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

Briefing for the December 18, 2007 Regular Meeting of the Board of Education

The next regular meeting of the Board of Education will be on Tuesday, December 18, 2007, at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in Malden, starting at 9:00 a.m. Coffee will be available at 8:30 a.m. The meeting will adjourn by 12:00 noon. If you need overnight accommodations or any additional information about the schedule, please call Belinda Wilson at (781) 338-3118.

Overview

The first item on our business agenda is a presentation from the legislative co-chairs of the Special Commission on After-School and Out-of-School Time. We have two action items carried over from the November meeting: my recommendations on ten underperforming (Commonwealth Priority) schools and a vote to formally approve the guidelines for the mathematical preparation of elementary teachers. We will hear a presentation from Professor Mary Walsh of Boston College on support for students. We will discuss the report of the Graduation Rate Task Force and have an initial discussion on three charter schools that are up for renewal. Our meeting agenda also includes a vote on two additional advisory council appointments and approval of state and federal grants.

Regular Meeting

The Chairman will give an update on the commissioner search process. He also will invite members Ruth Kaplan and Tom Fortmann, the Board's ad hoc committee on public comment, to present their recommendations on the public comment process.

I will report on current issues and activities.

Items for Discussion and Action

1. Report of the Special Commission on After-School and Out-of-School Time - Discussion
   State Representative Marie St. Fleur and State Senator Thomas McGee, co-chairs of the Special Commission on After-School and Out-of-School Time, will present the commission's recommendations to the Board. Commissioner Ann Reale and Associate Commissioner Carole Thomson represented the Department of Early Education and Care and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on the 36-member commission. Enclosed with your materials is the commission's November 2007 report/executive summary, Our Common Wealth: Building a Future for our Children and Youth.

2. Commissioner's Recommendations on 10 Underperforming Schools - Discussion and Vote
   At our November meeting, the Board voted to declare that four schools from the 2000-2004 cohort will no longer be identified as Commonwealth Priority Schools in light of the progress they have made. The Board deferred action on ten other schools. I recommend that the Board vote this month to maintain four of those schools in Commonwealth Priority Schools status and declare six schools - four in Springfield and one each in Holyoke and Lawrence - Priority 1 schools. We have invited the superintendents from Springfield (Joseph Burke), Holyoke (Eduardo Carballo), and Lawrence (Wilfredo Laboy) to the meeting to present their views regarding the Priority 1 recommendations.

3. Guidelines for the Mathematical Preparation of Elementary Teachers - Discussion and Vote
   This item is carried over from the November meeting. In April 2007 the Board voted to approve amendments to the Educator Licensure Regulations to strengthen the mathematical preparation and knowledge of elementary and K-8 special education teachers. In August, we distributed Guidelines for the Mathematical Preparation of Elementary Teachers, to explain the scope and depth of knowledge expected in elementary mathematics. Board member Tom Fortmann played a major role in drafting the guidelines. I recommend that the Board vote this month to formally approve the guidelines. This is an important step in strengthening the teaching and learning of mathematics in our schools.

4. Support for Students - Continuing Discussion
   In September the Board had an initial discussion with Dr. Rick Weissbourd of the Harvard Graduate School of Education on ways to assist schools and districts in providing the various kinds of emotional, social, physical and mental health support that students need in order to be successful in school. As part of our continuing consideration of this important topic, we have invited Dr. Mary Walsh, the Daniel E. Kearns Professor of Education and Innovative Leadership at Boston College, to talk with the Board this month about "Boston Connects," an innovative school-community-university partnership that serves children and families in Boston.

5. Report of Graduation Rate Task Force - Discussion
   In February 2007, the Board voted to set a graduation rate standard for purposes of calculating Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for high schools under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The Board also voted to establish a task force, chaired by Board member Harneen Chernow, to review additional data related to the graduation rate and to consider strategies to increase the percentage of students who graduate from high school. The task force is presenting its report this month. At our January 2008 meeting, I expect to make a recommendation on the graduation rate that we will propose to the U.S. Department of Education for AYP purposes in our updated state accountability plan.

6. Charter Renewals for Three Schools: Boston Collegiate, Excel, and Smith Leadership Academy - Initial Discussion
   Three charter renewals are presented to the Board this month for initial review and discussion: Boston Collegiate Charter School, Excel Academy Charter School, and Smith Leadership Academy Charter Public School. These three charter schools are all located in Boston. Associate Commissioner Jeff Wulfson and Charter School Director Mary Street will be at the Board meeting to respond to any questions about charter school matters. The Board will vote in January on these charter renewals.

7. Advisory Council Appointments - Vote on Two Additional Appointments
   The Board voted in October on appointments and reappointments of members to various advisory councils. Two names were inadvertently omitted from the lists you received in October. I recommend that the Board vote this month to appoint the two additional members.

8. Approval of Grants - Vote

   Presented for your approval this month are grants totaling $1,886,951 under the following programs:

   • Vocational Technical Education Framework in Criminal Justice ($40,000 - federal funds)
   • Gifted and Talented Services, School Year Program ($430,118 - state funds)
   • Gifted and Talented Services, Summer Program ($87,099 - state funds)
   • Gifted and Talented Planning, School Year Program ($161,077 - state funds)
   • Gifted and Talented Planning, Summer Program ($39,532 - state funds)
   • Gifted and Talented, Implementation Support ($28,446 - state funds)
   • Collaborative Partnerships for Student Success, School Year Program ($175,161 - state funds)
   • Collaborative Partnerships for Student Success, Summer Program ($352,958 - state funds)
   • Pathways to Family Success in Literacy ($20,000 increase - federal funds)
   • Pathways to Family Success in Literacy ($10,992 increase - federal funds)
   • Mass. Reading First Targeted Assistance ($541,568 - federal funds)

   I recommend that the Board approve the grants as presented. If you have questions about any of the grants, we will be pleased to respond.

Other Items for Information

9. Education-Related News Clippings
   Enclosed for your information are several recent newspaper articles about education.

10. Update on Randolph Public Schools
    The Board voted on November 27th to declare Randolph an underperforming school district. Enclosed are copies of two memos dated December 3rd, one updating the Board on the financial situation in the Randolph Public Schools and the other announcing the formation and planned actions of our district leadership review team.

11. Reports on Benjamin Banneker Charter Public School, Boston Renaissance Charter Public School, North Central Charter Essential School, Uphams Corner Charter School
    Enclosed under Tab 11 are progress reports on four charter schools, each of which is required to meet certain conditions that the Board imposed on its charter in 2006 or 2007. The memos on each school include links to more detailed information that is available on our website.

12. Directions to the Meeting

If you have questions about any agenda items, please call me. I look forward to seeing you in Malden on December 18th.