't wrestling with their own inabilities"
felt needed School Resource officers "students were running the asylum"
rubs off on the community in the sense that kids get a different sense of what an officer is like
building resiliancy; what baggage kids come in with
working to build not only in kids but also in teachers in dealing with it
cultural competency so as not to alienate parents and families
"bit the bullet in any sort of expansion we could" and put full day kindergarten in place
"there are penalties for success that we're experiencing"
becoming Level 1 and 2 takes DESC (?) money from us that allowed us to get there and now those moneies are taken away
expanded learning time in three schools
have an innovation school that tinkered with time a bit
...and each of them have worked.
struggle with TFA: teachers were great for the two years they had them, then they left; long term need for buy in with teachers who have the professional development
going to be crossing a path with income versus cost in ELT schools
teacher degrees go up; salaries go up; grant never goes up: has always told teachers never to count on ELT funding
getting to a point where the people who are already in the program can't provide the services
25% more time for 18% of the salaries for ELT; brought in Citizen Schools for expanded time so teachers could collaborate
"that's a predicament we're in and I think every ELT school is"
student-center learning environment with heavy doses of technology
"if we don't progress...we don't take that task in the next few years...I have students ready to have conversations on how to improve their work at the fifth grade"
Q: put your testimony in the lead with Worcester "there's some cause for optimism"
where are you with foundation? At (I checked; Revere is 7.6% over for FY15; they were last under in FY11)
with exemplary results as you have, and you spend at foundation, isn't that enough?
No, we're still missing children.
transient population is growing
immigrant population of older children who are nearly illiterate in their own language
"now have a line item in my budget for newcomers academy"
Q: you're still underspending foundation budget on instructional categories
money is going to health insurance instead
"That's one of the things I can't fix, though: YOU people can fix it!"
"That has to be in your recommendations not mine"
Super in Chelsea: "don't want commission to lose sight that Paul has been able to do that because of the ELT grant"
"what's the sustainable predicable funding streams for schools?"
Chang-Diaz: what are the numbers that you're hitting in Revere?
95% or so making it through MCAS on their first taking it in tenth grade; kids who don't make it first time in many cases were not in Revere through most of school
programs for kids who have the goal of getting them to where they need to be
Foundation Budget isn't moving fast enough to keep up with student population
Q: is Revere a minimum aid community? No (because it's a foundation aid community)
Q: what is the relationship with the city? A: School Committee has been very proactive, city is very much in the equation; does not have a great tax base
"there is more than an urban education dilemma; it's an education dilemma"
Title I grants; that's millions of dollars
competitive grants: "there aren't any out there"
Q: what's appropriate to go out in grants versus go out in foundation budget?
A: more philosophical: districts best running with teachers and administrators going together
MCAS is one of the reasons Revere improved itself
"but I don't like holding people accountable without giving them the decision making powers"
put money into places where teachers have some decision making over the program
Q: sense of scale for grants: less than 5% of budget
Q: building philosophical together: some people came slow to the four R's
still soe nay-sayers here and there
early on it was not easy; just have to stay persistent
"it's a lot of work to change a culture of learning"
Chang-Diaz: is there a way to operationalize that?
A: "school committee is an essential role..if they're not there, it's not going to happen"
"if there's no noise from a school committee--if there's no day-to-day noise--if they're in the boat and on the team"
way getting lost with the metaphors...
"begins with the superintendent who is working with the school committee"
Schuster: what's a core program and what's outside the foundation budget
recognition of the add ons
"is that expanded program allotment adequate? ...and is the model we have the right model?"
on the difficulty in finding superintendents "the best don't want the hassle of the job"
"they were saying 'I don't need the aggrevation'"
"they don't want to accept the hassle...and I say 'the hassle' and not 'the challenges'"
Chelsea super: the animosity of the media and the public on the profession
Peisch: process moving forward
looking for a 2/3rd vote on recommendations that will move forward
That recommendation passes
members have been asked to share recommendations to move forward
common denominator: interest to address benefits and special education
if there is interest, a draft recommendation for next meeting
asking for all further recommendations by Friday, so all recommendations may be put together and discussed at next meeting
"reasonable to take on in the time we have left"
concern from MASC president Patrick Francomano: "continually skirted around some of the other major issues"
concerned that those issues will not be dealt with
"to me that is not necessarily representative of what we're supposed to be about"
Peisch: "I'm fairly hopeful that we will not spend an awful lot of time discussing" sped and health care at the next meeting
interest in addressing low income in some way, interest in addressing how dollars are most effectively and efficiently spent
Q from Francomano: have we rejected the idea that every element of the formula should be recalculated?
Peisch: I don't know that we have explicitly rejected that
Chang-Diaz: recall hearing some dialogue at first meeting
Q: will go systematically through the categories?
Peisch: had anticipated
Chang-Diaz: "we'd like to hear from you guys! I imagine that some of you are going to have more crisp and articulated proposals"...and some will be questions
Q: what happened to consultant?
RFP put out; no responses, then freeze put on spending
Q: hoping that every school and district could be laid out under foundation budget: how many nurses, how many counselors
Peisch has been very responsive, looking at spending at every district is a lot
Q: not the spending: what if every district could have what the foundation budget called for
Q: do we need to be done by June?
Peisch: could probably squeeze in another meeting before then; why don't we see where we are at the next meeting
Jehlen: would like to see what is being suggested so far
NEXT MEETING: May 5, 10 am, at the State House (room TBA)
"part of the reason why are fiscal, but part is consistency with administration and consistency in policy with school committee"
have been superintendent for 14 years
"have embraced education reform"
"first from a foundational belief perspective"
philosophical: when we can agree to something, moral imperative goes on the table: "what is best for kids"
"has saved a lot of noise"
continuity and the successes we've had bring people back
"see in my head the vast degree of need...of children who are struck with poverty"
force of parents,
"some of prime elements of wraparound services are critical"
"with $7000 more, to people who believe that money doesn't matter, we could do it"
"part of this is economic"
look at income: "can work down costs and investigate the avenues you have"
not many ways to maximize income anymore
foundation budget, local contribution, not as many competitive grants as there used to be
work to pull kids back from private schools: "have enough choice in the district that you don't need to go elsewhere"
"it's a determined strategy and it's a real strategy"
parents won't think to send child without a rigorous system
philosophical belief that all kids can learn and work on that
how efficient we can be; most cost
agreement that if they took over transportation, they could keep any money that they saved
keep life skils students in district
adding programs for children with autism: "space is becoming an issue"
"can educate them in the community"
have children appreciate those academic and social differences
restructured administration: redesigned to put administrators working in curriculum working on the floor
adminstrators are "managing student life on the floor so order can prevail"
"guides in the school with teachers working with teachers so they have to collaborate"
"probably have five times the social workers that we had five years ago...that's not lower class size, but...kids can go to the classroom...and aren't wrestling with their own inabilities"
felt needed School Resource officers "students were running the asylum"
rubs off on the community in the sense that kids get a different sense of what an officer is like
building resiliancy; what baggage kids come in with
working to build not only in kids but also in teachers in dealing with it
cultural competency so as not to alienate parents and families
"bit the bullet in any sort of expansion we could" and put full day kindergarten in place
"there are penalties for success that we're experiencing"
becoming Level 1 and 2 takes DESC (?) money from us that allowed us to get there and now those moneies are taken away
expanded learning time in three schools
have an innovation school that tinkered with time a bit
...and each of them have worked.
struggle with TFA: teachers were great for the two years they had them, then they left; long term need for buy in with teachers who have the professional development
going to be crossing a path with income versus cost in ELT schools
teacher degrees go up; salaries go up; grant never goes up: has always told teachers never to count on ELT funding
getting to a point where the people who are already in the program can't provide the services
25% more time for 18% of the salaries for ELT; brought in Citizen Schools for expanded time so teachers could collaborate
"that's a predicament we're in and I think every ELT school is"
student-center learning environment with heavy doses of technology
"if we don't progress...we don't take that task in the next few years...I have students ready to have conversations on how to improve their work at the fifth grade"
Q: put your testimony in the lead with Worcester "there's some cause for optimism"
where are you with foundation? At (I checked; Revere is 7.6% over for FY15; they were last under in FY11)
with exemplary results as you have, and you spend at foundation, isn't that enough?
No, we're still missing children.
transient population is growing
immigrant population of older children who are nearly illiterate in their own language
"now have a line item in my budget for newcomers academy"
Q: you're still underspending foundation budget on instructional categories
money is going to health insurance instead
"That's one of the things I can't fix, though: YOU people can fix it!"
"That has to be in your recommendations not mine"
Super in Chelsea: "don't want commission to lose sight that Paul has been able to do that because of the ELT grant"
"what's the sustainable predicable funding streams for schools?"
Chang-Diaz: what are the numbers that you're hitting in Revere?
95% or so making it through MCAS on their first taking it in tenth grade; kids who don't make it first time in many cases were not in Revere through most of school
programs for kids who have the goal of getting them to where they need to be
Foundation Budget isn't moving fast enough to keep up with student population
Q: is Revere a minimum aid community? No (because it's a foundation aid community)
Q: what is the relationship with the city? A: School Committee has been very proactive, city is very much in the equation; does not have a great tax base
"there is more than an urban education dilemma; it's an education dilemma"
Title I grants; that's millions of dollars
competitive grants: "there aren't any out there"
Q: what's appropriate to go out in grants versus go out in foundation budget?
A: more philosophical: districts best running with teachers and administrators going together
MCAS is one of the reasons Revere improved itself
"but I don't like holding people accountable without giving them the decision making powers"
put money into places where teachers have some decision making over the program
Q: sense of scale for grants: less than 5% of budget
Q: building philosophical together: some people came slow to the four R's
still soe nay-sayers here and there
early on it was not easy; just have to stay persistent
"it's a lot of work to change a culture of learning"
Chang-Diaz: is there a way to operationalize that?
A: "school committee is an essential role..if they're not there, it's not going to happen"
"if there's no noise from a school committee--if there's no day-to-day noise--if they're in the boat and on the team"
way getting lost with the metaphors...
"begins with the superintendent who is working with the school committee"
Schuster: what's a core program and what's outside the foundation budget
recognition of the add ons
"is that expanded program allotment adequate? ...and is the model we have the right model?"
on the difficulty in finding superintendents "the best don't want the hassle of the job"
"they were saying 'I don't need the aggrevation'"
"they don't want to accept the hassle...and I say 'the hassle' and not 'the challenges'"
Chelsea super: the animosity of the media and the public on the profession
Peisch: process moving forward
looking for a 2/3rd vote on recommendations that will move forward
That recommendation passes
members have been asked to share recommendations to move forward
common denominator: interest to address benefits and special education
if there is interest, a draft recommendation for next meeting
asking for all further recommendations by Friday, so all recommendations may be put together and discussed at next meeting
"reasonable to take on in the time we have left"
concern from MASC president Patrick Francomano: "continually skirted around some of the other major issues"
concerned that those issues will not be dealt with
"to me that is not necessarily representative of what we're supposed to be about"
Peisch: "I'm fairly hopeful that we will not spend an awful lot of time discussing" sped and health care at the next meeting
interest in addressing low income in some way, interest in addressing how dollars are most effectively and efficiently spent
Q from Francomano: have we rejected the idea that every element of the formula should be recalculated?
Peisch: I don't know that we have explicitly rejected that
Chang-Diaz: recall hearing some dialogue at first meeting
Q: will go systematically through the categories?
Peisch: had anticipated
Chang-Diaz: "we'd like to hear from you guys! I imagine that some of you are going to have more crisp and articulated proposals"...and some will be questions
Q: what happened to consultant?
RFP put out; no responses, then freeze put on spending
Q: hoping that every school and district could be laid out under foundation budget: how many nurses, how many counselors
Peisch has been very responsive, looking at spending at every district is a lot
Q: not the spending: what if every district could have what the foundation budget called for
Q: do we need to be done by June?
Peisch: could probably squeeze in another meeting before then; why don't we see where we are at the next meeting
Jehlen: would like to see what is being suggested so far
NEXT MEETING: May 5, 10 am, at the State House (room TBA)
Monday, March 9, 2015
Foundation Budget Review Commission hearing: Boston
Commissioners are just coming in now: light crowd. I'll post once it starts.
And there is a ridiculous bright TV light shining at the audience...
And there is a ridiculous bright TV light shining at the audience...
Apologies in advance for missed names, schools, districts, etc.
Chang-Diaz: common themes across different regions
"increasing cost of health care most common theme"
Commissioners have a strong understanding of
"instead of using your three minutes to describe that problem to us...help us with our mission in the context of the politics of twenty-two years ago"
"no one anticipated that after such a massive influx of money that we'd still be struggling with the issues that we're struggling with"
looking for assurance that if the massive investment is double-down on that it will be worth while
Superintendent McDonough (Boston Public Schools)
Fromer CFO of BPS
drop of state aid has become a major issue in our schools
does not accurately reflect special ed and ELL students we serve, nor true cost of serving them
true costs of health insurance
does not differentiate between high and low need special ed students
non-regional, non-vocational transportation was originally funded; was cut in 2003
"please be wary of unintended consequences"
any adjustment made to the underlying components would not impact Boston aid (I think? if I heard that right?)
would need foundation budget to increase $56 million to receive an increase in Chapter 70 aid
"does not fairly balance Boston's aggregate wealth against Boston's need"
and dang, they're going to let him go with this!
reviews needs of Boston Public Schools
comparing target shares of urban districts, which have lower municipal wealth, which is why their target share is lower...
so basically his whole argument there was about the aggregate wealth formula, which was not part of the committee
Senator Chang-Diaz says that she is full of questions but they are beyond the scope of the Commission (as they're on aggregate wealth)
someone speaking on behalf of the urban superintendents (the acoustics here are AWFUL)
"our students are at risk before they reach our doorsteps"
"increased foundation budget, not simply a reallocation and redistribution"
"witnesses to the growing disparities"
families living in extreme poverty, homelessness, hunger
"not all ELLs are equal" yet funding is equal
propose a weighed formula takes into account need, including poverty
Q: what would you look for in intensive interventions for immigrant families?
domestic situation of children who just got here: PTS, adjustment, not speaking English
speaking on behalf of a resident of Springfield: grandfather of a six year old
"take into account the increased cost of education English language learners"
"I want to be sure both my grandchildren will receive a quality education"
Parent of a child at Orchard Garden Public School
"help make sure that funding for" schools like hers will continue
Orchard Garden is a turnaround school, federal and state fundings running out
"I know the programs at Orchard Garden are helping my daughter" and other children as well
Stand for Children staffer: ELL, special ed, poverty
Chang-Diaz asks what programs she sees as key
children's grades, we have music, art, extended day program
Tom Gosnell, AFT-MA
"overwhelmingly urban locals"
teachers deal with low income and poverty-stricken students all the time
substantial increase in students living in poverty
guarantee those students are in the public schools
"have increased enormously in number"
"frequently not only not knowledgable about English, but illiterate in their own languages"
special need programs "not common back in the early 90's"
"impact on a regular classroom is absolutely enormous"
"unless you deal with the opportunity gap first, you will not be able to deal with the achievement gap"
Q, Barbara Madeloni: sense of sort of resources that would be necessary to close gap?
"I would say an absolutely critical resource is the wraparound services"
"have an inclusion gap" need for training and resources and needs to be ongoing
Generations Citizen: advocating for "an actions based civics organization"
a civics mission that we must provide
"crucial moment for Massachusetts to regain" leadership in this field
must provide salaries, professional development
concerned about combined humanities program
Walpole School Committee: "Legislature prioritized education"
minimum aid cities and towns didn't receive much aid
statewide was 11% increase; some recieved none
just going to interrupt here to say that Walpole funds schools at 25.9% over foundation, $10M more than required...
Reminder from Chang-Diaz of charge of commission
Citizen Schools: expands learning day
expand beyond small number of kids
"need to double down on expanded day"
should fund the models that work and avoid more of the same models that aren't proven to work
Chang-Diaz: other things that don't work so well
"just tinkering around the edges, just adding time around the edges"
teacher at Joseph Lee : testimony around Citizen Schools for longer day with other people testing
"more time in school gives more kids more of a chance to do these things"
"offer teachers and school leaders additional district capacity"
"students ready to start a second shift of their day"
National Center on Time in Learning and 20/20
"Massachusetts is one of the wealthiest states in the country with a 14% child poverty rate"
many lessons learned on expanded time
"twice as likely to be high growth in mathmatics"
all high performing charter schools are expanded learning time, some with as much as 60% more time
more opportunities beyond test scores
"we believe the state should consider"
back and forth about if expanded time was required or intended in original foundation formula
which is fun, because it's coming from the guy who wrote the foundation formula
Q from Madeloni: do you mean test scores?
more time for teachers to collaborate, other activities for children, as well as measurable
parent/grandparent of children in BPS: Quest
"committed to building stronger public school systems by engaging community forces"
"educate the whole child"
recess and PE equipment, art and music
creating more robust wraparound services
more counselors, nurses,
safe and affordable transportation to school
"growing two-tiered system"
age-appropriate, not test-driven education
"partner with parents, teachers, and the community"
fully fund education
Comment by Madeloni on the differences of school buildings based on socio-economics of community school is in
response from parent "every piece of a child's development should be taken into consideration"
Chang-Diaz comments that they have to be out of the building by 8 am
"We need schools that our children deserve; we need schools that our communities deserve"
"what does a foundation budget mean? Sounds strong, sounds loving"
"never experienced a foundation budget"
"my children never experienced a foundation budget"
"there's been a desertion and abandonment by the federal and state government of what our children need"
"always or almost harmful and destructive budgets"
"let's have a foundation budget that's really strong, that's really loving, that will really take care of the children that we love"
"let's tax the rich"
"our children's lives matter, our children's education matter"
per MassBudget would require $2.1B annual
"costs have gone up"
"state needs to generate more revenue for educational purposes"
get rich to pay their fair share
Boston could use an override
Boston has 50% of real estate occupied by non-profits
maybe take another look at non-profits
"city of Boston needs more money and our schools need more money"
"first priority should be our children"
"Bring it back to the 1993 funding level"
senior at Dorchester Academy: believe that lack of support has triggered closing of school next year
see negativity, non-nutritious breakfast with expired milk
400 students sharing one guidance counselor
sharing books, 4 kids per book, books are outdated
"have become an advocacy for change in our community"
"you're not investing in a building, you're not investing in a book, you're investing the future of your children"
senior at sorry, I don't know the BPS names well enough to catch them
"I'm younger than this budget, but I make changes every day"
extracurricular activities, A/C, better food, more options, working bathrooms
working water fountains
nurses, guidance counselors
"I live in Boston. Why don't I have these? Why don't all students have these basic needs?"
Senior at Dorchester Academy:
didn't have a schedule for the first few days of school of 9th grade as the school moved
moved again this summer, significantly smaller space
now school closing
weren't categorized as Level 4 school until they moved into this building
Junior in high school: breakfast and lunch
don't have healthy or options for things to eat
"how do we expect students to give 100% in classes if they don't have the food they need"
"outdated lack of school supplies"
have Windows 98 computers "Why do we have Windows 98 computers? My phone is smarter than my computer!"
thanks coming from Commissioner to students who came "but you've gotta keep coming!"
Madison Park student: bring it down to the level of interventions
"its not really all about budget"
"I don't want to see my little sister go through what I've gone through"
"make it more of a democracy and open it up more to parents and teachers and students"
Student: increase in our budget "so we can end the plague known as failing"
end the crimilization of our youth
"less money for our youth"
harrassment by police over non-violent offenses every day
"the dreams of being the scholars we want to be die"
hard to walk back into the building where you've been accused of being a criminal
"it's not about the test scores; it's about us"
Sen. Jehlen: "very different conversation than we've been hearing"
"as a member of the Education committee, I am disturbed that we are holding schools accountable (without these resources) and I want to know if that's happening more in some poor communities than others"
"Some people in Boston are getting a good civics education, and they're giving it to us."
Madeloni thanks students for their testimony "of what they need"
Chang-Diaz "please know that your testimony is not falling on deaf ears"
Chang-Diaz "please don't ever believe that budget don't matter. Budget calendars don't lie. Budgets are a written expression of our priorities."
teacher:spent $3000 over four years
pencils, scissors, carpets
didn't include a carpet or an easel from Donors Choose
didn't include $750 for books and blocks for second graders in indoor recess
or clothing for student who just came to the US
or groceries for a family that's just arrived
students do not arrive with skills they need
"when our school budgets cannot meet our students' needs, we teachers have to pick up the slack"
could only afford these expensese because family sent her through college and grad school
"pains me to think of what their (classmates still paying college loans) classrooms still lack"
how can schools recruit teachers from backgrounds like their students when these are the lacks in the classrooms? Teachers can't afford to make up the difference
"giving a fighting chance to students"
2nd grade teacher in East Boston
given $500 by Cambridge (when she taught there) and $500 from parents organization
"this year I have no money"
book donations from friends and family
spent over $600 of own money
pencils and paper are necessity
change in poverty reporting level means her school will lose $70,000 (I should point out here that this is due to how BPS, not the state, allocated funds)
"an undocumented family is far less likely to be" recorded as being in poverty
"want the budget my students deserve and the schools my students deserve"
teacher in Roxbury
really proud to be part of pioneering a new practice school
"have all walks of life...we don't have resources, don't have specialized resources"
"remarkable to see the compassion and the respect of all our children"
20% of children are living in homeless shelters
have a slab of cement to play, about five hulahoops and three balls
Jessica Tang, BPS teacher, BTU organizer
share stories from teachers: leaks, holes, crumbling walls
"well-kept facilities affect learning abilities"
consider facility costs when considering foundation budget
history and social studies being cut; happening to science, arts, music
aren't getting health, PE
amount of money spent on testing: $35,000 for an achievement map to prepare for MCAS (!!!)
spent over 25 days a year testing
fully reimburse charter schools expenses; creates resentment
money going to outside consultants
"how do we create revenue?...work with us so all students are able to have the schools they deserve"
"must find a way to do so"
parent: "i can't understand the budget system" having moved here from elsewhere
"it's like my kids are falling in the cracks"
"son has to get up at five o'clock to get to school at nine" (that would be transportation)
affects not just students, but parents as well, due to stress
"if this is a budget issue, it needs to change and it needs to change fast"
BPS parents: chair of Citywide Parent Council
decline amount of Boston Public Schools budget that is state funded
"my choice is to be in the Boston Public Schools, but I feel as though that choice is being taken away from me."
would endorse notion of base rate being raised to $100 (this is the $25/pupil budgets are raised by (at least) each year; Baker's budget is $20)
"equal funding is not the same as equitable funding"
points back to MASS proposal on special education, health insurance, inflation rate
MASS Executive Director (I think?)
thanks Commission for having this happen
"believe exceptionally in Chapter 70 framework"
about $2B short of that requirement
about 44 municipalities have exceeded 120% of foundation budget
many urban districts, poorer districts cannot exceed foundation
have had several studies of this issue
going bak to 2007; inequities
health insurance and sped
correct assumptions and calcucations
recommend a seven year plan, increasing $200M per year
get to 70-80% of actual expense in that time
1/4% increase in assumption of special education
increase out of district tuition by $10,000
regular ed has suffered, as a result of these two areas being funded
consider extending commission
"continue the grand bargain" of increasing funding, increasing education
Q: no requirement that districts spend money for special education that are provided
should there be more strings on categorical funding?
answer: individual districts need to make some determination within categories, should provide backup, then state benchmarks
superintendents want to help out
"elephant in room is health insurance"
"other money in the wings...OPEB...that needs to be budgeted"
also 132 munipalities that are counting retirement towards foundation budget
recommend that you fund those huge deficits"
could he be MMA?
could allow a shift in funding over seven years to get those other things right
begin to fund the real needs for supplies and materials for our students
can't come close to eloquent testimony of students; would recommend having a student in future such commissions
comparison with students in suburbs
"Why is the Newton school so much nicer than mine?"
"it's not just how much money, it's how you are allocating it"
differences among ELL students (given family background and such)
"complex needs in urban districts"
"funding is equal, but even with adjustments, it is not equitable"
student at West Roxbury Academy (which is being closed)
state has turned its back on us
"we are proud of our school...school had made above target grades in reading and math...isn't that what school is about? Growth?"
every year we're told we have to cut
"it hasn't been updated since I was born"
"make it work for all schools"
Lisa Guisbond, Citizens for Public Schools
"I want the schools our communities deserve"
need less testing and more time for learning
testing is not only taking time and less resources for learning
doesn't give education provided for by Mass Constitution
"focus on testing is actually undermining public schools...misrepresenting our schools as failing"
could turn that around
court set out broad guidelines for sufficient education
testing is not one of those goals
have instead been narrowing and constraining learning
need to have other ways of measuring what we're doing
"need to stop putting our valuable resources into high stakes testing"
student at Madison: here to ask for state to fund Madison
cites BPS budget cutting Madison budget
vocational programs at Madison don't have the equipment needed for the program
"I am in welding and we haven't done any welding"
asks for increase in vocational increment
Deputy Superintendent of Lawrence Seth Racine: perspective of Gateways Cities
can only fund at foundation
cannot go to voters to ask for more, minimum is what has been funded
increase comes down to inflation in foundation budget (which he just cited from memory!)
what's that look like over town
average funding used to be over suburban districts; now has fallen below or at
compares with Andover
compares Fall River with surroundings
"how are we to compete and keep the best teachers?"
would be reluctant to tie strings to particular parts of budget
"what is the baseline budget of the district? then it comes down to school committees and districts deciding how the money will be spent"
Q: if foundation budget increased sections, how can districts prevent from having that measures from going to health insurance?
other measures available to district: GIC and such
strong baseline budget
Q about comparison he's making
average per pupil spending not near surrounding districts as others fund over foundation
Q: grant buckets tend to be more politically volitile...is grants still recommendation
grant funding can provide an opportunity to get a program off the ground
then assess if it's working, bring it in house if you can find the funding and its working
Mass Business Alliance for Education : original assumptions made in foundation budget has not kept pace with what our students need
increased funding has not lead to student achievement "in a straight line"
recommend targeting specific needs of students: fundings should follow student to school
which is what Boston does and part of what's causing the concerns from parents and teachers tonight
should focus on outcomes not inputs: reward success when people do
productivity reviews as recommended by Center for American Progress
Q: about pass through
would like to see schools ultimately decide on what district to go to for services
Q about growth scores
need better measures
also recommends rewards for positive outcomes (which is sounding a lot like providing more for districts that "succeed"?)
my battery is about to die
Madeloni: how do you talk about outcomes if you've never controlled from inputs?
Q: not making decisions based on that
dispute from Madeloni on funding for inputs and not doing that yet
Kenny Jervis: parent of BPS students
"every time I hear from students, I hear what they don't have"
"it pains me, it pains me to hear this, day in and day out"
"when it comes to the funding of our schools, it's obviously not working!"
"if someone has a need, you need to address that need: you don't wait around twenty years!"
Final testimony of the night from a librarian regarding libraries being recognized as a necessary part of education.
Chang-Diaz: common themes across different regions
"increasing cost of health care most common theme"
Commissioners have a strong understanding of
"instead of using your three minutes to describe that problem to us...help us with our mission in the context of the politics of twenty-two years ago"
"no one anticipated that after such a massive influx of money that we'd still be struggling with the issues that we're struggling with"
looking for assurance that if the massive investment is double-down on that it will be worth while
Superintendent McDonough (Boston Public Schools)
Fromer CFO of BPS
drop of state aid has become a major issue in our schools
does not accurately reflect special ed and ELL students we serve, nor true cost of serving them
true costs of health insurance
does not differentiate between high and low need special ed students
non-regional, non-vocational transportation was originally funded; was cut in 2003
"please be wary of unintended consequences"
any adjustment made to the underlying components would not impact Boston aid (I think? if I heard that right?)
would need foundation budget to increase $56 million to receive an increase in Chapter 70 aid
"does not fairly balance Boston's aggregate wealth against Boston's need"
and dang, they're going to let him go with this!
reviews needs of Boston Public Schools
comparing target shares of urban districts, which have lower municipal wealth, which is why their target share is lower...
so basically his whole argument there was about the aggregate wealth formula, which was not part of the committee
Senator Chang-Diaz says that she is full of questions but they are beyond the scope of the Commission (as they're on aggregate wealth)
someone speaking on behalf of the urban superintendents (the acoustics here are AWFUL)
"our students are at risk before they reach our doorsteps"
"increased foundation budget, not simply a reallocation and redistribution"
"witnesses to the growing disparities"
families living in extreme poverty, homelessness, hunger
"not all ELLs are equal" yet funding is equal
propose a weighed formula takes into account need, including poverty
Q: what would you look for in intensive interventions for immigrant families?
domestic situation of children who just got here: PTS, adjustment, not speaking English
speaking on behalf of a resident of Springfield: grandfather of a six year old
"take into account the increased cost of education English language learners"
"I want to be sure both my grandchildren will receive a quality education"
Parent of a child at Orchard Garden Public School
"help make sure that funding for" schools like hers will continue
Orchard Garden is a turnaround school, federal and state fundings running out
"I know the programs at Orchard Garden are helping my daughter" and other children as well
Stand for Children staffer: ELL, special ed, poverty
Chang-Diaz asks what programs she sees as key
children's grades, we have music, art, extended day program
Tom Gosnell, AFT-MA
"overwhelmingly urban locals"
teachers deal with low income and poverty-stricken students all the time
substantial increase in students living in poverty
guarantee those students are in the public schools
"have increased enormously in number"
"frequently not only not knowledgable about English, but illiterate in their own languages"
special need programs "not common back in the early 90's"
"impact on a regular classroom is absolutely enormous"
"unless you deal with the opportunity gap first, you will not be able to deal with the achievement gap"
Q, Barbara Madeloni: sense of sort of resources that would be necessary to close gap?
"I would say an absolutely critical resource is the wraparound services"
"have an inclusion gap" need for training and resources and needs to be ongoing
Generations Citizen: advocating for "an actions based civics organization"
a civics mission that we must provide
"crucial moment for Massachusetts to regain" leadership in this field
must provide salaries, professional development
concerned about combined humanities program
Walpole School Committee: "Legislature prioritized education"
minimum aid cities and towns didn't receive much aid
statewide was 11% increase; some recieved none
just going to interrupt here to say that Walpole funds schools at 25.9% over foundation, $10M more than required...
Reminder from Chang-Diaz of charge of commission
Citizen Schools: expands learning day
expand beyond small number of kids
"need to double down on expanded day"
should fund the models that work and avoid more of the same models that aren't proven to work
Chang-Diaz: other things that don't work so well
"just tinkering around the edges, just adding time around the edges"
teacher at Joseph Lee : testimony around Citizen Schools for longer day with other people testing
"more time in school gives more kids more of a chance to do these things"
"offer teachers and school leaders additional district capacity"
"students ready to start a second shift of their day"
National Center on Time in Learning and 20/20
"Massachusetts is one of the wealthiest states in the country with a 14% child poverty rate"
many lessons learned on expanded time
"twice as likely to be high growth in mathmatics"
all high performing charter schools are expanded learning time, some with as much as 60% more time
more opportunities beyond test scores
"we believe the state should consider"
back and forth about if expanded time was required or intended in original foundation formula
which is fun, because it's coming from the guy who wrote the foundation formula
Q from Madeloni: do you mean test scores?
more time for teachers to collaborate, other activities for children, as well as measurable
parent/grandparent of children in BPS: Quest
"committed to building stronger public school systems by engaging community forces"
"educate the whole child"
recess and PE equipment, art and music
creating more robust wraparound services
more counselors, nurses,
safe and affordable transportation to school
"growing two-tiered system"
age-appropriate, not test-driven education
"partner with parents, teachers, and the community"
fully fund education
Comment by Madeloni on the differences of school buildings based on socio-economics of community school is in
response from parent "every piece of a child's development should be taken into consideration"
Chang-Diaz comments that they have to be out of the building by 8 am
"We need schools that our children deserve; we need schools that our communities deserve"
"what does a foundation budget mean? Sounds strong, sounds loving"
"never experienced a foundation budget"
"my children never experienced a foundation budget"
"there's been a desertion and abandonment by the federal and state government of what our children need"
"always or almost harmful and destructive budgets"
"let's have a foundation budget that's really strong, that's really loving, that will really take care of the children that we love"
"let's tax the rich"
"our children's lives matter, our children's education matter"
per MassBudget would require $2.1B annual
"costs have gone up"
"state needs to generate more revenue for educational purposes"
get rich to pay their fair share
Boston could use an override
Boston has 50% of real estate occupied by non-profits
maybe take another look at non-profits
"city of Boston needs more money and our schools need more money"
"first priority should be our children"
"Bring it back to the 1993 funding level"
senior at Dorchester Academy: believe that lack of support has triggered closing of school next year
see negativity, non-nutritious breakfast with expired milk
400 students sharing one guidance counselor
sharing books, 4 kids per book, books are outdated
"have become an advocacy for change in our community"
"you're not investing in a building, you're not investing in a book, you're investing the future of your children"
senior at sorry, I don't know the BPS names well enough to catch them
"I'm younger than this budget, but I make changes every day"
extracurricular activities, A/C, better food, more options, working bathrooms
working water fountains
nurses, guidance counselors
"I live in Boston. Why don't I have these? Why don't all students have these basic needs?"
Senior at Dorchester Academy:
didn't have a schedule for the first few days of school of 9th grade as the school moved
moved again this summer, significantly smaller space
now school closing
weren't categorized as Level 4 school until they moved into this building
Junior in high school: breakfast and lunch
don't have healthy or options for things to eat
"how do we expect students to give 100% in classes if they don't have the food they need"
"outdated lack of school supplies"
have Windows 98 computers "Why do we have Windows 98 computers? My phone is smarter than my computer!"
thanks coming from Commissioner to students who came "but you've gotta keep coming!"
Madison Park student: bring it down to the level of interventions
"its not really all about budget"
"I don't want to see my little sister go through what I've gone through"
"make it more of a democracy and open it up more to parents and teachers and students"
Student: increase in our budget "so we can end the plague known as failing"
end the crimilization of our youth
"less money for our youth"
harrassment by police over non-violent offenses every day
"the dreams of being the scholars we want to be die"
hard to walk back into the building where you've been accused of being a criminal
"it's not about the test scores; it's about us"
Sen. Jehlen: "very different conversation than we've been hearing"
"as a member of the Education committee, I am disturbed that we are holding schools accountable (without these resources) and I want to know if that's happening more in some poor communities than others"
"Some people in Boston are getting a good civics education, and they're giving it to us."
Madeloni thanks students for their testimony "of what they need"
Chang-Diaz "please know that your testimony is not falling on deaf ears"
Chang-Diaz "please don't ever believe that budget don't matter. Budget calendars don't lie. Budgets are a written expression of our priorities."
teacher:spent $3000 over four years
pencils, scissors, carpets
didn't include a carpet or an easel from Donors Choose
didn't include $750 for books and blocks for second graders in indoor recess
or clothing for student who just came to the US
or groceries for a family that's just arrived
students do not arrive with skills they need
"when our school budgets cannot meet our students' needs, we teachers have to pick up the slack"
could only afford these expensese because family sent her through college and grad school
"pains me to think of what their (classmates still paying college loans) classrooms still lack"
how can schools recruit teachers from backgrounds like their students when these are the lacks in the classrooms? Teachers can't afford to make up the difference
"giving a fighting chance to students"
2nd grade teacher in East Boston
given $500 by Cambridge (when she taught there) and $500 from parents organization
"this year I have no money"
book donations from friends and family
spent over $600 of own money
pencils and paper are necessity
change in poverty reporting level means her school will lose $70,000 (I should point out here that this is due to how BPS, not the state, allocated funds)
"an undocumented family is far less likely to be" recorded as being in poverty
"want the budget my students deserve and the schools my students deserve"
teacher in Roxbury
really proud to be part of pioneering a new practice school
"have all walks of life...we don't have resources, don't have specialized resources"
"remarkable to see the compassion and the respect of all our children"
20% of children are living in homeless shelters
have a slab of cement to play, about five hulahoops and three balls
Jessica Tang, BPS teacher, BTU organizer
share stories from teachers: leaks, holes, crumbling walls
"well-kept facilities affect learning abilities"
consider facility costs when considering foundation budget
history and social studies being cut; happening to science, arts, music
aren't getting health, PE
amount of money spent on testing: $35,000 for an achievement map to prepare for MCAS (!!!)
spent over 25 days a year testing
fully reimburse charter schools expenses; creates resentment
money going to outside consultants
"how do we create revenue?...work with us so all students are able to have the schools they deserve"
"must find a way to do so"
parent: "i can't understand the budget system" having moved here from elsewhere
"it's like my kids are falling in the cracks"
"son has to get up at five o'clock to get to school at nine" (that would be transportation)
affects not just students, but parents as well, due to stress
"if this is a budget issue, it needs to change and it needs to change fast"
BPS parents: chair of Citywide Parent Council
decline amount of Boston Public Schools budget that is state funded
"my choice is to be in the Boston Public Schools, but I feel as though that choice is being taken away from me."
would endorse notion of base rate being raised to $100 (this is the $25/pupil budgets are raised by (at least) each year; Baker's budget is $20)
"equal funding is not the same as equitable funding"
points back to MASS proposal on special education, health insurance, inflation rate
MASS Executive Director (I think?)
thanks Commission for having this happen
"believe exceptionally in Chapter 70 framework"
about $2B short of that requirement
about 44 municipalities have exceeded 120% of foundation budget
many urban districts, poorer districts cannot exceed foundation
have had several studies of this issue
going bak to 2007; inequities
health insurance and sped
correct assumptions and calcucations
recommend a seven year plan, increasing $200M per year
get to 70-80% of actual expense in that time
1/4% increase in assumption of special education
increase out of district tuition by $10,000
regular ed has suffered, as a result of these two areas being funded
consider extending commission
"continue the grand bargain" of increasing funding, increasing education
Q: no requirement that districts spend money for special education that are provided
should there be more strings on categorical funding?
answer: individual districts need to make some determination within categories, should provide backup, then state benchmarks
superintendents want to help out
"elephant in room is health insurance"
"other money in the wings...OPEB...that needs to be budgeted"
also 132 munipalities that are counting retirement towards foundation budget
recommend that you fund those huge deficits"
could he be MMA?
could allow a shift in funding over seven years to get those other things right
begin to fund the real needs for supplies and materials for our students
can't come close to eloquent testimony of students; would recommend having a student in future such commissions
comparison with students in suburbs
"Why is the Newton school so much nicer than mine?"
"it's not just how much money, it's how you are allocating it"
differences among ELL students (given family background and such)
"complex needs in urban districts"
"funding is equal, but even with adjustments, it is not equitable"
student at West Roxbury Academy (which is being closed)
state has turned its back on us
"we are proud of our school...school had made above target grades in reading and math...isn't that what school is about? Growth?"
every year we're told we have to cut
"it hasn't been updated since I was born"
"make it work for all schools"
Lisa Guisbond, Citizens for Public Schools
"I want the schools our communities deserve"
need less testing and more time for learning
testing is not only taking time and less resources for learning
doesn't give education provided for by Mass Constitution
"focus on testing is actually undermining public schools...misrepresenting our schools as failing"
could turn that around
court set out broad guidelines for sufficient education
testing is not one of those goals
have instead been narrowing and constraining learning
need to have other ways of measuring what we're doing
"need to stop putting our valuable resources into high stakes testing"
student at Madison: here to ask for state to fund Madison
cites BPS budget cutting Madison budget
vocational programs at Madison don't have the equipment needed for the program
"I am in welding and we haven't done any welding"
asks for increase in vocational increment
Deputy Superintendent of Lawrence Seth Racine: perspective of Gateways Cities
can only fund at foundation
cannot go to voters to ask for more, minimum is what has been funded
increase comes down to inflation in foundation budget (which he just cited from memory!)
what's that look like over town
average funding used to be over suburban districts; now has fallen below or at
compares with Andover
compares Fall River with surroundings
"how are we to compete and keep the best teachers?"
would be reluctant to tie strings to particular parts of budget
"what is the baseline budget of the district? then it comes down to school committees and districts deciding how the money will be spent"
Q: if foundation budget increased sections, how can districts prevent from having that measures from going to health insurance?
other measures available to district: GIC and such
strong baseline budget
Q about comparison he's making
average per pupil spending not near surrounding districts as others fund over foundation
Q: grant buckets tend to be more politically volitile...is grants still recommendation
grant funding can provide an opportunity to get a program off the ground
then assess if it's working, bring it in house if you can find the funding and its working
Mass Business Alliance for Education : original assumptions made in foundation budget has not kept pace with what our students need
increased funding has not lead to student achievement "in a straight line"
recommend targeting specific needs of students: fundings should follow student to school
which is what Boston does and part of what's causing the concerns from parents and teachers tonight
should focus on outcomes not inputs: reward success when people do
productivity reviews as recommended by Center for American Progress
Q: about pass through
would like to see schools ultimately decide on what district to go to for services
Q about growth scores
need better measures
also recommends rewards for positive outcomes (which is sounding a lot like providing more for districts that "succeed"?)
my battery is about to die
Madeloni: how do you talk about outcomes if you've never controlled from inputs?
Q: not making decisions based on that
dispute from Madeloni on funding for inputs and not doing that yet
Kenny Jervis: parent of BPS students
"every time I hear from students, I hear what they don't have"
"it pains me, it pains me to hear this, day in and day out"
"when it comes to the funding of our schools, it's obviously not working!"
"if someone has a need, you need to address that need: you don't wait around twenty years!"
Final testimony of the night from a librarian regarding libraries being recognized as a necessary part of education.
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