141 Davis Street
Greenfield, MA 01301
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Superintendent's Journal Year 2: 2009-2010 Weeks #28-29: Begins January 11, 2010: (Introduction to the Superintendent Journal) Saturday, January 23, 2010: Meeting the Moldovan Community; News from Last Week Meeting the Moldovan Community The Moldovan church in Greenfield invited the YMCA families to come and share dinner with Greenfield’s Moldovan families. It was a great international experience. The food was homemade and delicious, like a specialty restaurant in New York. I’m going to suggest Chef Jeff incorporate some Moldovan specialties in his teaching. On one end of the long buffet table were homemade Moldovan dishes, and on the other end were homemade American dishes. Everyone brought something for the potluck buffet. You could try rolled cabbage, beet salad, buttered noodle dishes, blintskchy (sp?--a rolled blintze filled with farmers cheese and sugar, cut into thin tube lengths), stuffed grape leaves, a grated carrot salad with turmeric, and many other dishes. On the other end you had common American potluck dishes such as chili, shepherd’s pie, and string bean casserole. After dinner, there was a brief lecture about Moldova. Our host showed large maps which made clear the large size of Moldavia as it existed in the 14th century and before its name change to Moldova and WWII. We saw how Romania and Moldova were forced together and divided up under different regimes. Our host described life in Moldova compared to America. Children of all ages from 3 years sang songs in Moldovan. I had a clearer understanding of some of our school children speaking and reading one language at home and then speaking and reading English in school. It was a wonderful event to help bridge cultures and that was the goal--to bring the two cultures together. I have since been reading about Moldovan history online. We are so lucky here, really. The evening’s host several times said ‘God Bless America.’ If you learn about the lives of people in this region, you understand. I would like to offer a little conversational Moldovan to our students. After all, the children are friends in school and friends at home. We should be able to say basic greetings to our Moldovan parents and families. Other cultures do not expect Americans to be fluent in their language—but being able to say  hello, thank you, it’s nice to see you, this is delicious,” and other common expressions is seen as very respectful. Our host invited us to learn a music instrument and join the Moldovan band.  I am drawn to music instruments of the world so I started searching for ethnic instruments of Moldova. Looks like most folk music uses a 5-string viola, but I did find the “cobza”--listed as a native folk instrument of Romania and Moldova. The cobza (koboz in Hungarian) is a Romanian folk version of the ud, the lute found across the Islamic world from North Africa to Central Asia. The word is Turkish; "kobuz" is the more common form of it in Turkic languages, but it can be applied to many different lute-type instruments. In Europe, the cobza/koboz is now restricted to northern and eastern Romania, played by both Hungarian and Romanian communities, and is also played in Hungary by enthusiasts for Transylvanian and Moldavian Hungarian music. Speaking of music instruments, I sat next to two boys in Greenfield’s grade 4 program. They seemed to be great friends, eating and laughing together. One boy’s family is Moldovan and one boy’s family was from Greenfield. I chatted with the boys and they are as happy as could be in our grade 4 program at GMS. “You don’t get lost,” one said, “because they’ve painted the walls so one floor is blue and the other is green. And on the floor, you can tell where you are because the doors have different decorations and sticky notes.” I mentioned that I had an idea of putting footprints on the floor to show how to get from one place to another. “No, that wouldn’t have worked. You don’t need that.” I asked if either was taking music instrument lessons at the middle school. “I’m taking violin AND trumpet.” Really—two instruments? And the other boy chimed in, “me, too. I’m taking violin AND cornet.” We talked for quite a while about the fun of learning to read music and playing different music instruments. As one boy described and demonstrated how he might figure a way to play both violin and trumpet at the same time, his father chimed in that once he had played two instruments at once--guitar with a harmonica. And then his mom talked about how she played clarinet in Greenfield. The parents of these boys (and the boys themselves) had the best things to say about the grade 4 program at GMS. They are happy as clams at high tide, as they say on the Cape. I also saw last year’s GHS valedictorian, who is at Smith College. And I talked to the mother of another Moldovan student who was 3rd in the graduating class last year and is now at Middlebury College. Two top colleges by students who were non-English when they first came to Greenfield. The mom was quick to mention her heartfelt appreciation to Greenfield Schools. I spoke for just a moment to the whole audience and tried to explain, but I’m not sure how many people understood, that in America it’s okay to speak to the head of the school if you need something for your child. I said my office was only two blocks away and the door was open. We speak out so easily about anyone and anything we don’t really understand that in other countries you would not dare speak out about something. And you would not speak of a concern to the head of the school. In some countries the children are taught you NEVER raise your hand or speak up in class unless the teacher calls on you. We have to remember that it’s very different in other cultures and make more efforts to reach out to our families and students from other places, helping them adapt to our more relaxed culture. News from last week: 1. Capital Requests The first meeting of the capital committee was last week. On the list of needs & requests from the school system were: fixing the roofs at Federal Street and the Middle School (oh…we have a lot of leaks and the water trickling down shorts out the electric), a wheelchair van for transporting children (we are outsourcing much of our wheelchair transport now), painting the wood trim on the outside of our elementary schools (a stitch in time saves nine), and replacing very old computers our teachers are grappling with in some classrooms. We upgraded quite a bit last year but we do still have teachers using some VERY old computers and hopefully we can fix that this year. . 2. Teacher Quality & Grant Our teacher quality grant was finally approved (for professional development—seminars, etc.). . Greenfield used to have a well-coordinated professional development program and we haven’t put that back together yet as a program coordinated a year in advance. But now that schools are more stabilized, it’s time to regroup and fashion all the system’s needs into a good plan for 2nd semester and next year. There is a lot of training and professional development taking place, even without a specific and annual plan. Newton and the Middle School have teams working on increasing achievement; they are working with two consulting groups and have monthly leadership & strategic planning meetings with state consultants. The high school has ongoing technology training. At the elementary level there is training in literacy through an $18,000 grant to help focus on boosting literacy skills. Science teachers meet as a group regularly studying and redesigning the science curriculum. We have programs expanding as more students are taking double courses in science. There is a team working with other agency consultants on sustainability—recycling and composting. And we have groups working on how to improve school culture, decrease risk behaviors, increase student leadership opportunities at all grades. We’ve hired a doctoral-level consultant to help administrators and teachers review our social studies/civics/history curriculum K-8 and consult on civics and social justice components, best practice, and best-respected materials. And that’s just what I remember this afternoon. 3. Budget “Will our supply accounts be frozen?” No, I have no plan to freeze accounts this school year (that makes 2 years in a row). “Will there be mid-year layoffs?” Our budget is lean (we essentially had a roll-back of $300,000 in this year’s budget) so we are being quite careful. I plan to make it to year’s end on budget without layoffs. We have a couple of position needs—in maintenance, technology, and business/accounting. I’m trying to work out these details so we are staffed better to do this work. . We have approximately five months left of the 2009-2010 school year which goes July 1st, 2009, through June 30th, 2010. As of January 14th, our budget balance is $1,799,008.83. Approximately $750,000 of this is needed for heat and utilities through the end of the year. Approximately $525,000 will be credited to our special education tuition account from the circuit breaker city transfer. We will likely need another $450,000 for tuitions but we have state aid for tuitions to apply if we must. Our salaries are encumbered so we are lean but aware of our accounts. Two accounts that can throw off a budget dramatically are special education and utilities. I met Thursday and Friday with Kathi Titus, reviewing special education accounts. We have 2 million in tuitions alone. There is no way to be sure how these accounts will exactly unfold. On any day a student whose program costs $100,000 can move in or out. But now that it is almost February, the possibility of a truly dramatic change is decreased because the year is half over. Kathi and I have agreed not spend all our special ed grant funds this year so we can bring some into next year, when we will have another lean year. No one knows what will be happening with grants. 4. High School Renovation This project requires use of an attorney to look over all the paperwork the school committee has to sign. We just located an attorney with this specialization last week, and that means that next week this project will start to move along. Thursday, January 21, 2010: Catching Up & Local Press Feedback (from a GHS parent) Susan, My son is having a great year in 9th grade. I have never seen him happier in school. He loves the school spirit, he really likes his teachers. And he is working very hard in all his advanced classes. He comes home with an average of two hours a night homework and is managing to get nearly straight A's with one B. He <played sports this year> and did very well! Can you tell I'm a proud Mom?:) And my <other child> in 6th grade at the MS is doing really well too. He loves his main teacher… is doing African drumming for ELT among other things. He just won <an academic competition>. *** Susan, Tomorrow at 12:30 in the GHS auditorium <the 8th Grade Academy is> having an awards assembly followed by an open house in which families and friends will view their students projects related to the book "The Pearl." We would love to have you. *** Susan, The Governor indicated today that Chapter 70 would be funded to foundation levels and no school would receive less than this year  *** Hi, Susan, Are you planning <open houses> for our schools? It might be a good idea at the elementary level especially - both for families who may be thinking about choicing in, and also for our own families since we are offering internal choice. This would be a good opportunity to show off the improvements and changes at the Middle and High Schools too. *** Hello, Susan: As soon as we can purchase <the Accelerated Reader program>, the eighth grade will start using it. …The materials I've read indicate that all students benefit from using Accelerated Reader as a way of implementing and monitoring independent reading. All students, even AP students, should be reading independently 20 minutes a day in order to continue growing as readers. [Note: We ordered the Accelerated Reader program today for all students in the 8th Grade Academy and we’ll probably expand to more grades. We now have the Accelerated Reader program (a computer-based program) in all schools and students seem to like this very much.]                            *** Dr. Hollins, First, I found your reference to the Tracy Kidder's book "Mountains Beyond Mountains" interesting. This book is one of the best and most inspiring books I have ever read. I highly recommend it for all adults and high school seniors. Tracy Kidder speaks around here periodically and I heard him address a group in Leverett about the book when the town of Leverett chose it as their community read. Secondly. you made some reference to using some of our pennies/monies to help out those in need in Franklin County. Just want you to know that <middle school students> adopted a family for the holidays and provided the fixings for a holiday meal, boxes of non perishable foods, and gifts for a young mother and her small child through the Adopt A Family program. It was heartwarming to see several of the young boys in my class working together to perfect the gift wrapping and bow tying. I find the generosity of the children <who do not have much, themselves> particularly touching… Happy New Year. Catching Up & the Press Press coverage thinking uses up creative energy. I try to avoid thinking too much about who says what in the press but I do think about it. Then I’ll decide to not lose focus because of what someone says. Then, sometimes it creeps back into my thinking. Then I’ll remember how many other tasks are on my shoulders and refocus. I’m sure I’ve missed some phone calls, but not intentionally. The days at work are mostly filled with back-to-back meetings from the beginning to the end of the day and I usually get to my email (sometimes I have a couple hundred in 2 days) about 7:00 p.m. on a good day. Carol says if I got 10 cents for everyone who walked through my door we could fund a teacher position! Someone in my office is assigned to help make sure people get phone responses. Someone is assigned to help me review and respond to emails. And I mostly respond to press by email because I do this in the evening after hours when it’s quieter. It’s easier to understand what someone is asking me if I can read what they want to know instead of hearing it quickly. I do want time to think about the issues people raise because I take issues before me seriously. About the missed phone call. In five years, I think have taken one actual week-long vacation. And the week of the phone call not returned was a week I wasn’t here, I believe. Shows how much mischief can be caused by taking a few days away. No one thought to ask. Most people I asked are concerned that students who are not interested have to take a day from school to visit any school. This is not a negative statement about a school. I'm advised that every grade 8 student is invited and every parent has this information in the grade 8 newsletter. A bus is scheduled and the trip is arranged. No students are prevented or discouraged, not by any directive from me. I support students having choices. In my family and in Becky’s family (exec. secretary in my office), we each have a family member who benefited from a technical school education. A solution to the issue at hand might be asking the tech school to include in their presentation to students (when they present at area high schools) a virtual tour of their school, including all the labs. Then we could have a virtual tour DVD in our guidance office that anyone could look at at any time. I'm sorry this became such an issue. Wednesday, January 20, 2010: Checking in & Up on the 2nd Floor; Administrator Meeting; Chairperson Doyle; City Council; Meet with Mayor; Emails—almost 6,000! Checking in and up on 2nd Floor First thing this morning, I jumped up to the 2nd floor to find Kathi Titus who heads up student services, special education, and is an experienced colleague in many areas. We’re each so busy I haven’t had a chance to talk with her. On Davis School’s 2nd floor, we have at least12 people’s school office—including the special education department, the technology department, our school data department, grants administration, and soon…the volunteer office. At one time there must have been four classrooms on the 2nd floor and a few offices. Two rooms still have these teeny sinks that come up to your knee from Davis building’s elementary school days. Small offices tucked on sides of the stair landings house district school psychologists who need private office space. Davis is a completely used building--in the basement we have two stocked maintenance shops and every small space is used for an office of one type or another. Kathi was at a meeting so I headed down the 12-foot-wide hallway to the registrar’s office. Lisa gives me a headcount every week and I was curious about our student enrollment this morning. I am not worried about students coming and going, I am just very interested in the patterns and details. Today there is a stack of new enrollments—6 for the high school and a few for elementary. Many pieces of paper require the superintendent’s signature so always on the way into my office there are colored folders of papers to sign: people to hire; contracts; approvals for courses; letters. Today has a huge orange folder maybe 4 inches full and a red “priority” folder which has a good inch of reading and signing. I’ll find time somehow today. No time this morning, though, as administrators meet at 10:00 a.m. I did sign a few things right away. Admin meetings give us time to brainstorm and reach consensus on schoolwide decisions. I like an administrative culture where everyone feels safe sharing ideas and opinions. In my 30s, I went to central office meetings and no one dared say a word. It wasn’t expected that you would talk. You just listened to the superintendent and if he asked a question you’d answer. But in Greenfield we’ve developed a sense of TEAM where everyone seems pretty comfortable just sharing and critiquing ideas with each other. The conversations are serious but relaxed and our goals are difficult, so it’s good for people to share insights and experience. Today we discussed parent participation. We want 100% parent involvement—that’s a goal. And how do we find more ways to include parents in schools? Soon we will have an elementary after school tutoring program. This will be helpful to students just learning English, or who would benefit from a little more personal attention. We’ll translate the “new tutoring program” notice into other languages so any non-English parent understands the opportunity. We talked about whether or not we have to rethink asking every parent to stop day work and come to the school for meetings. We won’t stop parent conferences but maybe we need to consider other options for sharing information with parents. For some, visiting school during the day is a conflict with their jobs or car access. Gary Tashjian stayed to talk today. His school always has some personnel matter to figure out and we did solve what was on his mind. He said the middle school band is a success story and the 4th-grade students are doing so well in instrumental music they have advanced a level and joined the grade 5 band. Chairperson Doyle Doris called and later stopped by. There is always a list of topics to discuss with the chairperson. Today we reviewed meeting schedules, contacts with legislators, staffing decisions, working with the city, and…the election yesterday. What does yesterday’s vote say about Race To The Top and all the stimulus spending? And then a few more pieces of paper were signed before I dashed off to the…. City Council Meeting The reason I wanted to attend tonight had to do with $500,000+ of school system special education tuition aid that had to be turned over to the town as free cash in order to get the money back in the school budget for this year, to pay for special ed tuition costs. Did that make sense? Often state guidelines to not make sense. As Mr. Maloney said—it’s only bookkeeping. Back to the office, trying to get through all the papers to sign. Meeting with the Mayor Tap. Tap. It’s maybe 8:30 p.m. and someone is outside. It’s Mayor Martin. We planned to meet tonight. Always a list of items to review with the Mayor. He’s a quick thinker so we talked our way through the whole list in about 30 minutes. The Mayor is interested in building use policy. We agree about community use of our schools and shared ideas about guidelines. An updated facility use guideline will be suggested to the policy committee. *** Here's an idea for adults to consider: No Name Calling Week: January 25-29 (from the Balance Educational Services website) No Name-Calling Week was inspired by a young adult novel entitled "The Misfits" by popular author, James Howe. The book tells the story of four best friends trying to survive the seventh grade in the face of all too frequent taunts based on their weight, height, intelligence, and sexual orientation/gender expression. Motivated by the inequities they see around them, the "Gang of Five" (as they are known) creates a new political party during student council elections and run on a platform aimed at wiping out name-calling of all kinds. Though they lose the election, they win the support of the school's principal for their cause and their idea for a "No Name-Calling Day" at school. Response: Monday, January 18, 2010. Feedback; More on Haiti; Martin Luther King; Social Justice Education—what is it? Feedback; Susan, I noticed you were writing about Partners in Health. Did I tell you that my daughter started working with them when she was twelve? She was in school and they were discussing the PIH clinic and my daughter kept staring at a girl in the picture with bloody toes. And she asked about this and asked and asked. And finally the teacher said the children don’t have shoes, and so their toes bleed. So my daughter had all her friends collect sneakers. She collected 200 pairs of sneakers, and had to find a way to mail them. She has been working with PIH through the organization she set up ever since. It is a great organization. (from a faculty member) And I bumped into about 5 people at different times this weekend who commented on our schools. Someone I met said her 7th-grade grandson is transferring back to Greenfield next year. A faculty member in the same store as I said the 8th Grade Academy is working out very well and the faculty team is terrific. A man I met while touring a factory stopped me and said his children or grandchildren were in the Greenfield schools and the children LOVE school. I asked where they went to school? Newton. A teacher wrote and said she has never worked so hard as this year at Four Corners but the school is wonderful and the teaching staff are feeling so vital and successful. Someone who no longer has children in Greenfield said she is watching the progress and thinks we have made wonderful strides. Charity & Giving One issue that pops up when we talk about charity to other nations is that we have families right here in Franklin County that could use shoes, blankets, medical care for their children. I understand Newton School is having a penny drive and they are bringing in lots of pennies. Maybe a way to handle this is to just send a portion somewhere else. Someone said we have to remember that some of the countries in dire need have no social service agencies available. More on Haiti I’m was thinking how any organization could have 0.00% for administration. So I started to check, reading about Partners in Health. (from the website) What is Partners In Health (PIH)? Partners In Health is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation based in Boston, Massachusetts, and active in the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa, Russia, and the United States. Our mission is to provide a preferential option for the poor. How did PIH start? Partners In Health was formally founded in 1987 by Paul Farmer, Thomas J. White, and Todd McCormack. The history of Partners In Health is recounted in Pulitzer Prizewinner Tracy Kidder’s bestselling book, Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World (Random House, 2003). Where is PIH located? In what countries do you work? We are headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. PIH works in poor communities in the Caribbean (Haiti), Latin America (Peru, Mexico, Guatemala), Africa (Rwanda, Lesotho, Malawi), the United States (Greater Boston) and Russia. How has the publication and success of Tracy Kidder’s Mountains Beyond Mountains affected PIH? We have been utterly stunned by the positive response, worldwide, to Mountains Beyond Mountains. We are enormously grateful that the book has helped bring new attention and resources to bear on global health issues. We are especially gratified that so many students, in particular, have been galvanized to pursue social justice issues in their home communities as well as nationally and internationally, as a result of reading Mountains Beyond Mountains. How much of PIH’s budget goes to program activities? Audited accounts for 2005 indicate that 94 percent of PIH's total expenditures went to program activities and medicines. Administration and development accounted for the remaining 6 percent. This compares favorably with other nonprofits working in the field of health, which on average budget 79 percent of their expenditures for program activities and 21 percent for administration and fundraising. What is the Institute for Health and Social Justice? The Institute for Health and Social Justice is the research, education, and advocacy arm of PIH… established in 1993 with prize money from Paul Farmer’s MacArthur award in response to a need for critical analysis of the health problems of the poor. The IHSJ has published several books: Women, Poverty, and AIDS (Common Courage Press, 1996); Dying for Growth (Common Courage Press, 2000); and Global AIDS: Myths and Facts (South End Press, 2003). The IHSJ also hosts seminars and other events and oversees PIH’s annual summer internship. In 2007, the IHSJ will be focusing its efforts on the issue of food security. Martin Luther King Today is Martin Luther King Day. The older I get the more remarkable I find this one man’s contributions to the nation. How do we understand individuals so passionate about their belief for change and so gifted in accomplishing their tasks that they can change whole cultures or systems? When I think about Martin Luther King, I always drift back to my high school in rural Maryland. I remember the day the first black student was assigned to attend when schools were going through desegregation. We had all been raised in a culture where there was no integration of races. People of minority religions were shunned, also. For that matter, females were not yet encouraged to achieve. I’m glad those days are gone. Children learn many things in school besides the curriculum. If they do not learn to relate respectfully with children and adults from different ethnic, gender, religious, and economic backgrounds, they are not prepared for life. Martin Luther King Day--a good day to reflect on our personal values. Social Justice Education What is social justice education? UMass offers this specialization on the masters and doctoral level. One California school whose theme is social justice education defines it this way: We offer a social justice education program. In our view social justice curriculum concerns itself with peace, compassion, justice, sustainability, community, integrity, diversity, creativity, and responsibility. We offer a social justice education that encourages the development of thoughtful human beings, and when we explore religion we do it in a non-dogmatic way. We encourage critical thinking and an appreciation of open, pluralistic societies through study and service learning opportunities. It is from this approach that <our school> courses such as Planetary Stewardship, Literature of Diversity, The History of Civil Rights in the U.S., Peace and Diversity Studies Survey, and Reflections on Peacemaking have emerged. Tomorrow Capital Planning Meeting Moving along negotiations proposals Checking to find an attorney who works with school building projects Thinking what was accomplished from July through December Resolving about 6 hires Sunday, January 17, 2010: Haiti “So what relief organization are you supporting?” a family member asked me. “You must support relief in Haiti.” And did I know that 100% of the funds received by the relief organization, Partners in Health, is used for relief services? No, I didn’t know this. I haven’t reviewed how different relief organizations use donations received. Partners in Health and its founder, Dr. Paul Farmer (Harvard) is the substance of a Tracy Kidder book-- Mountains Beyond Mountains-- now on the reading list of many high schools. This is an inspiring novel about Dr. Farmer’s efforts to set up medical systems in remote areas, including the mountains of Haiti. Dr. Farmer’s relief organization is set up already in Haiti and everyone can read about it with their families. I’ll list below all the charities supporting Haitian relief. The percent of donations used for relief vs. administrative costs differs and is good to know.   I’ll check with our principals to see if we have ample copies of Mountains Beyond Mountains for our students. Boston’s medical community has ongoing news about health care in Haiti and in the latest notice mentions that the need for medical care is acute. This notice mentions Dr. Farmers relief organization. http://www.boston.com/news/health/blog/2010/01/injured_begin_t.html At the Partners in Health hospital in the town of Hinche, workers loaded a truck with medical supplies and prepared to make the two-and-a-half-hour journey to Port-au-Prince. The need, they learned from a colleague in the capital city, is acute. "We heard from a doctor who is in Port-au-Prince that the only thing she had for pain was aspirin," Marx said. "So there's a desperate need for pain medications and simple things like bandages." Partners in Health has a major presence in Haiti, particularly in the Central Plateau region that sits to the northeast of the capital.  Its workforce, almost entirely constituted of Haitian medical workers, numbers 4,000, including 100 physicians and 600 nurses. The Partners in Health model -- established in Haiti and later expanded to Peru, Russia, several African nations, and the United States -- depends on developing a local workforce. Dr. Paul Farmer, the charismatic co-founder of Partners in Health and subject of the book "Mountains Beyond Mountains," recently underwent knee surgery and was recuperating in Miami at the time of the earthquake. Farmer, who is also the UN deputy special envoy to Haiti, flew to New York today to meet with former President Bill Clinton, who is the UN special envoy to the island nation. "They're hatching the UN response and trying to make sure there is a substantial response from the UN," Marx said. Haiti Relief Organizations Partners in Health http://www.pih.org The United Nations World Food Program http://www.wfp.org Action Against Hunger http://www.actionagainsthunger.org Project HOPE http://www.projecthope.org The American Red Cross http://www.redcross.org Text "Haiti" to 90999 to donate $10 (billed to your phone) Doctors Without Borders http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org Friday, January 15, 2010: Alarming Article—but is it true?; Chief Winn’s Ceremony to become Fire Chief for Greenfield; QAR Training; Our Elementary Schools had Great Programs Today. Alarming Article—but was it true? “Did you see today’s paper?” When I looked, I was surprised at the article. It makes the Greenfield superintendent seem uninterested in students having choices. That surely is not true. We have redesigned our intown schools to offer more choices and the reason is the importance I hold for students and families having choices. The Franklin Technical School hopefully is a choice for all students who would like a technical high school program. Seems to me there is not enough connection between the Franklin Technical School and our school system. And the principals were not working together earlier in the year--both were new in their posts. So my directive was for the two principals to start to work together, and work on any concerns they might have. If there were any issues they could not successfully worked out, then I offered to intervene and help resolve issues or policy questions, with the school committee if needed. And the principals have been working together. Principal Donna Woodcock advised me yesterday that a bus was already scheduled to take all interested students to the Franklin Technical School for a tour on February 5th. Some of the faculty are also going over. Students who want to attend bring in a permission slip from parents. The principal says this is how all the trips are handled at the high school. Our grade 8 faculty apparently asked for and received information from the technical school about their school, and this was included in a grade 8 newsletter that went to all the grade 8 parents. There is a change this year that students who do not want to go on tour or whose parents are not interested in them leaving classes to go on tour are not being required to leave classes. All grade 8 students attended a presentation in our high school by the Franklin Technical School staff. Our school asked to have copies of applications so high school personnel can help all the parents and students who would like information and to apply. It doesn’t seem the alarming article and headline fairly represented what the situation is with the technical school. The tour is already scheduled for everyone interested. Donna assured me the two principals were working together, and our grade 8 faculty leader said she has been supporting the tech school right along so every grade 8 student and parent is fully aware of this high school choice. Chief Winn’s Ceremony This presentation was very heartwarming. Chief Winn’s parents and siblings were present. The comments were heartwarming. Chief Winn’s personality and accomplishments were ever so impressive. His son sat with him on the stage and could be a poster child for well-behaved child of the year and his dad let his son pin on his new chief’s badge. The bagpipers played impressively for the processionals. I was so glad to be present. And everyone talked about being a graduate of Greenfield High School—the mayor, the president of the city council, the chief’s father and siblings, and Chief Winn himself. This high school is really important to many people in the community and we should make no excuses for working to make it a school people line up to attend for its programs. Just a side thought. QAR Training We changed our school calendar to have a couple more half-days and although children go home early, the teachers have professional development and meetings on half-days. At the elementary school, teachers had QAR training: Question. Answer. Response. More on that another time. Our Elementary Schools had Great Programs Today Joan Schell said at Federal Street today they had a wonderful all-school program with 40 parents in attendance. I spoke to a few teachers at Federal Street (they have a few new teachers this year) and the feedback is very positive about a school that has come together well this year, with everyone working as a team, busy, actively working on new techniques to raise achievement. Tracy Crowe said that Newton School is thriving, and the parents association is expanding from typical fundraising to learning about grants and programs. Parents have supported theme projects in the schools and are helping to spread the word about what a fantastic school Newton has become under the extended day program. This is the only elementary school at the moment with the extended day option. And at Four Corners, they had an event the Principal wrote about—related to their 2nd trimester theme “Bridges.” Their event today was an intergenerational program to “bridge” generations. It was something I like very much—bringing in grandparents. And they had substitute grandparents for children who did not have grandparents near. We have approximately 100 students this year at Four Corners and 72 grandparents attended. Here’s the report I received, titled “Excitement at Four Corners.” Talk about a school achievement—we are so proud of our faculty at Four Corners. And renovation work on this building will start soon. Excitement at Four Corners (written by Donna Gleason, Associate Principal) Grandparent’s Day was a huge success. Approximately 72 grandparents or ‘foster grandparents’ showed up to us celebrate our trimester theme, Bridges—in this case, building bridges between the generations. They arrived at 9:00 to watch their grandchildren at our “All School Meeting.” Each class had a turn to be in front of the audience and participate in one of the meeting’s events. Kindergarten wiggled delightfully to the echo chant Tutti-Ta. Grade 1 did a choral reading of the poem, What Are Grandparents For: Grandparents are for stories about things from long ago. Grandparents are for caring about all the things you know. Grandparents are for rocking you and singing you to sleep. Grandparents are for giving you nice memories to keep. Grandparents are for knowing all the things you’re dreaming of. But, most important of all, Grandparents are for love. Second grade sang a song most grandparents would remember, If I had a Hammer, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Third grade led the Greeting, Chugga Chugga, and even grandparents had to stand up and chug up and down, left and right. They also led the school in the Pledge of Allegiance and sang the dismissal song, Go Now in Peace. After our all school meeting, Grandparents were invited to visit the classrooms where they were served snacks that the children had been prepared the day before – brownies, muffins, cookies, and tarts. They participated in classroom activities such as morning meeting, reading, and playing games. A great time was had by all. OnTV The third graders were also excited this week when Brandan Butcher, CBS channel 3 Weatherman came and did a power point presentation for them. He also filmed the children cheering which was on the news at 6 p.m. last night. It was an interesting and informative talk. Thursday, January 14, 2010: We Raced To The Top, Super Decision We Raced To The Top As yesterday’s 11:59 p.m. deadline approached for participation in the Massachusetts RTTT initiative, the push for district participation certainly expanded. Memos were flying. Phone calls were coming. And there was a certain frenzy as announcements were made about which districts were participating and each announcement would show more and more participation. One problem for districts was unions having to sign on without knowing what the impact would be on collective bargaining and without enough time to ask and have questions answered. So the Mass. Teachers Association created its own Memorandum of Understanding for their member associations to use, making agreements with their employers. It’s all a little too boring to write about but there was a frenzy. And the deadline, we were told in a phone call, was expanded from 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday to 6:00 p.m. on Thursday. Chairperson Doyle thought it might be best if we at least submitted an application within the time frame, knowing that the committee would need to ratify the decision. We had our own dilemma trying to talk with our union under such tight timelines. And the union didn’t have time to find all the advisory reports and speak to their association about this. So at the end of the extended day we did not have the three signatures. It was an interesting few days of quite high pressure communications. All the moving targets were moving at once. And the district did not reach the top (as in Race To The Top). But we did race a bit. At the school committee meeting tonight, the committee again discussed reasons they were concerned about participating. And now tht chapter of this year’s history is over. RTTT used most available time the last few days. Super Decision There was a non-public session at the school committee meeting. The school’s attorney was present. Under discussion—my contract. There are variations between my original 24-month contract, the new superintendent evaluation date timelines, and the request of committee members to have an evaluation mid-year this year. The attorney said these variations have to be reconciled. The new policy says a continuing superintendent would have an evaluation in May. But the committee would like to have one now, in January. There was a long motion written and a vote that fixes the evaluation timelines. And then after the non-public session, Keith McCormic motioned “to forego the superintendent search at this time…” and this passed on a 6:1 vote.   Wednesday, January 13, 2010: Race To The Finish Line: Greenfield Residents Stepping Up The Federal government’s new national initiative in education reform is called Race To The Top (RTTT). The deadline for school districts, superintendents, and unions signing on was today, end of day. The day’s first message was how many school systems were signing on for RTTT. By 3:00 p.m., the ranks had swelled (who knew?) and by mid-day the state’s second bulletin had 99 school districts. I returned to read the Memorandum of Agreement districts had to sign by end of day today. Then another bulletin. The state is extending submission time to 11:59 p.m. tonight. Now the frenzy is something you can feel. Messages are whirring off the fax machine in Boston. The interesting part of this phenomenon is that most people I’ve spoken with do not like the idea of RTTT and its goals, particularly. This is always the difficulty—reading the fine print. If you just look at the new grant money you might receive—then of course this looks good. But if you look at what you “will” do in return for the new grant money, the questions start. The union president was helpful today clarifying information coming his way about whether or not districts can really back out of the RTTT grant once it signs on. Some of the information floating around is that all three parties signing on (chairperson of committee, superintendent, union president) have to agree to back out in order for the state to agree that the district can back out. Tick. Tick. Tick. Another notice came at 9:00 p.m. We have until 11:59 p.m. to decide. “It’s 9:00 p.m. We have had an absolutely unbelievable response today. I am very happy to tell you that as of our latest count, we have 245 signed MOUs in hand. This includes: 144 school districts 53 charter schools 33 regional school districts 15 vocational schools" So now we have a frenzy where districts are signing on because someone they knew signed on. If the Bourne and Boston district did this, then it must be okay. Right? And so now that there is a critical mass of districts, there is a frenzy with only a few hours to go. It was a crazy day—with someone saying “good heavens” each time the directions or guidelines changed. I have spoken with the school committee’s chairperson each day to share how the situation was changing. I kept reading the list of schools to see who was in and who was out. So much to consider! *** Today I met with a group of Greenfield residents whose interests in supporting the public schools are very strong. We want to find ways to help rebuild the schools and that requires local community members taking an interest. The question someone asked: What do we need that can help parents know our schools are good? These were some ideas: A new and coordinated website. Fix the parking lot and outside painting on the schools. Allow students to accelerate (we do) Monday, January 11, 2010: Feedback; News, We & RTTT; Update on School Reform and News Feedback: The journal entry about the politics of January 2010 generated feedback, including mail from a student: (from a student, writing about the Department of Education proposal) I am an active member of WMRSAC (Western Mass Regional Student Advisory Council). In our last meeting we had discussed whether or not to give our vote of support to take this application process to the next step. With a vote of 25 Yes' ,0 No's and 1 Abstention the motion passed and the WMRSAC sent our vote of approval to the SSAC (State Student Advisory Council) where they will take the appropriate steps to see that our voices are heard. News, in General After a few days away, the piles of paper were waiting. An important report had to be finalized today—data of the percent of our teachers who have certification papers from Massachusetts. When I saw the data I knew it was inaccurate. Almost every teacher is certified and those who are not classified as certified either have been waiting for their paperwork to be processed or waiting for the transcripts to be reviewed. So...today was “Get The Data Right” Day. As superintendent, I could access a commissioner hotline and we were able to have changes made. By end of day we had corrections in place for all but two teachers, and that is an achievement. One teacher will be listed as not certified because college degrees were not yet processed. One teacher will be listed as not certified (a very experienced teacher licensed in another state) because the paperwork was not processed before today. Many thanks to the commissioner’s office and all the teachers and staff who jumped in to make sure state certification files were updated today. Having everyone processed except for two teachers is a triumph. I’m thankful to the staff who helped with this today. I met with Associate Principal Donna Gleason at 4:00 p.m. to talk about Four Corners Elementary School. She is always so upbeat and enthusiastic. The theme for this term is “Bridges.” Most people thing of bridge structrues you drive or walk over. But there are other types of bridges-—bridges between cultures; bridges between generations. A major activity this Friday is a multi-generational event for grandparents as part of Four Corners’ “bridge” theme. They have arrangement for students whose do not have grandparents nearby. Tomorrow’s morning will be filled meeting with attorneys to resolve some lingering confusions about contracts and evaluation procedures. It would be good to resolve lingering issues that drain time and energy. We and RTTT: As I suspected, the wires were abuzz today about which districts are and are not signing on to the Memorandum of Understanding to support state changes and reform initiatives. By end of day about 12 districts had signed the Memorandum of Understanding for the RTTT program. I asked what superintendents in Franklin County were considering and the feedback is mixed. Some school districts will sign on and some will not, and some are still taking this under consideration. Districts have until Wednesday. The circumstances in each district are different so different decisions should be anticipated. I called the executive director of a professional association and tried to better understand all the forces for and against, and all the issues. I was told districts should consider these questions and think carefully about their decision: Where is this going to lead our district if we sign on? Do we feel sure of our priorities for the next 2-3 years? Will we be able to use resources available for our district priorities? Will we be able to afford the costs of participating—the increased administrative demands? If the priorities and resources match the district’s priorities, then it makes sense. If neither the priorities nor resources match the district’s focus, then it probably doesn’t make sense. It would/could be a distraction. I was advised that most of the large cities will likely sign on (80% is the prediction I had—Boston has already signed on, for example). Some other communities have the resources and administrative staff to become involved, even if they have no financial stake in RTTT themselves. And some districts just cannot take on another initiative right now, even if they are supportive of the state changes proposed. Predictions are that by Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. 50% of the school districts in Massachusetts will have signed on. Difficult to know. Leaders giving advice agree that there is a good deal unknown about the initiatives. Update on MA School Reform, 2010. The latest version of the MA school reform bill is a little difficult to read but quite important. Once passed, this is the education law of the land. http://www.mass.gov/legis/house/ht04423.pdf State involvement in underperforming schools is not new. What are the options, really, if schools are severely underperforming? Major state interventions have been tried in other states, though. Truly these efforts are well-intended to help improve schools. And we have no understanding in New England how low some public schools perform in our nation. I was on a review panel for a national grant program and one high school reviewed had not one student who passed a test in reading OR math. It was unbelievable. And why should any American students be in such a school? But this is Massachusetts. Our most underperforming schools are still way ahead of some schools in other states. School reform is a science. Some people can restructure successfully and some cannot. What the research shows often is that the school team has to be motivated to change—it doesn’t work well when a superimposed force says “you must change.” We have to find the motivation and energy to change our schools ourselves, from within. Sometimes that requires some new faculty. Sometimes it requires new leadership. Sometimes change requires funding, although money isn’t necessarily the factor that makes a difference. Freeing faculty from rules and guidelines that inhibit creativity needed sometimes is the solution. Lots to think about with underperforming schools. The state will have to think very carefully before taking over a school and learn from actions in other states. Personally, I think Greenfield has done very well restructuring and bringing energy, creativity, and accountability to schools. I would not hesitate to have a child here. All grades. And that is the truth. They say there are only 3 ways to make a school system better: Focus Focus Focus That’s the worry about a bevy of new directives. An organization can only go in so many directions at once and succeed at anything. You have to focus. If a district has too many priorities, the focus is obfuscated. Greenfield has some impressive school building initiatives and this will take a lot of time and energy in the next 2-3 years. That’s why we have governing boards—to think about the big picture, the competing demands, and together as one body reason out the best policy. Page last updated on: February 19, 2010

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