Board in Brief
Tuesday, June 26, 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, June 26, 2007 at AstraZeneca R&D in Waltham.
Comments from the Chairman
Chairman Christopher Anderson stated that the Board is meeting at the offices of AstraZeneca R&D to highlight two of the innovative partnerships between education and the technology/business sector that are working to improve teaching and learning in the public schools of Massachusetts. Martha Welch of AstraZeneca welcomed the Board.
Chairman Anderson reported that Governor Patrick recently announced his vision for education, which is very much in concert with the education/business working group that Chairman Anderson has convened. The Governor also announced on June 8th that Massachusetts has been accepted as a leadership state in the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. The Partnership is a national network of states backed by 30 leading businesses and organizations working to ensure that every child masters content standards as well as the skills and competencies needed to be engaged and productive citizens and employees in an increasingly competitive economy.
Chairman Anderson welcomed two new members to the Board this month: Ruth Kaplan of Brookline and Zachary Tsetsos, the newly elected chair of the State Student Advisory Council. He also updated the Board on the successful conference on Pilot Schools that the Board and Department sponsored on May 31st in response to the great interest generated by the Board's initiative to establish Commonwealth Pilot Schools.
The Chairman congratulated Michael B. Flynn of the William E. Norris School in Hampshire Regional School District, who is the Massachusetts 2008 Teacher of the Year, and the 2007 Massachusetts Preserve America History Teacher of the Year, Ann B. O'Halloran of the Albert Angier School in Newton. Both teachers were honored on June 21st, together with the six finalists and eight semifinalists for Teacher of the Year.
Comments from the Commissioner
Commissioner Driscoll announced that Massachusetts has received a $9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to support newly created charter schools. The Commonwealth is one of ten states selected for this grant award.
Presentation on NFTE (National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship) and LIFT (Leadership Initiatives for Teaching and Technology)
The Board heard brief presentations on two innovative partnerships between education and the technology/business sector. The mission of the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) is to teach entrepreneurship to young people from low-income communities to enhance their economic productivity by improving their business, academic, and life skills. Christine Hall, Chair of the Mathematics Department at Excel High School in South Boston, Julie Stubbs, Development Manager of NFTE New England, and Chantry Romaine, a college sophomore and graduate of a NFTE course, made a presentation to the Board.
Jim Stanton, Director of the Technology Initiative for the Metro South/West Regional Employment Board, and Katie Clark, a teacher at Pollard School in Needham, gave a brief presentation on LIFT, Leadership Initiatives for Teaching and Technology. LIFT is an innovative professional learning program for middle and high school science, technology, engineering, and math teachers that is designed to help teachers relate classroom curriculum to authentic and relevant applications in the 21st century workplace.
State Professional Development Initiatives
The Board had an initial discussion about the process and framework for updating the state plan for professional development, which was last revised in 2001. Commissioner Driscoll said that the Department's intent is to work with stakeholders over the next year to prepare the new state professional development plan, which will be presented to the Board in the spring of 2008. Deputy Commissioner Jeff Nellhaus noted that the Board's discussion of professional development is in the context of a much larger discussion that the Board is engaged in regarding educator quality.
Chairman Anderson said that professional development is critically important, and that the updated plan should reflect the current needs of classroom teachers. Board member Patricia Plummer said that she intends to designate a staff person at the Board of Higher Education to work with the Department on the plan. With assistance from the Board's Educational Personnel Advisory Council, the Department will convene a broad-based steering committee to help review and revise the state professional development plan.
District Accountability System
Senior Associate Commissioner Juliane Dow presented the Department's concept for an improved state support system to assist school districts that need help to improve student achievement. By early fall, the Commissioner will bring to the Board a more detailed proposal for further consideration, with the goal of having a redesigned system of support fully developed and in place for the start of the 2008-09 school year.
The Board voted to determine the Gill-Montague Regional School District to be underperforming. Earlier this spring the Board received reports on the Gill-Montague Regional School District and the Haverhill Public Schools from the Educational Management Audit Council (EMAC). The reports are based on reviews of those districts that the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability (EQA) conducted. Gill-Montague's Acting Superintendent Kenneth Rock and outgoing Superintendent Suzanne Gee gave the Board an overview of the district and its fiscal, structural and educational challenges. The Department will proceed with a fact-finding review and work with district officials at Gill-Montague to determine the next steps.
Based on the Commissioner's recommendation, the Board deferred action on a decision of district underperformance for the Haverhill Public Schools.
Amendments to Regulations on Vocational-Technical Education (Licensure of Administrators, 603 CMR 4.00)
The Board voted to adopt amendments to the Regulations on Vocational-Technical Education relating to licensure standards for superintendents and principals in vocational-technical schools. In April, the Board voted to solicit public comment, under the Administrative Procedure Act, on proposed amendments to the Vocational-Technical Education Regulations. All of the comments the Department received were in support of the proposed amendments.
Update on MassCore Proposal
The Board continued its discussion on MassCore, the recommended high school core program of studies for college- and career-readiness. In April the Board agreed to invite public comment on MassCore. The Department received many responses, which the Commissioner summarized and presented to the Board.
Commissioner Driscoll noted that MassCore is an attempt to establish a base, not to limit what high schools offer. He emphasized that MassCore is to be voluntaryrather than mandatory. Deputy Commissioner Jeff Nellhaus said that the working group will consider incentives for students to complete MassCore. Board member Patricia Plummer noted her concern that technology/engineering courses currently do not count towards state and community college admissions requirements for science. The Commissioner will make further refinements as needed and will bring the proposed MassCore back to the Board in the fall for further discussion and a vote.
Approval of Salary for Acting Commissioner
The Board voted in April 2007 to appoint Deputy Commissioner Jeff Nellhaus as Acting Commissioner, beginning on September 1, 2007. Under state law, the Board has authority to set the Commissioner's salary. This month the Board voted to approve the salary for the Acting Commissioner, as proposed by Chairman Anderson.
Non-Operating Schools
By statute, towns that do not operate their own public schools (generally because the town is small and is not a member of a regional school district) must request and receive approval annually from the Board to tuition their students to public schools in other towns. The Board voted to approve these tuition arrangements for 20 school districts for the 2007-2008 school year.
Approval of Grants and Authorization to Commissioner
The Board voted to approve grants totaling $1,022,380 under the following program: Even Start Family Literacy ($1,022,380 - federal funds).
The Board also voted to authorize the Commissioner, in consultation with the Chairman and members of the Board, to approve grants and any other matters that require action between June 26th and the next regular Board meeting. The Commissioner will report to the Board on any such approvals.
Schedule for Regular Board Meetings through June 2008
The Board voted to approve the proposed schedule for regular Board meetings from August 2007 through June 2008. The Commissioner will post the schedule on the Board's website, at http://www.doe.mass.edu/boe/boedate.html
Next Meeting
The next meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Tuesday, August 28, 2007 at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in Malden.
last updated: July 10, 2007
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