Commissioner's Update

June 26, 2008

Dear Superintendents,

I want to thank you all for the warm welcome and good wishes that have been extended to me and I greatly appreciate the personal outreach that I have received.

During my first month in Massachusetts I made it a priority to visit schools in as many districts as possible before the end of the school year. In four weeks I made it to nearly a dozen schools in districts including Brockton, Lowell, Fall River, Salem, Lynn, Boston, Worcester, Fitchburg and Leominster. In each of these communities I met with local officials and spent time with teachers, parents and students.

My experiences on all of these visits have been very positive, and I am energized by the commitment, dedication, innovation and creativity I see going on around the Commonwealth. I hope to meet with many of you this summer, and to resume these school visits in the fall when school reopens.

I wish you all a relaxing and rejuvenating summer.

Sincerely,

Mitchell D. Chester, Ed.D.
Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education

In this Update I have one announcement and five items for your review.

Regional district superintendents are reminded to notify the Department if your member towns have not approved your FY09 budget by July 1. In these cases, the Department will set an interim budget to allow you to expend funds while your budget deliberations continue. Send notifications to the attention of Christine Lynch in the ESE School Finance office (clynch@doe.mass.edu, or 781-338-6520).

Items Posted at www.doe.mass.edu:

1. Details on Governor Patrick's Readiness Project Recommendations
2.   A Message from Secretary Bigby and Secretary Designate Paul Reville
3. 2008 MCAS and AYP Data Review;Deadline for Reporting MCAS Data Discrepancies
4. Changes to End-of-year Pupil and Financial Returns
5. The Board of Education Advisory Councils Recruitment of Candidates for Board of Education
Advisory Councils