Superintendent's Journal

Superintendent's Journal

Year 2: 2009-2010

Weeks #35-36: Begins March 1, 2010:
(Introduction to the Superintendent Journal)

Saturday, March 6, 2010: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday Happenings
Wednesday, March 3: Administration Meeting
Once weekly administrators meet for joint planning and problem-solving. There are times that we need to talk together as a team. Today, we reviewed the school calendar for 2010-2011 and achievement. The focus was connecting with parents and intervening with problem attendance behavior. The discussion included summer institutes for personnel and what we might do for students.

We shared ideas for connecting with parents. This year’s initiative to have parent conferences even at the high school went well. Parents of high school students who made appointments seemed appreciative and so were the teachers. We discussed options for connecting with parents, realizing that not everyone can easily leave work for a 20-minute, face-to-face meeting with a teacher. Parents will have options next year—a before school meeting if that works best, a phone conference if that works best, or the traditional in-school conference.

We will also refine a first-six-weeks-of-school initiative, whereby each elementary parent is contacted by the school about initial school placement and adjustment within the first six weeks of school. By the end of the first six weeks of school, faculty should know that all the children are settled, that our classes are balanced, that reading and math programs for each child are at the right level, and that parents are at ease with the transition to a new year, new teacher, and/or new school.

We talked about summer programs for younger students—can we have academic camps this year? A science/gardening program at Four Corners? Math camps? We are thinking how something like this might be possible. Unless grant supported or required by statute, summer student programs are usually fee-based with scholarship options. Might our parents like to help create week-long programs?

We do have wonderful spaces at our elementary schools. Maybe this is how our Newton and Four Corners students can share the downtown experience. Or how the Federal Street students can share in the garden experience.

It’s something we were thinking about.

Attendance
While talking about improving achievement, principals considered protocol for students who are chronically late or absent for school. How do we make the attendance-achievement connection, particularly for students who are at academic risk? Should the emphasis be with parents, students, or both? Should we have parents come in to school or go to the home? And exactly where is the threshold for meeting our obligation to notify the state if a student is chronically truant?

I suggested we look inside the system to identify any variables we can control that influence positive attendance. We also thought this would be a good time to bring our social worker personnel together system-wide and gather their consensus on this topic. In the budget draft for 2010-2011, I’ve added a sum for school attendance monitoring. The school committee has the role of designating the attendance officer(s).

Personnel Composite Work
For me, most of Wednesday was refining master lists of who works in each program, class, and building throughout the district and the proper location for each person’s salary in the budget. The information I’ve had available to date has not been complete—did not include anyone paid from a grant. With so much movement and change in support personnel, these records are difficult to keep completely up to date. The good news is that each time we go over the information, it becomes more refined and correct.

Friday in the late afternoon, Kathi Titus and I both found ourselves going over the details (this year and next year) just of special education personnel—approximately 100 staff. Person X is at the middle school this year but the high school next year. Person Y is in a grant this year but the grant ends next year. Details. Details.

I imagine a comprehensive personnel system was all in place at some point. For the most part our office has had to put all of these documents together almost from scratch this year due to all the changes. By the time the new business manager arrives, this information will be ready and will save hours and hours of her time.

Mayor Martin Reads to Preschoolers
Wednesday night, the Academy of Early Learning children (our preschool programs, at North Parish School) had their PJ reading night. Mayor Martin was a guest reader to all the little toddlers in their pajamas. Not sure the children knew what a mayor was, but I hear he did very well reading and also fielding questions from 3- and 4-year-olds.

Taken by Mayor Martin as he opened his children's book to read to preschoolers
in their pajamas at the Academy of Early Learning.

***

Thursday, March 4, 2009: Gathering Feedback—teachers, parents, school committee.

Whether we talk about music instruments or car engines, making them work just right is referred to as tuning or tuning up--an art based on very careful listening. You stimulate what you want to hear, then listen carefully, then think, then adjust. Feedback, listen, think, adjust. Feedback, listen, think, adjust. Fine tuning. We are fine tuning some of our programs now.

Here’s how.

Special Education—Feedback Sought
After several revisions we settled on a short questionnaire for parents, asking how they are experiencing our special education programs. We want to know if parents feel welcome at team meetings. Are their questions and concerns addressed? Do they see their child making progress? We could post our questionnaire on the website but statistics apparently show that only 40% or so of Franklin County families have computers, online access, printers, etc. So we are mailing the special education questionnaires home this time. They should go out any day. And we just had a special education parent advisory committee meeting. Only a few people attend meetings these days, but it is still another way to try to carefully listen and fine tune our programs to meet the needs of students.

Social Studies/History—Seeking Feedback
I am also sending a 10-question questionnaire to our teachers at grades K to 7. The topic is our curriculum for social studies and American history. This broad curriculum topic includes teaching about citizenship, having manners, knowing you cannot harass or bully, learning about your community, community service, civics education, and more. What do we teach now, in 2010? How does what we teach fit together from grade to grade? What materials do we use? What literature or art is interwoven into our social studies/history program? What are the best ways teachers have found to engage students and capture their interests in these areas? What information or professional development programs do any of our teaching staff request in these areas? What ideas for improving are suggested?

Soon this survey will go out. Then we’ll compile the information we receive and begin a curriculum review for curriculum in social studies, civics, and history education. We have contracted with a consultant in this field to help coordinate information.

This is such an interesting field of study—our history and social studies--an area where the community can bring so much richness to our studies.

School Committee
Tonight’s meeting was one more effort for the public and school committee to share what it is thinking about the superintendent.

When a group works together over a long period of time, each person’s experiences and perceptions are slightly different. That’s why boards have to pull together a composite opinion. This is customary procedure. Responding is an important part of the process, public or otherwise. So I will digest the information and respond.

Building Renovation
The 4^th Thursday in March, we are planning an informational meeting about high school renovations. Four architectural firms will be presenting. This is not a selection process—this is just helping everyone gear up for understanding how facility renovations, particularly high school, happen in 2010. This will be a most interesting program and the community will be invited to attend. We are still putting the details together and we most likely will have a second evening with other presentations of a similar nature.

School Program Information
We are putting together a booklet of news stories, school pictures, and other memorabilia that give a portrait of the Greenfield schools over the last year. Anyone with a picture or story to share or sample of something they’d like included, please email me. We hope to have this project finished in two weeks…and then we will have our own book about our schools to share with the public.

***

Friday, March 05, 2010: Important Meetings: Community Development & School-Community Connections, Capital Planning, Learning about School Architecture and Renovations

Treats from the Chairperson
First thing this morning, Chairperson Doyle arrived at the office with cinnamon buns. Every so often Doris brings in something sweet. And all the eyes in the office open widen …mmmm.

Community Development & School-Community Business Connections
I have often referenced the song about the knee bone being connected to the thigh bone and the thigh bone connected to the hip bone. It’s a children’s song but it is true. If the schools are weak, the housing market is weak, and new businesses interests for coming to a community is weakened. If the housing market is weakened and new business development is weakened, use of major systems like the hospital and colleges are weakened. If the major community systems are weakened, then the specialists these systems need are more difficult to recruit.

Everything in community development actually revolves around the health and vitality of the public schools because so many people of working age have children. And they want to be someplace where the schools are exciting for their children. And businesses relocating have to relocate some senior people to start up the new plant. And these people want to know about schools.

Today I met with the college president, the hospital CEO, and a leader in the real estate industry. We all shared how our organizations are interconnected to the health of this community. Can we collaborate in more ways that would be beneficial to the community? Of course. And that is what we discussed.

Lots to think about this weekend.

Tuesday, March 02, 2010: Personnel Work, Science Fair; Suburban League Basketball—What a Game!

Personnel Work
We are busily checking lists of personnel, making sure we have a plan for every personnel expense next year and double-checking these expenses this year. It’s time consuming. I’m doing this with no personnel or business administrator—just me and Audrey LaBonte (who is masterful with spreadsheets). School and program administrators help by providing updated staffing details. Becky and others dig into grants and files so we get all the hours and rates. I have great hopes that by next year we have all the lists and forms and files needed to have an easily-managed personnel system. The double-checking happening now—it’s what we teach students to do with their own math problems.

Science Fair
I just missed the high school science fair when I arrived at GHS tonight, but…I was in time to see the second half of the grade 7 and 8 Greenfield vs. Hatfield boys’ basketball game. I’d forgotten how exciting youth basketball games are. And this was a great game, really. Neck and neck with some fabulous shooting by members of both teams. These young athletes were all so serious and careful, watching each other, setting up plays, making baskets from near and far.

And Greenfield won! Which means they now go on to the finals or championships. I spoke to the coach about what he needs to help our team progress. These players have tons of talent. Do we need another gym so all the teams have someplace to practice? Seems like it. It was really a great game to watch.

Tutoring Information Program
For two years we have been unable to give away free tutoring to K-7 parents but this year—49 students have signed up! Greenfield has a grant that funds approximately $100,000 so we can offer private tutoring to our students. There are always strings of some kind with grants—and with this tutoring grant we have to offer the tutoring after school or on Saturdays. And we cannot tutor ourselves, but we have to contract with a private company that is approved by the state. All of this makes the program more difficult to implement. It’s a wonderful opportunity, though. Imagine that almost any parent in one of our elementary or middle schools can have private tutoring for free! It’s worth about $1,000 - $2,000 per student. !!!

Gail Lucey, our grants coordinator, held an informational evening for parents to explain this tutoring program. She has a lot of patience for frustrating details, it seems. If more people sign up than we have money, we have to take the students who have the greatest need for tutoring. But otherwise, it is available to everyone. gailuc1@gpsk12.org is Gail’s email if you want more information.

We are very excited to get this program off the ground this year. It’s free—we are happy for every child we can stimulate to make more time for learning.

ZOOM IN Lecture Series at GHS
Mary Link sent me a few pictures of the ZOOM IN lecture series. A high school having its own lecture series is a neat idea. We are trying to create the program so it becomes a part of the school’s culture.

In these pictures you’ll see an animated Doris Doyle, School Committee chairperson. She gave one of the first lectures/seminars. And you’ll see Jay Fidanza relaxed and showing students his baseball collections. Doesn’t this look like fun?

Photos: Mary Link

Page last updated on: March 7, 2010

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