District/School Administration Administration
The Massachusetts Board of Education

Board in Brief
Tuesday, March 25, 2008

This is "Board in Brief," issued at the request of Acting Commissioner Jeffrey Nellhaus to bring you up to date on Board of Elementary and Secondary Education matters. This is a report on the regular meeting held on Tuesday, March 25, 2008 at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in Malden.

Comments from the Chairman

Chairman Paul Reville welcomed the three new Board members, who are Dana Mohler-Faria, president of Bridgewater State College and education advisor to Governor Deval Patrick; Jeff Howard, founder and president of The Efficacy Institute, Inc.; and Gerald Chertavian, founder and CEO of Year Up. The chairman described the education secretariat established under the Governor's reorganization plan to coordinate early education and care, elementary and secondary education, and higher education. He noted that he would serve as Board chairman through the June meeting and then become Secretary of Education and a member of each of the state education boards on July 1. The Governor will appoint a new Board chairman at that time.

The chairman said that Commissioner-Elect Mitchell Chester has been in Massachusetts for the past few days, and has met with some Board members during his visit. Chairman Reville said that Dr. Chester will make a presentation to the Board during a special meeting on the evening of April 28th, before the April 29th regular meeting. This presentation will be part of the Board's continuing review of the state system for accountability and support.

The chairman read a resolution from the Massachusetts General Court on international education and foreign exchange programs. The chairman also recognized Board member Zachary Tsetsos, who described a $9,200 grant that the Student Advisory Council has secured to promote student leadership and encourage students to participate in service projects.

Comments from the Acting Commissioner

Acting Commissioner Nellhaus said that Dr. Chester met with the entire Department of Elementary and Secondary Education staff during an address at Malden High School on March 20th. The acting commissioner also updated the Board on the Mathematics Curriculum Framework Review Panel, the updated Technology Literacy Standards that will be on the Board's agenda in April, the Perkins Five-Year State Plan for Vocational-Technical Education that the Department will submit to the U.S. Department of Education, and the upcoming release of state-level grade 8 2007 NAEP writing scores.

The acting commissioner said that MCAS testing had begun this week with the administration of the English Language Arts (ELA) test in grades 3-10. He added that the May administration of the high school science and technology/engineering tests will count toward the graduation requirement for students in the class of 2010. Acting Commissioner Nellhaus noted that 40 percent of the class of 2010 has already met the Competency Determination requirement in science and technology/engineering by passing the test as 9th graders last year.

Comments from the Public

Four individuals spoke to the Board on topics including school libraries, gifted education, and dropout prevention.

Dropout Report for 2006-2007 and Initiatives to Reduce Dropout Rate

Acting Commissioner Nellhaus summarized the Department's 2006-2007 dropout report, which showed that over 11,000 students in grades 9-12 (3.8 percent) dropped out of school last year. The acting commissioner said the increase over the prior year's rate is due almost entirely to better reporting, but 11,000 dropouts is still 11,000 too many. He noted that 70 percent of 12th graders who dropped out of school last year had already met the Competency Determination by passing the grade 10 tests or retests in ELA and mathematics.

Chairman Reville said that the Board's policy deliberations on this important question must be informed by evidence. The chairman asked Board member Harneen Chernow, who chaired the Graduation Rate Task Force, to provide an overview and introduce three panelists: Janet Powell, senior director of student support services in the Quincy Public Schools; and Neil Sullivan, executive director, and Emmanuel Allen, street research and referral specialist, from the Boston Private Industry Council (PIC).

Ms. Powell presented a brief report on dropout prevention programs in Quincy. In 2003-2004, the superintendent and school committee established a dropout task team comprised of teachers, administrators, school committee members, and parents to study the dropout issue and make recommendations. Those recommendations included additional alternative programs for at-risk students. The district used grants from the Department of Education for Alternative Education Programs to create a high school program for incoming at-risk 9th graders, repeat 9th graders and for academic and social-emotional support to students in grades 10-12 and used grant funds under Safe and Supportive Learning Environments to institute an academic and social-emotional home-base for trauma-related, at-risk 8th graders and to train staff on "Trauma Sensitive Schools." Ms. Powell also described the Quincy Evening High School, which is funded by the Workforce Investment Board; the Quincy Teen Mothers' Program; a system-wide early literacy program; and the CASASTART program to support wrap-around services for students.

Neil Sullivan said he believes an incremental reduction in the dropout rate is the most promising action to improve education and economic prospects. He presented an overview of the findings and recommendations in the 2006 report of the Boston Youth Transitions Task Force, Too Big to Be Seen: The Invisible Dropout Crisis in Boston and America. The task force is a coalition of many organizations and agencies convened by the Boston PIC, including the Boston Public Schools, the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University, and the Massachusetts Departments of Education, Social Services, Transitional Assistance, and Youth Service. The task force report is posted at: http://www.bostonpic.org/youth/Too_Big_To_Be_Seen.pdf. He described four key components to address the dropout crisis: (1)gathering, analyzing, and using data; (2) using early indicators and early intervention strategies for struggling students as well as effective dropout recovery; (3) building partnerships and increasing coordination among schools, alternative programs, local and state agencies and community organizations; and (4) implementing local strategies that address the needs of young people.

Emmanuel Allen, the PIC/Boston Public Schools dropout recovery specialist, discussed strategies he uses to engage students who had dropped out and bring those young adults back to school. Mr. Allen said the core issue is relevance, because many students who left school do not connect school with their life. He said the best strategy to use with these students is to talk with them to better understand why they left school, tell them it's not too late to return, and help them understand that education is tied to one's freedom and independence. Mr. Sullivan added that dropouts become isolated from society and need its benefits rather than contributing to it; 70% of state prisoners are dropouts. He said two keys to dropout recovery are a system for students to recover academic credit and the availability of targeted seats for returning students.

Board members engaged in a discussion with the three panelists. Ms. Powell recommended that the Board focus on both dropout recovery and early intervention with students and their families, especially for young students with poor school attendance and high tardiness. She said the Board could send a message about the whole child and systemic change. Mr. Allen said that more direct outreach should occur with students who have left school, and the message should be that the situation is not hopeless. Mr. Sullivan advocated for technical support around an early indicator system, and active engagement with a coalition of stakeholders beyond the school district, including employers. Chairman Reville concluded by stating that addressing the dropout crisis is a top priority for the Board and the Governor.

Winchendon Public Schools

Acting Commissioner Nellhaus said he will recommend that the Board remove the Winchendon Public Schools from underperforming district status, which the district has been in since the Board's vote in November 2003. The acting commissioner said the district is not in any accountability status, it has been successful in implementing its turnaround plan, many deficiencies originally cited by the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability have been addressed, and there have been modest improvements in relations between the school department and the town government. He said that while the district has a ways to go, the Department has done what it can for the Winchendon Public Schools and needs to focus scarce resources on other school districts.

Superintendent Peter Azar and other representatives from Winchendon and EDC, its state-funded turnaround partner, reported on the district's progress over the past three years. The Board will vote on the acting commissioner's recommendation at its April 29, 2008 regular meeting.

Gill-Montague Regional School District

Acting Commissioner Nellhaus said that the Board identified the Gill-Montague Regional School District as an underperforming school district in January 2007. The Department sent a three-member team to the district to examine its leadership and governance structure. That team then prepared a district leadership evaluation report, which the Board reviewed in November 2007. At today's meeting, Interim Superintendent Kenneth Rocke presented the district's turnaround plan. The acting commissioner will ask the Board to vote on the plan at its April 29, 2008 regular meeting.

Charter Schools: Extended Loan Term for Holyoke Community Charter School and Innovation Academy Charter School

The Board voted to approve requests from Holyoke Community Charter School and Innovation Academy Charter School for extended loan terms that exceed the duration of the schools' charters. State law permits a charter school to incur temporary debt in anticipation of receipt of funds but requires approval by the Board of any repayment terms that exceed the duration of the school's charter. Neither the Commonwealth nor the Board or Department has any liability for the loan and the extended term has no impact on any action the Board might choose to take in the future with respect to the school's charter.

Grants

The Board approved state grants totaling $556,400 under the following programs: Safe Schools Program for Gay and Lesbian Students and Quality Full-Day Kindergarten.

Next Meeting

The next regular meeting of the Board of Education will be held on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 in Worcester.