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

Briefing for the March 23, 2009 Special Meeting and the March 24, 2009 Regular Meeting

The next regular meeting of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will be on Tuesday, March 24, 2009, at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's offices at 75 Pleasant Street in Malden. The meeting will start at 8:30 a.m. (coffee will be available at 8) and will adjourn by 1 p.m. The Board also will hold a special meeting at the Department's offices in Malden starting at 6 p.m. on Monday evening, March 23, to discuss charter school policy. If you need overnight accommodations or any additional information about the schedule, please call Beverley O'Riordan at (781) 338-3118.

Overview

Our special meeting on Monday evening will focus on charter school policy. The agenda for our regular meeting on Tuesday includes an update on the state education budget and federal stimulus funding for education, a presentation on our development of a growth model for measuring and reporting on student progress, a progress report on the mathematics curriculum framework revision process, discussion and vote on the graduation rate standard for FY09 AYP determinations, and a discussion and vote on a charter amendment.

Special Meeting

At the Board's November 2008 meeting, we presented an overview of the charter school review and renewal process. The Board took action on several individual charter school matters at the December, January, and February meetings. Members expressed interest in stepping away from the school-by-school decisions and having a broader policy discussion about charter schools. That is the purpose of the special meeting on March 23rd. We have gathered suggestions from members and organized them into topical areas. Your materials include background information such as the Massachusetts charter school statute and regulations, accountability standards, factual information, and answers to frequently asked questions.

At the special meeting, Secretary Reville will present an overview of various options for school structure. Associate Commissioner Jeff Wulfson and Charter Schools Director Mary Street will describe the Department's procedures and contrast the requirements and approaches used in other states. We look forward to an interesting and productive discussion with the Board that will help guide our policy decisions in the future.

Regular Meeting

Comments from the Chair

Chair Banta will report on current issues and activities, including her appointment of members to the Proficiency Gap Committee and her charge to the committee.

Comments from the Commissioner

1. Fall River Public Schools. In January 2009, Fall River Mayor Robert Correia agreed that the Fall River school district was in critical need of an evaluation by our Department in light of the recent transition of school leadership. The mayor shared my belief that a comprehensive external review of district practices could yield findings and recommendations that would benefit the students and schools of Fall River. The review team spent several days in Fall River gathering information, observing classroom instruction, and conducting extensive interviews. I have sent Board members an electronic copy of the Fall River District Evaluation Report prepared by the Office of School and District Accountability, which we sent to the district leadership and mayor earlier this month. The report paints a picture of a district with persistent, serious and systemic problems, although we have seen some promising signs of forward momentum. We have asked the Fall River School Committee to submit a recovery plan, and have asked the district to work closely with a monitor whom we will assign to the community to oversee its progress. We will assess the district's progress against its plan and determine if additional interventions are needed.

2. Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework Review. The Department is soliciting applications to serve on the Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework review panel and is inviting educators and others to respond to a survey of the current framework. The survey asks for feedback on the current framework with respect to the standards; inquiry and design skills; organization and use of the framework; and resources listed in it. The deadline for survey responses is April 17, 2009.

   For the review panel , we are seeking representation from science and technology/engineering educators, faculty, and school leaders serving all grade levels as well as ELL and special education specialists and community representatives. The review panel will consider whether and how to revise the framework to reflect current policy, research on science education and learning, and achievement in science and technology/engineering needed for college and careers. Applications must be submitted by Friday, March 27, 2009. Applicants selected for appointment to the panel will be notified mid-April 2009. If Board members would like to suggest candidates for the review panel, please contact Deputy Commissioner Jeff Nellhaus or me.

3. David Haselkorn. I am pleased to announce that David Haselkorn will be starting later this month as our Associate Commissioner for Educator Policy, overseeing the policy, licensure, and educator preparation responsibilities. David's hire brings us closer to realizing the reorganization that I announced last fall and continues our commitment to educator quality as a key priority.

   David has a rich and varied background that is focused on educator policy and quality. He is finishing an assignment as Senior Fellow and Director of Policy Studies at the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. David served previously as President of Recruiting New Teachers and as Vice President for Strategic and Policy Initiatives at Lesley University. He has worked as a policy advisor to David Rockefeller, Jr. and as a research associate with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. David has served with the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, the U.S. Department of Education, and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. In addition, he has authored a number of policy studies and other publications.

   I look forward to the experience, energy, and intellectual vitality that David will bring to the Department. I will introduce him to the Board so that you can join me in welcoming him.

Comments from the Secretary

Items for Discussion and Action

1. Update on State Education Budget and Federal Stimulus Funding for Education - Discussion

   I have enclosed a copy of the testimony I presented at the March 9th Ways and Means Committee hearing on the FY2010 state budget for education. Also enclosed is a PowerPoint overview of the federal economic stimulus legislation, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). I will update the Board on our budget planning, including the latest information we have on the ARRA. Secretary Reville will brief the Board on the education budget perspective from the Governor's office.

2. Measuring Student Progress in Massachusetts: Development of the Growth Model - Discussion

   I am pleased to be able to report on the Department's development of a growth model for measuring student progress. It is based on a new metric that we are planning to use beginning in the fall of 2009 to report the extent to which student performance, as measured by MCAS, has changed over time. This is an important complement to the year-by-year test scores, since it takes into account each student's prior achievement when calculating progress. At our March 24th meeting, Deputy Commissioner Jeff Nellhaus will explain the derivation of the metric; illustrate how it can be used in reports for individual students, schools, and districts; and describe how we intend to pilot the metric this spring in several districts.

3. Charter School Policy - Recap of Special Meeting and Continuing Discussion

   Chair Banta and I will recap the discussion and anticipated next steps from our special meeting.

4. Progress Report on Mathematics Curriculum Framework Revision Process - Discussion

   This month we are presenting a report on our progress in updating the 2000 Mathematics Curriculum Framework. The framework revision panel recently completed Phase I of their work, which was to identify areas for revision. In Phase II, Department staff, panel members, and additional experts will use the progress report to produce the first draft of a revised framework. I plan to present the first draft to the Board for comments in the fall of 2009, and then disseminate it to content experts for external review and benchmarking. Deputy Commissioner Nellhaus and I look forward to discussing the progress report with you.

5. Proposed Revisions to Graduation Rate Standard for FY09 AYP Determinations -Discussion and Vote

   At the Board's February 24th meeting, we had an initial discussion of changes I am recommending to the graduation rate standards to be used in our determinations of adequate yearly progress (AYP) for FY09, in order to comply with federal requirements under the No Child Left Behind Act. We refined the proposal based on that discussion. I recommend that the Board vote on the graduation rate standard this month so that we can submit it to the U.S. Department of Education for approval.

6. Charter Amendment Request from MATCH Charter Public School - Discussion and Vote

   MATCH Charter Public School, located in Boston, has requested an increase in its maximum enrollment, to be phased in over the next few years. I recommend that the Board approve the school's request to increase maximum enrollment by 40 additional seats. Details are included in the materials under Tab 6.

Other Items for Information

7. Education-Related News Clippings

   Enclosed are several recent articles about education.

8. "College Readiness: Massachusetts Compiles the Data"

   Carrie Conaway, our director of planning, research, and evaluation, wrote an article on the school-to-college database for the Spring 2009 issue of Communities and Banking, a publication of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Carrie's article provides an excellent overview of this collaborative effort between the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Department of Higher Education. A copy is enclosed under Tab 8. The article is available online at http://www.bos.frb.org/commdev/c&b/2009/spring/Carrie_Conaway_college_readiness.pdf.

9. Dropout Prevention and Recovery Initiatives

   As a companion to the agenda item on the graduation rate standard for Adequate Yearly Progress determinations under the No Child Left Behind Act, I am providing the Board with documents describing some of the Department's activities regarding dropout prevention and recovery.

10. Report on Grants and Charter School Extended Loan Terms Approved by Commissioner

    Under Tab 10 is a report on grants that I have approved, per the Board's vote in October 2008 to delegate grant approvals to the commissioner. This authorization allows us to make decisions and inform grant applicants on a timely basis. The Board also delegated authority to me to approve extended loan terms for charter schools, a routine administrative matter. I have not approved any such loan terms since my last report.

11. Directions to the Meeting

If you have questions about any agenda items, please call me. I look forward to seeing you at our offices in Malden on March 23rd and 24th.