December 2020 Board of Ed: opening remarks

 You can find the agenda here, the livestream here, posting as we go

Public testimony:
Dianne Kelly, Superintendent of Revere 
Bob Baldwin, Superintendent of Fairhaven (MASS President)

Baldwin: listening to superintendents and being their voice is something I've been honored to do
since March, we've had the unpredictable happen
has always been about social emotional, getting students fed, connectivity, and "of course loss of learning"
an initiative to support learning should be supported
concerns about how regulations will be implemented
compliance may overshadow engagement
timing "with almost half of our year completed"
"our educators are our lifeblood"
but the superintendents "are our implementers"
take initiatives from DESE, work with school committees, speak with stakeholders
"very serious decisions" starting in March
"always about emergency learning"
plans for next year "immediately began" as soon as last year ended
looked at classroom configuration, reviewed and vetted plans
"reflected unique...circumstances" of districts
submitted plans in August
"in many cases, we exhausted financial and human capital, but also political capital"
"pivoting this aircraft" midyear without resources
regulations without resources "nothing but political fodder"
"synchronous learning does not necessarily equate to connection"
confident "we will be labelled winners and losers"
ask that you communicate with superintendents before making judgments
"make sure you see the story of each district"
"take a qualitative look" as well as a quantitative one

Kelly: "agree that effective engagement and quality instruction" are key
"disagree that counting hours of synchronous learning equates to either of these"
"although we meet the mark in elementary" miss the mark at middle and high
"not evident" that responses played any role in department's evaluation
meeting with small groups for instruction necessitates some asynchronous learning
teachers collaborating also requires it, as does connection with families
only way to meet mandate is to increase whole group instruction
if being considered out of concern on SEL and connection, this does not meet it
Revere's way of doing it better meets these goals
reviews the work that Revere is doing now
"contrived regulations"

Piwowar Billerica: share concerns
"do not believe these regulations are the right way to achieve these goals"
regulations rely on faulty assumption that synchronous learning is synchronous with engagement and that time is what matters
"these regulations value these" over engaging one
second concern is timing of release
"it is only now at the eleventh hour that these regulations are trying to provide blueprints for a building that has already been built"
third: concern with routines that have already happened, agreements made "in good faith by both sides"
"we should all be spending time" on quality of engagement
getting vaccine out
rebuilding partnerships

sorry, missed Jerry, was catching up

president Haverhill Educators Association
unfortunate we were unable to conduct this meeting remotely
request Board not require testimony
over 100 local teachers unions have taken a vote of no confidence in Commissioner Riley
"a grassroots action" that start with several locals, supported but not proposed by MTA
representing over 50,000 MTA members
Commissioner "continuously moves the goalposts as the pandemic worsens"
"simply redefined what it meant to be high risk"
"without having any conversations with teachers and their unions
teachers "are trying with our superintendents and our school committees to hold this fragile" system of remote learning together
"has all but stopped conferring" with teachers and unions
stop trying to overrule local decisions
call for conferring with educators and their locals before decisions are made

president of Malden teachers union
"having a vaccine doesn't eliminate the need for" surveillance testing
"health and safety measures should not be zip code dependent"
"how do you actually know what the actual transmission is in schools" if there's no regular testing of asymptomatic 
"Educators and students are both contracting COVID-19 in schools"
calls for reallocating funding of MCAS to COVID testing

president of Worcester teachers union
many schools are old, aged ventilation
district is improving that but in the meantime not safe
Commissioner has tried to pressure Worcester to open rather than providing guidance and resources

Superintendents of regional vokes
Keefe Tech: demographics of district and demographics of sending districts
Greater Fall River: my district was ID as a school with concerning demographics
options that were presented to fix it
access to students limiting students that can admit
Southeastern Regional: demographic very reflective of sending districts
interest in vocational education is increasing
propose adding an equity/opportunity factor

Chair Craven: asks Fernández for update on educator diversification initiative
Fernández: impressive to see all the progress that has been made
teacher diversification grant, Influence 100, INSPIREd fellows, DESE racial equity training
committee will meet again in February

Peyser will defer to learning time

Commissioner defers to later

Nine years on

 It's nine years on from the terrible shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary, and we still, as I reflected two years ago, have not dealt with that main problem that plagues us. By "us" here, I mean the United States.

I was thinking today, though, not of Friday, December 14, 2012, but of Monday, December 17, 2012, when I and so many other parents hugged our kids a little tighter and then put them back onto school buses or walked them to the door and let them go. 

We place a lot of trust in schools in this country. 

We also place a lot on schools in this country.

We don't place common sense limits on weaponry, yet schools are to keep children physically safe.

We don't provide adequate access and support for mental health, yet schools are to provide for such care.

We don't ensure families have enough to feed themselves, yet schools are to be sure students are fed.

We don't provide the facilities funding needed, yet schools are to have buildings that can safely fit and provide for their ever-changing school population.

We make no massive investment in technology equity, yet schools are to have their students online and technologically apt. 

We don't wish to make changes to overcome the outcomes of systemic racism, yet schools are to ensure their students overcome the consequences of that. 

The list could go on forever. 

And the pandemic has of course just brought this into sharper relief: school buildings must be open to feed children and provide childcare and heal students' mental health crises and provide technology access and overcome the achievement/access/opportunity gap...

Schools have never been able to do it all, 'though not for lacking of trying. We need, though, a societal recognition of our civilization's responsibility for all of our children. 

Not just the ones that look like us or live in our town or speak our language. All our children. 

Things I have been reading this week

 As always, most of this has probably made its way out to the universe through my other social media postings, but I like having things where I can find them again. 

• Just out this week in Der Spiegel is a piece on a long term study going on in Austria, which is regularly testing children. They've found: 
  

  But Wagner's study doesn't just demonstrate that the number of unreported cases among children and their teachers is relatively high. The mass tests also show that younger children are by no means exempt from infection by SARS-CoV-2. Indeed, there was no significant difference to infection rates among adults. Furthermore, schools in poorer areas were found to have 3.5 times as many positive results as elsewhere, which is consistent with generally higher infection rates in lower income neighborhoods. 

  Further: 
  

  All of these findings have cast doubt on the idea that children are less affected than teenagers. And they have shown that almost half of infected children show no symptoms. Meanwhile, an analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States found that asymptomatic cases are potentially responsible for more than half of all infections.

• This is actually from the beginning of last month, but every time I hear Governor Baker or someone else reference "longitudinal studies," I am reminded that this is so far the largest one I have seen that includes schools, and its conclusion was this: 
  

  Children’s return to classrooms was followed by an average 24-per-cent rise in the R transmission number, University of Edinburgh researchers found after analysing data from 131 countries.

   The only measure that was associated with a higher increase was lifting the ban on small gatherings.

• This thread from Dr. Zoe Hyde, an epidemiologist in Australia, further illustrates how (to use her word) "wonky" trying to suss out children and coronavirus is. Kids don't necessarily consistently test positive even when they have it. 

• This report on a recent study from Korea regarding cases from a restaurant has us all looking at our measurements and air flow again.

• Given that Imperial College study from about two weeks ago that I referenced here, I've been keeping an eye on the U.K. and here's the latest of what their teachers think of the plans.

• I've been neglecting the ways in which school buildings being opened and closed around the country is going and being received, but of note from this week was Governor Raimondo of Rhode Island--the state with highest per capita rate of coronavirus in the country--pretty extensively going after superintendents who are (or have been) going remote, which was not well received, which she later apologized to some for. Also, this whole mess in Arizona (there's some reporting from elsewhere there, too), leading to a superintendent resigning after his family was threatened by those who wanted schools open. 

updated WPS planning document

 As much for the ease in finding it as anything, you can find the updated planning document for the Worcester Public Schools here. This was sent to staff this afternoon and discussed in school faculty meetings. 

A few notes:
•It is a PLANNING document. That means that yes, it isn't all fleshed out yet.
• It is shared so that the staff can then continue forward in that planning, as was discussed at school staff meetings today.
• You will note two shifts that may be of interest:

• • The date at which non-Group C students are entering buildings is pushed back to early March.
• • The hybrid plan allows for two days for students due to the small number of students who opted for the hybrid alternative.

• The instructional models vary both by grade and by school.

Some things to read

A few things I recommend reading: 

• Calling out the FY21 budget which does nothing for districts under the Student Opportunity Act, Brian Allen, Colin Jones, Diane Kelley, and Glenn Koocher (you'll recognize some names there) write of the impact and note that solutions exist in today's Commonwealth Magazine:
  

  This year Revere could lose $10 million and Worcester could lose $16 million in state aid if the SOA is not funded. So far, these districts are surviving because they can save money by not transporting kids to school and reducing other costs associated with in-person learning. But should Revere, Worcester, and many other cities move to in-person or hybrid learning, costs will skyrocket. 
  We are a wealthy state and have the capacity to help every school weather this crisis and provide their students with the same level of education as students in the wealthiest districts. All of our organizations believe that the state can raise the tax revenue we need for education (and other key areas such as public health, housing, transit, and child care). Research from MassBudget argues that the best way to do so is by asking profitable corporations and wealthy individuals, who continue to take home an outsized share of income earned in our state, to pay more in taxes. 

  ...to which I will only add: Hear, hear.

• The Hechinger Report had a good piece last week that described not only rundown facilities, but the vast gulfs between districts in the school buildings they have, which related to the decisions they made about whether to bring students back into those buildings (and if families agreed):
  

  States have no reason to be surprised by the sharp divide in children’s access to their schools. More than 40 percent of school districts need to update or replace their ventilation systems in at least half of their schools, according to a report by the Government Accounting Office. Moreover, low-poverty districts spent about $1 billion more on school construction than high-poverty districts in 2016, which comes to 41 percent more per student.

• And just out today, a study from Imperial College, London, looks at the impact the English lockdown (started November 5 and just being raised now) had on rates of coronavirus across the country. Rates were doubling every nine days before the lockdown; during it, they halved approximately every 37 days. Overall, rates fell by 30%. When one looks at subpopulations, as covered in the release from the College itself, most groups trended downward, with a single notable exception: 
  

  While previously all age groups were experiencing a rise in infections, now most are seeing a fall, with the exception of children between the ages of 5 and 17 where positive tests are increasing. This trend could be linked to schools remaining open during the current lockdown, in contrast with the first national lockdown, the researchers suggest. In those aged 13-17, the prevalence is now over 2% or 1 in 50 testing positive.

  Most things closed. Schools did not. Rates fell overall, but not for school-aged children, where they rose while they attended schools.  

November Board of Ed: later blog

 Duty called elsewhere on Tuesday, and thus, you get this much later

The agenda is here; the livestream is here.

What I proposed

 Since the list of what I'd proposed as alternatives to the goals proposed by Superintendent Binienda made today's paper, I thought I'd post in full my list. I didn't put the numbers in for the meeting, as I thought we should really have the discussion as part of that, and it was clear it was going to subcommittee. 

• Professional practice goal: Superintendent Binienda and her cabinet will participate in specifically implicit bias training of an ongoing monthly nature. aligns with indicators IV-B and IV-D
• Student learning goal: The Worcester Public Schools will lower the dropout rate of English Language learners to the average district rate of 2.5%. aligns with indicator I-B and I-F
• District Improvement goal: Using restorative justice as a best practice as supported by the FY21 budget and closely collaborating with families, the Worcester Public Schools will lower the student suspension rate across all subgroups to no more than 2%. aligns with indicator I-E, I-F, III-D
• District Improvement goal: Superintendent Binienda and the Worcester School Committee will collaborate with the City Manager and the Worcester City Council on a comprehensive facilities renovation timeline for municipal buildings by the end of calendar year 2021. aligns with indicator II-A

There was also some discussion at the meeting at putting some numbers behind the hiring directions, which I think makes a lot of sense.