Board of Ed in sum

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

Not in the habit of linking to the 74, but Massachusetts

You should probably read this interview with Russell Johnston. I want to call your attention to two things of note (beyond the Commissioner Chester hagiography).
First he says this:

Within special education, we have a challenge in our state that we have the second-highest rate of identification of students with disabilities in the nation, and it’s been fairly unmovable for many years now. Particularly what we see as a concern is that we’re overidentifying children from poverty.

Whoa, hang on a second...yes, we have a higher rate of identifying kids with special ed needs than elsewhere. Why are we assuming that we are overidentifying rather than others underidentifying? Given what we know about other states, expenses, attention to what works in education, and the like, shouldn't we err on the other side? Yes, there is a danger of just sticking kids in special education who might have other needs, but I've also seen too many parents having to fight to get their kids actually needed services to think that's all that much of a thing.
Also, on the "from poverty" bit: poverty can in fact cause special education needs. Lack of adequate nutrition, exposure to environmental impacts, and other associated risks of childhood poverty in fact impact brain development and growth in very particular ways. That does in fact raise the rates of special education needs among kids who are poor. There's a reason why Flint, Michigan is about to undergo a special education crisis, and that isn't due to overidentification.

Second, the 74 is the ed reformers newsletter. Are they backing an internal horse in the race for Massachusetts Commissioner? It's a little odd to profile a Senior Associate Commissioner in a national publication.
And no, I don't know things. Those applications are confidential, and I don't know who is applying, either. 

Article on OML complaint on the strategic planning process

Scott O'Connell writes about the Open Meeting Law complaint around the strategic planning committee. The only comment I'll make is this:

People are generally free to attend the committee meetings as well if they ask to, Mr. McGourthy added. “We’ve never said no to anyone who wants to participate.”

...is a pointless offer if nobody knows when or where the meetings are!

I did speak to the AG's office before Thanksgiving, so they're working on this, still.

November Board of Ed: standards updates

History and social studies
ELA and math implementation
also coming: arts and health

Wulfson: update on review of history and social sciences curriculum framework
getting field involved "has been very much a part of this process"
"this team has really provided for a lot of public input"

Peske: appreciate educators who have served with us; panel review process
what is a standard? What a student should do and be able to do, and should be measureable
curriculum? content standards and other materials to support instruction

what teachers should teach and students should learn

Buchanan: multiphase process
public survey, "one of the strongest responses we've seen...there's a lot of interest in this"
convene review panel: six meetings
drafting and reviewing proposed revisions
plan is to present draft of revision to Board to vote to invite public comment in January
Board to vote new standards in June

Priorities were to emphasize civics education and to deepen understanding
improve also rigor, clarity, and coherence
"major concern by demographic group" and engagement

New full year civics course proposed for grade 8: "centerpiece around which we drew a through line"
civics standards integrated into every grade
"middle school is a place where the first really deep look" into our system of government happens
revised U.S. Gov and Politics standards for grade 12
emphasis in supporting sections: introduction: "A Renewed Mission: Education for Civic Life in a Democracy"
guiding principles: studying current events, data analysis, media literacy skills
history and social science practice, prek-12
research, process, analysis, evaluation of credibility of sources
sample guiding and supporting questions

Grade 8 to include: philosophical foundations of US political system; institutions of US government; rights & responsibilities of citizens; Constitution, amendments, SCOTUS decisions; state and local government

"8th grade seen as a launch pad for the work they'll do in US History in high school"

Q from Fernandez on integration of social emotional learning
A from Susan Wheltle of the guiding principles, also overlap in curriculum with early grades in what is required
in older grades shifts into how institutions are formed
democracy in the classroom: "every day democracy...then democracy within every larger groups of society"
comes with discussion of how we're always wrestling with interpretations of history
Buchanan: having students do more independent research
students be reviewing primary source documents
"investigating these questions actively"
"What historical interpretation involves"

(this in response to Moriarty) grade 12 course designed to be leading students to what they'll be doing in college
research, digging into practices, what they're learning on the national stage can be applied locally
maintaining content from 2003 framework in revised document

Peyser: "it's more like a Rubik's Cube than a stone in a pond" to revise the standards while retaining the core of 2003 standards
"we obviously haven't seen it all yet, so let's not get ahead of ourselves"

Sagan: what are your thoughts on what we'll measure?
"I am reluctant to talk more assessments"
Wulfson: we know there's a question of assessment before us; we've just started to do some thinking on what a history and social science assessment would look like
chance to integrate some new models, perhaps some project based
Sagan: don't want to do it serially
Wulfson: hope to have some resources in FY19 to flesh that out

McKenna; applaud all of you getting to this point
all students will have civics
having it integrated, students with more resources would get it and others would not

Sagan: have draft education from Legislature, which is unusual
Wulfson: at this point, have not filed a formal bill
some things that would be helpful for us, some things that we suggest might be a pilot
"we are providing..."
Sagan: "but they wrote to us, not to you, so we as a Board need to respond"
McKenna: suggest sending them the draft standards in January
"I think the nervousness has been that DESE won't move this ahead"
Sagan will respond with plan and schedule

arts and health standards haven't been revised since 1999
arts: group to be created in January; back to Board with final revision by spring 2019
health a few months behind that

and adjourned! 

November Board of Ed: virtual schools tuition increase

Wulfson: virtual schools "very much a work in progress"
"still trying to understand who they best serve and how to ensure they're good schools"
review how they're funded

Proposal is to increase their tuition from the school choice tuition of $5000 to $8190
this is, essentially, per pupil average minus the $75 for overhead
rate is pro-rated based on how long a student is enrolled
are paid monthly beginning in October

Chuang: originally created under innovation school law
law was passed then to give oversight to the Board
"not marginal cost operations"
rate setting is the purview of this board
has been no adjustment of rate; creates pressure on virtual schools in operating costs
students who attend to virtual schools tend to be more (on average) disadvantaged than the state average
Klau: Massachusetts imbues board of schools as fully independent to ensure schools are serving their students well
virtual school teachers are required to be certified in Massachusetts
have to provide ELL, special education (paid for by district of residence), must develop steps to attract, retain, enroll target populations
schools know when students have log-in, what activities they're engaged in, teachers can track student progress in real time

December discussion on per pupil tuitition
January/February: review of Greenfield Virtual based on conditions that were placed on their renewal

local school committees can restrict enrollment to 1% of their student population
there could be up to four more; there has as yet been no interest from the field in expansion

students enrolled in a virtual school more likely to be high mobility, disadvantaged in other ways

increases would go to school side not to contractual arrangements

Moriarty: churn rate and retention rate
what do you do?
A: two family engagement staff positions for that
track attendance online

"they come to us with disrupted learning, they come to us somewhat skeptical or jaded" on their learning and their success
Wulfson: one of the potentials here is rolling in time missed
they'll be back in December

November Board of Ed: special education, foster care, ESSA

see backup here and there's a Powerpoint but it's an outline
changes under ESSA on foster care rule
to minimize period of disruption of children's education
any at least 24 hour out of home care
under best interest determination to stay in school of origin
amending rules only as it pertains to foster care
both programmatic and fiscal responsibility
"most of the time, districts can work this out themselves" but do about 400 decisions annually
living in one district, attending in another
looking to promote simplicity
looking for a single rule for all students under foster care
intended to promote stability of students and responsibility

Proposed rule #ESSA #MAEdu pic.twitter.com/6FMoSGUYaI

— Tracy O'Connell Novick (@TracyNovick) November 28, 2017

West: what is the plan to be sure students and families understand their options under the new law?
work going through now on that
Wulfson: ESSA is very unclear on who should pay for a student going to original school
Vote to send to public comment

November Board of Ed: MCAS as graduation requirement

backup is here
Wulfson: this year's ninth graders first to take new high school MCAS as their competency determination
because it's new, they haven't seen it yet
more rigorous
"for that class and the class behind them, that this Board set an interim passing standards for the  competency determination set...equivalent to the current passing level of the current MCAS test"
intended as an interim moving: beginning conversation of raising bar for classes subsequent
sending proposal out for official public comment
return in February to adopt them
"have done extensive outreach to the field...superintendent and principals have been very, very supportive of this approach"

West: implicit in this step that we're taking is an additional conversation about where the bar should be set after this transitional period
Wulfson: agrees
Board has signaled to field that over the long run, we are raising expectations
Board votes to send to public comment