Board in Brief
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
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, February 27, 2007 at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in Malden.
Comments from the Chairman
Chairman Christopher R. Anderson opened the meeting by reporting on the search process for a new Commissioner to replace Commissioner Driscoll, who has announced he is retiring as of August 31, 2007. Chairman Anderson said that after reviewing submitted proposals, the Board has hired the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) to assist in conducting the search for the next Commissioner of Education.
Comments from the Commissioner
Commissioner Driscoll gave a brief report to the Board on current issues, including the critical need for additional funding to support targeted assistance in underperforming schools. Commissioner Driscoll thanked Governor Patrick for his commitment to education funding.
Proposed Changes to School and District Accountability System: Graduation Rate as an Element of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Calculation
The Board voted to set a minimum graduation rate of 55% for purposes of calculating AYP for all public high schools in the Commonwealth. The Board also reviewed preliminary state-level graduation rate data for the graduating class of 2006. At the January 2007 meeting, the Board discussed the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requirement that every state use a graduation rate to determine "Adequate Yearly Progress" (AYP) for each public secondary school. Commissioner Driscoll explained the rationale for the recommended graduation rate standard and said the Department will now submit these accountability system modifications to the U.S. Department of Education for review and approval. The Board agreed also to establish a task force to review additional data and consider questions of capacity and resources to increase the percentage of students who graduate from high school.
Four Schools Considered for Commonwealth Pilot School Status
Commissioner Driscoll reported to the Board on the progress of four schools that are being considered for Commonwealth Pilot School status. Chairman Anderson recommended in November that the Board consider a Commonwealth Pilot School alternative for four schools (the English High School in Boston, Academy Middle School in Fitchburg, and Duggan Middle School and Putnam Vocational-Technical High School in Springfield), in lieu of a declaration of chronic underperformance. The Board's intent for the Commonwealth Pilot Schools is to promote greater school autonomy while also complying with the stricter accountability expectations that would accompany a declaration of chronic underperformance.
The faculties at each of the four schools voted by a greater than two-thirds margin to pursue Commonwealth Pilot School status. Each school formed a design team, consisting of the principal, faculty, central office administrators, parents, and community representatives, and submitted an initial design proposal to the Department on February 9th. State review panels have reviewed the proposals and concluded that each of them requires revision. For that reason, the Board decided to delay consideration of Commonwealth Pilot School status for these schools until the March Board meeting.
Recommendations on Plans from Seven Underperforming Schools
The Board voted this month to accept the plans to improve student performance submitted by seven Boston schools that were identified as underperforming in the 2006 review cycle. Superintendent Michael Contompasis presented the plans and responded to questions. All seven school plans and the school district's overview respond to the criteria in the regulations on underperforming schools and school districts that the Board adopted in October. The schools are the Louis Agassiz Elementary School, Mary E. Curley Middle School, Solomon Lewenberg Middle School, John Marshall Elementary School, William E. Russell Elementary School, William Monroe Trotter Elementary School, and John Winthrop Elementary School. The schools will implement the plans over the next 24 months.
Recommendations to Grant New Charters
The charter school statute directs the Board to review applications for new charters and grant the charters in February. At last month's meeting the Board received summaries of the four final applications for new Commonwealth charters that were submitted for consideration this year. This month, the Board voted to grant one new charter, to the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School. This new charter school is scheduled to open in the fall of 2007.
Renewal of Four Charters
In January, the Board had an initial discussion of the charter renewal applications from four charter schools. This month, the Board voted to renew the charters for the Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter Public School and the Edward Brooke Charter School, both of which are in Boston. Chairman Anderson and Commissioner Driscoll commended the two schools for their exemplary performance. The Board also voted to renew the charters for the Christa McAuliffe Regional Charter School (Framingham) and North Central Charter Essential School (Fitchburg) with conditions for both of those charters.
Report on Boston Renaissance Charter School
In 2005, the Board renewed the charter for Boston Renaissance Charter School, with conditions, and directed the Department to report on the school's progress by February 2007. The Commissioner reported this month that although the charter school's academic performance has shown some very modest improvement, the school has not met all of the conditions that the Board set when the charter was renewed. The Board voted this month to place the school on probation with additional conditions. The Board will review the school's progress toward meeting these conditions in October and April of each year.
Proposed Eligibility Criteria for Mathematics/Science Teacher Scholarship Program
The FY07 state budget allocates $1,000,000 for a pilot scholarship program to fund higher education courses for math and science teachers who have received waivers from certification regulations and are "out of field teachers." These funds are designed to help to increase the number of public school teachers in the Commonwealth who are certified in math and science. The legislation directs the Board of Education and the Board of Higher Education to establish guidelines for the new teacher scholarship program. The Board of Higher Education has approved the jointly developed guidelines. This month, the Board of Education voted to approve the guidelines for the scholarship program.
Technical Amendments to Special Education Regulations
The Board voted to approve technical amendments to Special Education Regulations (603 CMR 28.00.) The federal special education law (the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA) was reauthorized in December 2004, and new federal regulations took effect on October 13, 2006. In November 2006, the Board voted to solicit public comment on proposed amendments to the state Special Education Regulations to update citations to the federal special education law. These changes are technical rather than substantive. The Department received no comments on the proposed technical amendments.
Approval of Grants
The Board approved grants totaling $419,305 under the following programs: Secondary School Reading Planning Grant ($220,000 - federal funds); increases to two grants for Community Adult Learning Centers ($22,026 - state funds); Workplace Education Planning Grant - Phase I ($47,279 - state funds); increases to two grants for Transition to Full-Day Kindergarten ($30,000 - state funds); and Safe Schools for Gay and Lesbian Students ($100,000 - state funds).
Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Tuesday, March 27, 2007 at the Mason Elementary School in Boston.
last updated: March 2, 2007
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