Thread by @TracyNovick

Going to create this thread for 9:30 start

Board of Ed agenda: doe.mass.edu/bese/docs/fy20…

livestream: livestream.com/accounts/22459…

line to get in:

https://twitter.com/hashtagRoberto/status/1529085001219858434?s=20&t=W8X4bNVIWArwtAkOa1SA6w

and we have livestream.
They're in a ridiculously tiny room.
Chair Craven said that the town asked that the meeting be relocated.

First up: @MayorWu
ran on a promise to deliver on "bold urgent change"
"am fiercely committed to that work"

Hey someone on her staff read the report!

she says she's read the report "multiple times"

"step into our potential as birthplace of public education"
"the truth is none of this is new" to anyone in school communities
have worked quickly in first six months

first round interviews with search committee for next superintendent are next week

Green New Deal for BPS

college and innovation pathways programs across the district
expanding preK
three year contract on food (local)
reached a tentative agreement with Boston school bus drivers (hey!)

the driver contract thing is pulling a rabbit out of a hat

"receivership would be counterproductive"
if the Commissioner puts forward such a request, will be requesting a hearing due process
met with Commissioner and Governor on Friday, will be coming back with what an agreement could look like

and hey! @SenChangDiaz!
who also notes, as did @MayorWu, that she's a BPS parent

@SenChangDiaz @MayorWu keep working with Boston rather than erode local democracy and parent voice
"receivership is no certain path to turnaround"

@SenChangDiaz @MayorWu new leadership in mayor and coming superintendent; "they deserve a chance at bat"
"the parents and guardians of Boston's children" gave a mandate to the mayor to take on this responsibility

@SenChangDiaz @MayorWu lessons of Southbridge, Lawrence, and Holyoke

@SenChangDiaz @MayorWu Senator Lydia Edwards: "have seen extremes in BPS...can absolutely can rise to the occasion"
"what receivership would do is give up on Boston"

"worst message is that Boston can't handle its own education system"
"not only oppose it, but I think it's one of the worst things you can do"

new leadership at state: "I don't know if that's the elephant in the room, but there's a new governor coming, too"

"you have united us in such a level of opposition...and I'm excited to be part of that opposition"

Rep. Liz Miranda, who is a BPS graduate herself

state opposition to receivership; have visited all 17 schools in district
"every one of my schools as a distinct culture and set of needs"

by DESE's own standards, state receivership hasn't been successful

systemwide strategy to equitable literacy, expanded language
notes that school receivership cut language access
strides in hires of people of color

"I want to note that no district has ever exited receivership"

"if we truly want to support our BPS family, I do not believe DESE is the answer"

Boston City Council president Ed Flynn
here to testify against the receivership of the Boston Public Schools

meanwhile in the hall

https://twitter.com/jonr7007/status/1529097575311237120

must work together to be sure every student receives an education, must support BPS family as well

Boston City Councilor at large Michael Flaherty
many communities feel that receivership is done to them
"Boston's greatest success stories are the result of partnerships"
asking for strengthened partnerships

"not about our teachers, not about our students...this has everything to do with a bureaucratic center office"

City Council Erin Murphy says she stands with students and...that's kind of the whole thing there.

setting up for a parent who is going to speak in Arabic...

but the interpreter has disconnected

Leila Parks: has been teaching in MA in 12 years
state receivership at UP Holland did not help
"families had no say in the direction of the new school"
hundreds of suspensions in the first year

decisions made by the state and the receiver, not by the people who trust the school every day

students need things like glasses and toothbrushes and social emotional supports

"invest in deleading their pipes, hiring more special education teachers...each school community knows what they need. Please just ask."

Robert Baroz: turnaround strategies "remain elusive"

Lawrence got an uptick "which often is going to happen when you invest in test taking strategies"

(oof to see the Commissioner's face now! phew!)

runs comparisons of Boston and Lawrence currently: "why would you want to use the strategies that Lawrence has?"

DESE doesn't require any teacher to take training in writing
ask: invest in instruction and teachers; give teachers the money direct; rehire literacy coaches; reconsider in how you're approaching this problem
"do it with teachers, not to them"

mother who will start in English then speak in Spanish, being given time by teacher
was a student of BPS, first came to US in 2011
daughter in first grade in the Blackstone

"BPS is not perfect, but if you give us what we are asking you do it, we can do it"

(switch to being interpreted)

we won't allow the same thing to happen that happened in Lawrence
"the state did not have the capacity to sustain the control of those schools"

went to a meeting with DESE and asked questions about what concerned us
DESE didn't have the control to guide those families; how can we think they're going to take control of our schools?

Matthew Ruggiero, teacher at Charlestown High
"can't help but wonder what DESE could learn from Boston in terms of interpretation and multilingual supports?"

YUP

"as stakeholders in Boston, we know better than anyone the issues that BPS faces"
"we see this over and over again in schools and districts that have been placed in receivership: it has not worked, and it makes things worse for students"

state involvement has exacerbated instability

"fighting to make our district more responsive to our students, not less"

Boston City Councilor Kendra Lara
graduate and parent
after reading, "I sat back and reminded myself that our schools are not only imperfect now, but they have been for a long time"
"the state has been decades in the making"
"why now..."

"three women of color leading the charge in Boston Public Schools and say that now is the time to consider state takeover of the Boston Public Schools?"

"the people of the city of Boston have already spoken: they want resources, not receivership"
"racist, undemocratic model...you need to look no further than who is coming to you to support it"

DESE has shown that it has no standing to takeover the BPS
"honor the democratic process"

and right on cue, Mary Tamer, now DFER...

...which is mostly a mashup of Boston Herald editorials, kinda?

sorry, I'm struggling to even know how to summarize this here

Josiehanna Colon, Boston Student Advisory Council: I apologize if I come off as angry
angry that my cousins may face consequences of state receivership
angry when test scores are substituted for learning

"say that 'we should and we could' but we know the state will not hold through"
has shown to destabilize learning community...and done nothing to improve the schools"

Former Board of Ed member (former Vice chair) Harneen Chernow, BPS parent, including when Lawrence was voted in receivership
"with few or no other options, voted in favor of state takeover"
(both the superintendent and the mayor went to jail)

"the stakes here are high, especially when you consider that Lawrence was preceded by decades"
"no clear path out of receivership"
Only two schools have made it out of underperforming
receivership has moved schools and districts in the opposite direction

"it is not lost to the public that it is mostly Black, brown, and low income students in schools deemed underperforming across the state"
Boston is "seeking to restore voting rights" which we see as the path forward

"the lack of sustained successful outcomes"
have had two decades of lack of successful outcomes

Former Board of Ed chair Margaret McKenna: DESE has shown little ability to sustain these
Quotes Peyser on lack of sustainablity of turnaround
"This is a huge bite"

"it's not a state; the state names a person...the person arrives from somewhere...and where you are going to find that person...and why is Jeff Riley better than the search committe in Boston?"

has a hard time finding leadership and keeping them
leadership teams to do reflect the diversity of the populations of the students

really concerned that the receiver reports to Commissioner not the Board
remember that the Holland suspended 40% of kindergartners; asked what they were going to do, they said hire more social workers
"do you have any understanding of education at all"

MOU was announced the day before the schools closed
"to say that this is a fair sort of analysis of a normal time" is not
that Boston can do anything and produce anything is amazing
report shows progress made by current superintendent

if anyone is responsible for lack of progress in English learners, "it's the state"
for fifteen years, we were an English only state
For years we didn't produce multilingual teachers
biggest reason for the achievement gap

said when I was here that DESE should take the lead in reversing English only "but I was told that was not DESE's role"

Danielle Miller, parent
notes how difficult it was to sign up to speak today

Frustrating and alarming to review state over time
reports that focus on "resources and race"

reputations who live in the neighborhood
"the central question in my mind is why is DESE considering receivership when other districts fare worst and the state has failed to demonstrate" that it can make a difference
"who stands to benefit?"

"power has to stay with the people if we are going have sustainable" change in the Boston Public Schools

Edith Bazile, Black Advocates for Educational Excellence
who is speaking at higher rates of students of color being put substantially subseparate classrooms

BPS must develop an aligned comprehensive plan that fosters healthy school cultures
dismantling anti-Black policies

City Councilor Gabriela Coletta asks to see the data that receivership has been successful

should be an opportunity for this leadership (that Boston has chosen)
allow democratic process
"we understand the assignment"

Craven asks if the Council currently has a home rule petition before it on electing the Boston School Committee

---recess---

Tama Long, school counselor of the year, now speaking to the Board #MAEdu

She's from Chicopee, so great perspective on funding at foundation here #MAEdu

not doing a great job of keeping up here, but I couldn't hear Matt Hills just then at all.

Craven is going to ask Board to hold some of the items today

Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune
state takeovers have focused on Black and Latinx districts
accordingly to state's own report, BPS has made real progress over time
our students who come to the table with different languages should be treated as a asset

"if the state wants to be anti-racist, the first step is to show some respect to communities of color"

our schools need stable leadership, consistent policymakers
receivership is undemocratic

Board postponing:
State Student Advisory Council End of Year Report for 2021-2022

Special Education Update: IEP Improvement Project

Update on FY2023 State Education Budget —
FY23 Senate Ways and Means Budget Summary

And Board adopts proposed Board meeting calendar

doe.mass.edu/bese/docs/fy20…

Riley: "my assessment very briefly"
then Curtin, then back to Riley
then Board discussion

many of them "emanating from a bloated central office"
(this is the opposite of what was in the report!)
six big issues:
safety (this was not in the report!!)
transportation

special education: system is broken and parents are starting to vote with their feet
English learners: not getting service
data reporting: lacking
basic facility issues

makes it clear action is required; in discussion with the mayor
"give her a little time and space; see if she is willing provide us"
"agreed upon before the superintendent is hired"
mayor had a draft copy before the Board had it
"we need the mayor to step up at this time"

gosh, pretty strong adherent of mayoral control there, eh?

No mention of the superintendent, the school committee...

report was released just before schools were closed
MOU signed between BPS and DESE
May 2021 set targets
2022 have had monthly monitoring meetings

Report is only as of April 1 (for those of us who have been noting that there have been announcements since then)

ok, any presenter who references a public comment gets a h/t

six sections: leadership and governance; curriculum and instruction; student support; human resources and PD; assessment; financial and asset management

Leadership and Governance:
strategic plan being underway; accessibility through interpretation; supporting documents

special education and transportation "not prioritized"; notes how often items were brought in front of the Boston School Committee

"has not yet implemented a robust, district-wide system for tracking implementation progress"

Note, nice redirect by the Associate Commissioner of Member Moriarty attempting to take something over right there on item 1

"has not yet implemented a robust, district-wide system for tracking implementation progress"

variation in school-level implementation
instructional quality and equitable access uneven across district in secondary

and now we're writing superintendent interview questions

classroom practices rated middle; higher in management, engagement, and organizational; instructional practices not low but not consistent or all students

Student support:
EL has laid groundwork for enhanced support through effective stakeholder engagement, school-level communication, and investments in PD, personnel, and infrastructure

"lack of urgency" special education, "systemic disarray," lack of consistent policies and procedures, not consistently provided appropriate learning opportunities

ok, this is the first time I'm going to note that this is leaving out something I think is key: the special ed dept having a draft strategic plan I think warrants note here

Stewart notes the process of school committee creating policy, admin creating procedure

Curtin redirects to report on Q from Craven on if students rights are being violated

not ensuring all English learners to receive appropriate ESL instructionsWest asks if state has measures on meeting students
Curtin notes DOJ is monitoring activities

good Q Member Lombos

Lombos: DESE's responsibility?
Curtin: was a division of responsibility; $2M grant; meeting monthly "lesson learned is that more written accountability might be necessary"

Lombos: does the report give what we did and followed through with? Anything from BPS on what we could have followed through with?
Curtin: report is not on MOU activity

(but would be glad to report on that)

school choice and assignment system does not provide equal access; does not address longstanding challenges with open enrollment
exam school admission change impact "remains unclear"

Moriarty asks if there were 12 reports in central admin on bullying?
Curtin, think that was state

(he's right; it was reports to DESE...and he really doesn't have any idea of what those are, I think, given how Moriarty is speaking about that)

sorry: to be clear the "he" above is Moriarty, who just went on a whole side riff

Moriarty claiming there is "no system in place to deal with bullying" which is completely not something that is in the report at all

he just read something from a parent whose child died by suicide...

district taking steps to increase consistency in educator evaluation process
equitable access to PD is a challenge

office of data and accountability "should be commended for the system that they have developed" and work with educators to understand how data can be used to improve student outcomes
more consistent use of MAP assessment; consistent information for all students and all schools

district lacks necessary systems and internal controls at central office and schools to ensure accurate data reporting

Matt Hills: from time to time, do you check on other districts?
Curtin: this is my staff and my department; this is something we are going to implement to better improve process at the Department

Financial and Asset Management

process in engagement of stakeholders; Quality Guarantee framework for equitable staffing at school level; several urgent facility priorities

transportation system
"there's no more core function of a transportation system that picks up students on time, delivers them to schools, and reverses the process"

when students are picked up, there is an issue with on time arrival
"school loses core organizational time when students are arriving at different periods in the day"

"school loses core organizational time when students are arriving at different periods in the day"

Craven going back and forth on this asks how many students are students with disabilities "who therefore don't have other resources to get to school"?
(um, why is that only those students?)

I'm sorry...is this really that new an issue to the Board members?

We've been talking about this all year.

#MAEdu

Board breaking Boston discussion to talk student mental health doe.mass.edu/bese/docs/fy20…

Greater Boston Student Advisory Council
student survey from all five regions of the state, all four grades
vast majority of students reported struggling with mental health issues

about 77% of those surveyed said that there was an adult they could turn to, but most are only "somewhat aware" of student mental health
"for teachers to be available to their students"
for teachers to reach out and check in

suggest that school create posters around school and classroom promoting resources
add block for students to choose where to go
send out information on resources to students
nightly workload: many students spending more than 1-2 hours on weekends; quite a few more than 5

SLEEP: around 50% of students get 6-8; 30% get 4-6
CDC recommends 8-10 hours for teens

stress: physical safe space in schools
few minutes to check in during class
promote mental health resources in school

"we do think the later start time is beneficial"
YUP

and now back to Boston...

Commissioner slide (quick photo)

Riley: what could be a plan for improvement for BPS? What assurances do we need from the mayor?
These are the kind of things we need to see, even before the new superintendent is hired

need to be sure that a system is in place to respond to parent complaints
need to conduct a safety audit
improve on time arrival
address uncovered bus routes

"onboard high quality leadership for special education"
improve policies and procedures
reduce disproportionality
system to ensure all EL students receive services
meet DoJ agreement

independent data auditor
DESE-appointed data advisory board
finalize comprehensive facilities plan
address bathroom plan

Morton: what kind of timeline?
"punting on academic achievement goals...we can put them off to the new superintendent"
but some of these basic functions, we need assurances now

Moriarty: concern of Boston rushing into building project
"I don't they should be allowed to go forward with any building project without the MSBA"

Hills: "I don't understand your plan. I don't understand why what you're hoping to get over the next week is a comfort."
Wu "is exceptionally bright...will be an exceptional mayor"

"the previous mayors were all committed. Why isn't it all getting done?"
"academic performance, leave aside the exam schools, is poor"
he also just said that he thinks the data misinformation is intentional

have said that "God would need receivership"
"when is enough enough and when are you prepared to act"

Riley: I've made no decision, I've come forward to this Board with no recommendation
"common courtesy and good sense we have to talk to all stakeholders"

"I understand your position, Member Hills, but there is a process we have to follow"

Peyser: long thing here about shared responsibility of state and fed
"And importantly this is not about money"

ah, important point from the room:

https://twitter.com/MattRuggiero8/status/1529158258761637888

Peyser: long thing here about shared responsibility of state and fed
"And importantly this is not about money"
face the facts without defensiveness

Lombos: support Commissioner in taking a week or two or however it takes to make good on this partnership the Secretary has talked about

Caris Livingstone: "just because we're talking about a failed education doesn't mean we're talking about failed students or teachers"
"it's a fight for the students"
"the other thing is we don't have time; it's very urgent"

"my biggest concern about receivership...the current feelings about receivership would make it a toxic conversation to be having"

Morton have to include parents in the conversation have to include teachers in the conversation

"goal should be a negotiated plan to address these six or seven things right now"

wishes he had trusted Commissioner when he talked about reopening schools
"trust you now"
collaborative spirit: "I support you 1000%"
should take the time necessary

"if we have this kind of distention around the strategy in the community, it is going to take decades to solve"

Stewart: just last month at panel of superintendents who sat before us and addressed the challenges we've been facing

"literally four sentences were given to the impact of COVID-19"
"this is not to minimize the aspects of safety and access"

Transportation "has been a big issue" in many districts "it's not unique to Boston"

Rouhanifard: report is "huge lift"
notable that there is broad agreement on needs" called out

same time of spirit of discussion; when you discuss policy improvements, you can pathologize communities
"all roads lead back to institutional racism"

"would argue that politics and bureaucracies" have inhibited ability to "climb that mountain"

"would argue that politics and bureaucracies" have inhibited ability to "climb that mountain"
solutions rolling out; all about politics

"there is nothing more disenfranchising than a high school graduate that is not prepared for the real world"

"If we're going to hire a superintendent, will that superintendent have the cover to do this really hard work?"

(the Board doesn't hire superintendents)

Fernández: what we're seeing on this list on the list of stabilization
that seems to me a short term in having to address very quickly

"in the long way, there has to be a third way, or maybe a fourth way"

Craven argues that we can't know that Boston is a particular way compared to Lawrence, because we don't know that Boston's data is accurate

Reminder that one of the pieces of evidence was "you said two bathrooms were fixed that weren't"

AND ADJOURNED

#MAEdu