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

Board in Brief
Tuesday, May 19, 2009

This is "Board in Brief," issued at the request of Commissioner Mitchell D. Chester 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, May 19, 2009 at Brookline High School.

Comments from the Chair

Chair Maura Banta said the Board was pleased to be at Brookline High School in honor of Andrew "AJ" Fajnzylber, a senior at the high school who in June will conclude his elected term as chair of the State Student Advisory Council and as a member of the Board. Superintendent William Lupini and Brookline High School Principal Robert Weintraub welcomed the Board and congratulated Mr. Fajnzylber for his year of service and for his commitment and energy. Commissioner Chester said Mr. Fajnzylber was always prepared for meetings and represented the students of the Commonwealth well. Chair Banta read a citation from State Sen. Cynthia Creem and presented a citation from the Board. Vice Chair Harneen Chernow, Secretary Paul Reville, and Board member Ruth Kaplan also presented remarks in recognition of Mr. Fajnzylber's service and contributions over the past year.

Chair Banta said there is much interest in the Board's work on 21st century skills and on closing the proficiency gap. The chair said she recently attended the Stand for Children event and the charter school granting ceremony. The chair announced that she has appointed Board members Chernow, Kaplan, Beverly Holmes, and Tom Fortmann to the Commissioner's Evaluation Committee, which will report back to the full Board in June. Chair Banta said the Board will hold a special meeting the evening prior to the June 23 Board meeting, focused on the Department's accountability system redesign.

The chair asked Board member Jeff Howard to provide an update on the work of the Proficiency Gap Committee. Dr. Howard said the group's third meeting was productive and the group wants to identify the best ideas that can be executed and supported at the state level.

Comments from the Commissioner

Commissioner Chester said it was a pleasure to attend a State House ceremony to recognize the Massachusetts Milken Award winner, the five teachers who received the Asperger's Association of New England's Award for Excellence in Teaching Students with Asperger's Syndrome, and the five finalists for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. The commissioner said he expects to submit a report to the U.S. Department of Education soon in response to a directive to change the current organizational structure of the Bureau of Special Education Appeals (BSEA) to bring it into full compliance with federal law. The commissioner said the Department filed several reports with the Legislature recently consistent with statutory obligations; the reports are posted at: http://www.doe.mass.edu/research/reports/legislative.html. Commissioner Chester said the Legislature and the Joint Committee on Education would hold a hearing in Gloucester sometime in June to focus on the process by which the Board and the Department awarded a charter to Gloucester Community Arts Charter School.

Comments from the Secretary

Secretary Reville noted that May 19, 2009 was Commissioner Chester's one-year anniversary. The secretary said it is readily apparent that the Board made the right choice. Secretary Reville commended Commissioner Chester for his thoughtfulness, sense of principle, commitment to children, and commitment to making the state's education system the best in the country.

Secretary Reville said the state continues to encounter serious fiscal problems, and this has had serious implications for the use of federal stabilization funds. The secretary said Governor Patrick is proceeding with his education agenda, and will shortly introduce a number of legislative bills, likely addressing higher education relief, regionalization, Readiness Schools, and a "smart cap lifting" for charter schools.

Secretary Reville introduced J.D. LaRock from his office, who made a presentation on the Executive Office of Education's Readiness Schools Initiative. Mr. LaRock described three types of Readiness Schools: Advantage, Alliance, and Acceleration. He said the goal is to have the first cohort of Readiness Schools operational by the fall of 2010.

Public Comment

Six individuals addressed the Board on educator preparation and licensure, regional schools, computer-based education programs, and English language learners.

Update on State Education Budget and Federal Stimulus Funding for Education

Commissioner Chester said the state is not yet out of the woods in terms of FY09 with recent news of a shortfall of almost $1 billion. The commissioner said the Governor has proposed using a combination of rainy day funds and federal stabilization funds to offset a reduction in Chapter 70 funds. Commissioner Chester said the consequences of this required action include that the expected "funding cliff" will occur a year from now at the end of FY10, rather than in FY11. The commissioner said the Department has continued to encourage districts to make strategic use of their stimulus funds to increase their capacity moving forward. The commissioner provided an overview of the Senate Ways & Means budget proposal and implications for the Department's budget. Secretary Reville said the Governor will revise his budget proposal for information purposes, given the additional $1.5 billion decline since House 1 was submitted in January.

Chair Banta said she will draft a letter to Governor Patrick, Senate President Murray, and Speaker DeLeo reflecting the Board's appreciation for their continued support of public education, concern about the lasting impact of budget cuts on school improvement, and support for their efforts to seek additional sources of revenue for the Commonwealth.

Charter School Review and Renewal Process

Commissioner Chester said per the Board's discussion at the special meeting on March 23rd on charter school policy, he was presenting some options for revising the charter school review and renewal process, to continue to involve the Board but reduce the amount of time spent. The first option would establish a committee of the Board to review the commissioner's recommendations and engage in detailed discussions. This option would require the full Board to give significant weight to the committee's decisions. Under the second option, the Board would delegate some decisions to the commissioner while retaining others. Decisions on renewals without conditions and amendments other than those involving grade span, enrollment, or district would be delegated to the commissioner. The Board would continue to award new charters, make decisions on renewals with conditions, probations, non-renewals, and more substantial amendments. Under the second option, the Board might adopt a process of both discussing and voting on charter school matters during the same meeting, unless a Board member requests a continuance to a second month for further discussion. Option three would require a statutory change to create a separate charter authorizing body, which the commissioner does not advocate. The Board discussed the various options and agreed to revisit this at a future meeting.

Educator Preparation and Licensure

Mathematics Subtest for Elementary and Special Education Teachers

The Board voted in 2007 to require new elementary and special education teachers to pass a test of Mathematics proficiency, in order to strengthen the math education that students receive in early grades. The test became operational in March 2009. At this month's meeting, the Board voted unanimously to approve the commissioner's recommendation to establish a three-year transition phase (until June 30, 2012) for implementing the Mathematics subtest portion of the General Curriculum test for educator licensure. During the transition phase, candidates who score between 227-239 will be deemed to have passed the Mathematics subtest for the purpose of their first stage of licensure. These teachers will be required to retake the Mathematics subtest and score 240 or above in order to be eligible for the next stage of licensure or to renew their initial license. Commissioner Chester said the transition period provides a reasonable period of time for candidates to improve their skills and knowledge and for higher education institutions to strengthen their programs.

Progress Report on Drafting New Standards for Principals, Superintendents, and Other Leadership Roles

Associate Commissioner David Haselkorn said the Department is continuing efforts to develop a new architecture for the licensure of school and district leaders, and for recruitment, induction and ongoing professional development. He said he expects to come back to the Board in June with proposed policy standards and performance indicators along with draft regulation changes.

Regionalization and Inter-district Collaboration

Update on Regional Collaboration Efforts

Commissioner Chester said the Department is promoting more regional collaboration among the Commonwealth's 330 operating school districts, half of which serve fewer than 2000 students. Associate Commissioner Lynda Foisy updated the Board on an initiative to provide a regional system of support to districts. She said the Department has launched a pilot "regional school improvement assistance center" to enhance the capacity of nine districts in the greater Boston metropolitan area to identify and respond to the needs of their low performing schools. Associate Commissioner Jeff Wulfson said that over the past year, interest in creating or expanding regional districts has increased, and that effort has been aided by planning grants. He described proposals that are being considered in various parts of the state, and said the approach is to encourage and assist local officials and citizens in studying options and identifying solutions that make sense for their communities.

Amendments to Regional School District Regulations (603 CMR 41)

The Board voted to approve amendments to the regulations governing regional school districts around three issues: a transition period following the creation of new regional school districts, procedures for member towns to determine the method of assessing regional district costs, and procedures to be followed if a town fails to hold a town meeting to reconsider a previously rejected regional district budget.

Update on the State-Led Common Core Standards Initiative and Revision of English Language Arts and Mathematics Curriculum Frameworks

Commissioner Chester said several states, including Massachusetts, are joining under the auspices of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governors Association (NGA) to develop a common core of academic standards. The commissioner said Massachusetts is widely acknowledged as a leader in setting high standards, and no state will have to compromise on its own standards for this national effort.

Deputy Commissioner Jeff Nellhaus provided an update to the Board on the Department's work on revising the English Language Arts and Mathematics Curriculum Frameworks.

Next Meeting

The next regular meeting of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education is scheduled for Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in Malden. A special meeting will take place on the evening Monday, June 22, 2009 at the Department.