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

Board in Brief
Tuesday, June 23, 2009

This is "Board in Brief," issued at the request of Commissioner Mitchell D. Chester to bring you up to date on Board of Elementary and Secondary Education matters. This is a report on the special meeting held on Monday evening, June 22, 2009 and the regular meeting held on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in Malden.

Special Meeting

Chair Maura Banta welcomed members to a discussion on the redesign of the state system for school and district accountability and assistance. Commissioner Chester said this is a milestone that represents a year's worth of work with the Board's Accountability and Assistance Advisory Council and other stakeholders. He said the Board's approval of the overall framework would enable the Department to implement the redesigned system in the fall of 2009.

Secretary of Education Paul Reville said the Governor will file legislation shortly that speaks to innovative Readiness Schools, choice, strengthened accountability, and the turnaround process. He said the Governor also will file legislation related to a smart, targeted charter school cap lift that would focus on the lowest performing districts, students with the greatest achievement gaps, and using proven providers. Secretary Reville and EOE Policy Director J.D. LaRock made a presentation on the draft Readiness Schools bill.

Deputy Commissioner Karla Baehr made a presentation to the Board on Levels 1-5 of the new accountability system. She noted that the draft list of essential conditions for school effectiveness represents the Department's model for effective school practices at all levels.

Dr. Baehr said that all districts and schools start in Level 1 when they have no federal accountability status as a district, but may have one or more schools identified for improvement for subgroups. Districts identified for improvement in the aggregate or having schools identified for improvement in the aggregate would fall into Level 2. Dr. Baehr said that all federal NCLB designations are dealt with in Levels 1, 2, or 3. Based on 2008 performance results, about 53 percent of districts would have been in Level 1. Levels 4 and 5 are for districts requiring the most substantial state intervention and assistance.

Dr. Baehr said that the Department has developed a district data profile that will be produced for every district, every year, as a resource for school districts as well as for use at the state level. The Department anticipates rolling out the district data review in the fall, and plans to use webinars to introduce district personnel to it. Under the new accountability system, the Department would use the same 6 standards as the former Office of Educational Quality and Accountability (EQA) as well as 39 integrated indicators (condensed from the 72 indicators that EQA had used). Dr. Baehr said the essential conditions for school effectiveness would be integrated into those indicators.

Commissioner Chester said that based on the discussion, the Department will proceed with development of the new system, and he expects to present proposed regulatory amendments to the Board in the fall. Chair Banta commended the commissioner and Deputy Commissioner Baehr for the progress they have made in redesigning the accountability and assistance system.

Regular Meeting

Comments from the Chair

Chair Banta thanked Board members for a thoughtful conversation around accountability during the previous night's special meeting. The chair reported on opportunities she had to represent the Board over the past month, including through meetings with Junior Achievement of Massachusetts and the Gates Foundation, testifying with Commissioner Chester at the Joint Committee on Education oversight hearing on approval of the Gloucester Community Arts Charter School, visiting Boston Preparatory Charter School with Board member Tom Fortmann and the commissioner, serving on a panel for the first cohort of Teach for America, and attending the STEM summit at the Museum of Science. The chair said this would be the Board's last regular meeting of the year, and announced that the Board would next meet on August 13th at Bridgewater State College for a 90-minute business meeting followed by the Board's annual retreat.

Comments from the Commissioner

Commissioner Chester welcomed the newly elected student representative to the Board, Michael D'Ortenzio Jr. from Wellesley High School, and again thanked AJ Fajnzylber for his service during his term, which expires on June 30th. Commissioner Chester provided an update on the Gloucester charter school hearing, the Department's response to the U.S. Department of Education regarding the Bureau of Special Education Appeals, and new guidance on the 180-day school year.

Comments from the Secretary

Secretary Reville said he appreciated the prior night's session on accountability. The secretary said that the Governor has received the Legislature's Conference Committee Report on the FY10 state budget, and is awaiting legislative action on ethics reform. The secretary said that he joined the Governor in North Carolina for a National Governors Association / Council of Chief State School Officers conference where USED Secretary Arne Duncan talked about the Race to the Top funds and work on the voluntary national standards. The secretary said that he continues to meet with the Child and Youth Development Cabinet, which is working to build a longitudinal data system to follow students' progress throughout their educational careers.

Public Comment

Eight individuals addressed the Board on parent engagement, the Lexington Public Schools, English language learners, Reading Recovery, the achievement gap, and the Gloucester charter school hearing.

Update on State Education Budget and Federal Stimulus Funding for Education

Commissioner Chester said the final budget from the Legislature's Conference Committee is now in the hands of the Governor, who has ten days to review it. The commissioner said the budget represents for the Department an $87 million reduction from the Governor's recommended revised budget, and a $200 million decrease from the current year's appropriation after the 9C cuts. The commissioner said the major variance is the Chapter 70 line, which amounts to a $79 million cut. The conference committee budget includes a 2 percent cut in what each local district would receive, with restoration to the foundation level through federal stabilization funds. The commissioner said that the budget does include the consolidated literacy line that the Board requested, although the funding level was reduced. He commended the Governor and Legislature for protecting education funding as much as they did at a time of declining state revenues.

Second Report from Advisory Council on School and District Accountability and Assistance

Joe Esposito, chair of the Board's Accountability and Assistance Advisory Council (AAAC), presented the council's findings and recommendations to the Board. The AAAC has met seven times since November 2008, and its recommendations and suggestions have been incorporated into the new accountability and assistance system.

Mr. Esposito said the council held considerable discussion to bring more focus, flexibility, and integration to the standards, and to reduce and prioritize the indicators. He said the council was pleased with the responsiveness of the deputy commissioner and Department staff, and the council believes the new system is ready to launch. He added that the data profile was very well received by the council. Mr. Esposito said the cut in funding in the FY10 budget seemed to be a mismatch with the statutory requirement of conducting 40 school district audits. Chair Banta thanked Mr. Esposito and the advisory council for the active and constructive role they have played in helping to reshape the accountability system.

Educational Leadership: Proposed Policy Standards for Principals, Superintendents, and Other Leadership Roles

Commissioner Chester asked the Board to approve a set of policy standards for educational leadership that will become the foundation for drafting amendments to the licensure regulations, performance indicators, performance assessments for educational leaders, and guidelines for preparation programs. The commissioner said the Department has received very generous support from the Wallace Foundation for this work. The Department has worked closely with two districts, Springfield and Boston, to pilot the proposed policy standards. The Department's Associate Commissioner for Educator Policy, David Haselkorn, said the goal is to develop a new performance-based approach to administrator preparation and licensure based on the key knowledge, skills, and dispositions that educational leaders need to ensure learning-focused schools.

Board member Sandra Stotsky offered a friendly amendment to the motion to incorporate the Board's mission statement and language reflecting the equity standard in the current regulation. The Board voted to approve the motion as amended. The commissioner said he expects to present draft regulatory amendments to the Board in the early winter.

Annual Performance Evaluation of the Commissioner

Chair Banta thanked Board members Harneen Chernow, Beverly Holmes, Ruth Kaplan, and Tom Fortmann for serving on the evaluation committee. They met twice by telephone to evaluate the Commissioner's performance. The chair said that the committee gave Commissioner Chester an overall rating of "Meritorious." Chair Banta read from the committee's report and said she was amazed at how the commissioner embraced so many of the issues and rose to the challenge in exemplary fashion in each and every case. Each of the Board members offered their remarks in support of the commissioner's performance over the past year.

The Board voted to approve the commissioner's performance rating of "Meritorious." The commissioner thanked the Board and the staff of the Department. He said it is a great privilege to serve this Board and the children of the Commonwealth.

Approval of Non-Operating School Districts

By statute, towns that do not operate their own public schools must request and receive approval annually from the Board to tuition their students to public schools in other towns. The Board voted to approve these tuition arrangements for 20 school districts for the 2009-2010 school year. The Board also voted to delegate to the commissioner the authority to approve non-operating school districts in future years.

Schedule for Regular Board Meetings through June

The Board voted to approve the 2009-2010 schedule of regular meetings as presented by the commissioner. The schedule will be posted at: http://www.doe.mass.edu/boe/boedate.html.

Report from Parent & Community Education and Involvement Advisory Council

Margaret O'Hare, chair of the Board's Parent and Community Education and Involvement Advisory Council, and council members Abby Weiss, executive director of Full-service Schools Roundtable, and Kim Hunt, president of the Massachusetts PTA, presented draft guidelines on parent and community involvement. Secretary Reville said it is important to focus on the kind of parent involvement at home that creates a more supportive learning environment for children, and not to confuse that with parent activity at school. Commissioner Chester said that he would take the advisory council's draft and this discussion back to Department staff, to look at the recommendations in relation to existing Department activities, and then report back to the Board in the fall about possible next steps.

State Student Advisory Council End-of-Year Report

Board member AJ Fajnzylber presented the 2008-09 end-of-year report from the State Student Advisory Council, which included a review of activities of the council's workgroups.

Next Meeting

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will hold a special meeting on Thursday, August 13, 2009, which will include a 90-minute business meeting followed by the Board's annual retreat. The next regular meeting of the Board is scheduled for Tuesday, September 22, 2009.