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The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education

Update on Six Commonwealth Priority Schools

To:Members of the Board of Education
From:Jeffrey Nellhaus, Acting Commissioner of Education
Date:February 19, 2008

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The purpose of this memorandum is to update the Board of Education on the status of six Commonwealth Priority Schools. My initial recommendation was to designate the schools as Chronically Underperforming Schools (Priority 1 Schools). The schools have been in Commonwealth Priority School status for 5-8 years and while they have strived to make improvements in curriculum, instruction, and leadership, they have not realized significant improvements in student performance. The Board has deferred action on these schools and is engaging in a broader discussion about the state's school and district accountability system.

Background

At the Board meetings in November and December, we reviewed and discussed my recommendations on the status of fourteen Commonwealth Priority Schools (CPS) identified as such during the review periods of 2000 through 2004. As a result of those discussions, the Board removed four schools from CPS status and determined that another four should remain in CPS status. The Board has not yet made a determination on the status of the remaining six schools (four in Springfield and one each in Holyoke and Lawrence). At the January Board meeting, a special afternoon session provided the opportunity for Board members to hear a presentation and overview on our school and district accountability system and discuss specific questions.

Current Accountability System

Our accountability system is grounded in state statute and regulation, providing guidance for the designation of Commonwealth Priority Schools (603 CMR 2.03). The regulations also articulate some of the supports to be provided by the Department to the school and district in the event of such a determination.

Supports for schools designated as Commonwealth Priority Schools include:

  • Guidance and tools to support fact-finding and the development of a District Plan for School Intervention. The Department has developed surveys, inventory documents and written guidance to help a district gather pertinent information about the priority needs of its schools.
  • The opportunity to interact with educational experts: The State Review Panel (SRP) provides district and school leaders with the benefit of their professional judgment regarding the viability of planned improvement efforts. The SRP may direct district and school leaders to conduct further planning work or direct Department support for further fact-finding before making a recommendation to the Commissioner and the Board on plan approval.
  • Leadership development: The Department gives priority to principals in CPS to engage in National Institute for School Leadership (NISL) training.
  • Implementation support: In Springfield and Lawrence, support is provided to both the district and its CPS to assist them in focusing inquiry, promoting the effective implementation of improvement strategies, and determining whether or not the chosen strategies are having the intended impact in schools and classrooms. Collaborative Implementation Support teams comprised of staff from across the Department promote focused and aligned approaches for support. The support includes:
    • Providing guidance focused on instructional leadership, classroom practices, teacher collaboration, and staffing;
    • Convening and modeling structured site visits and analyses in schools with district and school leaders;
    • Conducting data driven problem solving sessions with district leaders to identify and design the adaptive and technical solutions needed for systematic improvement; and
    • Collaborating to identify resources and strategies to address identified problems.

    In Holyoke, the district's underperforming status has resulted in a partnership with America's Choice as the district's Turnaround Partner. That initiative includes a process that is similar to the Implementation Support described above and is an integral part of the America's Choice design in all Holyoke schools.

Supports designated for chronically underperforming schools:

When a CPS fails to demonstrate significant improvement in student performance within 24 months after the Board has approved the school's remedial plan, the statute and regulations require the Board to consider a determination of chronic underperformance. At this juncture, M.G.L. c. 69, § 1J sets out the following, more intensive supports:

  • Removal of the school's principal, unless the Board finds that the principal did not play a significant role in the underperformance of the school;
  • Authority of the principal to dismiss teachers with professional teacher status (i.e., tenure) for good cause, following specified procedures that may differ from those provided under the collective bargaining agreement;
  • Authority for the superintendent, during the period of remediation, to increase the salary of any principal or teacher assigned to the school (by not more than 1% for every 10% of enrolled low income students at the school), provided that funds are appropriated and made available by the Commissioner;
  • Funding from the district that is at least equal to the average per pupil funding received for students of the same classification and grade levels; and
  • Other actions determined by the Board to be reasonably calculated to increase the number of students at the school who will meet state standards.

It has been the Department's practice to secure a Turnaround Partner for a school designated as chronically underperforming. In these schools, where more intensive assistance is needed, the Department has invested in America's Choice as the designated Turnaround Partner. Currently, with 3 schools so designated, the Department has contributed approximately $150,000 annually per school. The schools have implemented a comprehensive school reform model that has changed curriculum and instructional practices, provided teachers with professional development, designed services and supports for students, and helped school leaders develop their skills.

  • The Department has also supported hiring and awarding performance bonuses for principals in two of the schools at an annual cost of approximately $20,000 per principal to ensure stability for strong instructional leadership at the schools.
  • Principals in the chronically underperforming school have participated in NISL training.

Two of the schools currently designated as chronically underperforming or Priority 1 Schools (Henry Lord Middle School and Matthew Kuss Middle School in Fall River) have made significant progress in 2007, making AYP for students in the aggregate in both English language arts and mathematics. A second consecutive year of comparable improvement will remove the schools from Priority 1 status. In the case of the third school (William Peck Middle School in Holyoke), improvement is noted in both subject areas; the school made AYP in ELA but not in mathematics. At the October 2007 meeting, the Board received more detailed memo on the progress of these three schools.

Next Steps

We are continuing to work with school and district leaders and other stakeholders to examine our current state accountability policies and procedures in an effort to determine whether the system is producing desired results and is aligned with the emerging research and best practices. We expect that the new Commissioner will have this issue high on his agenda.

In the meantime, Department staff will continue to work with superintendents, principals, teachers and others in Springfield, Lawrence and Holyoke to support their school improvement efforts. As Commonwealth Priority Schools, the six schools will continue to receive the services described above. To the extent possible, we will make other resources available to these districts and schools and will collaborate with them in determining the specific supports needed.



last updated: February 22, 2008
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