District/School Administration Administration
Board in Brief

Thursday, March 13, 1997

This is Board in Brief, issued at the request of Commissioner Bob Antonucci, to bring you up to date on Board of Education developments of interest to the Department staff. The following is a report on the Board meeting held on Monday, March 10, 1997 at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in Malden.

Under-Performing Schools

The Board voted unanimously, on Commissioner Antonucci's recommendation, to solicit public comment on two proposed regulatory changes: adoption of regulations on under performing schools and districts, and an amendment to the regulations on revocation of educators' certificates. The Board postponed for later consideration proposed legislation to permit the Commissioner to remove from office a school official found, after an administrative hearing, to have willfully violated or neglected his or her duty under state law.

The proposed regulations on under-performing schools and districts set out the indicators and procedures for a declaration of "under performance" and "chronic under-performance" as authorized by the Education Reform Act. The proposal identifies the following indicators of school or school district under-performance which could trigger intervention by the Commissioner and Board of Education: student performance on state assessments or other standardized tests; dropout rates; student attendance rates; NEASC accreditation status; compliance with state and federal laws; and facility, program or operational deficiencies. Additional indicators for school districts would be: compliance with school appropriation and spending requirements; and management of district resources. Under the regulations, the Board would adopt on a yearly basis specific standards for student academic performance, dropout rates and attendance rates.

The proposed amendment to the current regulation on revocation of certificates would specify that "other good cause" for the Commissioner to consider revoking an educator's certificate could include "action or inaction that results in the loss of accreditation of a public school, or failure to comply with laws applicable to the certificate holder." A certificate could be revoked only after the Commissioner issues a notice of probable cause, and the certificate holder has the opportunity for an administrative hearing.

"We would not use our authority under either of these proposed regulations arbitrarily," Commissioner Antonucci said. "We would conduct fact-finding and adhere to due process. But these are options we could use when students are not getting the quality education they deserve."

While acknowledging the state has a duty to protect student rights, teacher representatives argued for greater specificity in the criteria used to judge school and district under-performance. They also said any criteria must account for the diversity of districts and the different student populations they serve.

"The Education Reform Act establishes a state duty to guarantee equal opportunity. But we also have a strong tradition of local control," said Meline Kasparian, President of the Massachusetts Teachers Association. "Any process that deprives a community of local control needs to have clear criteria."

Kathy Kelley, President of the Massachusetts Federation of Teachers, said a single standard for dropouts, attendance, and test scores could not adequately evaluate districts of different sizes with different demographics. "We must judge districts differently," said Kelley, "using criteria that are clear, concise, and fairly applied."

Peter Finn, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, said clearer standards are also needed when judging whether to revoke a superintendent's certificate. He said loss of school accreditation by itself is not a suitable measure since that could be influenced by circumstances beyond an administrator's control. "Ending someone's career should not be tied to something as complicated as accreditation," Finn said. It might be appropriate for a school committee to dismiss a superintendent should a school lose accreditation, he added, but "revocation of the right to practice should result only from a serious breach of moral, ethical or legal standards."

Chairman John Silber responded that there are circumstances in which superintendents could be held responsible for loss of school accreditation. He stated that educational malpractice is as serious as medical or legal malpractice, and the Commissioner should be able to consider "gross incompetence" as a standard for the revocation of an educator's certificate.

History and Social Science Framework

The Board received the newly revised draft of the History and Social Science curriculum framework and agreed to send it out for public comment. A final framework may be approved by the Board at its April meeting.

Board member James Peyser said he and other members of the Board's framework committee worked closely with members of previous framework committees in producing the latest draft. "This reflects the good work of the previous committees, and is substantially improved from the December draft," Mr. Peyser said.

Mr. Peyser listed areas in which the new draft addresses concerns of those who commented on the December document. He said this version was constructed with wide public participation. It includes 18 learning standards across four strands that are fully integrated with content. The draft is less detailed than previous versions, and strives toward greater integration across topics and disciplines. While Western civilization is still at the core of the framework, it has greatly expanded the coverage of non-Western history and culture. This draft incorporates core concepts, framing questions, and other features that will make it useful to teachers. Finally, the framework distributes material more evenly between that which schools are expected to teach up through grade 10, and that to be covered in grades 11 and 12.

"We have provided guidance for teachers to design curriculum to teach history in context, not in isolation," said Mr. Peyser. "This framework maximizes learning across disciplines, across time, and across cultures."

"This has been an open and inclusive process," Commissioner Antonucci said. "We will never reach full consensus on a framework that covers a topic as broad as history and social science, but we are doing our best to get a high quality document." The draft framework is being sent to school districts and is available on the internet at www.doe.mass.edu. In addition, public hearings on the framework will be held later this month. Comments are due by March 26.

Reading List

The Board continued its discussion of adding a required list of literature to the English Language Arts curriculum framework, focusing on the cost and quality implications in relation to statewide student assessment in English Language Arts. Chairman Silber said the Board will proceed carefully in considering development of a reading list. "We are going ahead with no prior commitment even to have a list," said Chairman Silber. "There will be no rush to judgment on this. We will not decide until we have fully considered all ramifications."

Certificate of Mastery

The Board discussed possible standards for the certificate of mastery, following up on the initial review in February. Several options were considered: achieving a score of four or better on two or more Advanced Placement tests; successfully passing the International Baccalaureate program; or achieving specific scores on three Scholastic Achievement Test II examinations. The Board asked the Commissioner to provide additional information on various options and to discuss with higher education representatives ways to enhance the certificate, such as through a scholarship program. The Board will consider this issue again at a future meeting.

Other Matters

The Board voted to adopt revised regulations on School Finance and Accountability, and to repeal obsolete regulations on tuition assistance. The Board also approved five grants, of $12,800 each, to support Massachusetts Family Literacy Consortium training activities. Receiving the grants were Bristol Community College, Roxbury Community College, Holyoke Community Center, Quinsigamond Community College, and Northern Essex Community Center. The $64,000 will support the integration of family literacy services within each community.

The next Board meeting will be held on April 14 in Springfield. The meeting will be broadcast live on MCET and aired later that week on WGBH.

Note: The May 12 Board meeting, previously scheduled for Malden, has been relocated to Melrose High School where student Board member Alexis Vagianos is a senior.