District/School Administration Administration
The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education

Board in Brief
Tuesday, January 25, 2005

This is "Board in Brief," issued at the request of Commissioner David P. Driscoll to bring you up to date on Board of Education matters. This is a report on the regular meeting held on Tuesday, January 25, 2005, at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in Malden.

Comments from the Chairman

Board of Education Chairman James A. Peyser opened the meeting by welcoming Governor Mitt Romney to the Board of Education meeting.

Opening Remarks by Governor Mitt Romney

Governor Romney thanked Board of Education members for their service, noting that education reform is the most important task for the long-term welfare of the Commonwealth. The Governor congratulated Commissioner Driscoll and the students and educators of Massachusetts on the educational progress that has been made, both in increasing MCAS scores and in reducing the achievement gap.

Governor Romney encouraged the Board to strengthen science education and support a requirement that all students meet state standards in high school science (biology, chemistry, physics or technology/engineering), in addition to English language arts and math, in order to earn a high school diploma. The Governor applauded the Board's plan to streamline teacher certification and promoted efforts to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers, especially in science and math. He invited the Board to help develop the bill he intends to file as the Education Reform Act of 2005 later this spring. His proposals include initiatives relating to under-performing schools and districts, such as extending the school day for students and giving principals additional management authority. The Governor said he hopes the time to review and intervene in an under-performing school can be cut in half. Governor Romney also highlighted the education portion of his FY 2006 budget proposal, which includes an additional $100 million for the state's public schools. He asked the Board for input on these ideas, noting, "Our success as a generation will be measured by how well we're able to prepare our students."

School and District Performance

The Board voted to issue a written order to the Fall River Public Schools, as authorized by the regulations on under-performing schools, listing actions that must be taken in order to improve the academic performance of students at the Kuss Middle School. In October 2004, the Board voted to declare the Kuss Middle School a chronically under-performing school, and directed the Department to work with Fall River school officials to assess the adequacy of their plan and their proposed timeframe to remedy the school's performance deficiencies. Chairman Peyser said he is encouraged by the actions local school officials have taken and are taking, working with the Department and a school intervention partner who will be appointed by the Commissioner.

The Board received an update from Holyoke Superintendent Eduardo Carballo and Associate Commissioner Juliane Dow on the Holyoke Public Schools. In the fall of 2004, the Board accepted the district improvement/turnaround plan that the Holyoke Public Schools submitted to address the issues that led the Board to declare Holyoke an under-performing school district. The Board asked the Department to continue working with Holyoke school officials to define clear benchmarks and performance objectives relating to the plan, with the expectation that the Department and Holyoke would report back to the Board in 90 days. The Department will continue to work with the Holyoke Public Schools to identify a turnaround partner to work with the district to implement the district improvement/turnaround plan.

Charter Schools

The Board had an initial discussion on five final applications for new Commonwealth charters. At the February 15th Board meeting, Commissioner Driscoll will present his recommendations for new charter schools to the Board for consideration.

The Board voted to renew the charters for the Lowell Middlesex Academy Charter School and Hilltown Cooperative Charter School. The Board also voted to waive the deadline in the charter school regulations that requires the Board to notify schools of renewals by March 1. By extending the deadline to March 31, the Board will be able to complete the discussion and vote on all charter renewals by the March Board meeting. Nine additional charters are up for renewal this year.

The Board had an initial discussion on three charter renewal requests: Atlantis Charter School, City on a Hill Charter School, and Lawrence Family Development Charter School. The Board will hold a special meeting on February 7, 2005, to discuss renewal requests from two other charter schools: Boston Renaissance Charter School and Frederick Douglass Charter School. The Board is scheduled to vote on the Commissioner's recommendations on each of these renewal applications at the February 15th meeting.

The Board voted to waive the provisions of the charter school regulations relating to a quarterly payment schedule, to allow the Department to make more frequent payments to Roxbury Charter High School during the rest of this school year. In December 2004, the Board voted its intent to revoke the charter for Roxbury Charter High School effective June 30, 2005. In accordance with the Board's vote, the Department is working with the school's trustees and administrators to help ensure that the school can remain open through the end of the current school year. This additional payment flexibility will assist the Department's efforts to carry out the Board's directive.

The Board also voted to adopt final amendments to the charter school regulations incorporating the new charter school funding formula that was signed into law in 2004. In October 2004, the Board adopted these amendments as emergency regulations. Emergency regulations remain in effect for no longer than three months. The Department solicited and reviewed public comment on the regulations, which the Board discussed prior to adopting the amendments in final form this month.

Approval of Grants

The Board voted to approve two grants of federal adult basic education funds, totaling $101,842, to provide instruction in English for speakers of other languages and civics to adults whose English proficiency is limited.

Next Meeting

The next meeting of the Board of Education will be a special meeting to discuss charter school renewals, to be held on Monday, February 7, 2005, at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in Malden. The next regular meeting of the Board of Education will be on Tuesday, February 15, 2005, at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in Malden.