Pratt Library:"shall be for all, rich and poor without distinction of race or color"

Like the Ferguson Library did last year, the Pratt Library in Baltimore has been staying open amidst the storms around it and acting as a safe community space for all these past days.
The name made me curious, so a quick Google brought me to Enoch Pratt. This is a good story, so I'll quote a bit:

 Many residents of the City in late 1881 speculated what was being planned for the excavations going on in the north side of West Mulberry Street, by Cathedral Street, near the old Baltimore Cathedral in the tomey Mount Vernon-Belvedere-Mount Royal neighborhood, north of the business district on Cathedral Hill. The mystery was explained when on January 21, 1882, in a letter addressed to the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, Pratt offered a gift of a central library, four branch libraries (with two additional ones to be constructed shortly thereafter), and a financial endowment of (U.S.) $1,058,333. Further, he requested that to Mayor William Pinkney Whyte and the Council continue an annual appropriation to the new library system and support it in the years to come to supplement the interest and benefits accumulating from the principal of his bequest. His intention was to establish a library that "shall be for all, rich and poor without distinction of race or color, who, when properly accredited, can take out the books if they will handle them carefully and return them." 

emphasis added
Note that this was in 1882.

And guess who he inspired? Andrew Carnegie.

Advanced (IB) Academy

Biancheria: asks for updated timeline
Boone: if it is specific to planning year, then administration will move forward
there will be updates
O'Connell: we cross the Rubicon
cost of dollars, time
asks to hold for one month
when we're going to have to reduce major positions (?)
"in the light of budget which we have yet to receive" and hopes to receive in the next month (we're getting it next week)
Boone: have been very clear to School Committee about timeline
Monfredo: may have to hold back on the academy
not assured that the program is being

Novick: I noted: budget isn't a mystery, already exists, hasn't come to us yet
policy to design budget falls to SC, not admin
several other times that we vote on this, FY16 budget, innovation plan comes to SC, FY17...
committed to this not being another plan that is created and gathers dust on a shelf
considering innovation plan and timeline as part of the process

Petty assures that money will come from city for this program
Biancheria: makes a difference at how she looks at it

Passes 6-1, O'Connell opposed.
Coverage by the T&G here. 

Governance report

Regarding "school of choice"

• give schools a chance to present on Ch 11
• create a video for realtors
• asking for time of next survey
• asking for open houses for grade 5
• highlighting successes on Ch 11 and a quadrant newsletter (which we received the first edition of today)

regarding Title I parent council

• requesting parent organizations and parent involvement at CPPAC

regarding H3793

• letter of support going to administration

regarding social media policy

• passed as amended

Student Discipline report

and we have a PowerPoint which isn't online; I'll post photos later. Backup we had ahead is here. 
Boone: important to implement ch 222 with fidelity; direction to Legislature and examination of our procedures

The new student discipline law has the express purpose to: 

• Limit the use of long-term suspension as a consequence for student misconduct until other consequences have been considered and tried as appropriate. 
• Promote engagement of a student’s parent/guardian in discussion of the student’s misconduct and options for responding to it. 
• Assure that every student who is expelled or suspended, regardless of the reason for suspension or expulsion, has the opportunity to receive education services to make academic progress during the period of suspension or expulsion. 
• Keep schools safe and supportive for all students while ensuring fair and effective disciplinary practices.

Rodrigues: educational services must be provided to students during the disciplinary period; make sure they can make educational progress
schools must develop an education service plan for all students who are suspended from school for more than 10 consecutive days
Communciation to parents has to include offense, basis of charge, potential consequences, opportunity for hearing & information about hearing (including interpreter)

yearly report to DESE on students excluded for more than 10 days (broken down)
districts and schools with significant disparities in explusion shall develop and implement a plan

Suggested revisions:

• student on student assault should be considered under 37H (latitude to suspend for longer)
• long term suspensions should carry over to the next year (thus a suspension in spring now goes only to the end of the school year; suggestion is to carry over to the next year). Boone notes further than those suspended in the first half of the school year have to serve the full time; those in the spring don't.
• emergency removals cannot exceed two days; due process hearing may need longer for contacting guardians; conducting hearing; takes assistant principals away from other duties. Need more flexibility in timeline to ensure due process
• 10 days for in-house; but in-house keeps them in school
• right to appeal within 5 days: not enough time for parents or for Superintendent to schedule

District suspensions have been in decline for a number of years already; predates the law change

has been a steady decline in single suspensions, 2-4 day suspensions, 5-9 day suspensions, and 10 or more

same is true in elementary

highest ranked in infractions (not suspensions) inappropriate behavior (both elementary and secondary schools)

Boone: principals have been an integral part of influencing, implementing policy
sorry, no notes on comments tonight

WPD grant for communication

letter of intent for a grant for a communication system for Mutualink 
installed in two of our schools as a pilot
secure communication between school and WPD
voice, video, text
radios, phones, and mobile devices
duration of 12 months
school department would add contract to WPS budget $1200 for two schools
collaborative approach for a safer school
open to public comment
(in response to a query) comments could be heard with line open, but no recording
Sorry, I was trying to keep up with questions and such. T&G covers it here. 

Ohio calls for shortening PARCC, moratorium on accountability measures

More from Ohio: their Senate Advisory Committee last night released their PARCC report:

State Sen. Peggy Lehner, who created the committee, said the group of teachers, superintendents and legislators unanimously made several recommendations Wednesday.

Among them:

- Cut the new tests from one round (in February and March) and a second round (in April and May) to just one round in May.

- Make them shorter.

- Wait three years until people are comfortable with the new state and Common Core standards and tests before holding students, schools or teachers accountable for poor scores.

- Let the Ohio Department of Education decide which vendor should provide the tests.

Worcester School Committee meets tonight

With apologies for the last posting on this; busy week!

The Worcester School Committee meets tonight at 7. You can find the agenda here.

Out of order, a few things of public interest (and possible public comment):

• we are holding our annual (state-required) school choice hearing and vote. Note that this is school choice INTO the district; school choice OUT of the district, we are state-mandated to allow. This is a hearing, so the public is welcomed to address this issue.
• we are also holding a hearing on the Worcester Police Department's grant application for the Mutalink communication system. Please note that this is NOT a hearing on cameras; while cameras may be involved such a system, the entire camera issue still awaits a legal opinion. Again, this is a public hearing at which people are welcome to testify. 
• we also are scheduled to vote tonight on the proposed Advanced Academy; the item's phrasing is "To vote for a planning year for a “Pilot Innovation Academy,” according to the approved timeframe."
• tonight the report of the superintendent is the implimentation of the student discipline policy. You may remember that this was revised last year in line with the changes of Chapter 222 of Mass General Law. This is very timely, as the Joint Committee on Education takes up the proposed revisions next Wednesday. 

Additionally: 

• Our Boston Globe Scholastic Art & Writing award winners are coming in!
• Clark Street would like to name their library after Eileen Barbieri.
• Governance is reporting out from their Tuesday meeting.
• We have a response back on how the positions added at North High were funded.
• We are being asked to approve a prior year payment due to a non-working gas meter (caught by the Budget office).
• We have a number of recognitions to set dates for. 
• We're going to have to raise lunch prices again (that's going to F&O).
• Miss Biancheria wants to have a safety summit.
• She's also interested in the allocation of funding for channel 11.
• And I'm asking that we support the bill proposed by Rep. Fernandes that would set up a state emergency account for ELL students who enroll midyear. 

We have two items in executive session: a worker's comp case and collective bargain strategy (health insurance).