District/School AdministrationAdministration
The Massachusetts Board of Education

Recommendations from State Review Panels on District Plans for School Intervention - Commissioner's Districts

Background

Over a five-week period from March through May 2008, the Department convened nine State Review Panels to review district Plans for School Intervention submitted by leadership teams from the nine "Commissioner's Districts:" Boston, Brockton, Fall River, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell, New Bedford, Springfield and Worcester. These Plans set out the priority initiatives identified by district leaders in response to the identified needs of their Commonwealth Priority Schools. In total, 54 Commonwealth Priority Schools are addressed in the nine Plans.

In all nine cases, the State Review Panels recommended Board approval of the districts' Plans for School Intervention. State Review Panels determined that the improvement initiatives and strategies set out by each district leadership team in their written plans and in their presentations to panelists demonstrated appropriate consideration of the needs in their Commonwealth Priority Schools.

In five of the State Review Panel meetings, (Brockton, Fall River, Lawrence, Lowell and Worcester), panelists determined that no further clarifications or edits were required. In four of the districts, (Boston, Holyoke, New Bedford and Springfield), panelists requested further written clarification. Although panelists agree that the priority initiatives identified in these four plans are appropriate, they recommended that more information be added to the plans. The requested clarifications are identified in the State Review Panel Findings and Recommendations Report that is provided under each specific district section.

At last month's meeting, the Board reviewed the findings and recommendations made by each State Review Panel regarding the viability of the Plans. At the June meeting, I will ask the Board to accept each of the districts' Plans for School Intervention.

Update

District leaders from Boston, Holyoke, New Bedford and Springfield have responded to the panels' requests for further information by submitting written clarification to the Department. This information is included in the Board packet under each district section. Department staff have reviewed the responses and note the following:

Boston
The Boston Leadership Team has provided adequate written clarification of the next, most immediate steps the district plans to take in order to improve the quality of services and supports for students with special needs. As was noted during the State Review Panel session, district leaders plan to undertake a major reexamination of existing special education programs in order to make redesign decisions and develop a more systematic and complete continuum of services. District leaders also submitted clarification of their plan to address the learning needs of students identified as English language learners. In this narrative, they identify the specific strategies the district will undertake in order to build new capacity to more successfully meet the needs of this large subgroup.

Holyoke
The Holyoke Leadership Team has responded adequately to the State Review Panels' request for further information regarding the district's plan for redesigning the Holyoke Alternative Program. The district has provided its concept paper, setting out the progress made and the challenges still to be faced in this redesigned model. The concept paper discusses the proposed structure of the program at the early childhood, intermediate, middle and high school levels. District leaders state that staffing issues are a continuing concern, since it is essential to ensure that the adults working with these students are not only highly-qualified in their professional credentialing, but have a deep understanding of students' emotional and behavioral needs. The new "Center for Excellence" is expected to open for the start of the 2008-2009 school year. District leaders appear to have developed a plan that is based on their analysis of unique student needs and has the potential to create a more positive learning environment.

New Bedford
The New Bedford Leadership Team has responded adequately to the State Review Panel's request for clarification of their Plan. The district has submitted a response that establishes why they identified the three key initiatives set out in their District Plan for School Intervention, specifically their use of MCAS data to identify a focus on both English language arts and mathematics. Leaders have clarified the connections between their analyses of data, the decisions they made regarding identification of priorities, and the top-level strategies they presented in their Plan. For each of the major strategies to be implemented, they have articulated measurable outcomes.

Springfield
The Springfield Leadership Team has responded adequately to the State Review Panel's requests for further information. Specifically, the Team has provided information to clarify the Panel's concerns regarding the high teacher turnover that has plagued the district over the past several years. The district has initiated several interventions designed to address this problem and has already made some progress in interrupting this pattern. Through collective bargaining efforts, the district has raised compensation and created a new Teacher Evaluation and Development System that emphasizes teacher professional development and embeds teacher support as part of teacher accountability for learning. The district is also addressing the need to create more opportunities for teacher leadership as part of a broader strategy to retain highly-qualified personnel. Another aspect of this initiative includes the administration and analysis of the KEYS teacher perception survey as a means of collecting data to inform next steps in the district's efforts to retain teachers.

Information on each of the nine districts is provided under Tabs 1-9. For each district, we have included:

1. A copy of the district's Plan for School Intervention
2. The State Review Panel Findings and Recommendations Report
3. Further information requested by State Review Panels: Boston, Holyoke, New Bedford, Springfield

I recommend that the Board accept these nine plans this month and direct the districts to proceed with their improvement initiatives. We will monitor their progress and report to the Board periodically on the results they have achieved.

Associate Commissioners Juliane Dow and Lynda Foisy will be present at the meeting to respond to questions Board members may have.

Supporting Materials

Boston Public Schools

	Boston – Special Education District Plan
	Boston – English Language Learner District Plan
	State Review Panel Findings and Recommendations Report
	District Plan for School Intervention    Phineas Bates Elementary School

Brockton Public Schools

	State Review Panel Findings and Recommendations Report
	District Plan for School Intervention    Using Standards and Data to Improve Achievement

Fall River Public Schools

	State Review Panel Findings and Recommendations Report
	District Plan for School Intervention

Holyoke Public Schools

	Holyoke – Revised Plan
	State Review Panel Findings and Recommendations Report
	District Plan for School Intervention

Lawrence Public Schools

	State Review Panel Findings and Recommendations Report
	District Plan for School Intervention

Lowell Public Schools

	State Review Panel Findings and Recommendations Report
	District Plan for School Intervention

New Bedford Public Schools

	New Bedford – Revised Plan
	State Review Panel Findings and Recommendations Report
	District Plan for School Intervention

Springfield Public Schools

	Springfield – District Plan for School Intervention (Revised)
	State Review Panel Findings and Recommendations Report
	District Plan for School Intervention    Elias Brookings Elementary School    Daniel Brunton Elementary School    Chestnut Accelerated Middle School    John F. Kennedy Middle School    Van Sickle Middle School

Worcester Public Schools

	State Review Panel Findings and Recommendations Report
	District Plan for School Intervention    Analysis of School Improvement Initiatives Spring 2008    Canterbury Street School Plan for Improvement Identified Needs