Regional Assistance Centers

This morning I attended a workshop that was sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Today’s workshop focused on another DESE initiative which is aside from the new computer data collection program for Special Education compliance reporting, the Readiness Project, or the new MCAS data reports that show student growth (DESE meetings of late). The DESE initiative du jour was creation of the District and School Assistance Centers (DSACs) across the state.

Essentially, schools and districts are now being ranked in a level system that places them anywhere from Level 1 to Level 5. I should specify that the level system relates directly to school performance under the No Child Left Behind Act…which means how our students perform on state assessments and meet other criteria such as timely graduation. The new level system works like this:

Level 1 – Meets Regulation – DESE provides voluntary access to online tools
Level 2 – At Risk – DESE suggests assistance for student groups and teachers
Level 3 – Needs Technical Assistance – ESE provides priority assistance and guides self-assessment
Level 4 – Needs Intervention – DESE requires intervention
Level 5 – Needs Substantial Intervention – DESE co-governs district

So where does Mahar stand in all of this?

Here is a breakdown of the 1766 schools in Massachusetts:

Level 1 – 464
Level 2 – 82
Level 3 – 1177
Level 4 – 43

We are in a group with 1176 other schools. Today our administrative team affirmed yet again our commitment to improve. Before the announcement of the District and School Assistance Centers, we were committed to reaching the benchmarks for student performance that is set by the state. Now we are also committed to moving Mahar to Level 2, and then to Level 1 in the new system unveiled by the DESE today. Only now, we know that we will have the assistance of some highly qualified folks at the DESE – one of which I have come to know as an outstanding person and consummate professional.

I am looking forward to working with our newly appointed DSAC Regional Assistance Director, Ken Rocke.

One more thing – for those of you who read yesterday’s blog, I went with the Quarter Pounder with Cheese & a Large Fries. I skipped the soda though and had a cup of coffee.

Super Size Me?

Last week I drove to Western New York to visit my family. I did not pack any food for my seven hour drive, and when I got hungry enough I decided to pull off the highway to get a bite to eat. Sadly, one of the foods available to me at that moment was McDonald’s. I could have gone to the convenience store and grabbed a yogurt, or perhaps a granola bar – but the smell of the burgers and fries took over my senses and I had to give in. And while I stood at the counter debating over the Quarter Pounder or the Big Mac I realized that I had not been to the “Golden Arches” in more than five years.

It was around 2004 that I first encountered the movie, “Supersize Me.” This documentary was about a man who ate nothing but McDonald’s for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for one month. By the end of the thirty days he had gained considerable weight and was becoming very sick according to his physician. The doctor actually asked the man to give up on his month long project in the interest of good health. The constant flow of fast food was starting to affect his liver, mood, and cardiovascular fitness.

This morning irony struck when I read the topic of this month’s Educational Leadership as, “Health and Learning.” Each month this publication focuses on one topic in the American Public School System, providing those in educational leadership with information and insight to potentially improve schools large and small. The December 2009 issue covers students’ diets, sleep habits, emotional wellness, and exposure to drugs and alcohol.

As a school community we have focused in school eating habits with our district wellness policy as well as our policy to allow bottled water in the classrooms. One of the points made in Ed. Leadership’s article about healthy eating is that children who are continually exposed to fat, sugar, and salt will find these foods to be their friends. These children will then turn to these foods for comfort in times of stress, or just as a better tasting alternative to healthy foods. Once this cycle begins, it can be a hard one to break, and the repercussions can bring agony later in life.

You can see the first four minutes of the movie, Super Size Me by clicking the link below. I give this film two thumbs up!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V168xofxgu0

A Thanksgiving Blog

Much has changed in the American School System since I was a child. I can recall decorating trees, decorating eggs in art classes, making cards for family members and sharing gifts with my classmates. Many of these activities are no more in public schools, or they are implemented with surgical political correctness, so not to offend any member of the community. Clearly the holidays of which I speak can have a religious connotation to them.

Ahhh, but then there is Thanksgiving. I am sure that there are some out there who treat Thanksgiving as a religious holiday – but for the most part it is a day when we get together with our families and friends to share in a celebration. This primarily secular holiday first occurred nearly 400 years ago and the typical celebration that is held in homes across America emulates what happened way back in the 1600’s.

Tomorrow the Ralph C. Mahar Thanksgiving celebration begins at 10:00 AM on our football field where our Senators host the Athol Red Raiders. There is tremendous excitement in both communities about this game. We are 9 – 0 and Athol is 9 – 1. Two excellent football teams meeting on a turf field on a 50 degree day, without a chance of rain. While those of us are here watching our teams and coaches battle it out, we will have in the backs of our minds the delicious food, and fine company that awaits us later in the afternoon.

Anytime I have been asked which holiday is my favorite, I am quick to point out that it is Thanksgiving. I enjoy the camaraderie found in excellent athletic programs such as ours and Athol’s. So before the NFL games begin, before the turkey or the stuffing with the family – I would like to say good luck to both teams in tomorrow’s game. Play hard and of course play safe!

Please allow me to say Thanks in advance to the Senators and the Red Raiders for a great game, and Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.

H1N1 Clinic to be held December 11 at Mahar

Sometime back in August, I posted the first blog that referenced H1N1. At about that time I was working with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to secure influenza vaccinations for students in the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District, and for our sending schools whose administrations expressed an interest. Today, I am happy to report that our H1N1 clinic will be held in our gymnasium on December 11, 2009!

Very soon, I will sit with the Orange Department of Public Health Director, Roger Mallet to craft a press release. We currently have about 250 students scheduled to be vaccinated, and want to make a push to get the vaccination to more of our students. I must also specify that the December 11 clinic is for H1N1 only and that we are continuing in our efforts to provide the seasonal vaccinations for our students. Once we get through the H1N1 clinic, it will be much easier, and more widely accepted that we are providing students with vaccinations in school.

I am also happy to report that elementary students from the Petersham Center School will be able to participate in the December 11 clinic. Any student from Petersham Center School can get theH1N1 vaccination if the proper paperwork is competed and he or she is accompanied by a parent. I have a suspicion that the students in high school will take the vaccination injection much easier than the children who will come from Petersham – so for the Center School students a Mom, Dad, or other Guardian must attend!

The H1N1 clinic has opened a door for our district and for our students. The idea of providing services like influenza vaccinations in the school setting creates a convenient way for parents to have their students undergo routine wellness activities. By having the vaccinations in schools, parents do not have to make doctor appointments (which can take some time) or take time off of work to sit in waiting rooms. I have added the link to the H1N1 cover letter and permission form for parents at the bottom of this blog.


Next on the Horizon:
Last night I made the acquaintance of the Vice President of Family Health Centers. I am going to coordinate with her in an attempt to have Dental Screenings and Dental Clinics for our students. Just like the influenza vaccinations, the dental clinics will be optional if we are able to get them in our school. I will also ask our elementary school partners if they are interested in taking part.

http://www.rcmahar.org/Flu/flu%20shot%20cover%20letter%202009.pdf

http://www.rcmahar.org/Flu/2009%20H1N1%20Influenza%20Vaccine%20Consent%20Form.pdf

Thanking Ted Sizer

Each year the University of Massachusetts (UMASS) at Lowell asks doctoral students to take part in the annual colloquium. A colloquium is an event in which scholars get together to engage in discussion about a particular topic. Over the last couple of years I have had the opportunity to make the acquaintance of Boston Public Pilot Schools expert Dan French and renowned author, Jonathon Kozol. I have been provided with memorable moments at these events, my favorite of which was having Kozol’s book, Letters to a First Year Teacher signed by John. He wrote on the first page, To Michael. For all our children.

At one of these events I sat next to an older man and a woman who I assumed was his wife. While he sat and seemed to listen to every word that Dr. French was saying about the Boston Pilot Schools, his wife just sat and knitted. At some point the gentleman was introduced to everyone as Theodore “Ted” Sizer. I remember thinking to myself how fantastic it was to be sitting next to such a famous author. One of Ted’s books, The Red Pencil: Convictions From Experience in Education is among my favorites when it comes to ideas about improving the education system as a whole.

Among my favorite of Dr. Sizer’s assertions is the one that he draws about educational equality. He made a pretty compelling case for why things in schools are the way they are when he wrote, “Over the course of a year, most children spend more than twice their waking hours outside of school. This time, not surprisingly, carries far more influence than the amount of time spent in the classroom, if not for some, surely for most.” He goes on to say, “If we want a powerfully educated population we must attend to all aspects of each child’s situation, in deliberate, sustained combination.”

Now I don’t mean to bore you with quotes from books, but what Sizer says is very important. The fact that the percentage of students achieving proficiency on MCAS examinations goes up as the socioeconomics of the school community is not merely a function of happenstance. There is legitimate research to support that student achievement increases with socioeconomic status. If those who authored the No Child Left Behind Act would just realize this, our summer and weekend programming would be just as powerful as that which happens in our 180 day school year.

On the topic of socioeconomic status and its direct relationship on student achievement I could write for hours. In actuality, I have written for hours about this – but I really don’t want to bore you with research. The real reason that I wrote this blog tonight is that I want to say thank you to Ted Sizer, a forward thinker, a wonderful author, and a pioneer in the American Education System. On October 22, 2009 Ted passed away at the age of 77 after a lengthy battle with cancer. Ted not only left us with inspirational and promising ideas about how to improve education for our children – he left us with work that simply must be done.

Leadership Lesson: Dr. Thomas Weinberg

Lately, most of my personal time has been spent putting together my doctoral dissertation. I have reached the point now where the end of my doctorial studies is in sight, and with this I have been working more furiously in hopes of reaching the end. One of the major components of this expansive document deals with leadership attributes and practices of school superintendents. While I was writing about these attributes and practices I felt compelled to stop and reflect on how one could become an exceptional educational leader.

I came to the conclusion that the leadership practices of any person (superintendents included) are influenced by formal education, informal education, and experiences. Formal education applies to those people who earn degrees in administration or some form of leadership. In colleges and universities these individuals are required to read certain works, write papers to synthesize concepts, conduct studies, and make presentations on leadership topics. Informal education applies to those pieces of research that prospective leaders choose to read, investigations and case studies about the success of others, and conversations about how to become promising in practice. Finally, experience applies to those things that happen in life that call upon us to behave in a particular manner the next time we encounter familiar circumstances.

Once I drew the conclusions above I started to think about my own formal education, the books that I have read, the research that I have been interested in and the people and experiences that have helped me to shape my independent thoughts about leadership and school improvement. Then it dawned on me – I am lucky to have been provided with an excellent formal education which has helped me to engage in self-directed learning opportunities. Also, over the past 15 years I have witnessed leadership practices that have been exceptionally successful and others that have been profoundly absurd.

Focusing in on exceptional leaders with whom I have been associated, I reflected on one of my Professors from Buffalo State College. In the mid 1990’s I was fortunate to have made the acquaintance of Dr. Thomas Weinberg – one of my Sociology Professors who was a winner of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award in teaching. Given the number of students that Dr. Weinberg has each year, it is unlikely that he remembers me, but because of his friendly nature and acts of kindness – I will never forget him.

You see, in the summer of 1996 I went to file my graduation paperwork with Buffalo State College’s administration. I found out (rather abruptly) that I was one sociology course short in reaching my own graduation requirements. This happened as a result of my being inappropriately advised by a brand new faculty member, and the fact that I did not take the personal responsibility of looking over my own course completion requirements in the prescribed courses of study for my degree. So there I was, twenty-two years old and in crisis. I was told that I would have to attend for one more semester so that I could take one class in order to earn my degree.

Dr. Weinberg happened to be walking by the Dean’s Office when I was being given this news. Although Tom is an expert in analyzing human behavior, it did not take his expertise to see that I was not happy. He took me out into the hallway and asked me what was going on – and when I was done he asked me to stay in the hall. He went into the Dean’s office and a couple of minutes passed. He then asked me to come into the Dean’s office where he presented me with an option.

Dr. Weinberg explained to me that the Dean was willing to approve an Independent Study for me that Dr. Weinberg would oversee. This independent study would mean that I would practically work day and night for the remainder of the semester and if I could complete the course work in time would be given my degree with the August graduates. I accepted the offer, completed the work, and earned a B in my independent study.

Dr. Weinberg had nothing to gain in helping me. He actually created more work for himself in doing so. My Sociology professor went out of his way for me simply because he could. I consider that day in the Dean’s office a lesson in leadership. Tom taught me something that day that has stuck with me more than any lesson I have learned in a classroom or any philosophy I have read in a book. Dr. Weinberg deserved the Chancellor’s Award that he received because as you could see, his lessons tend to stick with his students.

To Dr. Weinberg:
You taught me the value of providing opportunities for success. You could have walked right by me that day in 1996. You should know that when I have been confronted with the opportunity to do for another as you did for me – I have been following your lead.

Superintendent's Response to T & G Article Today

An article appeared in today’s Worcester Telegram that you may have seen. If you have not, I have provided you with a link to the article via the Internet below. I am disheartened that this article inaccurately rated Mahar (via chart) in comparison to other school districts in the Telegram’s distribution zone. It is true that our median Student Growth Percentile (SGP) is 35.0 in ELA and 33.5 in mathematics – but please keep in mind that this is comprised of the following SGPs:

Grade 7 Math – 20.0
Grade 8 Math – 37.0
Grade 10 Math – 54.0

Grade 7 ELA – 21.5
Grade 8 ELA – 36.0
Grade 10 ELA – 54.0

The districts to which the Telegram and Gazette compared Mahar have SGPs that are inclusive of students’ performance on assessments in grades 4, 5, and 6 as well. To compare Mahar with other K – 12 districts in an accurate fashion, the following SGPs would have been included in our median distribution:

Petersham Elementary SGP for all Grades
Math – 44.0
ELA – 43.0

Swift River Elementary SGP for all Grades
Math – 68.0
ELA – 80.0

Orange Elementary SGP for all Grades
Math – 37.0
ELA – 38.0

In the coming days I will be contacting the appropriate personnel at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to inquire about the existence of a Median SGP that is reflective of the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District and our K – 6 partnering districts.

You can see how the accountability standards under the No Child Left Behind Act calls upon the quantification of student learning by bunching data. I have questioned and continue to question the data that is collected and how it is used. In this case, the Telegram & Gazette accurately reported half of the data for our Pre-K – 12 model and all of the data from other Pre K – 12 systems. It is my hope that the Telegram & Gazette will consider writing another article that is indicative of the steadfast work of our teachers, staff, and administration. If the chart printed in the Telegram & Gazette focused only on Grade 10 SGPs in English and Language Arts, Mahar would have been placed on their continuum above Quabbin, Ashburnham-Westminster, Gardner, Northampton, Leominster, Lunenburg, and many, many more.

One other thought….the time that it took to create this response could have been dedicated to real work with our teachers and the time that it takes for our teachers to read this response could have been dedicated to planning instruction.

http://www.telegram.com/article/20091028/NEWS/910280439

"They focus on trying to have us become critical thinkers."

Last week I visited Cushing Academy in Ashburnham. I was able to sit in on a United States History Class and a Probability and Statistics class as an invited guest by my cousin Tyler. Tyler, an enthusiastic learner and hockey player is a member of Cushing’s Class of 2011. The experience was doubly unique for me – having spent so much time in and around schools I perceived teaching and learning in the same fashion that I do in my daily work but as Tyler’s invited guest I focused on his in class actions and behaviors. I left Cushing impressed with Tyler’s participation in his learning, and even more impressed with Cushing as a learning organization.

I have spent all but two years of my professional career in public schools. In the two years that I worked as an administrator in a private school I was able to see first-hand how the two systems are alike and how the two systems are different. The compare and contrast of public and private education has been the subject of countless studies, countless articles, and is always a topic of debate. Whether you are a public school or a private school advocate – the fact remains that there are differences, large and small.

If someone were to ask me if I believed in public education or private education, my answer would be, “Yes, I believe in education.” What is really important is that the student who is in the private school believes in his or her school and the student who is in the public school believes in his or her school just the same. Today I sent Tyler a text and asked, “You gotta take mcas @ Cushing?” He responded, “Nope. We have finals twice a year and that’s it.” I then sent another text asking, “They focus on SATs”?” Then Tyler responded, “Not exactly. They focus on trying to have us become critical thinkers.”

Of course I would rather see Tyler at Mahar – but given his answer today, Cushing is fine with me too.

A Challenge for Maria

I am not sure if this is an oddity, but my father is a retired teacher, my older brother was a History Teacher and is now an Assistant Principal, one of my sisters was an English Teacher and is now a Professor at a University, and my other sister has just finished her degree to become an elementary school teacher. I suppose if I had more siblings and they also chose the field of education that our situation would become increasingly rare. Since the likelihood of me finding new siblings is unlikely, it appears as though we are just four for four in choosing the field of education as our lives’ work.

Maria (the Professor) and I often have conversations and debates about key issues facing teachers, administrators, and students in schools today. More often than not we agree and are quick to affirm one another’s beliefs in how to best go about the business of planning, teaching, assessing, and improving instruction. I think we provide each other with ideas about practices we can engage in during our workdays, and often motivate each other in working through the tough situations we are inclined to face in our work.

We often debate the merits and drawbacks of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) – and on any given day we can agree or disagree about some part of it. In our most recent conversation I stressed my frustration with the fact that many of the statistics reported on the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE) website provide viewers with insignificant data about our school district. I should say, the data is accurate – my frustration is with the fact that the reported numbers are often unimportant, lead people to make assumptions about our school that simply aren’t true, and in some cases I cannot even imagine why they are reported.

Now Maria is not one to accept what I say, or what any person says for that matter without empirical evidence, so she wouldn’t let me off the hook with just some random complaint about data reporting. I tossed some statistics at her that I found little value in and she was quick to refute. She provided me with new insights on why certain demographic data is published on the DESE website, who might be interested, and assumptions that could be drawn.

I looked over the website one more time and found a report that I will use to challenge my sister. Maria, by clicking the link below you will find the Massachusetts Department of Education’s “Staffing Age Report by Full Time Equivalency 2007 – 2008” for the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District. Can you tell me what the value is in reporting the age of a school’s faculty? Are there generalizations to be made about teachers who are under the age of 30 or over the age of 60? There are many teachers in their thirties who have been teaching longer than teachers in their fifties, so it is not reflective of teaching experience……….this one is tough to figure out.

http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/profiles/teacher.aspx?orgcode=07550000&orgtypecode=5&leftNavId=828&

Readine$$ and $upport

For many who are outside of the public school system the No Child Left Behind Act appears to be a wonderful piece of legislation that was set forth to hold school systems and those who work in them accountable for their students’ performance. For many inside the public school system the No Child Left Behind Act is a not so wonderful piece of legislation that places students’ performance on mathematics and language arts assessments beyond all else. Those who work in Massachusetts Public Schools are reminded increasingly as the time approaches that all students must be passing these all important tests by the year 2014.

So, the goal is set. By the year 2014 we are aiming to have each and every student reach the level of “Proficient” on their MCAS examinations and that is that, right? The dialogue among teachers and administrators does not shed a promising light on attaining this goal. I have heard this goal be referred to as impossible, absurd, unattainable, illogical, and many more words that I do not care to type. The truth is that those of us who are in education for the right reasons…those of us to got into this business with the intent of being part of a system that makes our world a better place really, really, really wants to obtain this goal. For if we obtain the goal of 100% proficiency – then we know that we are doing our jobs and that we are doing them well…..at least with regard to our students passing tests.

Then we have our mixed messages. On October 8, 2009 Governor Patrick announced the creation of “Readiness Centers” to support our educators. These centers have been created with the intent of improving education by providing teachers and administrators with access to proven instructional practices, and focused professional development to support what is taking place in the classroom. What a novel idea, and kudos to the Patrick Administration for taking the time and energy to realize that teachers cannot be excellent teachers without support. Now that I think about it, just the same as our students need support from their teachers and their families, and our teachers need the support of their administrators through professional development, administrators and school systems need support too!

The question is will the positive impact of the Readiness Centers be overshadowed by an inability to support our educational system with proper funding for our teachers, facilities, and students? Our government passed the No Child Left Behind Act, our government demands all students reach the level of “Proficient” on state examinations by 2014, and our government created Readiness Centers to help us make this so. Today it is hard for me to fathom that this is the same government that could soon reduce the funding that our school district receives to educate our students. A piece of legislation and a Readiness Center will not be enough to reach our 2014 goal. We need our teachers, we need our transportation, and we need our professional development. We won’t be able to get this done without proper $upport.

Would You Rather Make a Buck or Make a Difference?

“It’s easy to make a buck. It’s a lot tougher to make a difference.”
- Tom Brokaw

Tom Brokaw certainly made plenty of bucks, and with his work on books such as The Greatest Generation also made a difference in the lives of many of our veterans. He also provided our veteran’s families’ a certain level of understanding of the trials and tribulations that their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents faced in the World War II era. The quote above transcends media and finds its place in many circles of people who are gathered for the benefits of others, which includes but is not limited to those who teach and work directly with our children.

Very recently Mahar’s Principal, Mr. Goodhind unveiled a process by which students can show their teachers, coaches, and Mahar staff gratitude for their time and effort in teaching them and/or making this school a better place for them to learn. The Appreciation Stations are two boxes – one in the Middle School Office and one in the High School Office. Our students are able to place the name of a teacher or staff member who has helped them in some significant way and write a sentence or two about how. Each week Mr. Goodhind selects one of the submissions and has it read during announcements so that the whole school can be made aware of the efforts of those who work in our school community.

Each Monday, Mr. Goodhind will publish via E-mail all of the “Appreciation Notes” that were dropped in the box during the week prior. I have to applaud this mechanism as it not only allows our students a way to say thank you but it also affords them the opportunity to return the kindness that they receive from our faculty and staff everyday.

These types of activities generate a positive and uplifting energy when they are talked about in school. We spend so much time worrying about the budget, focusing in on test scores, and engaged in school improvement efforts that sometimes we forget to be grateful for the hard work and genuine level of care that is exhibited by our teachers, administrators, and staff. Let us not forget that these people chose a life of working with children – and in most cases with the intent of “making a difference” in their lives.

Don’t get me wrong though. A school can be like any workplace….at times at least. Complaints, criticisms, and what I refer to as “people downgrades” happen just as frequently in a school as they do in an office building. A “people downgrade” is simple gossip – a conversation about a person who did a thing – and in order for it to qualify as a downgrade – it must be negative.


“Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain but it takes character and self control to be understanding and forgiving.”
- Dale Carnegie


Carnegie identifies what it takes to be a fool, and what it takes to establish that one has character. I think he might have added that it also takes a certain level of character to say “Thank-You.”

Drop Out Blog II

School administrators who are reporting school drop-outs in Massachusetts must follow a chart that is provided by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) in deciding whether or not a student is, in fact, a drop-out. In most cases this chart allows me and my fellow superintendents the ability to accurately code whether or not a student is in school, some other type of academic program, or has some legitimate reason for not being in school. It really is a simple process – the DESE provides a list of student names and then the Superintendent or another school administrator decides which line on the chart corresponds with each student’s unique situation.

School districts are responsible for reporting data on student drop-out as accurately as possible. At Mahar, it is commonplace for every student on our drop-out list to get a phone call, or a visit from a guidance counselor, adjustment counselor, or administrator. We try to set up meetings with these students, and do whatever we can to get them back in school. In many cases last year Dr. Namin called students at their homes or at their places of employment to gather accurate information on their intentions to return to school and/or talk to them about our new programs that would allow them to earn their diplomas in new and creative ways. Like Dr. Namin, I have involved myself in attempting to get these students back in school.

The steps that we take at Mahar to reconnect our students with their education are also common practice at Mount Wachusett Community College. The Director of the Gateway to College, Mrs. Bibeau engages in the exact same practices that we do in attempts to get students back in school. As I mentioned in my last blog, the students enrolled at the Gateway to College at Mount Wachusett are considered to be students in the Ralph. C. Mahar Regional School District. Therefore, when a student drops out of the Gateway to College – the DESE considers the student to have dropped out of Ralph C. Mahar. So it is pretty clear that the partnership with Mount Wachusett is one that allows for us celebrate together, work together to help our shared students, and feel the same discomfort when these students decide to leave our program.

The single most frustrating of these discomforts that the Gateway to College and the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District share is when one of our students moves away. Believe it or not, if a student moves away – even if it is 150 miles away – and if the student does not enroll in a new school, he or she is coded by the state as a high-school drop-out from our district. We go ahead and enter the code on our report that informs the state that the student transferred to another district in the state, but if the student does not enroll in that district – he or she is a drop-out. This is frustrating because there is almost nothing that we can do for students who are so far away.

Imagine this:

A student moves in to one of our four towns and registers to be a student at Ralph C. Mahar.

He or she gets a schedule and attends classes for two weeks.

One of our counselors notes that this student has not been in school for a few days and calls the student’s home to check in.

The counselor discovers that the student has moved to another town that is 25 miles away.
The student does not enroll in high school in the new town.

After attending Mahar for only two weeks – the student is coded as a drop-out from Ralph C. Mahar.

The drop-out rate is a hot topic in the educational arena and is often reported by the media to our constituents as a number that symbolizes our efficacy as an institution that educates adolescents and teens. Consider that last year five students moved away from our district and did not enroll in the school districts in the communities to which they relocated – and you can see our frustration. We are reaching out to students to get them back to school. We are creating atmospheres to keep them connected to our organization and in some cases creating individual programs for success. The way in which the drop-out rate is reported is really not reflective our work.

Collateral Data Damage: Drop Out Rate I

Superintendents across the Commonwealth are required to report certain data to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE - formerly known as the Department of Education). Some of this data is confidential as it pertains to individual students, while other parts of this massive data collection will be made public sometime after the end of this academic year. You can see the data that the state publicly reports at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Website by clicking on the link below. This data is available for all to see and is available for all public schools and public school districts in the Commonwealth.

Very recently we prepared our first report for this academic year. In preparation for our submission we engage in a process called “Data Scrubbing.” This is a process by which we look over the information that is going to be submitted and take steps to ensure its accuracy. For example, the state may need to be updated with regard to a student who they have recorded as a drop-out who is currently attending school or they may need to be updated as to a student grade levels, addresses, free lunch status, and so on.

Over the last three years the drop-out rate at Mahar has shown a significant decrease. Our former Superintendent, Dr. Namin took steps to ensure a low drop-out rate and last year Mahar reported a rate that was among the lowest in the state. This has been a statistic that we have been proud of – for it shows our willingness to reach out to students who are not feeling connected to school and offer to them alternative options for completing their high school diplomas. In our creation of two alternative education programs we found that we were able to keep students in school who were considering an early departure to go to work, or to earn a GED.

In our reaching out to this population of teenagers we attracted the attention of Mount Wachusett Community College and their program, “The Gateway to College.” The Gateway to College is a program that was started with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation about four years ago at Mount Wachusett. This program offers students who have dropped out of school as well as students who are on the verge of dropping out a new way to earn their high school diplomas. Since this program is only offered at only 24 community colleges in the United States, Mahar is honored to have been asked to be a partner, and naturally accepted the offer.

In June of this year the Mount Wachusett Gateway to College hosted the single largest high school graduation that the Gateway to College has had nationwide. More than 25 students from more than a dozen towns who would have been high school drop outs received their high school diplomas – and for this we are quite proud. Since all of the Gateway to College students are Mahar students, we are happy to report to the that more students will be earning Mahar high school diplomas than ever before.

I have to report however, that with this excellent news will come what I now call, “Collateral Data Damage.” You see, we are reaching out to a population of students who have either dropped out of school, or are very close to making a departure from the educational scene. So despite our efforts, these students often choose to leave school again. Once a student enrolls in the Gateway to College or is accepted into one of our Alternative Education Programs, if he or she chooses to leave school again the state will record this as a drop out from Ralph C. Mahar High School.

There will come a time next year when the media might report a jump in the number of drop outs at Mahar. This will be true with regard to data collection, but I hope that the media will also report how much Mahar is doing to reach out to students to keep them in school in our towns and in towns across Central Massachsuetts. We can accept the “Collateral Data Damage” because what we are doing is right. The philosophical question at Mahar is changing from “What is our drop-out rate?” to “How many students have you reconnected with education?”

Please don’t hesitate to post questions about data collection, drop-out reporting, or our special programs as they will be the focus of future blogs. I am happy to answer any questions and/or concerns.

http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/profiles/student.aspx?orgcode=07550505&orgtypecode=6&leftNavId=303&

Evidenced by What?

The dawn of the next phase of continuous improvement is now upon our school district. In this phase we will engage in the constant examination of data to make decisions that directly impact the academic and social performance of our students. We will almost become Missourian in our culture when we say, “Show me.” Data driven decision making calls upon all members of the school community to believe statements to be true, only when there is evidence to support them. Take a look at the statements below, that you may have heard in the past about our school or perhaps some school you have attended.

“______________ is a good school.”

Put the name of any school that you know to be “good” in the blank above. Now I ask how you know that it is a good school. Do the students at that school have better attendance than students who attend bad schools? Are the students at the good school tardy less frequently than the students at the bad schools? Do the students in the good school have better performance on state examinations than the students at the bad schools? Are the hallways cleaner than the hallways at the bad schools? I could go on and on, as you can see.

“___________________ is a bad school”

Now you are thinking of a different place than you did in the beginning of this blog. Again, why is it a bad school? Do the students get suspended more frequently than the students in the good schools? Are the hallways darker there, the teachers meaner, the budget thinner, or the grounds messier? What makes a good school good, and a bad school bad? What is now being recognized in school improvement efforts all across the country is that some good schools aren’t as good as people think they are, and some bad schools are surprisingly better than local sentiment allows for them to be.

Truth be told is that good schools are made up of good students, good parents, good teachers, good administrators, a good school committee, good towns, and good….well good schools are just made up of good and that’s that. Then, once we examine the fact that schools are essentially placed in the center of their communities with the purpose of educating children, staffed by those who choose a life of working in the field of education, and parents who are sending the absolute best children that they have to school – I have to ask, how on earth can a school be bad???

A good sports team is good because they win more than the bad sports teams. An airline is good because it has no crashes to speak of and few if any delayed flights. McDonalds is a good business because they have sold a trillion burgers. Mahar is a good school district because……..now its time to go to work and make decisions that show why we are a good school – and engage in decision making that makes us even better.

Influenza Vaccination Update

I am happy to report that we have finished our preparations to offer free influenza vaccinations to our students and staff. We worked closely with the Orange Department of Public Health Director, Roger Mallet and the Office of Public Health at the state level to secure vaccinations for our school community. Now we are awaiting the delivery of vaccinations so that we move into the action phase of this project.

Soon, our students will be coming home with forms that must be filled out if they are to receive one or both vaccinations that will be offered during the school day at Mahar. We anticipate the arrival of the H1N1 vaccinations first, and then the seasonal influenza vaccine a week or two later. Any parent who is interested in having their child or children vaccinated simply has to fill out and sign the forms that come home with our students. As a safeguard, we will be calling parents to verify the authenticity of their signatures on the forms that we receive back from our students.

Anyone with questions or concerns about the H1N1 vaccination should consult first the fact sheet that we send home with the sign up forms. If questions and/concerns remain unanswered, parents can call the school and speak directly with our school nurse at 978-544-2542. It is important to note that the influenza vaccinations are optional – and are simply being offered at school as both a courtesy and convenience for our families.

I have learned that there are many different thoughts about vaccination in general. Some parents and community members are diligent about getting vaccinated every year, while others have gone their whole lives without having the influenza vaccination. It is our hope that this initiative will serve to reduce the number of H1N1 and seasonal influenza cases in our community, nonetheless.

Alphabet Soup

When the alphabet soup of school administration finds its way into meetings, presentations, speeches, and publications many sets of eyes glaze over. Imagine if I were to stand in front of any group and say, “As we prepare for our upcoming NEASC decennial visit, we are focusing on our students’ MCAS scores, their performance on the PSAT, SAT and ACT, while combining our efforts to improve our CPI so that we make AYP.” I hope I didn’t lose any readers with that sentence.

For those of us who work in education – that was nothing. Special Education offices are even more prone to the utilization of acronyms that further confuse people. You see, a student can be on an IEP for many reasons which include, but are not limited to ADD, ADHD, PTSD, ODD, PDD, ED, SED, CP, MR, or LD. Often, students who are educated under IDEA and place on IEPs might receive the service of an SLP, OT, PT, or LISCW. And, let us not forget that the school district works closely with DYS, DCF, DMH, and DMR to meet the needs of all of our students.

Today’s blog will serve as a tutorial for one of the acronyms above that is very important to our district as well as those around the state. The Federal Government requires an accountability system in education and in Massachusetts our students’ progress is measured by their performance on the MCAS.
MCAS – Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System – these are the tests that the students at Mahar take in grades 7, 8, and 10 in English and Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies.

Our performance is measured by a number called our CPI.

CPI – Composite Performance Index – the name of it isn’t really important. What is important is how it is calculated.

Students can score anywhere from 200 – 260 on an MCAS examination. To calculate the CPI, the scores are broken up by the state in the following fashion:
A student who scores between 240 – 280 gets 100 CPI points
A student who scores between 230 – 238 gets 75 CPI points
A student who scores between 220 – 228 gets 50 CPI points
A student who scores between 210 – 218 gets 25 CPI points
A student who scores under 210 gets 0 CPI Points

Let’s say that 99 students take the MCAS in grade 10 English and Language Arts and they scores ar3:

65 students score between 240 and 280 which equates to 6,500 CPI points
15 students score between 230 and 238 which equates to 1,125 CPI points
15 students score between 220 and 228 which equates to 750 CPI points
4 students score between 210 and 218 which equates to 100 CPI points
1 student scores lower than 210 equating to zero CPI points

Our CPI total for this distribution is 8,475. This number is divided by the number of students who took the test (which is 100 in this case). And there you have it – our CPI is 84.75.

This number (84.75) is used by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to determine our “Accountability Status.” You should also know that by 2014 the goal has been set that ALL schools have a CPI of 100 – meaning that the number of students who score below 240 must be zero.

We are working on it!

School Community

I really don’t know what it is like to work in a place other than a school anymore. The last time that I was a full time employee in an organization that was any different than the education system was in 1995 when I worked in a group home for developmentally disabled children. I do listen to my friends and family talk about their jobs, and note that working in a school is quite different than working in the business world.

The term “Membership has its Privileges” applies to more than just the American Express Card. Think about it – we call our teachers “faculty members” and not “employees.” There are many reasons that this is so - such as the incremental raises of the teacher contract, the fact that teachers get better with years of service, and that in the world of education people are more likely to stay in the same place over for a long period of time. This is often a highlight of high school commencement ceremonies…the part where a speaker acknowledges those who have been teaching for 10, 20, 30 years and beyond.

The nature of the school organization allows those who work together to become very close over the years that they are conjoined. It is commonplace that we celebrate the success of one another outside of work in events such as obtaining graduate degrees. There are also the milestone events of new children, marriages, home purchases, and retirement. The terms “Mahar Community” and “Mahar Family” have been used interchangeably over the years, and this week in particular.

I have recognized that working in a school is special for many reasons – the aforementioned connections being only one of them. With the good comes the difficult too though. We celebrate together, and every so often we ache together as well. Along with the joy we find in watching our students grow and learn, and the connections we have with our colleagues – we come across painful times just the same. The broken hearts of this week reminded me that before the No Child Left Behind Act, the MCAS examinations and strict standards that there is a community of people who care about one another – and how important that is.

Sub Enthusiasm

Constantly, I reflect back on my own education and contrast my experiences as a student with the educational product that we provide for our learners today. Every once in a while something happens or somebody says something that brings me back to wooden floors, chalk boards, and wall clocks that we knew worked because we could actually hear the electricity buzzing through them. Recently I heard of a student who walked into a classroom and when he saw that his regularly scheduled teacher was not present said, “Yeah! We have a sub today!”

I recall my own penchant for substitute teachers when I was in school. The substitute teacher signified a break in routine, often less stringent expectations with regard to behavior, and an increased likelihood of a movie (now referred to as multi-media presentation), permission to talk quietly (frequently referred to as cooperative learning), or time to quietly complete outstanding assignments (now called structured learning). So when I heard that a young man had such outward excitement about his substitute teacher, I was not surprised.

I was in high school at just about the dawn of having to pass a test to get a diploma. In New York there was one diploma for the students who passed the tests and a different diploma for the students who did not. There was the “High School Diploma” and for those of us to took the state examinations and passed them, there was the “Regents Diploma.” As fate would have it, all students must now pass the examinations to get a diploma – and this is true for more than just New Yorkers and – well there is another question – if one from New York is a New Yorker, what is one from Massachusetts, a Massachussettser? Please accept my apologies for going off topic there.

Get to the point Mr. Baldassarre!

We (teachers and administrators) harp on the fact that we need our students to be in attendance everyday so that they may have proper time to assimilate all of the material necessary to have a crack at passing their MCAS examinations. If we were to adjust our curricular delivery in times of teacher absence – and our adjustments are not appropriate we would be taking away from our students’ education just the same as if they were absent. At Mahar we require teachers to have proper plans in place so that students continue to learn in the wake of teacher absence – and in our new drive to continue to improve our performance on state exams will monitor our substitute teachers to ensure that educational quality remains in the classroom.

All of this because of one eighth grader’s enthusiasm about his substitute teacher – who was actually a high school teacher filling in for a middle school teacher so that he could attend a meeting:

Student [with smile, pumping fist]: “Yeah! We have a sub today!”

Teacher [gently]: “I am sorry, you must be mistaken. Will you please take your seat so that we may begin?”

Student [frowns]: “Sorry.”

Plastic Ono Band (Side B)

What is everybody talking about?

Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism, Tagism, This-ism, that-ism?

Ministers, Sinisters, Banisters and canisters, Bishops and Fishops and Rabbis and Pop eyes, And bye bye, bye byes?

Revolution, Evolution, Mastication, Flagellation, Regulations, Integrations, Meditations, United Nations, Congratulations?

These are some lyrics from a song that on June 1, 2009 turned 40 years old. Perhaps you know of it?


Today as I pulled into my parking spot I noticed Mrs. Ganson’s art students designed and created over 100 Peace flags. As you can see in the picture, the flags were displayed around the flag pole. Our students engaged in this project to promote International Peace. The flags were moved inside and are on display outside the Eileen M. Perkins Library Media Center with the hope of promoting International Peace for more than just one day.

"All we are saying is give peace a chance"
- John Lennon

Bleacher Blog!

Opening night for the Mahar Senators Football Team was a double win. First, the Senators Varsity squad displayed their level of preparedness in both offensive and defensive plays earning their first victory of the year. Second, the community celebrated the completion of the bleacher project with a dedication ceremony that took place on the 50 yard line. A thirty plus pound bronze plaque was unveiled with a ribbon cutting ceremony – reminding all of the level of support the Mahar community gives to its district.

I was not involved in the process that this community engaged in to reconstruct the school, put in the new athletic field, or secure the $300,000.00 necessary to construct our fully handicapped accessible bleachers. I was not yet a part of this school community when the construction was underway either. Now though, I see myself as a fortunate administrator and am grateful for the work that went into making Mahar what it is today.

At the ceremony last night we honored those who made contributions to the Roberta Baxter-Swan Memorial Fund and those who donated to the Kyle Flood Memorial Fund by having both families on the field to cut the ribbon and to unveil our new plaque. We also honored Congressman John Olver who was unable to be present for the ceremony and State Representative Christopher Donelan for their support of our school.

State Representative Donelan did not know that his name was going to appear on the plaque. Just two weeks ago he sat with me in my office preparing the perfect wording for this new monument. When I put the order in, I added Chris’ name to those who need to hear us say “Thank-you.” As a matter of fact, just before the ceremony Mr. Donelan attempted to look under the cloth that covered the plaque. I stopped him, telling him that it is bad luck to look at the plaque before it is unveiled. I wanted him to be surprised – which I believe he was.

To me the bleachers are not luxurious because they are new, or shiny. The luxury lies in the fact that they are the most handicapped accessible that I have ever seen at a school. Those who are mobility impaired no longer have to sit at the sideline trying to look through spectators, players, coaches, cheerleaders, or for that matter a fence. The bleachers are indicative of how inclusive our community has become – as now a person in a wheelchair can go all they way up to the press box! For one young man that I know, I hope to see him up there soon.

Congrats to the Mahar Football Team on their opening night win under the lights. And congrats to the Mahar community for the bleacher project – done to perfection.

Making Sense and Saving Cents

Have you ever driven or walked around the Mahar campus and noticed signs that discourage idling? I am not certain when these signs were put up – but they make sense and save cents at the same time. Parents and guardians who are picking up their students from school should pay close attention to these signs, not only because turning off the engine in a car that is standing still saves money and the environment, but because it is now a law.

Recently I was told that schools are now required to have signage that informs those in waiting cars around the school that there are fines associated with idling for more than five minutes. Apparently sitting at the side of a road with a car engine running can mean a fine of $100.00 for the first offense if ticketed by an officer of the law. School officials will not be issuing tickets or fines around Mahar, but will continue to abide by the requirement that signs appear around the school.

I know that this new law is in effect for many reasons. While it saves money for the individual consumer, it diminishes the amount of gasoline that is being burned at the same time. It also lowers emissions from automobiles – which improves our air quality and who could complain about that? I believe that this law is in place to call upon citizens to continue to be mindful about how our acting locally can have a global impact.

*Please accept today’s post as a request for Mahar parents, bus drivers, employees, and student drivers to abide by this new mandate.

My Friend Angelo

Today I was thinking about a next door neighbor that I had when I lived in Western New York. His name was Angelo and over twenty or so years we had a relationship that changed many times. As a child he chased me from his yard and actually brought me to my mother because his yard was off limits. Angelo’s back garden cut a good portion of my trip to a local mini-mart, so I recall good reason for jumping his fence. I also got into trouble for picking his grapes, taking peaches from his trees, and for picking at his sunflowers. Fortunately for Angelo, my friends and I didn’t like the taste of raw tomatoes or we would have gotten in trouble for taking them just the same as the peaches and grapes.

Angelo met me when I was born and I knew him until I was nearly twenty five years old. In my adulthood I realized that we had the common problem of a shared driveway and winters anywhere near Buffalo helped neighbors become the best of friends. When I was twelve years old Angelo had a snow blower and I had a shovel. When I was twenty-two Angelo was too frail to push his snow blower while I shoveled, so the snow blower became mine along with the responsibility of the entire driveway. I should probably say that my friendship with Angelo got better as both of us aged – and it was strongest when he was in his mid eighties and I was in my early twenties.

I recall a spring morning when I was in the backyard with my dog and Angelo called me into his backyard. He told me that morning that his grapes were my grapes and his peach trees were mine too. He encouraged me to take some tomatoes to my grandmother, and he showed me where to find the cucumbers and eggplant if I so wanted. This was a weird and unforgettable moment – for sure. We began to talk about how one learns to grow such things, and I was particularly interested in the peach trees. He had a knack for peaches – his were the best.

Just days after this I went out to mow our lawns and Angelo wanted to talk again. He brought me to the middle of my backyard to show me the tiny peach tree that he planted there for me. He had to show me so that I did not run it over with the lawn mower. He gave me instructions on when to water it and told me that he would show me what to spray it with when the time came. The tiny tree grew quickly, but it would take a couple of summers before it actually produced peaches. When the tree was about three feet high, Angelo showed me how important it was to pluck the leaves and buds that were at the very bottom of the longer branches. He explained that the energy that the tree put into those new leaves in its trunk would be taken from the larger more important fruit bearing branches. I will never forget that he told me how this was not only true for trees. He said in his Italian accent, “Dis-a true-a witha you life-a too.” For those of you who don’t speak broken English he said, “This is also true in life.”

Standing by my new peach tree on that day I was given quite the message. I was told that in all things there would exist smaller (seemingly important) detractors that removed energy from what was most important. The message that Angelo gave me on that day I now see as a lesson. It is true in relationships just as much as it is in tasks at work. It is also true in the classroom if a teacher sees the objective of his or her lesson as the branch of a tree that will bear fruit. With this philosophy, lesson intrusions (like the leaves at the trunk of the tree) are identified and diminished so that maximum energy goes into teaching which results in more learning for our students.

*Today’s blog is written in memory of my good friend Angelo Ruggeriello who taught me how to grow a good peach, and so much more.

Mick Jagger Lied

Since my post on Thursday which provided information about how and when our students would be able to access President Obama’s address to students I have had two very thoughtful responses on this blog, two teachers visit me, and one phone call from a community member who felt that the President’s address should have been more of a priority at Mahar. In my personal meeting with the aforementioned teachers and in my phone conversation with a thoughtful and concerned community member I found myself explaining our reasons for leaving the presentation of the speech at the discretion of our teachers and asking that it be connected to instruction.

The President’s address has provided an excellent opportunity for dialogue about how our school district is responding to the call of our federal and state governments to provide our students with a high quality education. The accountability standards set forth by the legislation in the No Child Left Behind Act has called upon school and district administrators to examine every opportunity to maximize teaching and learning opportunities for students. As was the case with specifying that the President’s address be used not only as an opportunity for inspiration but as a tool for instruction, Mahar continues to focus on every aspect of education to improve outcomes for students.

Inside the School
Inside the school our students and community will find that we have a brand new facility that is spacious and clean. We have all of the technological enhancements that one would expect in a school and much more. Networked computers are in every classroom, video projectors with SmartBoards ™ are available for our teachers, and we subscribe to a number of on line search engines from which our students can retrieve information. We have a highly qualified and dedicated instructional force paired with a dedicated staff to support our students’ learning and emotional needs alike.

Outside of the School
Outside of school we provide our students with opportunities to participate in athletics during all three seasons and in all grades. We have after school clubs and activities for students who prefer engagement outside of our athletic offerings, and seek to expand these activities this academic year. We provide academic programs that are innovative after school hours (PM Instruction Program) and off campus (Gateway to College at Mount Wachusett Community College), yet like many schools in the Commonwealth and in America even with our great efforts we know that there is room to continue to improve. We ask ourselves, what else can we do?

Putting Time on Our Side
I know that Mick Jagger said it first, “Time is on my side, yes it is” and you know what? For educators, this might not be true. Just the same as any school in Massachusetts we have 180 school days to prepare our students for year end assessments, the next grade, and to prepare our seniors for college. Each year we are given just slightly more than 990 hours to provide requisite instruction and assess our students to see that they have responded to the program that we offered. That’s it, 990 hours. Is the school year too short? Is the school day not long enough? Should students go to school in the summer? To these questions I only have opinions. The one thing I know for sure though is that educators must examine what students are doing in the 990 hours we do have, and take steps to see that every minute of every hour is put to proper use.

Every Minute in Every Class

This afternoon President Obama addressed the students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, VA with a speech that was intended for all of the students in America from Kindergarten through grade 12. In classic Obama fashion our President delivered an inspirational message with an emphasis on students doing their part to succeed in school. He reminded students that each one of them is good at something and that each one of them has something to offer.

Today, some Massachusetts schools stopped everything to ensure that each student heard President Obama’s message while others limited when and where the speech could be seen and/or heard. At Mahar, students may see the speech at the discretion of their teachers when and where it is pertinent to the subject matter being taught. The decision not to play President Obama’s speech live was a pragmatic one which allows for the continuity of instruction that has been established in our classes to continue. We are also fortunate to have the technology available to copy the speech and play it at any time - when it is appropriate.

The President’s speech was nearly twenty minutes in duration. Twenty minutes in the classroom is really more than twenty minutes when one considers pre-lesson activities, post-lesson follow up and time to transition from one topic to another. Furthermore, the school only has so many televisions and if the whole school were to have to move to larger areas to view the speech, twenty minutes could have quickly become up to an hour out of regularly scheduled classes.

Finally, in the age of “No Child Left Behind” teachers and administrators are being held accountable when students do not achieve certain benchmarks on yearly tests. This is very serious. Our school is required to make “Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)” on the MCAS. In some cases school districts have missed making AYP by one tenth of one point and have been determined to be Schools In Need of Improvement, In Corrective Action, or In Need of Restructuring. Twenty minutes out of a class for one student is 20 minutes. 20 minutes outside of a class for 800 students is 1600 minutes. That 20 minutes could very well be one tenth of one point on an assessment for which teachers are here to prepare our students. Every minute in every class counts.

President Obama to Address Students

This afternoon the Massachusetts Superintendent’s List Serve (E-mail messages between most Massachusetts Superintendents) had a frenzy of activity. The issue that was predominant today was the upcoming address that President Obama has planned for students. On September 8, 2009 at noon our President will deliver a national address to the students of America. According to the United States Department of Education the president will speak directly to the nation’s children and youth about persisting and succeeding in school. More specifically, the president will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning.

The debate among teachers, principals, and superintendents today has been whether this event will be required, optional, allowed in certain circumstances, or not at all in classrooms, schools, and/or districts. Concerned parents have been calling schools with questions about the President’s address, some stating that they did not want their children to take part in viewing it. The aforementioned debate when paired with the concerns of parents has called upon superintendents around the Commonwealth to issue proactive statements with regard to the President’s address.

The students at Ralph C. Mahar will not be viewing the President’s address live. We have the technology to record the presentation and then use it at appropriate times in instruction, and this is what we have planned to do. This will allow our teachers the appropriate time to view the address and create lesson activators, lesson plans, and activities that will allow it to be connected with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. What is more important is that our students do not have any reduction in teaching and learning time in mathematics by what appears to be an excellent lesson in civics.

If the President’s message is of particular importance to our families, we encourage that it be viewed at home. The US Department of Education has posted the many different ways in which the President’s address can be seen live or later on. President Obama’s address might stir up interesting conversations at home about school, motivation, learning, and educational success – great topics for the dinner table! I have posted the link to the United States Department of Education’s page below.

http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/academic/bts.html

The Change In My Pocket

If you want to make enemies, try to change something.
- Woodrow Wilson

I love quotes. Now that I am thinking about it, I just realized that I have taken the time with my friends to create and debate about top ten lists of favorite movies and favorite songs, but have never taken the time to develop a list of top ten favorite quotes. I just added an item to my “to do” list – but I need some time to find the quotes and then rank order them.

The quote above is what is on my mind right now. I don’t think it is as profound as some others that I like, but it is perhaps the truest of statements and was said by a man who knew how difficult it was to change something, or anything for that matter. Change is so difficult and so complex that one could fill a classroom with books from the floor to the ceiling, and wall to wall with books on the topic. There are books about change theories, change processes, change experiences, how to change an organization, and even books about how to change relationships. There are different schools of thought on change, such as change from within an organization, and others on the archaic “top down” approach which is pretty much rejected throughout the education system.

Any student in an educational administration program today reads about, discusses, and writes about the complexity of change. The reason for this is quite simple. Change brings struggles, particularly in organizations such as schools. The education system is “systemized” – in structure it has been the same for a very long time and attempts to alter structures that have existed for any length of time brings about personal feelings of anxiety, fear, and in some cases anger.

In education we have to accept the challenges that accompany change. For those involved in the change process the challenge of change often equates to a modicum of personal struggle. For those who have an understanding of history in our country and in the world, it is understood that struggles associated with change have made the world a better place. Just one hundred years ago Frederick Douglass commented about this. I am not sure if President Wilson ever made the acquaintance of Frederick Douglass but when Douglass was in his seventies, Wilson was in his thirties – so it is possible. That is a just a side thought.

“Without struggle, there is no progress.”
- Frederick Douglass

Primetime Teaching: Controversial Issues in the Classroom

When I was in school studying to become a teacher one of my favorite professors, Tom Sheeran talked in my Instruction and Assessment class about the importance of not missing “the teachable moment.” Dr. Sheeran explained to us that there would be times when we taught that we would have the students’ attention in what he referred to as “Primetime.” According to Dr. Sheeran, “Primetime” was any moment in which all of the students were focused on one thing – and for whatever reason, harmony existed among a class because of it.

The state of affairs in our country continues to create teachable moments in our classrooms. More specifically, controversy over a number of topics helps create educational situations that stimulates and involves young minds. Politically, high school students can have different opinions about immigration, Iraq, Afghanistan, world trade, and most recently, health care. These “Primetime” topics can heighten our students’ attention level along with their awareness about what is going on in world as it changes around them.

The recent debates over healthcare can be used in mathematics classes as students learn computations. They can learn to project costs, analyze savings, and estimate levels of service based on the number of healthcare workers in relation to our current population. Students can use their calculations in the creation of position papers supporting their ideas, and they can even learn about various bacteria and viruses in their science classes to add to their understanding of a controversial issue such as healthcare.

What is even more important is that our students learn that their opinions are among many others that may be different. They learn to listen to one another’s thoughts and proposed solutions on difficult topics. Dr. Sheeran would tell us that “Primetime” teaching means that students are learning substance, etiquette, and practicing communication skills all at the same time. I think it is most important that our students learn to respect one another while they are learning, and the controversial issues of our time provide us with an excellent opportunity to do this. I also think that Dr. Sheeran would agree.

Don't Just Stand There - Do Something!

This week the media reported the particulars of President Obama’s vacation on Martha’s Vineyard, a surging wildfire, a tropical storm and at least one hurricane. We get so used to reports of the foibles of celebrities and athletes along with reports of catastrophes around the world that the news becomes easy to ignore. But every once in a while a story comes along that is both unexpected and shocking. Such is the case with the recent recovery of kidnap victim Jaycee Dugard in Antioch, CA.

It is difficult to fathom that a person could go missing for more than eighteen years and then be found in almost any circumstance. The conditions by which Ms. Dugard and her daughters were discovered will be the subject of many news reports in the coming weeks, conversations in offices all over the world, and fodder for researchers and psychologists for many years to come. Recent reports of the failure of “the system” to uncover Jaycee’s whereabouts will serve as the tip of the iceberg in an examination of opportunities that existed to free this young woman from her captor.

The officers* at UC Berkley who broke this case will be heralded as heroes in the final analysis of any case study. The actions of these officers go hand in hand with a lesson that we try to instill in our students – one in which we ask them to be “active bystanders” if they witness an event that calls into question the safety of some other person. Somewhere, right now as I am typing this blog entry there is a person, maybe two, or maybe dozens who watched the finding of Ms. Dugard and her children in horror. Every person who says, “I knew it” is a person who could have ended the agony in which Jaycee and her daughters lived for many years.

Not long ago citizens were called upon to look out for one another in airports and on planes. Post 9-11 alertness put a stop to a would-be shoe bomber and the flood of phone calls to the FBI stopped terror plots in locations all over the country. These events should not be forgotten and along with what we witnessed this week in Antioch, CA should serve as a reminder of what we ought to be doing for one another. If you question the safety of any person, it does not hurt to take out your phone and make a call.

* To UC Berkley Officers Allison Jacobs and Lisa Campbell…Nice Job!

Reduced Energy Consumption = Cost Savings Now!

Over the last couple of months I have had many discussions with local leaders and other school administrators about next year’s budget. It seems apparent that preparations for the 2010 – 2011 school budget will be equally as difficult as the process we engaged in during the Spring 2009. Having incurred cuts to our students’ transportation, school staffing, and supply budgets, I would be remiss if I did not communicate my worries about what is to come in the next fiscal year. I began communicating about the budget with our staff at our Opening Day for Teachers meeting on Tuesday.

The superintendents for whom I have worked for on my way from teaching in Western New York State to becoming a Superintendent in Western Massachusetts have taught me well. Dr. Namin taught me to avoid negativity after I already learned from a couple of former superintendents that “Doom and Gloom” just doesn’t sell. The position of superintendent was not bestowed upon me so that I can tell everyone how bad things are. I believe that I was given the position of superintendent so that I can say how things are going to improve and how we are going to be better.

I recall an ESPN segment in which Patriots Coach Bill Belichick said something about the “5 P’s.” I think it means, “Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance.” Someone please correct me if I am wrong via the comments section on the blog. This is the philosophy that I adapted in working with the budget that we have in place and in planning for the one that is to come. I would like to talk about one endeavor that appears to be working…and it is only school day number two.

At our first faculty meeting I displayed a PowerPoint slide that provided what our district paid in electric each month during the 2008 – 2009 school year. I explained how unused funds at the end of this year can be used to offset next year’s budget and then stated what I would do to save funds now in an effort to avoid crisis later. I explained how we removed more than 60 light bulbs that use a minimum of 24 watts per hour and how areas of the building that are lit by sunlight through large windows would go with the lights turned off. I pointed to the ceiling in the media center in which the meeting was held to illustrate how I only needed to turn half of the lights on.

I asked the teachers to participate in energy savings with me. If the learning process is not disrupted by turning off some of the classroom lights, I asked them to feel free to do so. Unsure of what the outcome would be to my suggestion I took a walk around the building today and looked in each and every classroom. As I would expect I saw teachers interacting with students all over the place. I also noticed that business as usual was being conducted in 43 classrooms with some of the lights turned off. The lights in the gym were almost completely turned off because of massive windows and very few lights were on in the openness of the Eileen Perkins Media Center.

At the end of the day we are turning off all of our computers and some unnecessary electrical appliances have been removed from classrooms. Some of the teachers have sent messages with suggestions to change the temperature control in air conditioned areas to further diminish our energy consumption. Last year we spent in the neighborhood of $200,000.00 on electric. I am not sure how much we will save through our efforts this year, but will communicate via a monthly report the results of this endeavor. When it comes to keeping what we have to provide educational services to our students, everything counts, and we have to do all that we can to keep these services in place.

"Hey, Thanks!"

Oddly, the only sound that I can hear right now is the sound of my fingers tapping the keyboard as I type this entry. When I arrived at 7:30 this morning there were students in bunches all over the grounds. I could see the busses pulling away from the building and I could hear all of the chatter that comes with 800 middle school students and high school teens. The sound of the first bell (we call it a bell but it is actually a long beep), the morning announcements over the PA, and the “Good Mornings” going back and forth among the students, teachers, and staff. Now, at 5:45 PM all is quiet as I sit here and type.

As I walked the hall just moments ago, I noticed that new signs already adorn the walls. Our students moved quickly to get the word out that the Children’s Hospital Bloodmobile will be at Mahar on September 8, 2009 from 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM. The 11 x 16 signs can be found throughout the high school reminding students who are of age to sign up in the cafeteria during lunch. The teachers have gone home along with the students – but it is quite clear that they were all back in action today. The first day of school is done, and I have to say it went very very well.

Summertime in the administrative offices is probably like any day in any administrative office. Budget work, curricular preparation, human resources management, and networking happen in offices all over the world everyday. There is just something different about it when the students and teachers are buzzing around the building. There is a renewed sense of energy that exists on the first day of school that is hard to explain. My friends who work in the pharmaceutical industry, in hospitals, in law offices, and in sales can never understand this. Their last “first day” of school was so long ago that this is all foreign to them. When the students are here and the teachers are teaching our administrative team is reminded of the importance of our work.

Today I was walking down a hallway in the center of our building when I came across a young man with his schedule in his hand. He had a look of uncertainty as he looked once at the paper in his hand and at the classroom number on the wall. I stopped and asked him if he needed some assistance. He told me that he had to go to his English class in the high school and he did not know where it was. I took a look at his schedule and told him that I would walk him there. As we walked I had the opportunity to ask him his name and where he was from, and so on. He told me that he went to Athol Middle School last year and that Mahar was new to him.

I learned that he liked his middle school, but that so far he likes Mahar too. This young man is a soccer player and he is hoping to be able to make one of our teams. When we got to the door of his classroom I wished him well and just before his face went from conversational to nervous he looked me in the eye and he said, “Hey thanks.” As I walked back to my office I thought about the simplicity and the perfection of that moment. I had the opportunity to meet one of our students on my way from one office to the other. The best part of it was that the young man took a second to say thank-you. Some person, perhaps his parents, or maybe one of his teachers (I hope both) took the time to teach him to show gratitude when someone lends him a hand. To the person or people who taught this young man – please accept a “Thank-you!” from me.

Which Teacher is the Most Important?

Orange Elementary Superintendent, Paul Burnim and I agreed earlier this summer that we would be working together to build a sense of community across our districts. There is much to be gained by our efforts and working together makes perfect sense when you think about it. Take a look:

For most of our students, the road to Mahar travels through the Orange Elementary Schools.

We work with the same families.

We work in the same community.

We work for the same purpose.

So, yesterday morning I had the opportunity to meet briefly with the teachers from the Orange Elementary Schools and Superintendent Burnim paid our faculty a visit today. We are already working together to secure influenza vaccines for our students and staff and we are working together on a competitive grant that focuses on school safety. We are also having discussions about areas in which the elementary and secondary curriculums could interlock in some project based learning opportunities for our students.

The partnership that we are developing caused me to really think about the education system and those who really make a difference working with children and adolescents. Having worked in high schools I know that it is common for one teacher to see himself or herself as more important than another teacher on the basis of the grade or subject matter that he or she teaches. This phenomenon is even more profound today because the federal and state government bases a school district’s effectiveness on the results of Mathematics, English, Language Arts, and Science examinations. Therefore a teacher of mathematics may see what he or she does very differently than a teacher of art, music, or foreign language.

So, which teacher is the most important? Is it the Kindergarten teacher who teaches children the alphabet, their colors, and how to count or is it the First Grade Teacher who teaches the children to read? Perhaps the Fourth Grade Teacher who teaches the children to write a three paragraph essay is more important than the Sixth Grade Teacher who teaches multiple digit division? Is the Physics Teacher who conducts laboratory experiments on acceleration more valuable than the Music Teacher who teaches a child to play the piano, a trombone, or a guitar?

Truth be told, while the teacher is a solo act in his or her classroom he or she cannot do it alone. The Physics Teacher will have a difficult time teaching the principles of acceleration to a child who has not learned basic math. The Fourth Grade Teacher can’t teach a child to write an essay unless the child has learned how to hold a pencil, how to write letters, and how to read. It is a fact that every teacher in the life of a child is important. Reading, writing and arithmetic are just as important as creativity, problem solving, and respect. The teachers in our high school cannot do the work that they do unless the teachers in the middle school provide the requisite instruction. Just the same, the teachers in our middle school cannot do it without the work of the teachers at Orange Elementary, Petersham Center School, and Swift River Elementary.

The Most Important Teacher: The one who prepares the children for the teacher who has them next.

"Work!" and "Study!"

Sometime during the 1950’s my grandfather and grandmother traveled from a town that is located in the Gran Sasso Mountains of Italy to Western New York State. They moved from a town of less than 100 people to a city of more than 60,000 in search what we commonly refer to as “The American Dream.” My grandfather had a formal education that took him to the equivalent of our third grade, and to my knowledge, my grandmother did not even have that. In Western New York, my grandfather made his living building houses with his brothers while raising his four children.

My grandfather instilled in his children and in his grandchildren very simple, yet successful ideas about how to be successful in life. I recall as I grew up that his two key areas of focus were “Work!” and “Study!” These two focus areas can be seen quite clearly in my father and in his siblings. They too traveled to a new country, ready to learn a new language, ready to learn new skills, ready to study, and willing to work.

The next generation (my siblings, cousins and I) were handed my grandfather’s torch at a young age. If my grandfather were alive yesterday he could tell his friends that he has a grandchild who is a lawyer, one who is an accountant, three teachers, one vice principal, a superintendent, and a fireman. If my grandfather were alive today, he could tell his friends that he has a granddaughter who is a College Professor and who earned her doctorate degree on August 24, 2009!

My sister and I agreed that when she finished her doctoral defense that she would call my office and just leave the message, “Dr. Hopkins called.” Today, amidst the preparations for the first day for faculty and staff I walked out of my office and was shown a slip of paper that said exactly that. My sister is now a doctor of education, and once again the values instilled in a family have paid off big.

Our school year will begin for students on Wednesday morning. When I am standing out on the sidewalk watching the parents pull up and the students walk in I will be thinking about this. As each student passes by me I will wonder if he or she is the next lawyer or doctor, fireman, or policewoman, researcher or teacher. Our faculty and administration will call upon them to do the same two things that my grandfather called upon me to do, “Work!” and “Study!” I know that our work as educators will pay off for them, just as my grandfather’s work paid off for my little sister today.

One more thing...
I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate my sister for earning her doctorate degree today and send out an honorable mention to my parents, grandparents, and all of the teachers that she had for a job well-done.

Mount Wachusett Community College and Ralph C. Mahar

We begin this school year with our renewed partnership with Mount Wachusett Community College in full swing. First, we are proud to be the partnering high school with Mount Wachusett Community College in the Gateway to College Program. This innovative educational program currently provides educational services to nearly 200 students from all over Central and Western Massachusetts. The program was started by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and some other partners several years ago. There are now 24 Gateway to College Programs in the country – and we are honored to be a part of the network.

The Gateway to College is an educational program designed to reconnect teenagers with education after they have dropped out of high school, or if they are considering dropping out. In recent years, Mahar has touted a very low drop out rate, and this is one of many reasons that Mount administrators would consider our district. We already do much to keep our students in school with our AM and PM Alternative Programs, dual enrollment offerings, and our in house special education programming. Mount Wachusett Community College could have asked any school district in the area to partner with them in Gateway. Mahar is nearly 20 miles away from the Mount, and there are many schools in between Orange and Gardner. The fact that Mount Wachusett Community College chose Mahar to become their new partner in the Gateway to College Program is very very special. Over the last year we have discovered that the administration at Mount Wachusett Community College shares our ideology that all of our students can learn and grow – hence the Mount’s campaign, “Start Near, Go Far.”

The partnership that is now solidified in Gateway has brought us to where we are now. The next phase of our partnership involves our joint effort in creating a prospectus for a “Readiness School.” The Readiness initiative that began with Governor Deval Patrick’s Readiness Report will bring new innovative learning centers to Massachusetts. On September 15, 2009 we will submit our intent to use the 2009 – 2010 school year to plan the Ralph C. Mahar/Mount Wachusett Alliance School. For more information on the Readiness Project you can view the Readiness Report be clicking on the link below.


http://www.mass.gov/Agov3/docs/Readiness%20Final%20Report.pdf

Validation

At about this time each day I pull out my list of blog topics (that continues to grow) with the intent of selecting a topic for the day. As I was about to do this today, my E-mail alert went off – informing me that I had a message in my inbox. The message that I received was from a parent who attended last night’s “New Parent/Student Orientation” and in an instant I found yet another topic – which is the subject of tonight’s post.

The parent who wrote to me expressed her satisfaction with our school – which is why she decided to use the School Choice program to come to Mahar from another community. The line of her E-mail that really struck me was, “We are school of choicing our daughter to Mahar because of the caring people and the commitment that we have seen in Mahar's educational community.” I have to say that it is delightful to receive unsolicited messages such as these. When reading this, I am reminded that the hard work of our administrators and faculty is paying off for our students and their families.

So often in schools, administrators and teachers only hear from parents when there is a problem or dissatisfaction about some event. Usually when the phone rings, when the E-mail alert goes off, or when a parent is standing in the office there is a need to resolve some type of conflict. Now that I think about it, this is true outside of schools as well. How often do we go out of our way to tell some person that what he or she is doing is special, how valuable people are in their roles, or provide encouragement for others to continue doing those things we deem “good?”

Earlier this summer Mrs. Ramon (our high school adjustment counselor) told me about a video on You Tube.com that is called “Validation.” It is approximately 15 minutes in duration, and the message that it provides viewers is worth the time. I have posted the link to this video below, and I hope that you will take the time to watch and listen to it. This short film has been viewed more than 2,000,000 times on YouTube, and it has earned the coveted “5 Star” rating.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbk980jV7Ao

What Makes Mahar So Great?

Just a few moments ago I had the opportunity to greet many of the students and parents who will be new to Mahar next Wednesday. As I walked from my office on one side of our facility to the Kermit Cook Auditorium that is located on the other, I started to think about what I was going to say to this group of parents and students. To be honest, until I stood in front of them in the auditorium I had absolutely no idea how I was going to address them.

While I stood at the back of the auditorium as they filed in I noticed how the students looked up at the high ceiling. Prior to my arrival in the auditorium I noticed some of the parents looking the school hallway up and down. And when I was standing in front of the group of nearly 100 people I noticed one young man staring at the grand piano that is positioned in front of the stage. That is when it hit me.

In my welcome to our new seventh graders I asked them to notice how shiny our recently waxed floors appear. I asked them to look at the new lockers and to pay close attention to our video surveillance system in place for their safety. I talked about the technology that we have such as our computers, smart boards, and digital projectors. I went on about the musical instruments, turf field, and athletic facility. I talked about how important our facility is in Mahar being such a “Great School.”

The next part of my introduction was about the fitness of our faculty and staff. The truth of the matter is that new desks, upgraded computers, digital projectors, and beautiful facilities don’t really teach the students. In teaching, the rubber hits the road where the teacher interacts with the student. I explained to our new Moms and Dads how we have the best teachers and staff in place to teach their children and how the best faculty is the second part of Mahar being such a “Great School.”

Finally, I told our new parents and students about the third and most important part of what makes up a “Great School.” I asked one of the new students in the room to tell me his name. He told me his name was Gabe, and I told Gabe that he was the third and most important part of a really “Great School.” I asked another student to tell me her name. She said it was Amber. I then told Amber that she was the most important part of Mahar’s being such a “Great School.” Then I asked a parent for his name. He said his name was Mr. O’Leary, and I told Mr. O’Leary that he was the most important part of Mahar being such a “Great School.”

The point that I made with our new parents and students is that Mahar is great and the reason that this is so is because of our students and our parents just as much as it is great because of our resources. The involvement of our new parents and the participation of our students in their own education is what will transform Mahar from the “Great School” that it is to the “Best School” it can be.