Commissioner's Update
August 21, 2006
Dear Superintendents, and Leaders of Charter Schools and Collaboratives:
As we gear up for another school year, I am pleased to see that educators across the state are continuing to find new ways to improve student achievement. While I hope everyone took at least a few days off to relax, I know of countless teachers and administrators who spent their summer working on lesson plans, participating in professional development opportunities and thinking about what's best for children.
Each one of you deserves great credit for the excellent work that you do for the children of the Commonwealth, and I look forward to yet another successful school year.
As always, I am sending you the Department's annual "Back to School" update containing information I hope will be useful to you as you prepare for the new school year. In this letter I have nine announcements and eight items recently posted on our website.
Update
Superintendents' Checklist
The final version of the 2006-2007 Superintendents' Checklist is now posted on the ESE Website. The checklist provides Superintendents and Charter School leaders with a list of items that must be reported to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, as well as details on other requirements. The checklist is set up in chronological order so that it can be easily followed throughout the school year. This year's checklist can be viewed at:
MS Word File: http://www.doe.mass.edu/resources/supt_checklist.doc
and PDF File: http://www.doe.mass.edu/resources/supt_checklist.pdf.
Addition of Dropout Prevention Liaison to Directory Administration
Please note that beginning with the upcoming school year, all districts are required to identify a person at the district level to serve as the Dropout Prevention Liaison. This person will be responsible for communicating with the Department on issues regarding dropout prevention and recovery. All public school districts - regardless of the district dropout rate and grade levels served - must identify a person in Directory Administration for this role. The Dropout Prevention Liaison should be familiar with district-wide efforts related to dropout prevention and recovery. If an individual is not identified for this role, the responsibilities will default to the district superintendent.
MCAS Performance Appeals
The Board of Education is seeking comment until late September on proposed amendments to Regulations on Performance Appeals for the Competency Determination, 603 CMR 30.05. The proposed amendments will: (1) allow a student or parent to request that the Commissioner review a superintendent's decision not to file a performance appeal in limited circumstances; (2) allow superintendents to file appeals for students who do not meet the 216 minimum test score requirement; (3) add additional detail regarding the grounds upon which the Commissioner can waive the eligibility requirements of attendance and participation in remediation programs; and (4) in cases when a performance appeal is denied, require the superintendent to notify the student and/or parent of the grounds for the denial by the Commissioner.
The Board will vote on the proposed amendments in October, and subsequent guidance will be posted at http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcasappeals/. Please continue to submit requests to waive the 216 minimum for non-disabled students until notified otherwise. Copies of the proposed amendments are available on the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's website at http://www.doe.mass.edu/lawsregs/.
I also want to remind you that portfolio appeals should be submitted for students who generally participate in smaller class sizes that may result in cohorts of less than 6 students. Performance appeal filing guidelines are at http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcasappeals/. Please call 781-338-3333 or email mcasappeals@doe.mass.edu for more assistance. For portfolio appeals call 781-338-3625.
High Schools of the Future II: Lessons from Reforming Schools
The High Schools of the Future II conference will be held on October 12 at the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel and Conference Center in Marlborough, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The conference is intended to assist school and district leaders develop ideas/plans for high school redesign and to help improve the state's graduation and college and career readiness rates. It is a follow-up event to our highly successful High Schools of the Future conference held in January 2006. Keynote speakers for this full-day conference include Pedro Noguera, Professor at the Steinhardt School of Education at New York University, and Olivia Ifill-Lynch, Director of Professional Learning for the School Redesign Network at Stanford University. The day will also include several morning and afternoon breakout sessions presented by high school practitioners.
The conference is co-sponsored by the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy, the Center for Collaborative Education and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. For more information, please go to http://www.doe.mass.edu/hsreform/conference/hsfutureII.html.
After School and Out-of-School Time Programs
The Department is pleased to announce that the Commonwealth allocated $1,000,000 in the Department's FY 2007 budget for after school and out-of-school time programs. Public and non-public schools, community-based organizations, and institutions of higher education are eligible for the funding. In accordance with the FY07 budget language, funding priority will be given to proposals developed collaboratively by public and non-public schools and private community-based programs. The Request for Proposals (RFP) will be released the week of August 21st. Please visit our Grants Management website to access this competitive RFP.
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics STEM SUMMIT III "Securing the Future: Closing the STEM Achievement Gap"
I'm pleased to inform you that U.S. Education Secretary, Margaret Spellings, will give the keynote address at the STEM Summit III on Wednesday, October 25th, in Sturbridge. Please review the attached announcement and forward the message to your science, technology, engineering and math faculty members and department heads.
Fire Reporting Law
A new law passed in early May (Chapter 80 of the Acts of 2006) requires schools to report fires to local fire authorities on a form  designed by the Department of Fire Services. This law will take effect at the start of the 2006-2007 school year. Fire and law enforcement authorities have long sought this law so they can better protect their communities. For more information on this look online: http://www.mass.gov/dfs/index.shtm.
DPH Fact Sheet
A fact sheet has been released from the Department of Public Health regarding regulations pertaining to the distribution of information about the meningococcal disease and vaccine. Secondary schools are required to provide information regarding the risk of meningococcal disease and the availability, effectiveness and risks of meningococcal vaccine to a parent or guardian at the time of initial enrollment. Questions regarding this requirement can be directed to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology and Immunization at (617) 983-6800.
Wellness Policy Requirements
The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 requires all local educational agencies to have a wellness policy in place for this school year. Several resources are available to assist in the implementation of your plans. Resources are available at http://www.doe.mass.edu/cnp/resources.html. This website will be updated with additional resources on an ongoing basis.
Postings at www.doe.mass.edu:
- Legal Holidays; Accommodation for Religious Observances
- Legislative Action on Behalf of students with Disabilities, Summer 2006
- Important MCAS Notice: Change in November 2006 Retest Schedule
- Reporting Discrepancies in Spring 2006 MCAS Results
- 2007-2008 MCAS and MEPA Test Administration Schedule
- MCAS High School Science and Technology/Engineering (STE) Competency Determination: Test Participation and Administration Requirements
[ No longer available ]
- 2007 Davidson Fellow Scholarships
- Constitution Day and Citizenship Day: September 17
Thank you for your support, and best of luck as the new school year begins.
Sincerely,
David P. Driscoll
Commissioner of Education
|
State Government · State Services 
