Let me tell you about my grandfather

Tangentially education-related

My grandfather Sam Dawson died this past weekend. He was 99.

Yes, this is me at three or so with Pop on the tractor.

My grandfather was a dairy farmer all his life. He got up before dawn every day--"cows don't take a day off" was one of his lines--for milk that during my lifetime went to the Hood bottling plant in Agawam. We'd wave to the trucks when we saw them on the Mass Pike, because they had "Pop's milk" in them.

But dairy farmers--family farmers in general--can't make it work just on farming. He and my grandmother always had other things they were doing. He trucked cattle. They both drove for the school district.

And, while it didn't bring in any money, my grandfather was on the local school board, before later becoming town assessor, councilman, and supervisor for their little town in the Berkshires over the New York State line.

I grew up going to the county fair with my grandparents. My grandfather is the only member of my family having any personal involvment in politics, and I didn't realize until much, much later how much I absorbed from those very, very long walks through the county building at the fair in September. I and my sister were collecting pencils with names central Massachusetts had never heard of to bring to the start of school; my grandfather was hearing about new babies and neighbors bickering and all of what sounded a lot like gossip.

But really it was about people and how people are connected and what people care about. It was about what kind of schools those babies would go to and if those neighbors had what they needed to get through the year and what sort of town we were working together to have, after all.

Because that's what politics is. It's how we work out government. And government is us.

My grandfather didn't rise to high elected office. In fact, he was dumped by the local party when he endorsed a member of the other party because he didn't think much of the integrity of person from his own party. It's among the things that makes me most proud of him.
It's people like Pop that make local government go. They don't do it for glory or power or money. They do it during long nights and weekends when they have hay to bring in and cows that are sick and kids who maybe would like to see more of them.
We can't have a civilization without them, though.

So, during this season of town meetings and budget hearings, if you'd like to do something to honor Sam Dawson, please thank those local officials hammering out your local budgets.

Rest in peace, Pop. I'll miss you.

It's NAEP day

I tweeted this out this morning, but I thought it might be useful here.

I kinda loathe talking about NAEP, but let's talk about NAEP for a second while we're all doing the #MAEdu pivot; the #MAEdu pivot is "We're doing really well, but we still have work to do" which is a guaranteed bingo square at any announcement of nearly anything Massachusetts educationally related.Yes, this is again the case for NAEP: we're number one. We also have a massive gap with how (in particular) our kids of color are doing.
We really don't like to talk about where our kids of color go to school, though. And where they DON'T go to school.
So let's take our second largest district, Springfield.
Springfield student demographics:

• 65% Latino 
• 19.6% African American 
• 11% white 
• 2.4% Asian 
• 1.7% multi-race

Springfield has also GOT to be running the biggest #FBRC gaps out there. They're the biggest at-foundation majority-state-funded district. I'd venture the state EASILY owes Springfield another $100M a year.
(And yes, this is part of my ongoing anger around the empowerment zone. The children begged for bread and you gave them a stone.)

Here's who's around Springfield:

• West Springfield: 68.3% white/17.3% Latino 
• Longmeadow: 79.6% white 
• East Longmeadow: 81.9% white 
• Wilbraham (regional): 85.7% white 
• Ludlow: 85.2% white

Every single one of those districts funds well over the foundation budget of their schools.
The only exception?
Chicopee, to the north, which is another Gateway city, funding at foundation, and looks like this:

• 54% white 
• 36.9% Latino 
• 3.9% African American 
• 3% multirace 
• 1.6% Asian

Massachusetts has what are tiny districts by national standards, because we mostly have town districts. Having town districts means that we have school systems that reflect town demographics.There's plenty of good resources out there on redlining and sundown towns, so don't come at me with "choices people make on where to live."
We have concentrated our children of color in particular districts, and then we as a state have chronically underfunded those very same districts.
So, yes, we have more work to do.

In light of the talk of a renewal of McDuffy

It is worth seriously considering this op-ed in the Los Angeles Times which argues the following:

The majority of state courts have opted to retreat. For instance, the California Supreme Court — the first state high court to strike down a school funding system as unconstitutional in 1971 — recently declined to review two cases invoking its right to education, one challenging teacher tenure statutes, the other alleging that school funding is constitutionally inadequate.
A number of courts retreat by deferring to their state legislatures to devise the remedy. The legislature predictably resists or returns with a modest plan, which then provokes successive rounds of litigation, and in the end judges usually throw up their hands. As one court put it, all but admitting defeat, getting the legislature to make a good faith effort is "the best we can do." State legislatures thus win by attrition.
Still other courts have waved the white flag before the first shot, claiming their constitutions vest the legislature with absolute authority over education and therefore courts cannot get involved. The Oklahoma Supreme Court is one of seven state high courts to have surrendered in this manner. The constitutional right to education in these states is thus unenforceable in a court of law.
Amid this crisis of judicial confidence, striking teachers have appealed directly to the court of last resort: the court of public opinion.

Personally, I'd argue--though I'm looking forward to hearing from those more learned than I on this--that the Hancock case fell into the first case above: the court essentially declined to intervene further into the Legislative funding of education.
I wonder if current courts feel the same.

more on Doherty

It's worth reading not just Nick's column from yesterday on Doherty, but also the ensuing discussion over on Twitter.
It appears, incidently, that there has already been a building committee meeting, which you would only know if you follow all posting on the city clerk's calendar OR were actually invited (no, I don't fit either of those). No, they didn't publicize it on the district website (there's nothing on Doherty's page on the project) or let the school community or neighborhood know.

Not a good look there, guys.

too big of a risk

It's worth noting around the guns on campus debate:

School safety and insurance experts agree that adding a firearm to a classroom only increases the risk of gun violence — whether intentional or otherwise.

As a result, insurance companies asked about such policies will either charge more for insurance or pull it entirely

"it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

Blog post title taking its cue tonight from the report's reference
Posting as we go, which won't be 'til after a bit
Kathleen Smith, superintendent of the Brockton Public Schools, is here with her Chief Budget Officer Aldo Petronio and three members of her school committee
Petty: very interested in what's going on in Brockton
Binienda reviews the premise of the McDuffy case and the foundation budget
Smith speaks of the Leading the Nation event this morning and Jami McDuffy of whom they're very proud
"all means all" from Reville

Leading the Nation at 25 years: State House event

Here at the State House for the 25 years of Ed Reform (as told by some) event. It's like a who's who of state education: Bill Weld is here, David Driscoll is here, Bob Antonucci is here...posting as we go. 
Rep. Peisch: "to celebrate the achievement of students over the past 25 years, ...and to acknowledge that more needs to be done"