Sent to all local media.
At 1:00 PM on November 3, 2011 twenty-eight students in grade twelve at Ralph C. Mahar Regional High School were called to a meeting in the Charlotte Ryan Theater. There, they were met by Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District Superintendent, Michael Baldassarre; Principal, Ismael Tabales; and Guidance Counselor Caitlin McKenna. These students were informed that they had been named recipients of the John and Abigail Adams Scholarships for their performance on their Grade 10 MCAS Examinations during the 2009 – 2010 School Year.
There are a number of criteria that a student must meet to be eligible for this honor. First, a student must score in the Advanced category in either the Mathematics or the English language arts section of the grade 10 MCAS test and score in the Proficient or Advanced category on the second subject (Mathematics or English language arts); and must have a combined MCAS score on these assessments that ranks in the top 25% in their school district. Superintendent Baldassarre informed the students named below telling them, “I hope that you see how cooperation, hard work, and preparation bring about circumstances such as these. When you are willing to put in the effort as you have, your success is as predictable as sun in the summer and snow in the winter. ”
Students who are named recipients of the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship are entitled to four years of free tuition upon their acceptance to participating Massachusetts public institutions of higher education, such as a University of Massachusetts campus or a community college beginning with the fall 2011 semester. Sadly, this scholarship does not cover the cost of college fees, which can be up to four times more costly than tuition, room and board, textbooks, and other expenses.
Ralph C. Mahar Regional High School 2012 John and Abigail Adams Scholarship Winners:
Benoit Carley
Christopher Capuzzo
Leigh Closser
Linnea Duley
Raymond Fisher
Garrett Gale
Travon Godette
Paige Gonzalez
Zachary Gordon
Andrew Hough
Steven Koonz
Nicolaus Kowalczyk
Jesse LaCroix
Nathaniel Martin
Russell McBurnie
Jacob Mongeau
Kyle Olsen
Danielle Recos
Gregory Richard
Eric Sawin
William Simmons
Danielle Spear
Susan Stewart
Michael Sullivan
Leah Truesdell
Holly Wilson
Emma Woodcock
Casey Zeman
Monday, November 28, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
Why People Resist Change: Fear
Not long ago I solved a cryptogram which was a quote from a man that I never heard of. It read, “Only fools and dead men don’t change their minds. Fools won’t. Dead men can’t.” My drive to work each day is about thirty minutes, and when not on the phone I take the time to think as deeply as I can about the issues of the day. On my way in this morning, this quote reemerged in my brain as I thought about the resistance to change that we are experiencing as we move closer and closer to the towns voting regionalization up or down.
There are cadres of people who have been against merging our schools for a very long time. The merging of the districts in a Grades 7 – 12 regional school took place 56 years ago and conversations about bringing in the elementary schools have been going on ever since. Unfortunately some people have taken such a stance against our efforts to change that they have refused to listen and refused to think deeply about the possibilities. Still, we have gained momentum and as the times to vote approach and we have been hit with a barrage of questions and concerns that I jokingly refer to as “scuds.”
You might recall in Operation Desert Storm the United States Military was quite successful in shooting down Scud Missiles fired by Iraqi forces via the Patriot Missile System. These missiles were renowned for both their destructive power yet joked about for their lack of precision. United States media outlets led the American public to believe that these missiles were the equivalent of a child trying to hit a piñata. Blindfold on, stick in hand, swing away and hope you make contact.
Since 2009 information has become increasingly available about how much money has been saved in the consolidation of our offices. Then more information was made available about where new funds will become available. I think it is sad and unfortunate that the only thing we talk about is the money because what we are really trying to do this to make the school system better. Fewer people though seem to care about that. There are about two dozen people in our communities who have taken an active stance against merging our districts, and guess what…..they have no children in the schools.
Over the last couple of years I have read a great deal about change in preparation to complete my doctoral degree at UMASS. There is no shortage of quotes about the difficulties associated with change. Famous quotes date back to the 1500’s when Niccolo Machiavelli is stated to have said, "There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things."
As the regional planning committee has continued to hammer away at fact after fact in support of regionalization, opponents to regionalization have become more vocal with their opinions in hopes of slowing and/or putting a stop to the potential change. But facts have a funny way of messing up opinions, so the opposition has had to call upon a new game plan. The new game plan is rooted in asking questions that haven’t been, or cannot be answered. So much of our energy and time lately has been spent answering questions. In many cases though, those who are asking the questions really don’t care what the answer is. They just hope to find something that is not answered to use as a reason not to regionalize.
The Regional Planning committee has welcomed the questions however. Each and every one has provided an opportunity to provide clarity and deeper understanding of the issue. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know what I mean when I write about Ground Truth. In preparation for the votes to regionalize I will be posting reasons that certain groups of people will stand against regionalization. In general there are five reasons why people resist change:
1. People in general reject new and different things
2. People are not interested in change because it interferes with goals that they want to pursue
3. People do not understand the messages and consequences that will change their individual situations
4. People do not trust the person or people who are communicating the change
5. The most important reason: Fear
Readers will find that the biggest fear among those who oppose regionalization is rooted in their individual losses of power and control. The next series of blog posts will highlight shifts in power and control that will result from regionalization. Those who read the blog will then have a deeper understanding of why certain groups of people will stand in opposition to this change. This will also provide clarity for voters so that when the time comes they can make the most informed vote as possible.
There are cadres of people who have been against merging our schools for a very long time. The merging of the districts in a Grades 7 – 12 regional school took place 56 years ago and conversations about bringing in the elementary schools have been going on ever since. Unfortunately some people have taken such a stance against our efforts to change that they have refused to listen and refused to think deeply about the possibilities. Still, we have gained momentum and as the times to vote approach and we have been hit with a barrage of questions and concerns that I jokingly refer to as “scuds.”
You might recall in Operation Desert Storm the United States Military was quite successful in shooting down Scud Missiles fired by Iraqi forces via the Patriot Missile System. These missiles were renowned for both their destructive power yet joked about for their lack of precision. United States media outlets led the American public to believe that these missiles were the equivalent of a child trying to hit a piñata. Blindfold on, stick in hand, swing away and hope you make contact.
Since 2009 information has become increasingly available about how much money has been saved in the consolidation of our offices. Then more information was made available about where new funds will become available. I think it is sad and unfortunate that the only thing we talk about is the money because what we are really trying to do this to make the school system better. Fewer people though seem to care about that. There are about two dozen people in our communities who have taken an active stance against merging our districts, and guess what…..they have no children in the schools.
Over the last couple of years I have read a great deal about change in preparation to complete my doctoral degree at UMASS. There is no shortage of quotes about the difficulties associated with change. Famous quotes date back to the 1500’s when Niccolo Machiavelli is stated to have said, "There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things."
As the regional planning committee has continued to hammer away at fact after fact in support of regionalization, opponents to regionalization have become more vocal with their opinions in hopes of slowing and/or putting a stop to the potential change. But facts have a funny way of messing up opinions, so the opposition has had to call upon a new game plan. The new game plan is rooted in asking questions that haven’t been, or cannot be answered. So much of our energy and time lately has been spent answering questions. In many cases though, those who are asking the questions really don’t care what the answer is. They just hope to find something that is not answered to use as a reason not to regionalize.
The Regional Planning committee has welcomed the questions however. Each and every one has provided an opportunity to provide clarity and deeper understanding of the issue. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know what I mean when I write about Ground Truth. In preparation for the votes to regionalize I will be posting reasons that certain groups of people will stand against regionalization. In general there are five reasons why people resist change:
1. People in general reject new and different things
2. People are not interested in change because it interferes with goals that they want to pursue
3. People do not understand the messages and consequences that will change their individual situations
4. People do not trust the person or people who are communicating the change
5. The most important reason: Fear
Readers will find that the biggest fear among those who oppose regionalization is rooted in their individual losses of power and control. The next series of blog posts will highlight shifts in power and control that will result from regionalization. Those who read the blog will then have a deeper understanding of why certain groups of people will stand in opposition to this change. This will also provide clarity for voters so that when the time comes they can make the most informed vote as possible.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Benefitting From Debate
This morning I caught a three minute video in which former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush along with Speaker John Boehner made a plea for citizens to make donations to complete the memorial being constructed in Shanksville, PA to honor those who were killed there in the attacks of September 11th. In the clip President Clinton stated, “What gets things done is cooperation. Conflict may be good politics, but cooperation changes lives.” When the next collection of leadership quotes through the ages is printed, President Clinton’s words will be read again and again.
In my most recent blog I responded to a letter that appeared in the Athol Daily News. When I wrote my response to the letter there was not a doubt in my mind that I was absolutely and willingly entering into a public debate (conflict). While the word “debate” may carry negative connotations, there is so much value in it. Buddhist teachings identify debate as a means to develop awareness, improve concentration, reform opinions, and provide clarity to situations while at the same time bringing others to do the same. As a result of debate, I have at times been left to feel even stronger about my personal convictions and have also been called upon to say, “Ooooh…I didn’t think of that!”
Truth be told, debate makes people smarter, more equipped, and actually helps us to develop personality. These are some of the many reasons for debate clubs in elementary and middle, and high schools around the world. But the most important reason is that through debate, we learn. In debate you can identify others to be well thought, well-intended, or unfortunately the opposite. Even worse though, try having a debate with an emotionally unbalanced person and you can find yourself in a world of problems.
So last night I had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Haskins in person. After an exchange of a couple of passages from the bible, and a brief discussion about the fiscal implications of regionalization, we shook hands. I explained to Mr. Haskins that I learned long ago that public statements are subject public responses, and private conversations are well…private. I explained my fear that a person who does not know all of the facts about the transformation that regionalization will bring to our town and schools could vote based on the public opinions of others. Ultimately, it is one thing to say, “Please come vote” and another thing to say, “My group does not support this issue, please come vote.”
Mr. Haskins explained to me that he really hasn’t made up his mind about regionalization yet. He stated that he needs to know more about the financial implications of this project. In his letter he did use the words “At this time….” These words show open mindedness and is really saying, “Hey, we want some more information!!!” This request is more than reasonable, and it will be answered in the Eileen Perkins Media Center at Mahar on October 13, 2011.
We hope to see you there.
In my most recent blog I responded to a letter that appeared in the Athol Daily News. When I wrote my response to the letter there was not a doubt in my mind that I was absolutely and willingly entering into a public debate (conflict). While the word “debate” may carry negative connotations, there is so much value in it. Buddhist teachings identify debate as a means to develop awareness, improve concentration, reform opinions, and provide clarity to situations while at the same time bringing others to do the same. As a result of debate, I have at times been left to feel even stronger about my personal convictions and have also been called upon to say, “Ooooh…I didn’t think of that!”
Truth be told, debate makes people smarter, more equipped, and actually helps us to develop personality. These are some of the many reasons for debate clubs in elementary and middle, and high schools around the world. But the most important reason is that through debate, we learn. In debate you can identify others to be well thought, well-intended, or unfortunately the opposite. Even worse though, try having a debate with an emotionally unbalanced person and you can find yourself in a world of problems.
So last night I had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Haskins in person. After an exchange of a couple of passages from the bible, and a brief discussion about the fiscal implications of regionalization, we shook hands. I explained to Mr. Haskins that I learned long ago that public statements are subject public responses, and private conversations are well…private. I explained my fear that a person who does not know all of the facts about the transformation that regionalization will bring to our town and schools could vote based on the public opinions of others. Ultimately, it is one thing to say, “Please come vote” and another thing to say, “My group does not support this issue, please come vote.”
Mr. Haskins explained to me that he really hasn’t made up his mind about regionalization yet. He stated that he needs to know more about the financial implications of this project. In his letter he did use the words “At this time….” These words show open mindedness and is really saying, “Hey, we want some more information!!!” This request is more than reasonable, and it will be answered in the Eileen Perkins Media Center at Mahar on October 13, 2011.
We hope to see you there.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Response to Letter in Athol Daily News from Orange Taxpayers Association
I received an E mail from an Orange Elementary Teacher who copied and pasted a letter that appeared in the Athol Daily News from Orange Taxpayers Association (OTA) Member, Brian M. Haskins. I never actually saw the letter in the paper, for if I had this response would have been drafted much sooner. In his letter, Mr. Haskins indicated that the OTA could not support regionalization at this time.
The first part of my response is simply a series of questions. The first being, what is the Orange Taxpayers Association? From what I have seen at public meetings it is a group of about a dozen or so people who are active participants in school committee meetings, finance committee meetings, and meetings of the Board of Selectmen. I have never asked them what it is that they stand for, what their mission statement is and/or if they have a vision statement. I could not find a website with their name on it, as I was curious as to what were their core values. I did surmise that they have something to do with trying to keep taxes low for citizens, but after reading Mr. Haskins letter I figured I must be wrong.
You see, I did some math today. It is a hard FACT that if the Orange Elementary Schools had regionalized with the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District in 2006, over the last five years $1,374,063.00 would have been available for the Orange Elementary Schools as a source of revenue. This would have come to the schools with no strings attached! With this much more to work with, I can say with great certainty that the roof at Dexter Park would not be in the poor condition that it is in. The $100,000.00 repair would have been covered and left $1,274,063.00 to spare.
The remaining $1.2 MILLION DOLLARS could very well have been used for art, music, physical education, books, computers, professional development, curricular materials, and/or other building repairs. In an Orange Elementary School District that is not regionalized these bills will have to be picked up by the taxpayers. So, I have to ask…Mr. Haskins:
Does the OTA stand for raising taxes or reducing them????
If you say reducing them, why would you reject the hundreds of thousands of dollars in state aid that will come to Orange via Massachusetts Regional Transportation Reimbursement each and every year????
Perhaps you know of some other way to return teachers to classrooms, repair buildings, and bring up to date technology to our schools???
The first part of my response is simply a series of questions. The first being, what is the Orange Taxpayers Association? From what I have seen at public meetings it is a group of about a dozen or so people who are active participants in school committee meetings, finance committee meetings, and meetings of the Board of Selectmen. I have never asked them what it is that they stand for, what their mission statement is and/or if they have a vision statement. I could not find a website with their name on it, as I was curious as to what were their core values. I did surmise that they have something to do with trying to keep taxes low for citizens, but after reading Mr. Haskins letter I figured I must be wrong.
You see, I did some math today. It is a hard FACT that if the Orange Elementary Schools had regionalized with the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District in 2006, over the last five years $1,374,063.00 would have been available for the Orange Elementary Schools as a source of revenue. This would have come to the schools with no strings attached! With this much more to work with, I can say with great certainty that the roof at Dexter Park would not be in the poor condition that it is in. The $100,000.00 repair would have been covered and left $1,274,063.00 to spare.
The remaining $1.2 MILLION DOLLARS could very well have been used for art, music, physical education, books, computers, professional development, curricular materials, and/or other building repairs. In an Orange Elementary School District that is not regionalized these bills will have to be picked up by the taxpayers. So, I have to ask…Mr. Haskins:
Does the OTA stand for raising taxes or reducing them????
If you say reducing them, why would you reject the hundreds of thousands of dollars in state aid that will come to Orange via Massachusetts Regional Transportation Reimbursement each and every year????
Perhaps you know of some other way to return teachers to classrooms, repair buildings, and bring up to date technology to our schools???
Monday, September 19, 2011
An Answer to a Question: Protecting Class Size in Petersham
At the conclusion of our Regionalization Planning Meeting on Wednesday, September 14, 2011 Petersham School Committee Representative, Chuck Berube asked me and excellent question about the potential effects of regionalization on class size at the Petersham Center Elementary School. Mr. Berube stated that some of the constituency of Petersham expressed a concern that if regionalization were to take place that the newly formed Ralph C. Mahar School Committee could increase class size at the Petersham Center School.
Currently in Petersham it is very rare to have a class with more than sixteen (16) students. This is because there is a school committee policy that school choice students will not be accepted into any particular grade if class size will be driven to be higher than sixteen students. Now, it is possible that in some year there are more than 16 students from Petersham in a particular grade. If this happens, then a class may be higher than 16 students. But, to date this has rarely been the case.
Without a doubt the lower the number of students in a class, the more individual attention each student receives. Educational research shows that small class sizes have a deep correlation with higher student performance. In general this is an irrefutable fact in education. The smaller the class the more attention each student gets from his or her teacher. And this is why Mr. Berube’s question is such an important one. Why would anyone in Petersham want to merge their school with another district if it were to mean diminished learning opportunities for the children of Petersham Center School?
Below, please find a list of protections that will exist for the Petersham Center School with regard to educational quality, class size, and school finance:
Petersham School Choice Policy
As I stated above, class size in Petersham is regulated by school committee policy. This policy limits the number of students that can be accepted in to Petersham Center School from other communities. In order for this number to change the school committee would have to pass a policy to this effect.
The Authority of the Superintendent of Schools
In some school districts, class size is listed in the collective bargaining agreement for the teachers. Since the Petersham Teacher’s Contract has no such language at this time, the decision that pertains to the number of students in each class is made by the Superintendent of Schools, and in consultation with the building principal. The contract for the Superintendent of Schools reads:
“The Superintendent shall administer curriculum and instruction and decide all matters having to do with selection, appointment, assignment, transfer, promotion, organization, reorganization, reduction, or termination of personnel employed or to be employed by the school districts consistent with state law and contract obligations.”
More important than the aforementioned statement is language in the Superintendent’s Contract specifically written to ensure that a school committee cannot remove the authority of the Superintendent to make educational decisions:
“The Committees shall not, without the Superintendent’s written consent adopt any policy, by-law, or regulation which impairs or reduces the duties and authority specified above; and provided; further, that all additional duties and responsibilities prescribed by the Committees are consistent with those normally associated with the position of Superintendents of School in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.”
Budget Approval Process in the Newly Proposed Region
Here you see a picture that provides a graphic illustration of the budget approval process in the newly proposed region.
1. First and foremost, the Petersham Elementary subcommittee (2 members) would both have to approve the Petersham Center budget to be presented to the full Mahar Pre-K – 12 School Committee.
2. The Mahar Pre-K – 12 School Committee approves the entire Pre-K – 12 budget. The two members from Petersham sit on this committee. In order for the budget to pass in an eleven member committee 8 of the 11 members must approve. Two of these members are from Petersham. If some amendment to the Petersham budget were to be presented to the Mahar Pre-K – 12 Committee, it would be very difficult for it to pass without the approval of the Petersham representatives.
3. If a budget were to be passed by the Mahar Pre-K – 12 School Committee that was not approved by the Petersham Elementary Subcommittee, the Town of Petersham would be provided with the option of not approving the full Mahar Pre-K – 12 budget on town floor at its Annual Town Meeting. Three out of four towns must agree in order to pass a budget in a regional school. I have been here since 2007, and have yet to see all four towns agree on a budget. As a matter of fact, Petersham’s continual support of the Mahar budget has been greatly appreciated by our school community.
Option to Gift Funds to Peterhsam Center School
In the newly proposed regional agreement, the Town of Petersham (or Orange) has the option of gifting funds to its elementary school(s). This mechanism allows for additional programs to be added to the elementary school of one town without impacting the entire Pre-K – 12 budget.
Finally...
Five layers of protection were named above for individual towns to support their schools. If a time ever came in which the interests of the Town of Petersham and the Petersham Center School were not being respected by the full Pre-K – 12 school committee, Principal, Superintendent of Schools, and/or the Budget Subcommittee, Petersham residents could vote at a town meeting to make a new decision. You see just as a vote of the Town can get into a regional agreement, a vote of the Town can be to pull out of a regional agreement.
Currently in Petersham it is very rare to have a class with more than sixteen (16) students. This is because there is a school committee policy that school choice students will not be accepted into any particular grade if class size will be driven to be higher than sixteen students. Now, it is possible that in some year there are more than 16 students from Petersham in a particular grade. If this happens, then a class may be higher than 16 students. But, to date this has rarely been the case.
Without a doubt the lower the number of students in a class, the more individual attention each student receives. Educational research shows that small class sizes have a deep correlation with higher student performance. In general this is an irrefutable fact in education. The smaller the class the more attention each student gets from his or her teacher. And this is why Mr. Berube’s question is such an important one. Why would anyone in Petersham want to merge their school with another district if it were to mean diminished learning opportunities for the children of Petersham Center School?
Below, please find a list of protections that will exist for the Petersham Center School with regard to educational quality, class size, and school finance:
Petersham School Choice Policy
As I stated above, class size in Petersham is regulated by school committee policy. This policy limits the number of students that can be accepted in to Petersham Center School from other communities. In order for this number to change the school committee would have to pass a policy to this effect.
The Authority of the Superintendent of Schools
In some school districts, class size is listed in the collective bargaining agreement for the teachers. Since the Petersham Teacher’s Contract has no such language at this time, the decision that pertains to the number of students in each class is made by the Superintendent of Schools, and in consultation with the building principal. The contract for the Superintendent of Schools reads:
“The Superintendent shall administer curriculum and instruction and decide all matters having to do with selection, appointment, assignment, transfer, promotion, organization, reorganization, reduction, or termination of personnel employed or to be employed by the school districts consistent with state law and contract obligations.”
More important than the aforementioned statement is language in the Superintendent’s Contract specifically written to ensure that a school committee cannot remove the authority of the Superintendent to make educational decisions:
“The Committees shall not, without the Superintendent’s written consent adopt any policy, by-law, or regulation which impairs or reduces the duties and authority specified above; and provided; further, that all additional duties and responsibilities prescribed by the Committees are consistent with those normally associated with the position of Superintendents of School in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.”
Budget Approval Process in the Newly Proposed Region
Here you see a picture that provides a graphic illustration of the budget approval process in the newly proposed region.
1. First and foremost, the Petersham Elementary subcommittee (2 members) would both have to approve the Petersham Center budget to be presented to the full Mahar Pre-K – 12 School Committee.
2. The Mahar Pre-K – 12 School Committee approves the entire Pre-K – 12 budget. The two members from Petersham sit on this committee. In order for the budget to pass in an eleven member committee 8 of the 11 members must approve. Two of these members are from Petersham. If some amendment to the Petersham budget were to be presented to the Mahar Pre-K – 12 Committee, it would be very difficult for it to pass without the approval of the Petersham representatives.
3. If a budget were to be passed by the Mahar Pre-K – 12 School Committee that was not approved by the Petersham Elementary Subcommittee, the Town of Petersham would be provided with the option of not approving the full Mahar Pre-K – 12 budget on town floor at its Annual Town Meeting. Three out of four towns must agree in order to pass a budget in a regional school. I have been here since 2007, and have yet to see all four towns agree on a budget. As a matter of fact, Petersham’s continual support of the Mahar budget has been greatly appreciated by our school community.
Option to Gift Funds to Peterhsam Center School
In the newly proposed regional agreement, the Town of Petersham (or Orange) has the option of gifting funds to its elementary school(s). This mechanism allows for additional programs to be added to the elementary school of one town without impacting the entire Pre-K – 12 budget.
Finally...
Five layers of protection were named above for individual towns to support their schools. If a time ever came in which the interests of the Town of Petersham and the Petersham Center School were not being respected by the full Pre-K – 12 school committee, Principal, Superintendent of Schools, and/or the Budget Subcommittee, Petersham residents could vote at a town meeting to make a new decision. You see just as a vote of the Town can get into a regional agreement, a vote of the Town can be to pull out of a regional agreement.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Ground Truth vs. Official Truth: A Response to a Facebook Post
As mentioned in an earlier blog post, social networking sites can be wonderful sources of information. This is true when the information posted is factual, empirically based, and is written with the intent of promoting some type of public good. In many cases however, posts on sites such as Facebook can be written by individuals who misinterpret facts, only serving to proliferate their own misunderstandings.
Recently I was made aware of some military terminology that is fitting for this situation. In war there are two types of truth. The Official Truth is what people are willing to say publicly about things, and the Ground Truth is terminology that accurately reflects real life events. The two statements below provide an educational example of Official Truth vs. Ground Truth.
Official Truth: Our students MCAS scores are higher than many students statewide who are from similar socioeconomic backgrounds. This statement may be viewed as propaganda.
Ground Truth: Our students are consistently not meeting accountability standards set forth by the state. They are failing the MCAS in alarming numbers. This statement is a cold hard fact.
This blog post is written in response to a recent post on Facebook by a member of the Orange Taxpayers Association. In an effort to provide readers with Ground Truth, I will dissect the post one statement at a time. I have found this level of honesty about our situation is appreciated by many faculty and parents in our school community.
Ms. Piro's statements are in black
Mr. Baldassarre's statements are in red
Ms. Piro: I have asked Mr. Baldassarre how much in extra expenses it will cost the town if we regionalize.
Mr. Baldassarre: This statement is true. To clarify, I have posted the entire electronic correspondence from Ms. Piro with my response to her at the bottom of this post. You can read every question that Ms. Piro asked of me, and every response that I provided.
Ms. Piro: If we regionalize- all the elementary teachers pay will go up to meet the pay already received at the Mahar level, if the pay raises outweigh the bus savings, then financially it will hurt the town.
Mr. Baldassarre: The statement made by Ms. Piro here is not ground truth. Our consultants are currently conducting a financial analysis of the exact increases in salary for teachers if they are negotiated that way. In order for the salary schedules to be made final three teacher contracts must be merged and three non teaching contracts must be merged. All six of these mergers will involve intense negotiations with the new school committee.
A Mahar teacher with a Masters Degree in his/her first year of teaching is paid $305.00 less per year than a teacher with a Masters Degree at Orange Elementary.
A Mahar teacher with a Bachelor’s Degree in his/her 14th year of teaching will be paid $1,015.00 less than an Orange Elementary Teacher in his her 14th year of teaching if he/she has a Bachelors Degree and 18 additional credit hours.
You see, our pay scales are different. They are available for any reader to see. And I recommend perusing these documents before publishing statements about them. The bottom line, ground truth is that the salaries have to be negotiated. The union and the school committee have the right to collectively bargain.
Ms Piro: I also asked if we are implementing the suggestions from the DOE report of 2011, the suggestions in this report which I posted here a couple weeks ago, had very serious issues with the curriculum in certain areas, critical thinking skills and conversations for the students, continuity of curriculum from Fisher to Dexter to Butterfield, and the end result being poor MCAS scores, these are not money problems, but management problems, have we fixed these issues yet?
Mr. Baldassarre: The above is not true. As you will see in the correspondence posted to the blog from me to Ms. Piro, no such question has ever been asked of me. Unfortunately, those opposed to regionalization have failed to express any concerns of the quality of our educational programs via e-mail or in open sessions. This should alert those who are interested in improving education for our students.
Ms. Piro: Not enough information on the questions I am asking to warrant the regionalization at this time.
Mr. Baldassarre: We will have an informational session on October 13, 2011 here at Mahar at 7:00 PM. This is an open meeting. I have posted information on this blog and there is central office consolidation website on the mahar webpage (http://www.rcmahar.org/central-office-consolidation-website/). There readers can find a video in which we engaged a public question and answer session about this topic.
Ms. Piro: If we fund our elementary and make the changes the DOE has suggested, then our students will get a better education and we will still own our school system, I think these needs to be done first before we jump into a new system that so far, is only offering a savings to the town for one year.
Mr. Baldassarre: The elementary schools have been funded up to 20% less than the average of districts across the state in 2010, 2011, and now in 2012. The students in Orange are not being given the opportunity to compete with students from more than 300 districts in Massachusetts because of the funding issues. What Ms. Piro says is true however. If the elementary schools were given a little more than $1,000,000.00 more each year the children would be subject to a higher quality education. Of course another way to solve this issue would be to increase district capacity. This can be achieved through regionalization.
Ms. Piro: Bus costs fluctuate; pay raises only keep going up. We cannot afford to make the wrong decision.
Mr. Baldassarre: Bus costs do fluctuate. Fortunately for those in regional school districts like Mahar, our transportation costs are reimbursed by the state. This year Mahar received $309,502.00. Orange received $0.00. The state pays a portion of regional transportation. In Orange, transportation is paid for by the taxpayers.
Electonic Correspondence Below: Sent to from Mr. Baldassarre to Ms. Piro
Copied and Pasted to this Site September 2, 2011
Ms. Piro's statements are in black
Mr. Baldassarre's statements are in red
From: Michael Baldassarre
Sent: Monday, August 15, 2011 6:04 PM
To: 'nqac@verizon.net'
Subject: RE: Regionalization
Ms. Piro: Hi Mike - Brenda Piro here- I couldn't make the last meeting but will make the next - It was posted for Sept 1 st, it was also posted albeit FB that the BOS are in support of this- is that true?
Mr. Baldassarre: Hello Brenda and thank you for your correspondence. The next regionalization planning meeting is in fact on September 1, 2011 at 6:30 PM in the Media Center at Mahar. I have not been given any indication that the Board of Selectmen are against our regional effort. If this were the case, I would have to ask for reasons. You see, we have already consolidated central offices, special education administration, maintenance, technology, and cafeteria services. The final piece, an approved agreement means up to $300,000.00 in additional aid every year. Why would one turn down such funding???
Ms. Piro: I am familiar with the 2 assessments, one question I have is a comparison of what the assessment would be for elementary 2011/12 vs what they asked for at town meeting.
If we were a region- what assessment would be used?
Mr. Baldassarre: I am not clear on your question about the “two assessments.” There is really only one assessment – the statutory method that has ever been used. In this case, 3 of 4 towns must agree to pass a budget. The alternative assessment cannot be characterized by using terminology that defines it as a single assessment. This assessment methodology can be different every year. It can be changed at the discretion of the school committee. All four towns must agree in order for any alternative assessment to be passed.
If we become a larger region the rules for assessing the towns would be the same. 3 out of 4 for statutory, and 4 out of 4 for any alternative to that.
Ms. Piro: they asked for 5385037 and got 5083060- in the new regional scenario- what would that figure be?:
Mr. Baldassarre: These numbers are incorrect. The budget was again reduced to 5.037 million dollars. It appears very likely that Net School Spending will not be met in fiscal year 2012 – which is a real travesty. This will mean that NSS has not been met in three consecutive years. On average schools in the commonwealth are funded at 13% above NSS. Orange Elementary’s funding being below NSS means that our students receive close to 20% less than students across the state. But to answer your question, we would not know the outcome of the assessment until the towns voted. It is up to the school committee and the people of the towns. To illustrate this, I have attached a document that defines the proposed process.
Ms. Piro: I realize this is simplified as people are told there will be additional revenues coming in if we regionalize - but this is the question taxpayers are concerned of - a simple breakdown of funds that will rise if we consolidate would be helpful. I think if the answers are " shot from the belt" rather than the over complicated - take the long road around so as to create confusion- (not that you do it ) citizens wil understand, many citizens just want the financial breakdown- not the structure that gets us to the finances.
Mr. Baldassarre: It is true that this topic is complicated, and we are doing our best to ensure that everyone has the most accurate and empirical information. In a nutshell, here is what we stand to gain by regionalizing:
1. $50.00 in one-time bonus aid per student. With approximately 1800 students this equates to $90,000.00
2. 56% in regional transportation reimbursement. This means approximately $200,000.00 for Orange every single year. This can go up, and has been as high as 85% in recent years.
Ms. Piro: This town has a long history of frugal savers- thats how our coffers 10 years ago had 7 million in them, they have listened to our governance tell them that do this- this is good, and watched as the 7 million was spent in less than a decade.
Mr. Baldassarre: Right now, things do not look so optimistic. It is not my position to comment on town matters. As an ambassador for the schools however, state takeover of the elementary system should be on the radar of the town’s leadership. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has implemented a serious system for school accountability under the No Child Left Behind Act. It should not be taken lightly.
Ms. Piro: So..... you need to understand this past with our town. Citizens are extremely upset, with good cause. We have seen the management of our town not go to the good of the community. We pay people here the same pay to do a job that others do with much greater populations and responsibilities. We have always been a poor town- we are the 9th poorest in 353 communities in Mass. We have the 21st higest tax rate, our children are not doing well in school, and we act( financially) like we have cadillac services,of which many would beg to differ.
Mr. Baldassarre: It is my sincerest hope that I will have be able to provide you along with our parents and teachers with an understanding of all that has taken place over the past few years. I do not do this by stating my opinions however. I will be rooting any and all statements in facts that are made available via audits and document analysis.
Ms. Piro: also- it was stated that Orange would have to accept the budget or it wouldnt go through- I find that hard to believe- could you clarify?
Orange would have 5 members- other towns 7 ? Is this true?
Mr. Baldassarre:
Orange – 5
Petersham – 2
New Salem – 2
Wendell – 2
It takes a 2/3 vote of the school committee to pass a budget. This means that 8 of 11 must agree to pass a budget. If Orange representatives choose to, they will be able to stop a budget from moving forward since they will have 5 members.
Ms. Piro: what would the sub committes function be, and thier powers- if any?
Mr. Baldassarre: Subcommittees advise the full committee.
Ms. Piro: Information told to citizens at Fincom was the audit hadn't been done since 2010- FB parent at school meeting said 2003- clarify?
Mr. Baldassarre: The end of year report is required pursuant to 603 CMR 10.10 to be audited every year. Orange Elementary has not had its end of year report audited since 2002. I have attached a letter from DESE ordering that an audit of Fiscal Year 2010 be completed. Once information is available I will issue a report.
Ms. Piro: Thank you for your time- It would be nice to sit and ask questions, If you have time for a 1/2 hr meeting I would surely appreciate it- Talk Soon
Mr. Baldassarre: I’d love to get together. Just let me know what works for you.
Michael Baldassarre, Superintendent of Schools
Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District
Orange Elementary Schools
Petersham Center School
507 South Main Street
PO Box 680
Orange, MA 01364
Office: 978-544-2920
Fax: 978-544-8383
Website: www.rcmahar.org
Recently I was made aware of some military terminology that is fitting for this situation. In war there are two types of truth. The Official Truth is what people are willing to say publicly about things, and the Ground Truth is terminology that accurately reflects real life events. The two statements below provide an educational example of Official Truth vs. Ground Truth.
Official Truth: Our students MCAS scores are higher than many students statewide who are from similar socioeconomic backgrounds. This statement may be viewed as propaganda.
Ground Truth: Our students are consistently not meeting accountability standards set forth by the state. They are failing the MCAS in alarming numbers. This statement is a cold hard fact.
This blog post is written in response to a recent post on Facebook by a member of the Orange Taxpayers Association. In an effort to provide readers with Ground Truth, I will dissect the post one statement at a time. I have found this level of honesty about our situation is appreciated by many faculty and parents in our school community.
Ms. Piro's statements are in black
Mr. Baldassarre's statements are in red
Ms. Piro: I have asked Mr. Baldassarre how much in extra expenses it will cost the town if we regionalize.
Mr. Baldassarre: This statement is true. To clarify, I have posted the entire electronic correspondence from Ms. Piro with my response to her at the bottom of this post. You can read every question that Ms. Piro asked of me, and every response that I provided.
Ms. Piro: If we regionalize- all the elementary teachers pay will go up to meet the pay already received at the Mahar level, if the pay raises outweigh the bus savings, then financially it will hurt the town.
Mr. Baldassarre: The statement made by Ms. Piro here is not ground truth. Our consultants are currently conducting a financial analysis of the exact increases in salary for teachers if they are negotiated that way. In order for the salary schedules to be made final three teacher contracts must be merged and three non teaching contracts must be merged. All six of these mergers will involve intense negotiations with the new school committee.
A Mahar teacher with a Masters Degree in his/her first year of teaching is paid $305.00 less per year than a teacher with a Masters Degree at Orange Elementary.
A Mahar teacher with a Bachelor’s Degree in his/her 14th year of teaching will be paid $1,015.00 less than an Orange Elementary Teacher in his her 14th year of teaching if he/she has a Bachelors Degree and 18 additional credit hours.
You see, our pay scales are different. They are available for any reader to see. And I recommend perusing these documents before publishing statements about them. The bottom line, ground truth is that the salaries have to be negotiated. The union and the school committee have the right to collectively bargain.
Ms Piro: I also asked if we are implementing the suggestions from the DOE report of 2011, the suggestions in this report which I posted here a couple weeks ago, had very serious issues with the curriculum in certain areas, critical thinking skills and conversations for the students, continuity of curriculum from Fisher to Dexter to Butterfield, and the end result being poor MCAS scores, these are not money problems, but management problems, have we fixed these issues yet?
Mr. Baldassarre: The above is not true. As you will see in the correspondence posted to the blog from me to Ms. Piro, no such question has ever been asked of me. Unfortunately, those opposed to regionalization have failed to express any concerns of the quality of our educational programs via e-mail or in open sessions. This should alert those who are interested in improving education for our students.
Ms. Piro: Not enough information on the questions I am asking to warrant the regionalization at this time.
Mr. Baldassarre: We will have an informational session on October 13, 2011 here at Mahar at 7:00 PM. This is an open meeting. I have posted information on this blog and there is central office consolidation website on the mahar webpage (http://www.rcmahar.org/central-office-consolidation-website/). There readers can find a video in which we engaged a public question and answer session about this topic.
Ms. Piro: If we fund our elementary and make the changes the DOE has suggested, then our students will get a better education and we will still own our school system, I think these needs to be done first before we jump into a new system that so far, is only offering a savings to the town for one year.
Mr. Baldassarre: The elementary schools have been funded up to 20% less than the average of districts across the state in 2010, 2011, and now in 2012. The students in Orange are not being given the opportunity to compete with students from more than 300 districts in Massachusetts because of the funding issues. What Ms. Piro says is true however. If the elementary schools were given a little more than $1,000,000.00 more each year the children would be subject to a higher quality education. Of course another way to solve this issue would be to increase district capacity. This can be achieved through regionalization.
Ms. Piro: Bus costs fluctuate; pay raises only keep going up. We cannot afford to make the wrong decision.
Mr. Baldassarre: Bus costs do fluctuate. Fortunately for those in regional school districts like Mahar, our transportation costs are reimbursed by the state. This year Mahar received $309,502.00. Orange received $0.00. The state pays a portion of regional transportation. In Orange, transportation is paid for by the taxpayers.
Electonic Correspondence Below: Sent to from Mr. Baldassarre to Ms. Piro
Copied and Pasted to this Site September 2, 2011
Ms. Piro's statements are in black
Mr. Baldassarre's statements are in red
From: Michael Baldassarre
Sent: Monday, August 15, 2011 6:04 PM
To: 'nqac@verizon.net'
Subject: RE: Regionalization
Ms. Piro: Hi Mike - Brenda Piro here- I couldn't make the last meeting but will make the next - It was posted for Sept 1 st, it was also posted albeit FB that the BOS are in support of this- is that true?
Mr. Baldassarre: Hello Brenda and thank you for your correspondence. The next regionalization planning meeting is in fact on September 1, 2011 at 6:30 PM in the Media Center at Mahar. I have not been given any indication that the Board of Selectmen are against our regional effort. If this were the case, I would have to ask for reasons. You see, we have already consolidated central offices, special education administration, maintenance, technology, and cafeteria services. The final piece, an approved agreement means up to $300,000.00 in additional aid every year. Why would one turn down such funding???
Ms. Piro: I am familiar with the 2 assessments, one question I have is a comparison of what the assessment would be for elementary 2011/12 vs what they asked for at town meeting.
If we were a region- what assessment would be used?
Mr. Baldassarre: I am not clear on your question about the “two assessments.” There is really only one assessment – the statutory method that has ever been used. In this case, 3 of 4 towns must agree to pass a budget. The alternative assessment cannot be characterized by using terminology that defines it as a single assessment. This assessment methodology can be different every year. It can be changed at the discretion of the school committee. All four towns must agree in order for any alternative assessment to be passed.
If we become a larger region the rules for assessing the towns would be the same. 3 out of 4 for statutory, and 4 out of 4 for any alternative to that.
Ms. Piro: they asked for 5385037 and got 5083060- in the new regional scenario- what would that figure be?:
Mr. Baldassarre: These numbers are incorrect. The budget was again reduced to 5.037 million dollars. It appears very likely that Net School Spending will not be met in fiscal year 2012 – which is a real travesty. This will mean that NSS has not been met in three consecutive years. On average schools in the commonwealth are funded at 13% above NSS. Orange Elementary’s funding being below NSS means that our students receive close to 20% less than students across the state. But to answer your question, we would not know the outcome of the assessment until the towns voted. It is up to the school committee and the people of the towns. To illustrate this, I have attached a document that defines the proposed process.
Ms. Piro: I realize this is simplified as people are told there will be additional revenues coming in if we regionalize - but this is the question taxpayers are concerned of - a simple breakdown of funds that will rise if we consolidate would be helpful. I think if the answers are " shot from the belt" rather than the over complicated - take the long road around so as to create confusion- (not that you do it ) citizens wil understand, many citizens just want the financial breakdown- not the structure that gets us to the finances.
Mr. Baldassarre: It is true that this topic is complicated, and we are doing our best to ensure that everyone has the most accurate and empirical information. In a nutshell, here is what we stand to gain by regionalizing:
1. $50.00 in one-time bonus aid per student. With approximately 1800 students this equates to $90,000.00
2. 56% in regional transportation reimbursement. This means approximately $200,000.00 for Orange every single year. This can go up, and has been as high as 85% in recent years.
Ms. Piro: This town has a long history of frugal savers- thats how our coffers 10 years ago had 7 million in them, they have listened to our governance tell them that do this- this is good, and watched as the 7 million was spent in less than a decade.
Mr. Baldassarre: Right now, things do not look so optimistic. It is not my position to comment on town matters. As an ambassador for the schools however, state takeover of the elementary system should be on the radar of the town’s leadership. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has implemented a serious system for school accountability under the No Child Left Behind Act. It should not be taken lightly.
Ms. Piro: So..... you need to understand this past with our town. Citizens are extremely upset, with good cause. We have seen the management of our town not go to the good of the community. We pay people here the same pay to do a job that others do with much greater populations and responsibilities. We have always been a poor town- we are the 9th poorest in 353 communities in Mass. We have the 21st higest tax rate, our children are not doing well in school, and we act( financially) like we have cadillac services,of which many would beg to differ.
Mr. Baldassarre: It is my sincerest hope that I will have be able to provide you along with our parents and teachers with an understanding of all that has taken place over the past few years. I do not do this by stating my opinions however. I will be rooting any and all statements in facts that are made available via audits and document analysis.
Ms. Piro: also- it was stated that Orange would have to accept the budget or it wouldnt go through- I find that hard to believe- could you clarify?
Orange would have 5 members- other towns 7 ? Is this true?
Mr. Baldassarre:
Orange – 5
Petersham – 2
New Salem – 2
Wendell – 2
It takes a 2/3 vote of the school committee to pass a budget. This means that 8 of 11 must agree to pass a budget. If Orange representatives choose to, they will be able to stop a budget from moving forward since they will have 5 members.
Ms. Piro: what would the sub committes function be, and thier powers- if any?
Mr. Baldassarre: Subcommittees advise the full committee.
Ms. Piro: Information told to citizens at Fincom was the audit hadn't been done since 2010- FB parent at school meeting said 2003- clarify?
Mr. Baldassarre: The end of year report is required pursuant to 603 CMR 10.10 to be audited every year. Orange Elementary has not had its end of year report audited since 2002. I have attached a letter from DESE ordering that an audit of Fiscal Year 2010 be completed. Once information is available I will issue a report.
Ms. Piro: Thank you for your time- It would be nice to sit and ask questions, If you have time for a 1/2 hr meeting I would surely appreciate it- Talk Soon
Mr. Baldassarre: I’d love to get together. Just let me know what works for you.
Michael Baldassarre, Superintendent of Schools
Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District
Orange Elementary Schools
Petersham Center School
507 South Main Street
PO Box 680
Orange, MA 01364
Office: 978-544-2920
Fax: 978-544-8383
Website: www.rcmahar.org
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
$chool Choice - Part IV of IV
All of the funds that are taken in by a district for school choice go into a “School Choice Revolving Account.” As you may have read in the School Choice Parts I – III blog posts, the total school choice amount for Petersham, Orange, and Mahar in the 2010 – 2011 academic year was more than in the neighborhood of $1,636,000.00.
At Mahar, school choice funds may only be expended by a majority vote of the school committee. While these funds can be used to fulfill any need of the district, at Mahar they have almost solely been used to reduce the assessments to the towns in each fiscal year. What this means as that the school committee has continually voted to utilize this money as a source of revenue in each operating budget.
At Orange Elementary this has not been the case. Funds from school choice have been continuously utilized to fill gaps that existed in previous operational budgets. This practice brought about a problematic situation at the end of the last school year. You see, when the school choice account reached a balance of $0.00 and the amount budgeted by the town for the purpose of elementary education was at $0.00, there were still unpaid bills in an amount that approached $100,000.00.
This happened because money was being spent before it ever arrived in the district’s school choice account. When the final payment from the state came in less than expected, there was an obvious deficit. This year we will be holding school choice funds with the intention of appropriating them as a source of revenue in the Fiscal Year 2013 budget. So if all goes according to plan, rather than having $5.1 million dollars in fiscal year 2013, the district will have more like $5.5 million dollars at its disposal.
This will return people to work and hopefully provide some funding for other serious needs. But….what if we were able to combine the three school districts’ school choice accounts and have one larger pot from which we draw funds? What if all of our teachers return to work and we are able to increase our school choice students by just five students per grade, Pre-K – 12? Well, we would have close to $2,000,000.00 in school choice revenue.
If the $2,000,000.00 were to be attributed to the entire budget of a Pre-K – 12 regional district, this means that 10% of the school budget would be covered by school choice. In previous blogs I informed readers that on average schools in the Commonwealth are funded at 13% more than the minimum allowed in “Net School Spending.” In the model I have just described, the towns would have only to contribute the absolute bare minimum required by law, and our schools would be funded at very close to the state average.
Let’s face the facts. The children in our region should be given the opportunity to compete with children from other regions. A child in Orange should have the same educational opportunities as students from Leominster, Shrewsbury, and Westwood. You see, when colleges accept students they accept them based on what they know and how well they demonstrate what they know. Our kids should at least have the chance to know what other students know. They will not have these opportunities in huge classes with old textbooks, broken computers, and fewer teachers.
At Mahar, school choice funds may only be expended by a majority vote of the school committee. While these funds can be used to fulfill any need of the district, at Mahar they have almost solely been used to reduce the assessments to the towns in each fiscal year. What this means as that the school committee has continually voted to utilize this money as a source of revenue in each operating budget.
At Orange Elementary this has not been the case. Funds from school choice have been continuously utilized to fill gaps that existed in previous operational budgets. This practice brought about a problematic situation at the end of the last school year. You see, when the school choice account reached a balance of $0.00 and the amount budgeted by the town for the purpose of elementary education was at $0.00, there were still unpaid bills in an amount that approached $100,000.00.
This happened because money was being spent before it ever arrived in the district’s school choice account. When the final payment from the state came in less than expected, there was an obvious deficit. This year we will be holding school choice funds with the intention of appropriating them as a source of revenue in the Fiscal Year 2013 budget. So if all goes according to plan, rather than having $5.1 million dollars in fiscal year 2013, the district will have more like $5.5 million dollars at its disposal.
This will return people to work and hopefully provide some funding for other serious needs. But….what if we were able to combine the three school districts’ school choice accounts and have one larger pot from which we draw funds? What if all of our teachers return to work and we are able to increase our school choice students by just five students per grade, Pre-K – 12? Well, we would have close to $2,000,000.00 in school choice revenue.
If the $2,000,000.00 were to be attributed to the entire budget of a Pre-K – 12 regional district, this means that 10% of the school budget would be covered by school choice. In previous blogs I informed readers that on average schools in the Commonwealth are funded at 13% more than the minimum allowed in “Net School Spending.” In the model I have just described, the towns would have only to contribute the absolute bare minimum required by law, and our schools would be funded at very close to the state average.
Let’s face the facts. The children in our region should be given the opportunity to compete with children from other regions. A child in Orange should have the same educational opportunities as students from Leominster, Shrewsbury, and Westwood. You see, when colleges accept students they accept them based on what they know and how well they demonstrate what they know. Our kids should at least have the chance to know what other students know. They will not have these opportunities in huge classes with old textbooks, broken computers, and fewer teachers.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
School Choice - Part III of IV
 |
| Trends in School Choice Enrollment Ralph C. Mahar Regional School Orange, MA As you can see from the graph above, School Choice in the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School has changed drastically in recent years. For quite some time more students from Orange, Wendell, New Salem, and Petersham chose to attend middle and high schools in other school districts rather than attend Mahar. A few years ago, the balance of this equation tipped. I would be delighted to go on about the programming at Mahar and Mount Wachusett Community College that draws students from all over Central Massachusetts, but that is not the purpose of this post. The graph above shows the possibilities that arise when academic programming is desirable to those from surrounding towns. In the next school year it is quite possible that Mahar will take in over $1,000,000.00 in school choice funding, with a rapidly decreasing number of students who choose to attend other schools in the Commonwealth. Last year Mahar took in $873,210.00 in school choice funds. This equates to $5,432.00 per student. In my part IV of this blog series, I will focus in on how the three aforementioned school choice accounts can be consolidated for the benefit of all students in our three districts, should regionalization take place. |
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Sheriff Donelan's Work Crew Gives Butterfield Auditorium Much Needed Upgrade
In the Spring of 2011 I had the privilege of taking a tour of all of the elementary facilities with my friend and former colleague, Dr. Paul Burnim. When I stepped foot into the auditorium at the Butterfield Elementary School for the first time, I looked around in silence. My question to Dr. Burnim, “When was this school built?” soon fell from my mouth. Dr. Burnim then informed me that the school was built in 1881!
My eyes were caught by falling paint from the ceiling; wooden chairs that desperately needed attention; and chandeliers that may very well have been in the room for 130 years. While I could feel the age of the building, I could also feel its warmth. The warmth was exacerbated by the teachers who were in their classrooms interacting with students, the soon to be Mahar students passersby, and the sound of students singing, “America the Beautiful.”
There were so many things on my mind about the up and coming school year, and on the aforementioned day a new thing was added. The auditorium at the Butterfield Elementary School stands as the place where students and parents gather for celebrations of yearly success. It also stands as the auditorium that has housed each and every graduate of the Orange School System at one point or another for the past 130 years. I wondered how room deserving of so much respect could be allowed to look the way that it did.
Not long after this day, I had many conversations about the condition of the auditorium. One of these conversations did not fall upon deaf ears. Enter Sheriff Chris Donelan. I had a conversation with Sheriff Donelan about the auditorium. In that conversation it was it was Chris who reminded me that he along with many Mahar parents, grandparents, and great grandparents stood in that room at one time or another. I recall him saying, “You know, there are more memories in that room than can ever be counted.”
The next day Sheriff Donelan called me with good news. He informed me that he had a work crew from the Franklin County Jail that could come to the auditorium and give it a tune up. Without hesitation, I agreed. Having no idea what the possibilities were, I just hoped that the falling paint could be scraped from the ceiling. Today when I went to the Butterfield Auditorium to meet the Sheriff and look at the work that was completed, I was absolutely amazed.
With little experience on how much labor it takes to scrape, paint, and completely update the appearance a room of this size I am going to have to turn to an expert to understand the dollar value of this work. I have heard jobs such as these costing tens of thousands of dollars. As you can see in the pictures below, the floor, walls, ceiling, and seating all look brand new!
Soon we will celebrate our students' success in the renovated auditorium. Thank you Sheriff Donelan for your assistance and for the generosity of your work crew. Mr. Trill is in the process of planning a September event in which parents, students, and community members can see what I had the privilege of seeing today. It is my hope that you can be our guest.
My eyes were caught by falling paint from the ceiling; wooden chairs that desperately needed attention; and chandeliers that may very well have been in the room for 130 years. While I could feel the age of the building, I could also feel its warmth. The warmth was exacerbated by the teachers who were in their classrooms interacting with students, the soon to be Mahar students passersby, and the sound of students singing, “America the Beautiful.”
There were so many things on my mind about the up and coming school year, and on the aforementioned day a new thing was added. The auditorium at the Butterfield Elementary School stands as the place where students and parents gather for celebrations of yearly success. It also stands as the auditorium that has housed each and every graduate of the Orange School System at one point or another for the past 130 years. I wondered how room deserving of so much respect could be allowed to look the way that it did.
Not long after this day, I had many conversations about the condition of the auditorium. One of these conversations did not fall upon deaf ears. Enter Sheriff Chris Donelan. I had a conversation with Sheriff Donelan about the auditorium. In that conversation it was it was Chris who reminded me that he along with many Mahar parents, grandparents, and great grandparents stood in that room at one time or another. I recall him saying, “You know, there are more memories in that room than can ever be counted.”
The next day Sheriff Donelan called me with good news. He informed me that he had a work crew from the Franklin County Jail that could come to the auditorium and give it a tune up. Without hesitation, I agreed. Having no idea what the possibilities were, I just hoped that the falling paint could be scraped from the ceiling. Today when I went to the Butterfield Auditorium to meet the Sheriff and look at the work that was completed, I was absolutely amazed.
With little experience on how much labor it takes to scrape, paint, and completely update the appearance a room of this size I am going to have to turn to an expert to understand the dollar value of this work. I have heard jobs such as these costing tens of thousands of dollars. As you can see in the pictures below, the floor, walls, ceiling, and seating all look brand new!
Soon we will celebrate our students' success in the renovated auditorium. Thank you Sheriff Donelan for your assistance and for the generosity of your work crew. Mr. Trill is in the process of planning a September event in which parents, students, and community members can see what I had the privilege of seeing today. It is my hope that you can be our guest.
School Choice - Part II of IV
As you can see from the graph above, in 2010 -2011 the Orange Elementary Schools had 82 students from other towns. Their families chose Orange Elementary rather than their home school districts. Since Orange Elementary received $393,019.00 in Fiscal Year 2011, each choice student brought only $4,770.00 to the district. You will note that this is significantly less than the per pupil amount that was cited in my most recent blog post about school choice in the Petersham Elementary Schools.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has a formula by which towns and school districts are financially punished for not meeting Net School Spending Requirements. The Net School Spending Requirement is the absolute minimum amount allowed to go to public education in each town. Unfortunately for the Town of Orange and the Orange Elementary Schools the absolute minimum was not met in Fiscal Year 2010.
It is safe to say that the state allocates more than $5,000.00 per school choice student. In some cases the state may allocate more for individual students based upon their need for special education services. It has been estimated that the Town of Orange missed out on around $50,000.00 in school choice revenue in Fiscal Year 2010 because Net School Spending was not met.
The graph above shows that the number of families who chose to send their children to Orange increased rapidly from 2004 to 2010. Last year the number fell slightly, and of course it is possible that it will fall yet again this year.
 |
| School Choice Trends in Enrollment Orange Elementary Schools Orange, MA |
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has a formula by which towns and school districts are financially punished for not meeting Net School Spending Requirements. The Net School Spending Requirement is the absolute minimum amount allowed to go to public education in each town. Unfortunately for the Town of Orange and the Orange Elementary Schools the absolute minimum was not met in Fiscal Year 2010.
It is safe to say that the state allocates more than $5,000.00 per school choice student. In some cases the state may allocate more for individual students based upon their need for special education services. It has been estimated that the Town of Orange missed out on around $50,000.00 in school choice revenue in Fiscal Year 2010 because Net School Spending was not met.
The graph above shows that the number of families who chose to send their children to Orange increased rapidly from 2004 to 2010. Last year the number fell slightly, and of course it is possible that it will fall yet again this year.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
School Choice - Part I of IV
 |
| School Choice Trends in Enrollment Petersham Center Elementary School Petersham, MA |
The next series of blog posts will focus on school choice in each district, one at a time. Today, I will start with Petersham Center Elementary School. In Fiscal Year 2011 Petersham Elementary received an average of $6,563.11 per student of choice from surrounding districts. While this amount does not reflect the true cost of education for a single student – it comes as much needed support for Petersham Center Elementary.
As you can see from the graph at the top of this post, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education showed in 2011 that 56 students in the Petersham Center School were students who actually came to Petersham from surrounding towns. So, with this Petersham Center Elementary School received a little more than $370,000.00 in Fiscal Year 2011 for these 56 students.
Without School Choice each classroom at Petersham Center Elementary School would have an average of around 8 students per class. This low number of students in each class would drive the per pupil cost of education in this small school to an unsustainable amount. If Petersham did not accept School Choice Students, classrooms would have to be combined so that students from multiple grades would bein a single classroom. Commonly referred to as The Little House on the Prairie model, this would not be to the benefit of the students who attend this school.
Having students choice in to your school is a badge of honor. It means that parents from towns other than yours view your school as a better place for their children to learn. School Committees, administrators, and teachers alike take pride in the fact that their school is a desirable place for those outside of their own communities.
The next blog post will focus in on School Choice at Orange Elementary and the third will focus on Mahar. The final blog post will focus on School Choice in a new fully regionalized Pre-K – 12 district for the Mahar, Orange, and Petersham School Districts.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
What is an Excess and Deficiency Account?
I received a question from one of my new colleagues from the elementary system that I felt was important for everyone to understand. I have spoken about the Excess and Deficiency (E & D) account many times in our public meetings in which regionalization has been the topic of discussion. At our Regional Planning Meeting on August 11, 2011 I said, “Should Orange, Mahar, and Petersham regionalize the elementary schools and towns would be beneficiaries of an Excess and Deficiency Account.” So the question:
What is the E & D account and how is having it beneficial for our schools and our towns?
Every regional school district must maintain an Excess and Deficiency (E & D) Account. In cities or towns this fund is referred to as Free Cash and in business it is similar to retained earnings. At the end of every fiscal year, any surplus or deficit in the district’s general fund is placed in or taken from the E & D fund.
Every year and in every regional school district this fund is certified by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Failure to have this account certified may result in the state withholding all or part of the region’s state aid.
The regional school committee may use all or part of the certified balance in E & D as a revenue source for its next proposed budget. This fund may also be used at the discretion of the school committee for extraordinary or unanticipated expenditures. Up to 5% of the current year’s budget can be attributed to the E & D account.
So what does all of this mean????
For starters the assessments to the towns of New Salem, Orange, Petersham, and Wendell were reduced by $489,945.00 in the 2011 – 2012 school year. This amount came directly from the Ralph C. Mahar E & D fund. If we were to regionalize, we would be able to store close to $1,000,000.00 in a larger, combined E & D account. As has been the case for many years at Mahar, these funds would be used to reduce the assessments for Orange and Petersham Elementary as well.
Second and even more important, this fund can be used in a time of crisis. The over expenditure of funds at Orange Elementary in fiscal year 2011 is a perfect example of this. If Orange were a regional school the deficit at the end of fiscal year 2011 would not have been an issue for the Town of Orange. The best way to handle this deficit would have been to pull funds from the Excess and Deficiency Account.
What is the E & D account and how is having it beneficial for our schools and our towns?
Every regional school district must maintain an Excess and Deficiency (E & D) Account. In cities or towns this fund is referred to as Free Cash and in business it is similar to retained earnings. At the end of every fiscal year, any surplus or deficit in the district’s general fund is placed in or taken from the E & D fund.
Every year and in every regional school district this fund is certified by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Failure to have this account certified may result in the state withholding all or part of the region’s state aid.
The regional school committee may use all or part of the certified balance in E & D as a revenue source for its next proposed budget. This fund may also be used at the discretion of the school committee for extraordinary or unanticipated expenditures. Up to 5% of the current year’s budget can be attributed to the E & D account.
So what does all of this mean????
For starters the assessments to the towns of New Salem, Orange, Petersham, and Wendell were reduced by $489,945.00 in the 2011 – 2012 school year. This amount came directly from the Ralph C. Mahar E & D fund. If we were to regionalize, we would be able to store close to $1,000,000.00 in a larger, combined E & D account. As has been the case for many years at Mahar, these funds would be used to reduce the assessments for Orange and Petersham Elementary as well.
Second and even more important, this fund can be used in a time of crisis. The over expenditure of funds at Orange Elementary in fiscal year 2011 is a perfect example of this. If Orange were a regional school the deficit at the end of fiscal year 2011 would not have been an issue for the Town of Orange. The best way to handle this deficit would have been to pull funds from the Excess and Deficiency Account.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Questions About Regionalization: Superintendent's Response
“For those who have not been able to attend meetings on regionalization, would you address that issue in a separate post? It seems like you are a big proponent of regionalization. What are the next steps to regionalization? What are the benefits to regionalizing? There must also be some drawbacks--what are they? If we regionalize how soon could we see the benefits?”
- Amy Borezo
Thank you Amy!
Regionalization meetings have typically been lightly attended since I took over for Dr. Namin in 2009. The topics of the meetings are complex as they deal mostly with education and finance laws, and local and state governmental bodies. Typical conversations at these meetings are around school finance, school committee composition, costs associated with transition, and local politics. While these meetings are full of information and discussion, they can be rather drab for those not directly involved in the conversations.
When I came to Mahar in 2007, I could not say that I was a proponent of regionalization, and I cannot say that I was against it either. At that time I was the Director of Special Education and at first, only concerned myself with the issues that were right in front of me. I looked at the Orange Elementary, Petersham Center, and Swift River Schools as I would look at any neighboring district as I moved from being a classroom aid, to teacher, to administrator. I looked forward to meeting with Dr. Burnim, Dr. Conway, Mrs. Hunter, Mr. Haigh, Dr. Martin, and Mrs. Phillips as students were transitioning from the elementary systems to the secondary system.
Truth be told, we worked together quite a bit to ensure that Mahar’s incoming seventh graders would be greeted with educational programs tailored to their individual needs. In the Spring of 2008 I recall driving down to Butterfield Elementary School to meet with parents and students who would be leaving Orange Elementary in Grade 6 and coming to Mahar for grade 7. That was the first time that the effects of being in a split region dawned on me. I was driving just a few blocks to go see students in a separate school district, and our town had two school Superintendents just blocks away. We also had two special education administrators, two central offices, and well…two of everything quite frankly. I thought about adding Petersham and Swift River to the mix and actually having four of everything.
When I was a teacher at Niagara Falls High School in Niagara Falls, NY the student population of the school was more than 3,000. There were more than a dozen schools in the Niagara Falls City Schools, and they had only one superintendent, one special education administrator, and one central office. I thought about doing four grant applications instead of one, four weekly payrolls instead of one, having four packages for data management instead of one, for directors of facilities, four technology administrators, four cafeteria managers, and…four of everything – all for about 1,800 students. When I worked in Niagara Falls there were nearly 10,000 students in the district! So slowly, with much thought and research, I did become a serious proponent of the regionalization of our schools.
I learned that while some local leaders looked to regionalize Mahar, Orange, Petersham and Swift River in a single Pre-K – 12 region, other local leaders took an active stance against it. I attended meetings, read documents, and educated myself about both sides of this argument. I found all of the places in which regional efforts have fallen down in the past. And I learned how complicated this issue really, really is.
I originally believed that we just had to merge on paper. I thought that once a regional agreement was put together everyone would just vote and that would be that. I could see quite clearly how it would be better for education and better for finances, and I figured everyone else would see that too. Then reality set in…
First, if we were to regionalize several people would be out of jobs. All of the “fours” that I mentioned above would become “ones.” There would be only one school committee, so instead of eighteen school committee members there would be only eleven. Healthcare plans, teaching contracts, and non-teaching contracts would all have to be merged. Finally, in cases where our four separate districts do business with four separate companies, there would be only one company with whom we did business for each good or service we use. Sure, there is cost savings in each of these, but with the cost savings come individual winners and unfortunate losers.
We began regionalizing by consolidating. When I became the Superintendent, Dr. Conway became the Special Education Administrator for Petersham, Orange, and Mahar. With this we have and continue to respect the wishes of the Towns of Wendell and New Salem to remain an independent Pre-K -6 school district. In 2010 Wendell and New Salem funded education 43.1% higher than the minimum required Net School Spending amount. The Swift River School received $391,919.00 more than Net School Spending. They clearly have a great thing going there.
Consolidation at a Glance
Special Education Administration: Merged 2010 – One Special Education Administrator and Special Education Office for three school districts.
Central Office: Merged July 1, 2011 – One Superintendent and one Central Office for three school districts.
Maintenance: To be voted September 2011
Technology: To be voted September 2011
Cafeteria Services: To be voted September 2011
Health Care Plans: Orange, Petersham, and Mahar on same health care plan – MIIA (Blue Cross/Blue Shield)
Next Step: Information Sessions for Voters to understand the proposed regional agreement so that it can be presented to the townspeople for their vote in the Fall of 2011. First session to be held October 13, 2011 at Mahar at 7:00 PM.
There are a number of benefits to regionalizing that would take effect on July 1, 2012 with the affirmative vote of the Towns of New Salem, Orange, Petersham, and Wendell. I will separate these into two categories; financial and educational.
Financial Benefits
Regional Transportation Reimbursement: The Commonwealth of Massachusetts reimburses regional school districts for the transportation of its students. This year the rate of reimbursement was 57.59%. For every $100,000.00 a school district spent on transportation in 2011, $57,590.00 will be given to the regional school as a source of revenue in fical year 2012. In fiscal year 2012 the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School is projected to spend $572,560.00 on transportation and expects to receive $329,737.00 from the state for fiscal year 2013.. Orange Elementary is projected so spend approximately $300,000.00 on transportation in fiscal year 2012 and because it is not a regional district, reimbursement from the state will be $0.00. A regionalized Orange Elementary would receive an additional $172,770.00. These are funds that the district would receive every year.
Bonus Aid: The state has allocated bonus aid for regionalization to the tune of $50.00 per pupil. Orange, Petersham, and Mahar are projected to have around 1,800 students in the next academic year. So if regionalized we would receive a one-time payment of $90,000.00.
Cost Savings: There are cost savings in every consolidated position, merger of purchasing agreements, and increased dollars available in grants for a larger district. I will be presenting these amounts at the informational session on October 13, 2011 at 7:00 PM here at Mahar.
Educational Benefits
A strong elementary focus can now be held by the overseer of elementary education found in the Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education. Prior to the creation of this position, Dr. Burnim had to oversee all of the financial, facility, state reporting, and personnel decisions in the district, leaving little or no time for education.
Professional development can be shared among all three districts in the generation of common languages and themes for student learning.
A Pre-K through Grade 12 curriculum can be created that is the same for ALL learners.
Uniform preparation of students can be ensured – meaning that seventh grade at Mahar is the same for all students, no matter which town they come from.
From my perspective it is very difficult to see drawbacks. I can see the complexities of getting the regionalization approved, but drawbacks are hard to find. Right now I see school buildings in Orange that need to be repaired, technology that needs to be enhanced, professional development for teachers that needs to take place, teachers who we need to return to work, test scores that need to improve, and textbooks that need to be purchased.
In Petersham I see a school funding formula that is teetering. While the number of school choice students at Petersham Center is a badge of honor, these students are funded at a level that is significantly less than that of students who live in the town in which they are educated.
At Mahar I see seventh grade MCAS scores that have yet to be adequately addressed. To improve seventh grade scores, we must interact with the curriculum in grade 6. To improve 6th grade MCAS scores we must improve practices in grade 5, and so on.
To me Regionalization can be explained as an endeavor of transformation. If accepted it will bring about a change in our system and a changes in individuals who work therein. If we continue at our current pace, state takeover of our schools is a real possibility in the coming years. The state and federal government have set standards that we are not meeting. In not meeting these standards, our students are the people who will suffer. We can be better together, and regionalization is the road to this taking place.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
A Question About Inclusion
When I started writing this blog, I had hoped that it would bring about lively online dialogue about the issues that confront our students, teachers, families, and schools. In preparation I did some research on how school superintendents across the country have used blogs to communicate with members of their school communities. I found that many superintendents started out with the best intentions, yet wound up shutting their pages down. You see, the anonymity offered by the Internet attracted people to these well-intended sites who had other motives.
Many of these tech-savvy school administrators found themselves confronted by statements that were charged with hate, anger, threats, and other inappropriate material. Essentially, people could post whatever they wanted on these blog sites with no accountability. With this in mind I instituted a more comprehensive technological form of identity verification on this blog. Sadly, the steps that one must go through in order to post seem to have diminished the quantity of posts that I have received. Irrespective of this fact, I am happy to see that this site is on the verge of recording 12,000 hits.
Over the past couple of weeks I have had the opportunity to meet with many in the community who are concerned about our latest unfortunate turn of events. I have also responded to questions at public meetings, and am now experiencing an uptick in the number of questions that I am receiving via E-mail. I decided that with the permission of those who E-mail me, I will begin posting my answers to their questions online. I hope that this will be one more way for our districts to communicate accurate information with regard to our budget crisis and our efforts to regionalize the Orange, Ralph C. Mahar Regional, and Petersham Elementary schools.
Today’s question came via E-mail from Orange Elementary parent, Rachael Coolidge. Rachael’s inquiry pertained to the difference between an elementary inclusion class and those that were not labeled to be inclusion classes in our recent press release about class size in the Orange Elementary system. If you have not had the opportunity to read the release, it was posted on this very blog just one week ago. In Mrs. Coolidge’s E-mail she wondered why there were more inclusion classes in grade 4 at Dexter Park Elementary than in other grades. I thought that this was an excellent question and I could not wait to get to it this evening. So Rachael, please accept my thanks for taking the time to send me the message.
Before answering this question there is some educational jargon that must be understood by all readers:
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE): This term comes from federal legislation (IDEA) that deals with the education of students with disabilities. It refers to the location in which education is provided for students who are educated under this section of law. This law states that children with disabilities must be educated with non-disabled students to the maximum extent possible, and with respect to each individual’s disability.
Full Inclusion Classroom: In Massachusetts a Full Inclusion Classroom is one in which students with disabilities are educated in regular education classrooms with their same aged peers for 80% or more of the school day.
IEP: Individualized Education Plan – the legal binding document that describes the educational program of a student educated under IDEA (Special Education Legislation).
Back in 2001 it appears as though the Orange Elementary Schools had more than 175 full time instructional staff. Today it appears as though there are nearly 70 less full time teachers and classroom aides than there were ten years ago. Over the last thirty days I learned that in 2001 each classroom at Orange Elementary had both a regular education teacher and a special education teacher. So it is my understanding that in 2001, Orange Elementary had what I would call the “Gold Standard” in elementary education staffing. With the advent of school choice, the district has remained with very close to the same student population for all of these years – yet there is significantly less staff.
The 2001 model offered all students with disabilities education in the “Least Restrictive Environment.” Students with special needs were equally dispersed throughout the schools. In this system each child can be provided with his or her daily educational needs in any and all classrooms.
Each year from 2001 the number of employees in the Orange Elementary system was reduced. The reductions were not quite as dramatic as those that took place just a couple of weeks ago. These were quiet reductions. When employees retired, resigned, or were terminated they simply were not replaced. The fact that their positions were not filled did not draw the attention of our recent 22 layoffs. Eventually each classroom that was populated by two teachers each only had one teacher to provide the same quantity of instruction.
According to the law that I mentioned above (IDEA) students with disabilities are required to have services from special education licensed personnel. As staff was reduced students with disabilities were assigned to classrooms with the remaining special education teachers. In the current model, there are many classes in which the classroom teacher and the special education teacher are one in the same. What Rachael sees in the class size report is the serious efforts of the previous superintendent to remain in compliance with special education regulations as resources became less and less available to the school system.
My research has indicated that it has taken several years for this model to evolve. In its current form there must be special education teachers at every grade level. Also, in this model we are not likely to see students who have IEPs in classrooms of teachers who are not properly licensed to provision instruction to special education students.
This special education delivery system will not endure with me in the position of superintendent. I would change it immediately if I could, but funding is not available for professional development to institute a new, more effective model. Also, we are significantly lacking in an even more precious resource…..and that is time.
Many of these tech-savvy school administrators found themselves confronted by statements that were charged with hate, anger, threats, and other inappropriate material. Essentially, people could post whatever they wanted on these blog sites with no accountability. With this in mind I instituted a more comprehensive technological form of identity verification on this blog. Sadly, the steps that one must go through in order to post seem to have diminished the quantity of posts that I have received. Irrespective of this fact, I am happy to see that this site is on the verge of recording 12,000 hits.
Over the past couple of weeks I have had the opportunity to meet with many in the community who are concerned about our latest unfortunate turn of events. I have also responded to questions at public meetings, and am now experiencing an uptick in the number of questions that I am receiving via E-mail. I decided that with the permission of those who E-mail me, I will begin posting my answers to their questions online. I hope that this will be one more way for our districts to communicate accurate information with regard to our budget crisis and our efforts to regionalize the Orange, Ralph C. Mahar Regional, and Petersham Elementary schools.
Today’s question came via E-mail from Orange Elementary parent, Rachael Coolidge. Rachael’s inquiry pertained to the difference between an elementary inclusion class and those that were not labeled to be inclusion classes in our recent press release about class size in the Orange Elementary system. If you have not had the opportunity to read the release, it was posted on this very blog just one week ago. In Mrs. Coolidge’s E-mail she wondered why there were more inclusion classes in grade 4 at Dexter Park Elementary than in other grades. I thought that this was an excellent question and I could not wait to get to it this evening. So Rachael, please accept my thanks for taking the time to send me the message.
Before answering this question there is some educational jargon that must be understood by all readers:
Least Restrictive Environment (LRE): This term comes from federal legislation (IDEA) that deals with the education of students with disabilities. It refers to the location in which education is provided for students who are educated under this section of law. This law states that children with disabilities must be educated with non-disabled students to the maximum extent possible, and with respect to each individual’s disability.
Full Inclusion Classroom: In Massachusetts a Full Inclusion Classroom is one in which students with disabilities are educated in regular education classrooms with their same aged peers for 80% or more of the school day.
IEP: Individualized Education Plan – the legal binding document that describes the educational program of a student educated under IDEA (Special Education Legislation).
Back in 2001 it appears as though the Orange Elementary Schools had more than 175 full time instructional staff. Today it appears as though there are nearly 70 less full time teachers and classroom aides than there were ten years ago. Over the last thirty days I learned that in 2001 each classroom at Orange Elementary had both a regular education teacher and a special education teacher. So it is my understanding that in 2001, Orange Elementary had what I would call the “Gold Standard” in elementary education staffing. With the advent of school choice, the district has remained with very close to the same student population for all of these years – yet there is significantly less staff.
The 2001 model offered all students with disabilities education in the “Least Restrictive Environment.” Students with special needs were equally dispersed throughout the schools. In this system each child can be provided with his or her daily educational needs in any and all classrooms.
Each year from 2001 the number of employees in the Orange Elementary system was reduced. The reductions were not quite as dramatic as those that took place just a couple of weeks ago. These were quiet reductions. When employees retired, resigned, or were terminated they simply were not replaced. The fact that their positions were not filled did not draw the attention of our recent 22 layoffs. Eventually each classroom that was populated by two teachers each only had one teacher to provide the same quantity of instruction.
According to the law that I mentioned above (IDEA) students with disabilities are required to have services from special education licensed personnel. As staff was reduced students with disabilities were assigned to classrooms with the remaining special education teachers. In the current model, there are many classes in which the classroom teacher and the special education teacher are one in the same. What Rachael sees in the class size report is the serious efforts of the previous superintendent to remain in compliance with special education regulations as resources became less and less available to the school system.
My research has indicated that it has taken several years for this model to evolve. In its current form there must be special education teachers at every grade level. Also, in this model we are not likely to see students who have IEPs in classrooms of teachers who are not properly licensed to provision instruction to special education students.
This special education delivery system will not endure with me in the position of superintendent. I would change it immediately if I could, but funding is not available for professional development to institute a new, more effective model. Also, we are significantly lacking in an even more precious resource…..and that is time.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Orange Elementary Projected Class Size Report Released
Released to local media: August 9, 2011
A little more than one week after laying off 22 Orange Elementary School Employees, new Elementary Superintendent, Michael R. Baldassarre released the K – 6 Class Size Report. “I have been asked by many parents and staff what the effects of the layoffs would be on class size” said Baldassarre. One such forum in which the superintendent was questioned about class size was during the Orange Elementary Finance and Facilities meeting on August 2, 2011. This meeting, held at Mahar Regional was attended by more than thirty concerned parents and community members.
Mr. Baldassarre stated, “There is no doubt that the number of students in a single classroom directly impacts both the quality and quantity of educational attention that each student receives.” “This is precisely why music, art, and physical education were cut from the fiscal year 2012 budget. Our commitment has to be to keep classes as small as possible so that our children have the best and most opportunities to learn to read, write, and do arithmetic” he went on.
The reduction of staff at Orange Elementary is just one of many issues being faced by the district in the next academic year. Deficiencies in funding have also called upon the superintendent to question how facilities repairs could be funded. New on the Orange Elementary facilities radar is the leaking roof at the Dexter Park Elementary School. When Baldassarre and a reporter from Channel 22 News entered the facility for an interview on August 1, 2011 Baldassarre noted water pouring into Principal Softic’s office. Baldassarre, speaking at the previously mentioned finance and facilities meeting also stated that there were little or no funds in the fiscal year 2012 budget for textbooks, technology, curricular materials, or professional development.
More than 450 parents and concerned citizens have gathered on Facebook to express their concerns. Many Orange residents have become educated about the term, “Net School Spending.” This is the term used to illustrate the absolute legal minimum amount of funding that the Commonwealth expects to be dedicated to each school district in the state. Unfortunately, Orange Elementary has not been provided with the legal amount to fund education in fiscal year 2010, and it appears as though that mark will again not be met when the books are closed for 2011.
At the August 2, 2011 meeting, one parent asked of Baldassarre, “How are you going to fix all of this?” Baldassarre’s response was that the task of repairing and/or improving would be a difficult one. Without proper funding it is possible that scores on state tests plummet. If scores plummet in consecutive years, the district runs the risk of being taken over by the state. “We don’t want to see that happen” said Baldassarre. “This is a time to look at transformative system-wide reforms that will benefit our students” he said. Baldassarre was referring to the regional planning efforts. Over the past two years the school committees of Orange Elementary, Petersham, and Mahar have joined forces in unifying their special education administrations and central offices under a single superintendent.
Coming in the next few months the superintendent is expected to present the committees with unified technology departments, cafeteria services, and maintenance departments. Baldassarre said, “This can’t happen soon enough. We have to combine to create efficiencies and save funds wherever and whenever we can.” The districts stand to gain substantial funding through regionalization. Once an agreement is voted Mahar, Petersham, and Orange stand to gain more than $90,000.00 in regional bonus aid and more than $200,000.00 every year in state regional transportation reimbursement.
Baldassarre encourages any person with questions about regionalization efforts to contact him directly via e-mail (mbaldassarre@rcmahar.org) or phone (978-544-2920).
Fisher Hill Elementary Kindergarten Room A: 24 students
Fisher Hill Elementary Kindergarten Room B: 24 students
Fisher Hill Elementary Kindergarten Room C: 25 students
Fisher Hill Elementary Grade 1 Room A: 23 students
Fisher Hill Elementary Grade 1 Room B: 23 students
Fisher Hill Elementary Grade 1 Room C (Inclusion): 18 students
Fisher Hill Elementary Grade 1 Room D (Inclusion): 19 students
Fisher Hill Elementary Grade 2 Room A: 23 students
Fisher Hill Elementary Grade 2 Room B: 22 students
Fisher Hill Elementary Grade 2 Room C: 22 students
Fisher Hill Elementary Grade 2 (Inclusion) Room D: 17 students
Fisher Hill Elementary Grade 2 (Inclusion) Room E: 16 students
Dexter Park Elementary Grade 3 Room A: 25 students
Dexter Park Elementary Grade 3 Room B: 24 students
Dexter Park Elementary Grade 3 (Inclusion) Room C: 20 students
Dexter Park Elementary Grade 3 (Inclusion) Room D: 20 students
Dexter Park Elementary Grade 4 (Inclusion) Room A: 22 students
Dexter Park Elementary Grade 4 (Inclusion) Room B: 22 students
Dexter Park Elementary Grade 4 (Inclusion) Room C: 22 students
Dexter Park Elementary Grade 4 (Inclusion) Room D: 26 students
Butterfield Elementary Grade 5 Room A: 20 students
Butterfield Elementary Grade 5 Room B: 18 students
Butterfield Elementary Grade 5 (Inclusion) Room C: 14 students
Butterfield Elementary Grade 5 (Inclusion) Room D: 14 students
Butterfield Elementary Grade 5 Room E: 19 students
Butterfield Elementary Grade 5 Room F: 19 students
Butterfield Elementary Grade 6 Room A: 20 students
Butterfield Elementary Grade 6 Room B: 20 students
Butterfield Elementary Grade 6 Room C: 19 students
Butterfield Elementary Grade 6 Room D: 18 students
Butterfield Elementary Grade 6 (Inclusion) Room E: 16 students
Butterfield Elementary Grade 6 (Inclusion) Room F: 15 students
A little more than one week after laying off 22 Orange Elementary School Employees, new Elementary Superintendent, Michael R. Baldassarre released the K – 6 Class Size Report. “I have been asked by many parents and staff what the effects of the layoffs would be on class size” said Baldassarre. One such forum in which the superintendent was questioned about class size was during the Orange Elementary Finance and Facilities meeting on August 2, 2011. This meeting, held at Mahar Regional was attended by more than thirty concerned parents and community members.
Mr. Baldassarre stated, “There is no doubt that the number of students in a single classroom directly impacts both the quality and quantity of educational attention that each student receives.” “This is precisely why music, art, and physical education were cut from the fiscal year 2012 budget. Our commitment has to be to keep classes as small as possible so that our children have the best and most opportunities to learn to read, write, and do arithmetic” he went on.
The reduction of staff at Orange Elementary is just one of many issues being faced by the district in the next academic year. Deficiencies in funding have also called upon the superintendent to question how facilities repairs could be funded. New on the Orange Elementary facilities radar is the leaking roof at the Dexter Park Elementary School. When Baldassarre and a reporter from Channel 22 News entered the facility for an interview on August 1, 2011 Baldassarre noted water pouring into Principal Softic’s office. Baldassarre, speaking at the previously mentioned finance and facilities meeting also stated that there were little or no funds in the fiscal year 2012 budget for textbooks, technology, curricular materials, or professional development.
More than 450 parents and concerned citizens have gathered on Facebook to express their concerns. Many Orange residents have become educated about the term, “Net School Spending.” This is the term used to illustrate the absolute legal minimum amount of funding that the Commonwealth expects to be dedicated to each school district in the state. Unfortunately, Orange Elementary has not been provided with the legal amount to fund education in fiscal year 2010, and it appears as though that mark will again not be met when the books are closed for 2011.
At the August 2, 2011 meeting, one parent asked of Baldassarre, “How are you going to fix all of this?” Baldassarre’s response was that the task of repairing and/or improving would be a difficult one. Without proper funding it is possible that scores on state tests plummet. If scores plummet in consecutive years, the district runs the risk of being taken over by the state. “We don’t want to see that happen” said Baldassarre. “This is a time to look at transformative system-wide reforms that will benefit our students” he said. Baldassarre was referring to the regional planning efforts. Over the past two years the school committees of Orange Elementary, Petersham, and Mahar have joined forces in unifying their special education administrations and central offices under a single superintendent.
Coming in the next few months the superintendent is expected to present the committees with unified technology departments, cafeteria services, and maintenance departments. Baldassarre said, “This can’t happen soon enough. We have to combine to create efficiencies and save funds wherever and whenever we can.” The districts stand to gain substantial funding through regionalization. Once an agreement is voted Mahar, Petersham, and Orange stand to gain more than $90,000.00 in regional bonus aid and more than $200,000.00 every year in state regional transportation reimbursement.
Baldassarre encourages any person with questions about regionalization efforts to contact him directly via e-mail (mbaldassarre@rcmahar.org) or phone (978-544-2920).
Fisher Hill Elementary Kindergarten Room A: 24 students
Fisher Hill Elementary Kindergarten Room B: 24 students
Fisher Hill Elementary Kindergarten Room C: 25 students
Fisher Hill Elementary Grade 1 Room A: 23 students
Fisher Hill Elementary Grade 1 Room B: 23 students
Fisher Hill Elementary Grade 1 Room C (Inclusion): 18 students
Fisher Hill Elementary Grade 1 Room D (Inclusion): 19 students
Fisher Hill Elementary Grade 2 Room A: 23 students
Fisher Hill Elementary Grade 2 Room B: 22 students
Fisher Hill Elementary Grade 2 Room C: 22 students
Fisher Hill Elementary Grade 2 (Inclusion) Room D: 17 students
Fisher Hill Elementary Grade 2 (Inclusion) Room E: 16 students
Dexter Park Elementary Grade 3 Room A: 25 students
Dexter Park Elementary Grade 3 Room B: 24 students
Dexter Park Elementary Grade 3 (Inclusion) Room C: 20 students
Dexter Park Elementary Grade 3 (Inclusion) Room D: 20 students
Dexter Park Elementary Grade 4 (Inclusion) Room A: 22 students
Dexter Park Elementary Grade 4 (Inclusion) Room B: 22 students
Dexter Park Elementary Grade 4 (Inclusion) Room C: 22 students
Dexter Park Elementary Grade 4 (Inclusion) Room D: 26 students
Butterfield Elementary Grade 5 Room A: 20 students
Butterfield Elementary Grade 5 Room B: 18 students
Butterfield Elementary Grade 5 (Inclusion) Room C: 14 students
Butterfield Elementary Grade 5 (Inclusion) Room D: 14 students
Butterfield Elementary Grade 5 Room E: 19 students
Butterfield Elementary Grade 5 Room F: 19 students
Butterfield Elementary Grade 6 Room A: 20 students
Butterfield Elementary Grade 6 Room B: 20 students
Butterfield Elementary Grade 6 Room C: 19 students
Butterfield Elementary Grade 6 Room D: 18 students
Butterfield Elementary Grade 6 (Inclusion) Room E: 16 students
Butterfield Elementary Grade 6 (Inclusion) Room F: 15 students
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Facebook: 450 and Growing
Back in 2009 when I started this blog, I tried to hone in on the impact that technology has in and around the school system and our students. For the most part I had been thinking about cyber bullying and smart phone uses that well, weren’t all that smart. Recently the reality of the social networking era has taken its impact on our elementary system while those who have worked most intimately with our new problems have remained internet silent….until now.
I have read plenty of articles and scholarly research about the impact of social networks in both the academic environment and in the community. When used appropriately, social networks such as Facebook can be powerful sources of information. They can be places where people share ideas and educate one another about complex and often misunderstood things. These same social networks can also be powerful sources of negativity or even worse, assist in the proliferation of information that is lacking in credibility.
CBS Channel 3 and Channel 22 Springfield newscasters took interest in the fact that more than 450 people joined a Facebook page that focuses on the financial condition of the Orange Elementary Schools. With this, I could not help but to log on and read just about every post from every person since the page was created. I was happy to find people who quickly educated themselves about school funding regulations in our state and shared them with the many readers on the site. Sadly too, I noted some posts that were full of misinformation and unflattering remarks.
On August 2, 2011 I stood in the Eileen Perkins Media Center at the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School and took question after question from parents and community members until there were no more. The communication in which we engaged was much more authentic than the posts that have filled the aforementioned Facebook page. Questions asked were answered in real time, and without the benefit of asynchronous communication offered by sites such as Facebook - answers were given to moms and dads in a more immediate and genuine fashion.
While school district administrators will not be posting on Facebook anytime soon, you can find us here at Mahar in our new Combined Elementary and Secondary Central Office. Our school’s administrators have been and will continue to respond to your phone calls, your letters, your E-mails, and we are available to meet with you in person too. And, if you are reading this blog – don’t hesitate to post questions here.
The Regionalization of our school districts can be the most transformative educational movement that has taken place in our towns since the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School was built in the 1950’s. This effort can be the axis on which opportunities are built while resources are saved. I hope to be blogging more in the very near future about this topic, and your questions, concerns, or comments will provide me the opportunity to do just that. So please, post away!
I have read plenty of articles and scholarly research about the impact of social networks in both the academic environment and in the community. When used appropriately, social networks such as Facebook can be powerful sources of information. They can be places where people share ideas and educate one another about complex and often misunderstood things. These same social networks can also be powerful sources of negativity or even worse, assist in the proliferation of information that is lacking in credibility.
CBS Channel 3 and Channel 22 Springfield newscasters took interest in the fact that more than 450 people joined a Facebook page that focuses on the financial condition of the Orange Elementary Schools. With this, I could not help but to log on and read just about every post from every person since the page was created. I was happy to find people who quickly educated themselves about school funding regulations in our state and shared them with the many readers on the site. Sadly too, I noted some posts that were full of misinformation and unflattering remarks.
On August 2, 2011 I stood in the Eileen Perkins Media Center at the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School and took question after question from parents and community members until there were no more. The communication in which we engaged was much more authentic than the posts that have filled the aforementioned Facebook page. Questions asked were answered in real time, and without the benefit of asynchronous communication offered by sites such as Facebook - answers were given to moms and dads in a more immediate and genuine fashion.
While school district administrators will not be posting on Facebook anytime soon, you can find us here at Mahar in our new Combined Elementary and Secondary Central Office. Our school’s administrators have been and will continue to respond to your phone calls, your letters, your E-mails, and we are available to meet with you in person too. And, if you are reading this blog – don’t hesitate to post questions here.
The Regionalization of our school districts can be the most transformative educational movement that has taken place in our towns since the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School was built in the 1950’s. This effort can be the axis on which opportunities are built while resources are saved. I hope to be blogging more in the very near future about this topic, and your questions, concerns, or comments will provide me the opportunity to do just that. So please, post away!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Elementary Strategic Planning Committee Seeks Volunteers
Sent to All Local Media
July 6, 2011
The Orange Elementary School District and Petersham Center Elementary School have partnered to initiate the process of creating and implementing a joint Strategic Plan. To oversee this process, Orange Elementary School Committee Chair, Dr. Joanie Cohen-Mitchell and Petersham Center Elementary Principal, Mrs. Rebecca Phillips have been named as co-chairs of a soon-to-be-formed Strategic Planning Steering Committee. With the assistance of Dr. George Ladd of the Lynch School of Education at Boston College, the steering committee will lead and coordinate efforts to involve all community-stakeholder groups in the process. If you are a representative of one of the stakeholder groups identified below or would like to recommend a representative to take part in this process, please send a letter of interest or recommendation by Friday, July 15, 2011 to the attention of the co-chairs P.O. Box 680, Orange, MA 01364 or apply via E-mail to mbaldassarre@rcmahar.org.
Group 1: Peterhsam/Orange Parents, School Councils, Booster Organizations
Group 2: Organizations in Partnership with Orange Elementary and Petersham Center
Elementary Schools
Group 3: Local Businesses, Young Entrepreneurs’ Society, Chamber of Commerce (All
member towns)
Group 4: Elected officials, Fire and Police Departments (All member towns)
Group 5: Senior Citizens, Library Trustees, Churches, and other clubs and organizations.
Group 6: Orange Elementary/Petersham Center Staff; School Committee Members
July 6, 2011
The Orange Elementary School District and Petersham Center Elementary School have partnered to initiate the process of creating and implementing a joint Strategic Plan. To oversee this process, Orange Elementary School Committee Chair, Dr. Joanie Cohen-Mitchell and Petersham Center Elementary Principal, Mrs. Rebecca Phillips have been named as co-chairs of a soon-to-be-formed Strategic Planning Steering Committee. With the assistance of Dr. George Ladd of the Lynch School of Education at Boston College, the steering committee will lead and coordinate efforts to involve all community-stakeholder groups in the process. If you are a representative of one of the stakeholder groups identified below or would like to recommend a representative to take part in this process, please send a letter of interest or recommendation by Friday, July 15, 2011 to the attention of the co-chairs P.O. Box 680, Orange, MA 01364 or apply via E-mail to mbaldassarre@rcmahar.org.
Group 1: Peterhsam/Orange Parents, School Councils, Booster Organizations
Group 2: Organizations in Partnership with Orange Elementary and Petersham Center
Elementary Schools
Group 3: Local Businesses, Young Entrepreneurs’ Society, Chamber of Commerce (All
member towns)
Group 4: Elected officials, Fire and Police Departments (All member towns)
Group 5: Senior Citizens, Library Trustees, Churches, and other clubs and organizations.
Group 6: Orange Elementary/Petersham Center Staff; School Committee Members
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Sentinel and Enterprise - June 11, 2011
Pathways Program Helps Students Blaze Their Own Trails
by Marissa Donelan
mdonelan@sentinelandenterprise.com
published June 11, 2011
Members of the class of 2012 at the Pathways Early College Innovation School arrived from all backgrounds -- home-school programs, urban high schools and and private schools.
But when they graduate from the program, a trailblazing partnership between the Ralph C. Mahar school district and Mount Wachusett Community College, the 20 teens will already have their associate degrees, and they'll have at least one special designation in common: They'll be the first-ever round of alumni from the state's new Innovation Schools program.
On Thursday, Gov. Deval Patrick stopped by the campus to hear their stories, smiling when he heard students describe the class as a family. Patrick and state legislators last year passed an education-overhaul bill that made Innovation Schools possible.
Under the Innovation School program, any group of stakeholders in a community -- teachers, community groups, businesses or colleges, for example -- can partner with a local school district to tailor a plan designed to meet students' needs, whether through a theme, such as dual-language programs, or a different structure, like extended-day programs or longer calendars. Qualified proposals receive planning grants, and can move forward seeking local and state approval.
Pathways Principal Garo Papazian said the first class of students -- who used School Choice from 11 school districts -- are advanced learners who were ready for the challenge of college-level classes, mature enough to navigate more independent learning.
"When you know students, you see where they're going to go, you see what they can do," Papazian told Patrick. "With these kids, you see something in their eye and know they need more. One-size-fits-all education doesn't work for everybody."
Patrick agreed, saying: "That's the whole point of ... the bill, to meet kids where they are."
Twenty new students will enter the program in the fall, MWCC officials said. There are challenges -- students move from their comfort zone to a new program in their junior year, and they're responsible for their own transportation to school.
Mahar District Superintendent Michael Baldassarre said the idea for the program was developed even before legislation was passed to create Innovation Schools. The goal was to form an academically challenging program for motivated students who weren't thriving in a "four years, four walls" high school.
Ashley Williams, 17, of Leominster, said she looks forward to coming to school every day with students who choose to be there. There are no distractions from reluctant or disruptive classmates, and professors have high expectations, Williams said.
Pathways is only the second Innovation School in Massachusetts, and the first high school-level program, said Bridget Rodriguez, director of planning and collaboration for the Executive Office of Education. Nearly 30 Innovation Schools have since received approval for development across Massachusetts.
Fitchburg High School Principal Richard Masciarelli visited the school along with several state and MWCC officials, Gardner Mayor Mark Hawke and state Rep. Rich Bastien.
Masciarelli said he's encouraged by Pathways, and other partnership programs and alternatives, as signs students will continue to have increasing, worthwhile options for their education.
Patrick said he's excited about the success of the Pathways program and was impressed with the students' motivation in seeking a school program that would best suit them. The idea behind autonomous Innovation Schools is to create niche programs to help students excel.
He listened as Lynea German, 17, of Townsend, spoke about moving from home-schooling to a public charter school to a religious school before she found Pathways, which has had "a profoundly positive effect" on her life.
"What were you searching for?" Patrick asked German about her jump from school to school.
She looked at her classmates, then the governor, and responded: "This."
by Marissa Donelan
mdonelan@sentinelandenterprise.com
published June 11, 2011
Members of the class of 2012 at the Pathways Early College Innovation School arrived from all backgrounds -- home-school programs, urban high schools and and private schools.
But when they graduate from the program, a trailblazing partnership between the Ralph C. Mahar school district and Mount Wachusett Community College, the 20 teens will already have their associate degrees, and they'll have at least one special designation in common: They'll be the first-ever round of alumni from the state's new Innovation Schools program.
On Thursday, Gov. Deval Patrick stopped by the campus to hear their stories, smiling when he heard students describe the class as a family. Patrick and state legislators last year passed an education-overhaul bill that made Innovation Schools possible.
Under the Innovation School program, any group of stakeholders in a community -- teachers, community groups, businesses or colleges, for example -- can partner with a local school district to tailor a plan designed to meet students' needs, whether through a theme, such as dual-language programs, or a different structure, like extended-day programs or longer calendars. Qualified proposals receive planning grants, and can move forward seeking local and state approval.
Pathways Principal Garo Papazian said the first class of students -- who used School Choice from 11 school districts -- are advanced learners who were ready for the challenge of college-level classes, mature enough to navigate more independent learning.
"When you know students, you see where they're going to go, you see what they can do," Papazian told Patrick. "With these kids, you see something in their eye and know they need more. One-size-fits-all education doesn't work for everybody."
Patrick agreed, saying: "That's the whole point of ... the bill, to meet kids where they are."
Twenty new students will enter the program in the fall, MWCC officials said. There are challenges -- students move from their comfort zone to a new program in their junior year, and they're responsible for their own transportation to school.
Mahar District Superintendent Michael Baldassarre said the idea for the program was developed even before legislation was passed to create Innovation Schools. The goal was to form an academically challenging program for motivated students who weren't thriving in a "four years, four walls" high school.
Ashley Williams, 17, of Leominster, said she looks forward to coming to school every day with students who choose to be there. There are no distractions from reluctant or disruptive classmates, and professors have high expectations, Williams said.
Pathways is only the second Innovation School in Massachusetts, and the first high school-level program, said Bridget Rodriguez, director of planning and collaboration for the Executive Office of Education. Nearly 30 Innovation Schools have since received approval for development across Massachusetts.
Fitchburg High School Principal Richard Masciarelli visited the school along with several state and MWCC officials, Gardner Mayor Mark Hawke and state Rep. Rich Bastien.
Masciarelli said he's encouraged by Pathways, and other partnership programs and alternatives, as signs students will continue to have increasing, worthwhile options for their education.
Patrick said he's excited about the success of the Pathways program and was impressed with the students' motivation in seeking a school program that would best suit them. The idea behind autonomous Innovation Schools is to create niche programs to help students excel.
He listened as Lynea German, 17, of Townsend, spoke about moving from home-schooling to a public charter school to a religious school before she found Pathways, which has had "a profoundly positive effect" on her life.
"What were you searching for?" Patrick asked German about her jump from school to school.
She looked at her classmates, then the governor, and responded: "This."
Friday, June 10, 2011
Patrick Gets Up Close View of Local Innovation in Education
By Andres Caamano - Senior News Editor/NIE Director
The Gardner News
Published On Friday, June 10, 2011
Pictured:
Mount Wachusett Community College (MWCC) Vice President, Patricia Gregson (Left); Massachusetts Governor, Deval Patrick; Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District Superintendent, Michael Baldassarre; MWCC Board of Trustees Chair, James Garrison (Right)
In a visit that was in the works for about a month, Gov. Deval Patrick spent time Thursday morning with area school officials and Mount Wachusett Community College administrators to discuss, among other things, the Pathways Early College Innovation School.
While the likes of Gardner Mayor Mark Hawke were among numerous officials on hand for a roundtable discussion that led off the governor’s visit — surrounded by a wide representation of public school officials from surrounding districts — the notable absence of any Gardner Public Schools administration was glaring.
It wasn’t long ago that Pathways’ predecessor, Gateway to College, incorporated a partnership between the Gardner schools and MWCC, from 2006 to 2009. That program was created as an alternative to students thinking of dropping out, and having fallen behind on credits, it offered a second chance to earn a high school diploma. But while Gateway might have left the Gardner public schools, it thankfully did not leave the region, moving 20 miles west to the Mahar Regional School District in Orange.
Even though Gateway to College is no longer represented in Gardner’s public schools (or isn’t involved in Pathways), this space was encouraged to hear Hawke acknowledge the benefit of having at least the college involved in both.
“The people in this room have touched so many lives, and I consider it incredibly fortunate to have Mount Wachusett Community College and these programs here in Gardner,” noted Hawke to the governor.
And from Gateway’s birth came Pathways last year, with the new program meant to provide motivated high school juniors a chance to earn a high school diploma while also earning college credits.
On paper, it sounds like a great idea, but unfortunately, so many public schools seem trapped into a focus that they are solely a K-12 operation, and fail to understand the need to collaborate with schools at the higher education level.
Pathways became possible with a unanimous vote last June by the Mahar Regional School Committee, as the state’s second “Innovation School” came into being.
While Mahar Superintendent Michael Baldassarre admitted to Gov. Patrick that some of the initial steps to create it were “actually very easy to do,” particularly with the help of MWCC, he added, “This is what the power of a partnership is, because we give (MWCC) what they need.”
Once implemented, upon hearing the oft-repeated reactions to the program from its students, Baldassarre wasn’t taken aback.
“With me, it resonated, as I was a teacher, then an assistant principal and a principal. I know what it’s like for a lot of the students,” he said. “You have students in any high school that go above and beyond every day, but do so quietly, humbly, and they don’t ask for anything. They just want to transcend the barriers and become something.”
Unfortunately, for these students, despite these aspirations, the Mahar superintendent acknowledged the numerous hurdles they must deal with at their age.
“Teenage life is sometimes very difficult. Teenagers — as much as we want them to be responsible, young adults — are developing socially and emotionally,” he said. “Sometimes that plays out in concerning ways. So for that student who doesn’t want to be a part of that, there’s a place.”
And for the 14 Pathways students on hand Thursday at MWCC, they each spoke highly to the governor about how the program has proven to be the right “place” for them. It was often framed in the context of how they’d become frustrated in high school, with issues ranging from having to deal with “the politics” at a school to the lack of course choices.
After discussing the program with area school officials, though, Gov. Patrick noted, “There are actually other models like this, which is one of the reasons I’m here. No. 1, though, is that we want to encourage innovation in education, because the more we try these things and meet kids where they are, the more motivated they are, the better the result.”
Among things the governor also took quick note of was the strength in the partnership between Mahar and the college.
“They have a great advantage here, and an extraordinary partnership with Mount Wachusett Community College,” said Gov. Patrick, who added that the program was also achieving the administration’s goal of closing achievement gaps, while promoting innovation and excellence.
While the governor might have deemed that there are “other models like this,” Baldassarre took a different view, stating, “This is the only one of its kind right now. There isn’t anything else that allows you to get the associate’s degree and high school diploma at the same time. It’s very unique.”
With what has been accomplished thus far, the Mahar superintendent went further, deeming it ready to be spread across the country. And proof of an interest to do just that, have been discussions with educators from as far away as Kansas, to want to learn more about Pathways.
“This program is certainly attracting attention, and for one program of 25 kids, people see that it can be replicated,” said Baldassarre. “We’ve established that it is successful, and we’d like to see it replicated to offer more opportunities for more students.”
At the current pace, approximately 20 students each semester are enrolling in Pathways. That was the size of the first class, spread across 11 different school districts, and Baldassarre voiced a hope it could annually graduate between 15 to 20 students annually.
Considering what the Pathways students had to say about the program, such a goal doesn’t seem outlandish.
“We all want to be here, and you are not forced to be here, as you are in high school,” noted Ashley Williams, formerly a Leominster High student. “Then there is the environment and the freedom. Here you have a choice and you want to stay.”
Or as noted by Lynea German of Townsend — who had attended a number of area schools, along with being homeschooled, having last attended Francis W. Parker Charter School in Devens — “School was dragging and dragging. I had been at every type of school and this is allowing me to realize my dreams.”
When Gov. Patrick asked German what she had been searching for, she quickly replied, “This program kicked me into gear.”
Even with options like Gateway or Pathways, Baldassarre emphasized Mahar hasn’t stopped there. Another alternative, he noted at Mahar is the “First Year Experience” program, where students are taught college-level courses by Mahar teachers at the school, with the credited authorized by MWCC.
“We’re acclimating students to the college experience as quickly as possible,” he said. “It started with seven or eight students, and now we have 44 students registered this year. So the partnership isn’t only alive and well on (MWCC’s) campus, but also in the school district environment.”
It simply comes down, he said, to offering students a multitude of choices to expand their education.
“So we have students earning college credits everywhere. They are earning them (at MWCC), they are earning them online, they are earning them (at Mahar) in our classrooms. And they are earning them for free. That’s a big thing. If a student leaves Mahar with 12 or 15 or 18 college credits, we’ve saved that family thousands of dollars, and the student has already developed a college transcript.”
(Andres Caamano is the Senior News Editor/NIE Director at The Gardner News. He can be reached at acaamano@thegardnernews.com.)
The Gardner News
Published On Friday, June 10, 2011
Pictured:
Mount Wachusett Community College (MWCC) Vice President, Patricia Gregson (Left); Massachusetts Governor, Deval Patrick; Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District Superintendent, Michael Baldassarre; MWCC Board of Trustees Chair, James Garrison (Right)
In a visit that was in the works for about a month, Gov. Deval Patrick spent time Thursday morning with area school officials and Mount Wachusett Community College administrators to discuss, among other things, the Pathways Early College Innovation School.
While the likes of Gardner Mayor Mark Hawke were among numerous officials on hand for a roundtable discussion that led off the governor’s visit — surrounded by a wide representation of public school officials from surrounding districts — the notable absence of any Gardner Public Schools administration was glaring.
It wasn’t long ago that Pathways’ predecessor, Gateway to College, incorporated a partnership between the Gardner schools and MWCC, from 2006 to 2009. That program was created as an alternative to students thinking of dropping out, and having fallen behind on credits, it offered a second chance to earn a high school diploma. But while Gateway might have left the Gardner public schools, it thankfully did not leave the region, moving 20 miles west to the Mahar Regional School District in Orange.
Even though Gateway to College is no longer represented in Gardner’s public schools (or isn’t involved in Pathways), this space was encouraged to hear Hawke acknowledge the benefit of having at least the college involved in both.
“The people in this room have touched so many lives, and I consider it incredibly fortunate to have Mount Wachusett Community College and these programs here in Gardner,” noted Hawke to the governor.
And from Gateway’s birth came Pathways last year, with the new program meant to provide motivated high school juniors a chance to earn a high school diploma while also earning college credits.
On paper, it sounds like a great idea, but unfortunately, so many public schools seem trapped into a focus that they are solely a K-12 operation, and fail to understand the need to collaborate with schools at the higher education level.
Pathways became possible with a unanimous vote last June by the Mahar Regional School Committee, as the state’s second “Innovation School” came into being.
While Mahar Superintendent Michael Baldassarre admitted to Gov. Patrick that some of the initial steps to create it were “actually very easy to do,” particularly with the help of MWCC, he added, “This is what the power of a partnership is, because we give (MWCC) what they need.”
Once implemented, upon hearing the oft-repeated reactions to the program from its students, Baldassarre wasn’t taken aback.
“With me, it resonated, as I was a teacher, then an assistant principal and a principal. I know what it’s like for a lot of the students,” he said. “You have students in any high school that go above and beyond every day, but do so quietly, humbly, and they don’t ask for anything. They just want to transcend the barriers and become something.”
Unfortunately, for these students, despite these aspirations, the Mahar superintendent acknowledged the numerous hurdles they must deal with at their age.
“Teenage life is sometimes very difficult. Teenagers — as much as we want them to be responsible, young adults — are developing socially and emotionally,” he said. “Sometimes that plays out in concerning ways. So for that student who doesn’t want to be a part of that, there’s a place.”
And for the 14 Pathways students on hand Thursday at MWCC, they each spoke highly to the governor about how the program has proven to be the right “place” for them. It was often framed in the context of how they’d become frustrated in high school, with issues ranging from having to deal with “the politics” at a school to the lack of course choices.
After discussing the program with area school officials, though, Gov. Patrick noted, “There are actually other models like this, which is one of the reasons I’m here. No. 1, though, is that we want to encourage innovation in education, because the more we try these things and meet kids where they are, the more motivated they are, the better the result.”
Among things the governor also took quick note of was the strength in the partnership between Mahar and the college.
“They have a great advantage here, and an extraordinary partnership with Mount Wachusett Community College,” said Gov. Patrick, who added that the program was also achieving the administration’s goal of closing achievement gaps, while promoting innovation and excellence.
While the governor might have deemed that there are “other models like this,” Baldassarre took a different view, stating, “This is the only one of its kind right now. There isn’t anything else that allows you to get the associate’s degree and high school diploma at the same time. It’s very unique.”
With what has been accomplished thus far, the Mahar superintendent went further, deeming it ready to be spread across the country. And proof of an interest to do just that, have been discussions with educators from as far away as Kansas, to want to learn more about Pathways.
“This program is certainly attracting attention, and for one program of 25 kids, people see that it can be replicated,” said Baldassarre. “We’ve established that it is successful, and we’d like to see it replicated to offer more opportunities for more students.”
At the current pace, approximately 20 students each semester are enrolling in Pathways. That was the size of the first class, spread across 11 different school districts, and Baldassarre voiced a hope it could annually graduate between 15 to 20 students annually.
Considering what the Pathways students had to say about the program, such a goal doesn’t seem outlandish.
“We all want to be here, and you are not forced to be here, as you are in high school,” noted Ashley Williams, formerly a Leominster High student. “Then there is the environment and the freedom. Here you have a choice and you want to stay.”
Or as noted by Lynea German of Townsend — who had attended a number of area schools, along with being homeschooled, having last attended Francis W. Parker Charter School in Devens — “School was dragging and dragging. I had been at every type of school and this is allowing me to realize my dreams.”
When Gov. Patrick asked German what she had been searching for, she quickly replied, “This program kicked me into gear.”
Even with options like Gateway or Pathways, Baldassarre emphasized Mahar hasn’t stopped there. Another alternative, he noted at Mahar is the “First Year Experience” program, where students are taught college-level courses by Mahar teachers at the school, with the credited authorized by MWCC.
“We’re acclimating students to the college experience as quickly as possible,” he said. “It started with seven or eight students, and now we have 44 students registered this year. So the partnership isn’t only alive and well on (MWCC’s) campus, but also in the school district environment.”
It simply comes down, he said, to offering students a multitude of choices to expand their education.
“So we have students earning college credits everywhere. They are earning them (at MWCC), they are earning them online, they are earning them (at Mahar) in our classrooms. And they are earning them for free. That’s a big thing. If a student leaves Mahar with 12 or 15 or 18 college credits, we’ve saved that family thousands of dollars, and the student has already developed a college transcript.”
(Andres Caamano is the Senior News Editor/NIE Director at The Gardner News. He can be reached at acaamano@thegardnernews.com.)
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Press Release from Governor Patrick's Office - June 9, 2011
Massachusetts Governor, Deval Patrick (head of table) meeting with School and Community College Administrators
Governor Patrick Visits Pathways Innovation School
Thursday, June 9, 2011 – As part of the Patrick-Murray Administration's strategy to close achievement gaps by promoting innovation and excellence in education, Governor Deval Patrick today visited the faculty and staff of the Pathways Early College Innovation School - the state’s second Innovation School - to hear from students and staff on the success of their first year in operation.
“The Pathways Early College Innovation School is using the Innovation School model to provide a dynamic education to their first class of students,” said Governor Patrick. “The students and staff here are trailblazers and I am excited for their strong start and for their future as a school.”
The Pathways Early College Innovation School is operated through a unique partnership between the Ralph C. Mahar Regional School District and Mount Wachusett Community College (MWCC). The primary purpose of the school is to provide motivated 11th grade students, some of whom have faced educational and other challenges, with an alternate pathway to higher education. The school was established by the unanimous vote of the Mahar Regional School Committee in June 2010, and it became the state’s second Innovation School. During his visit today, Governor Patrick met with students and staff to learn about their first year and about how the flexibility and autonomy of operating an Innovation School helped ensure success for the students.
“The powerful stories of achievement of the students at the Pathways Early College Innovation School are inspiring,” said Education Secretary Paul Reville. “This is a powerful model for collaboration between school districts and community colleges, and I am very proud of the accomplishments of the students, the Mahar Regional School District, and MWCC.”
The school is located on the MWCC campus and currently serves students from Athol, Barre, Baldwinville, Bolton, Fitchburg, Gardner, Leominster, Lunenburg, Orange, Shirley, Sterling, Townsend and Winchendon. The students are enrolled in MWCC courses and receive credit toward both their high school diplomas and certificate or degrees. In addition, they receive individualized academic and career support, participate in internships and other employment opportunities, and have access to all MWCC facilities and services.
“The Pathways Innovation School wouldn’t be possible without our many talented teachers and educators and our strong partnership with Mount Wachusett Community College,” said Mahar Superintendent Michael Baldassarre. “The Pathways Early College Innovation School is accomplishing its mission of helping all students access an education that prepares them for a long and successful future. We believe that the opportunities provided by the school can inspire and inform the rest of the school districts in the Commonwealth.”
“What is amazing about the Pathways Innovation School and MWCC’s Access programs is that the work is going on at a relatively small community college in a relatively rural area by a highly motivated group of professionals” said MWCC President Daniel Asquino. “This is a testament to the vision and inspiration led by Governor Patrick and Secretary Reville born out of the Readiness Project of which I was privileged to sit as a member of the team. This educational opportunity is priceless and the success of the program serves as a model to be used beyond Mount Wachusett Community College.”
The Innovation Schools initiative, a signature component of the Patrick-Murray Administration's Education Reform Act signed in 2010, gives educators the opportunity to create in-district schools that operate with greater autonomy and flexibility while keeping school funding within districts. These schools can implement creative and inventive strategies related to curriculum, budget, school schedule and calendar, staffing, professional development, and school district policies to improve learning outcomes for all students and reduce achievement gaps.
The Dennis-Yarmouth School Committee recently approved the proposal for the Marguerite E. Small Innovation School which is set to open in September. The vote brings the statewide total of Innovation Schools to nine, with several more in the pipeline.
The Executive Office of Education and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education have secured Race to the Top funding as well as grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Boston Foundation and the Nellie Mae Education Foundation to award planning and implementation grants and provide site-based technical assistance to applicants. Twenty-four planning grants were awarded in March and additional grants will be awarded at the end of the calendar year. The deadline for the first round of implementation grants is June 30, 2011.
Guidance documents and additional information about funding sources are available at the Innovation Schools website: www.mass.gov/edu/innovationschools
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
