Thread by @TracyNovick

Livestream of today's Joint Committee on Education Informational Oversight Hearing is here: malegislature.gov/Events/Hearing…
#MAEdu #mapoli
Livetweeting as warranted

...which oddly doesn't appear to have a visual?
#MAedu

ok we have it now

Senator Lewis acknowledge "the extraordinary effort" of (long list here) those involved in K-12 education
aware that decision making "has been contentious" in many communities

"must do everything possible to support the academic and social emotional" needs of students
danger of exacerbating opportunity gaps
"need to focus on the needs of these students"

Rep. Peisch: thank all members of the education community from custodians to teachers, principals, paraprofessional
extraordinary effort to get schools operating "in some fashion"
"no easy answers"

"recognize all of these challenges"
importance of ensuring that our students are well-served, particularly our high risk students

did hold hearing in the spring: informed decision making going forward
"by no means" a normal reopening
purpose is the examine what has changed since May

Secretary Peyser and Commissioner Riley first
#MAEdu

Peyser: had no idea back in March when schools shut down that we'd be here seven months later, but "the virus had other ideas"

Um. Mr. Secretary. That wasn't the virus. #MAEdu

and now he talks about childcare for awhile, which I assume is to try to prove that this is all fine

DESE provided "detailed guidance" for reopening this fall after consulting pediatricians and others

uh

"have to make sure that parents feel comfortable and confident" that their children are safe in schools

absence of school "can cause and already has caused" harm to students

for many students, when they are not in school, they are not always as "well monitored or as safe" as school itself

What an odd way to frame that

administration has "strongly encouraged" districts to be back in school
"we are encouraged that most school buildings are open for business"
preparing to "audit such districts who have unnecessarily delayed" in person instruction

"nearly $1B" in funding
"increased school aid for FY21"
"add up to more than was called for in the Student Opportunity Act"

...yup, there's that line again

"increasingly clear" that schools are not sources of transmission of schools

he went on about this at some length...this is the sort of line that ends up in the books later)

"in the name of equity and justice, we must do everything we can" to provide students with meaningful instruction this year "and that includes MCAS"

know that there will be increasing push to hold off on MCAS for another year; must be seen "as a stalking horse" for ending the test entirely

"should accelerate our efforts to get students back in the classroom"

There's the line to run with the charts of what's happen with COVID across the state right now.
#MAEdu

Riley: priority remains the health and well-being of students and staff
have seen regression in skill development
Significant progress to bring as many students back safely
#MAEdu

and now we're going to do another round of "we gave lots of money"

(please see earlier charts)
#MAEdu

and P-EBT and school nutrition

#MAEdu

guidance now is updated that districts "are encouraged to remain open even if their community is red" so long as schools are not sources of community spread
#MAEdu

There was a whole thing about technology there, which noted that districts had increased technology due to MCAS being computer based.

(If anyone remembers the wrangling with the late Commissioner Chester over the computerization of MCAS, that's accurate)

and there was a passing thing there about engaging with families which somehow segued us into fewer cases in schools?

use several weeks of community health data before shifting models

"keep their models open until there is evidence that community transmission in a school"
(with emphasis on *until*)

Lewis now forwarding questions from Senators

from Comerford and (sorry, I missed who else...Hinds, maybe?) unique challenges of rural districts, ongoing lack of broadband access, lack of access to rapid testing: speak to challenges

Riley: continue to work on many of areas; beginning rapid testing rolling out; "significant work on technology"; transportation guidance being reviewed right now "particularly for green and grey districts" considering "a loosing of standards"

Lewis question from DiDomenico: students learning remotely especially in urban areas, amount of teaching directly, students being home alone due to parents needing to work,

especially true of children of color
"high quality delivery of remote instruction" and how to support families with range of challenges

Riley: DESE monitoring throughout the year the quality of remote instruction
quality and amount of synchronous and asynchronous instruction

...monitoring...

Cyr: when students and families travel out of state; only students over age of 10 need a negative test to come back into school

concern around Thanksgiving holidays approaching; families traveling out of state, impact on schools
asks if we should be thinking of week after Thanksgiving "be a fully remote week in all of our schools" in order to not see a spike as a result

Peyser: "I would be very concerned if districts adopted as a policy...a fully out of school or remote week after Thanksgiving

...communicate with families that they need to be taking precautions with their health all the time, not just on holidays, in order for children to be back in schools"
#MAEdu

Lewis: tension over districts decisions

Riley: some districts had turned in plans earlier than we had asked
"on a call with school committees, we told they did not have to change what they had voted on"

THAT IS NOT WHAT HE SAID

Nor was that the CONTEXT in which he said it

He said that he'd support the decisions made by school committees PERIOD

Not the ones that were already made!!

Riley: left them alone for first three weeks, four five
sent out sixteen letters, still concerned about two districts

Peisch asking for Tucker: when might you make decisions about changes on MCAS
Why are you giving MCAS
Riley: usually assessment in the fall
different than a common statewide assessment

waiver was due to waiver from US DoE, and waiver from state law
federal government has signaled that they aren't giving out waivers this year
(assuming that is still the same administration)

"Fervently believe that we need diagnostic statewide data...I think parents want to know"
"lots of money tied to the test" (by which, nice clarification by Peisch, he means federal title grants)

Peyser: "can't write off this year" academically, going to create problems for ourselves later

Peisch from Tyler: percentage of families not contacted
Riley: "we know that schools are our ultimate safety nets"
"an incredible resource for families"
"promote need for districts to be overcommunicative for families"

Peisch asking for Walsh: students moving to private online education services
also withdrawn from local public schools?
Riley: state does a yearly October 1 collection
"in process of collecting all that data...more info in next week or two"

seeing particularly in kindergarten, staying home a year, and moving to parochial schools

Peisch for Vargas: work on low income count
Riley: work has slowed, but continues, particularly on students whose immigration status is question
Peyser: think committee will be getting report "within a matter of days"

now up @massupt Tom Scott and @MASCSchoolComm Glenn Koocher

Tom Scott up first

three districts reporting today in different models
planning began in spring, hope that would be back in buildings
"have been an exhausting time for all of us"

families split on what they wanted to do
unions wanting to go remote; local negotiations differing
70% of districts back for at least some in person

"appreciate amount of product" provided to us by Department
weekly meetings with superintendents; Commissioner gave cell number to superintendents
training around remote learning for staff

connectivity, technology, tech support in local districts
working with parents and creating options and schedules; forums for families
staffing and scheduling
working with school committees who ultimately had to decide on what model to follow

connectivity, technology, tech support in local districts
working with parents and creating options and schedules; forums for families
staffing and scheduling
working with school committees who ultimately had to decide on what model to follow

"certainly the Commissioner was very clear that those decisions were local decisions and would be respected"
#MAEdu

MASS supported with regional roundtable meetings
upcoming issues: flu shots; while 85% of children generally receive, some do not; need state support on backstop
impact on holiday events: concern of superintendents
how to deal with number of families who choose to go out of state

Ventilation with colder weather coming on; classrooms not as open to fresh air
metrics: color coded metric "given to us a little too late to us in the summer"
"has certainly some usage, but looking for something more expanded"

fragile structure of staffing; need for staffing; not enough flexibility for parents who want to send children back
"concern about illnesses among the staff"
fill the need for adults in our classrooms

"change is unfortunately a part of what we need to deal with"
CDC change for 15 minutes cumulatively: changes the way in which educators might set up learning models

(I'd note that we didn't hear that from the state)
#MAEdu

based on numbers from superintendents: 40 to 50,000 students who won't be enrolled compared to next year

"how to address our budget heading into FY22"

and needs will be greater
#MAEdu

we understand that MCAS has its value...our concern is in the diagnostic domain rather than the accountability view"
"going to need that to assess where we are with our children"

technology is something that we need to pay attention to; "basic fundamental right that we provide to all of our students"

and Glenn Koocher: our members include doctors and others
additional information that may not have been repeated
"children are resilient and they can recover from this and we're confident in that"

"deeply concerned about the fiscal year 22 budget, simply because those in the know don't know"
confident that federal aid is coming

some districts have 4, 5, 8, 12 communities in them
"districts are doing the best that they can"

the threat of an audit for not getting students back in the building...is not helpful for us...when you threaten us, you demonize yourself and energize the rest of us in the field to do the best that we can"
#MAEdu

parents' patience are wearing thin
negotiations with unions ongoing
concern of high school seniors over what comes next

compliment Commissioner on efforts with field; leery of how test data might be used
"our members have never opposed testing...only how it was used"
"very convenient to blame the federal government...but expect those will be rescinded on January 22 at 12:01 pm"

Peisch: what would be helpful to have more in-person learning?
hybrid model difficult to manage
"any one thing that would get more students into the schools?"

Scott: medical community will have to signal that we can relax the six foot distancing issue and buses
"if the transmission rate is as low as they say it is...and we begin to see the right kind of therapeutics and supports

"...and there are districts that are interested in that, for sure"
#MAEdu

Peisch: policies at district level dealing with what to do with a student who does not show up?
Koocher: general policies in place that can still apply; having someone go check on them
"it's in everyone's interest to find them"
Scott: matter of accountability

Lewis: superintendents and school committee members have a difficult job in usual times; "in these past several months, I think it's been extraordinarily difficult"
how are we doing at educating our students?

Koocher: special needs kids "are being better served than others, but not as well as we'd like"
other students at risk, remote learning isn't working as well for them; "they need to be back in school...the sooner we can get them back in school, the better off we'll be"

Scott: compliments Russell Johnston for work with districts in making it as clear as possible

"adding additional pressure and support to get all of those children back in person as soon as possible...and I'll be perfectly be blunt: they should be in person as much as reasonably possible"