District/School Administration Administration
The Massachusetts Board of Education

Board in Brief
Tuesday, May 20, 2008

This is "Board in Brief," issued at the request of Commissioner Mitchell D. Chester to bring you up to date on Board of Elementary and Secondary Education matters. This is a report on the regular meeting held on Tuesday, May 20, 2008 at Oxford High School.

Comments from the Chairman

Chairman Paul Reville said the Board was delighted to be in Oxford in recognition of Board member Zachary Tsetsos, the Chair of the Student Advisory Council, who is a senior at Oxford High School. The chairman said the Board traditionally holds its May meeting at the student representative's high school. Chairman Reville said the Board has been reminded on numerous occasions over the past year of the importance of having a student voice on the Board, especially in selecting the new commissioner of elementary and secondary education. The chairman read and presented a citation to Mr. Tsetsos. Mr. Tsetsos thanked his fellow Board members and said the past year has been an amazing and valuable experience that has taught him about state education policy and how to represent his constituents.

Chairman Reville recognized the extraordinary service that Deputy Commissioner Jeffrey Nellhaus gave to the Board in his nine months as Acting Commissioner. The chairman said the Board was delighted that the deputy commissioner would remain at the Department, as he is one of its great assets. The chairman presented Deputy Commissioner Nellhaus with a Board citation, a Governor's citation, and a pair of Red Sox tickets as a gift from the Board. The deputy commissioner said he appreciated the recognition, and he thanked the Board and Department staff for their support. Deputy Commissioner Nellhaus distributed a handout summarizing the Department's major accomplishments over the past year.

The chairman described the ceremony that took place at the Joseph J. Hurley School in Boston on May 19th, where Governor Patrick swore in Mitchell D. Chester as the Commonwealth's 23rd Commissioner of Education. The chairman said Commissioner Chester gave an excellent speech, and that everything that has happened since his selection has confirmed the wisdom of the Board's choice. Commissioner Chester thanked the Board for its confidence in him, and thanked Deputy Commissioner Nellhaus for his generous support during the transition period. Commissioner Chester said the ceremony at the Hurley School was wonderful for him and his family.

Chairman Reville said he was honored to deliver the commencement address at Bridgewater State College this past weekend. The chairman noted that U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings visited Boston on May 6th. The chairman said that he and Board member Christopher Anderson attended and learned a lot from a Commonwealth Pilot Schools conference at Holy Cross. The chairman asked Board member Dana Mohler-Faria to update the Board on the Governor's Readiness Project. Dr. Mohler-Faria said that staff is working to complete the project over the next few weeks, and announced that Board members were invited to a special event at Framingham State College on June 2nd.

Chairman Reville updated the Board on the 21st Century Skills Task Force and said that members would be announced later today. The chairman said this endeavor is intended to complement the state's already high standards. Board member Gerald Chertavian, who will chair the task force, said the group will meet six or seven times between now and the end of October, and will produce a white paper to present to the Board at its November 2008 regular meeting. Board member Ruth Kaplan noted that she recently attended a presentation of high school senior projects at the Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School in Devens, a program that she said might be relevant to the task force's work.

Comments from the Commissioner

Commissioner Chester deferred to Deputy Commissioner Nellhaus, who reported on the progress of the FY09 budget, currently in the Senate.

Update on Randolph Public Schools

Deputy Commissioner Nellhaus said the Board voted to designate the Randolph Public Schools as an underperforming district at its November 2007 regular meeting. At its February 2008 meeting, the Board voted to accept the Acting Commissioner's recommended actions and benchmarks and to defer action on the question of chronic underperformance and state receivership for 120 days. The Acting Commissioner appointed a District Support Team after the February 2008 Board meeting to work with local school, municipal, and community leaders to define actions to be taken over the next 24 months and to assist in a community-wide, consensus-building effort.

Associate Commissioner Lynda Foisy gave a brief report on Randolph's efforts to develop its Turnaround Plan, which will be submitted to the Department by May 31, 2008. Randolph officials will present the plan to the Board at its June 24, 2008 regular meeting. Ms. Foisy said it appears the community has made good progress to date, and she noted that the school committee and selectmen unanimously approved the Turnaround Plan the previous evening. Ms. Foisy said the successful override vote in Randolph in April helped to bring people together.

Deputy Commissioner Nellhaus said he would forward the Turnaround Plan to Board members for review early in June, after the plan is submitted to the Department.

Districts' Plans for Commonwealth Priority Schools

Chairman Reville said the Board received a report from the State Review Panels containing their recommendations on the adequacy and viability of the plans submitted by the nine Commissioner's Districts that have Commonwealth Priority Schools. The nine districts are Boston, Brockton, Fall River, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell, New Bedford, Springfield, and Worcester. The chairman said the detailed review of the plans has been done by the State Review Panels working with the Department. The Board's role is to oversee the process, which reflects the criteria that the Board established, and to discuss the findings and recommendations presented by the State Review Panels.

Commissioner Chester said the process has been consistent with the regulations that the Board adopted in 2006. The commissioner said the Board should judge the plans in light of the process and standards that have been in place. Commissioner Chester said that moving forward, we would build on strengths and address areas where we can improve.

Deputy Commissioner Nellhaus said that schools that fail to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in the aggregate for four or more years are identified as Commonwealth Priority Schools. He said there are currently 114 such schools, including 65 schools newly identified by the 2007 AYP determinations. The deputy commissioner said that of the 65 schools, plans for the 53 newly identified Commonwealth Priority Schools located in the nine Commissioner's Districts are before the Board today.

Associate Commissioner Juliane Dow said that between 2000 and 2006, the Department allocated most resources toward conducting on-site panel reviews of schools to determine which needed help. Associate Commissioner Dow said that by 2006, it became clear that using the AYP determinations would be more efficient, and would allow a shift in resources to intervention and assistance to schools, rather than on the identification of schools. Beginning in 2006, the designation of Commonwealth Priority School status became automatic, and changes to the regulations directed districts to address the key conditions in a strategic plan that is presented to the State Review Panels.

Associate Commissioner Foisy said that all nine Commissioner's Districts are part of the Urban Superintendents Network, and each district has participated in National Institute for School Leaders (NISL) training. Ms. Foisy said that each of these districts has developed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department to identify their priority initiatives. The Department has worked with the districts on expectations for the strategic plans that were sent to the State Review Panels. Each district's plan sets the three to four highest priority issues and provides the school's perspective. Ms. Foisy described the panel process to review the plans.

Commissioner Chester commended Department staff for designing a process that is true to the standards established by the Board. Commissioner Chester said the alignment of federal and state criteria is a key touchstone, and that he wants to look beyond aggregate results to include student results by subgroups. The commissioner said the challenge that every state is facing is to build a system to support schools that are struggling, and he noted that districts are a key part of the solution. Commissioner Chester said the plans submitted by districts must be more than compliance mechanisms, they must also be action mechanisms that will lead to positive change.

Chairman Reville engaged Board members in a discussion about the State Review Panel process and the districts' plans. Commissioner Chester thanked staff for its excellent work, and pledged to bring to the Board ideas for strengthening the system in the next several months. At its June meeting, the Board will accept, reject, or direct changes to each of the districts' Plans for School Intervention that were presented today.

Grants

The Board approved state grants totaling $2,339,130 under two state funded programs: Transportation Routing Software and Staff Development Regional Support Centers for Adult Basic Education (ABE). The ABE grants are contingent upon approval of the FY09 state budget.

Next Meeting

The next regular meeting of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will be held on Tuesday, June 24, 2008.