October Board of Ed: advancing student learning (the "vision" section)

 and Johnston opens with what was clearly "class you're still talking" voice

This is the "educational vision" section

October Board of Ed: accountability update

 on underperforming and chronically underperforming schools

THREE SCHOOLS COMING OUT OF SUCH STATUS TODAY; ONE DISTRICT

October Board of Ed: on the commissioner's search

 search process is underway with Isaacson, Miller

Craven
Tutwiler
Fisher
West

...have been appointed to the search (screening) committee)

interviews with Board members

PUBLIC SURVEY GOING LIVE TODAY which I will link to when I find it

Now linked! 

October Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meeting: opening comments

 The agenda is here; livestream is here

My notes from last night are here

and the meeting has started, but there is no sound on the broadcast...

Special meeting of the Board of Ed: voke admissions (part I)

 The agenda is here; the livestream is going to go up here.

Meeting opened by Vice Chair Hills (with an amazing amount of noise behind him)
Johnston opens by saying it will be looking at the impact of the last engineering change
quotes “Every system is perfectly designed to get the result that it does.” (W. Edwards Deming)

Tonight's agenda:

The Board of Ed meets tonight and tomorrow

 Note that the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education not only meets tomorrow (for their regular monthly meeting); they meet TONIGHT for the first of two of what they're calling "study sessions" on vocational admissions. That meeting is only online and starts at 5.

The regular meeting is tomorrow, starts at 9, and includes:

1.  updates on accountability for Holyoke Public Schools, John Avery Parker (New Bedford), Van Sickle Academy (Springfield), High School of Commerce (Springfield), Oliver Middle School (Lawrence) 
2. information on what they're calling a "Curriculum Data Dashboard" 
3. literacy reviews in Educator Preparation and Registered Teacher Apprenticeship Program  
4. and "Continuation of DESE's Strategy to Advance Student Learning, Including Potential New Initiatives"

(can we talk about this thing where Every Major Word Is Capitalized in Agenda Items?)

Agenda for all of that is here. Livestream will come up here.

Two to read on the ballot question on MCAS

I've been ongoingly disappointed at how poorly informed most of the discussion of the MCAS ballot question is (insert my ongoing observation that there is actual data and things happening at the Board of Ed meetings, which should have much more attention), but here are two pieces I'd recommend: 

• The Boston University Statehouse Program has taken a look at the lack of clarity on both (yes, both) sides of the ballot question funding. You can find the piece by Ava Berger published in The Cape Cod Times, which is providing access to the article for free as a public service (subscribe to your local newspapers, people!).
  
  
• I find it helps to have outside perspective on things, so The New York Times look today at the ballot question, which puts it into the national post-pandemic context is interesting. (And that's a gift link)