Archive for 2011

The Type of Schools We Need

Saturday, December 31, 2011 0 Comments A + a -


“Our kids need to have multiple opportunities in rigorous coursework so they can get into good colleges and be competitive in the workforce,” stated an impassioned mother at one of my Superintendent Meet & Greet coffee hours last week.  Other parents around the table concurred:  we all want the absolute best for our kids, giving them rich academic content and skills so they can succeed in a 21st century global economy.

But is that what is happening across our country?  Is it happening in the Mendon-Upton Regional School District?

Critics of the educational status quo often point to the latest results of the PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) Assessment, an internationally benchmarked test given every three years to 15-year-old students in 65 economically developed nations.  The 2009 data show that US students ranked 17th in reading, 30th in mathematics, and 23rd in science.  Furthermore, economists and policy analysts predict that upwards of 3 million jobs, particularly those in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields cannot be filled by employers due to a lack of qualified candidates.   In fact, during one of the most recent Republican presidential debates, the candidates sparred over the specifics of opening our borders to the most gifted foreign students to bolster American innovation.

All of this is sad but true.  But what does it mean for our schools?

Plain and simple, we need to do things differently.

We need to shift the paradigm of how we educate our kids.  In many ways the schools our children attend today are in the same mold as the ones we attended… and the ones our parents attended… and our grandparents… and our great-grandparents.  I say this as the structure of schools (grade levels, the length of the school day, curriculum organized by discrete content areas, etc.) has largely remained unchanged since the late 19th century.   While these structures served most well for an industrial, manufacturing-based economy, this is no longer the case.

I want to be very clear.  I believe that we do a fine job in delivering an essential set of academic skills and content to our children.  In the MURSD we do this very well while also tending to the many developmental needs of kids.   However, today’s economy demands so much more of our graduates.  In additional to the classic skills (the ability to speak and write effectively, problem solve, and critically think), workers must have the ability to create, collaborate, adapt, and oftentimes, innovate.  They must have basic new literacies, such as financial literacy and informational literacy, to make sound judgments.  The key is that ALL of our kids must have these competencies (commonly referred to as “21st Century Skills”) to succeed today in even the most basic of entry-level jobs.

The good news is that we know what works.  There is a plethora of current research and best practices to access to about creating new structures and learning opportunities, particularly through the use of technology, to extend learning beyond the boundaries of the school walls and the school day.  These new opportunities speak directly to student acquisition of 21st century skills.

Such a vision is bold, but it is what I am hearing we want for our children as I connect with parents at events such as the coffee hours.  In the coming months I look forward with having conversations with all stakeholders about the future of our school district as we will start a comprehensive strategic plan to guide us over the next five years.  It is my hope that together we will craft a common vision on how our schools will give all of our students what they need.

May you and your family have a wonderful holiday season.  And here’s to a bright 2012!

School Funding Basics- Special Education & "Circuit Breaker" Funding

Thursday, December 22, 2011 0 Comments A + a -

The below PowerPoint was my second in a series of presentations that I gave to the Regional School Committee regarding the basics of how the school budget is funded.  This presentation focuses on how special education services are funded at the state and national level.  It also focuses on a specific funding stream from the state, known as "circuit breaker" funding, that is a partial reimbursement for the expenses for out-of-district placed students.  As the presentation captures, this important program has not kept up with the ever-increasing costs associated with the education of our students with the greatest needs.

School Funding Basics: Special Education & Circuit Breaker Funding
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There's No Business Like Snow Business...

Monday, November 28, 2011 0 Comments A + a -

Roses in full bloom in November?
Landscaping in front of Bertucci's Restaurant, Warwick, RI
Taken on Saturday night, November 26, 2011
I should note that as I write this posting, it is 63 degrees Fahrenheit outside, the sun is shining, and I hear the squeals of happy 5th graders on the playground equipment outside of my office window.  So... no time like the present to address plans for snow days!!

At its meeting last Monday night, the Mendon-Upton Regional School Committee approved a contingency plan (posted below) in the event that we have numerous snow days this coming winter.  This plan was necessary due to the fact that we started the year with three cancellation days due to Hurricane Irene and as of today, we are ending the school year on Tuesday, June 19, 2012.  As we received a fairly good response rate from parents and staff to an online survey regarding potential make-up days, we have used that data to craft the below plan.

A few thoughts:  As you look at the plan, please realize that we covered every potential possibility regarding number of snow days and when they could occur.  Therefore, there is a "by date" column in the plan.  Over the past ten years the MURSD has had 0-3 snow days each year; the only exception was last year when school was cancelled 7 days (5 snow days plus 2 roof clearing days).  Thus, odds are that the first row in the contingency plan is the most likely possibility this school year.

However, let's review what we've seen locally in the past twenty months: historical flooding, tornadoes and microbursts, an Atlantic coast hurricane, and record-setting snowfall.  I could easily do a post or two on my thoughts on the mounting evidence of global climate change- call it the high school science teacher in me- but I'll save that for another day.  The fact remains that there is empirical evidence that our planet is warmer, hence there is more moisture in the atmosphere, hence more precipitation.  I wouldn't be terribly surprised if we do get another stormy winter, much as the Old Farmer's Almanac is predicting.  I certainly hope that's not the case and our winter ahead is a quiet one.

May we all have many sunny days in the 50's ahead of us!

School Funding Basics- State Funding 101

Sunday, November 13, 2011 0 Comments A + a -

The way we fund our school district's budget is very complex, and as we all know in recent years, increasingly more difficult.  I am well aware of the fact that in years past, the Regional School Committee and district administration have made many efforts to explain various terms, regulations, and mandates that dictate both revenues and expenditures.  As there are so many aspects of this, it would be difficult to cover and explain all of it in one session.  Hence, School Committee Chair Heather Applegate recently had the idea to use the next two or three months (before the budget season gets into full gear) to explain some aspects of school funding to the public.  A great idea!

Hence, below is the brief 8-slide PowerPoint presentation that I gave at last Monday night's School Committee meeting.  This presentation is the first in a series that I will be giving. As the cover slide notes, it is on the basics on the funding we receive from the state through its Chapter 70 Program.  In my presentation I was also careful to detail between the terms "foundation budget" and "net school spending," two terms that very much detail the minimum we (and every district in the Commonwealth) must spend on education.  I hope my presentation is clear... If you have any questions, please post them below.

School Budget Basics- State Funding 101
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Also, here are the handouts I provided Monday night:

The FY2012 Foundation Budget for the Mendon-Upton Regional School Budget-




The trend for Chapter 70 Funding for the Mendon-Upton Regional School District over the past ten years-



If you are very ambitious, please visit the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education website's page on Massachusetts Foundation Budget and the most recent FY2012 Net School Spending Requirements.  

School Committee Vacancy Announcement

Friday, October 28, 2011 0 Comments A + a -

The Mendon-Upton Regional School Committee is in need of an interim representative to fulfill the responsibilities of school committee representative for the town of Upton to the Mendon-Upton Regional School Committee until the next town election on May 7, 2012.  Interested individuals are invited to send a letter of interest, noting your background and any related experiences, to:

Mendon-Upton Regional School Committee
150 North Avenue
Mendon, MA  01756
Attn:  Heather Applegate, School Committee Chair

or to:

Blythe Robinson, Town Manager
Board of Selectmen's Office
1 Main Street, Box 1
Upton, MA  01568

Please include your name, address, phone number, and email address (if you have one).  Please respond by Friday, November 18.  The appointment vote will be held in early December.  Questions regarding responsibilities of the committee, meeting schedule, etc. may be directed to Heather Applegate, School Committee Chair, at (508) 529-9005.

In the End, Only Kindness Matters

Sunday, October 16, 2011 0 Comments A + a -


When I sat in last week's Rachel's Challenge parent presentation at Memorial Elementary School, it was the third time I had experienced to the multimedia presentation.  And for the third time, I witnessed many openly weeping at the emotionally-charged story of 17-year old Rachel Scott, the first victim of the April 20, 1999 Columbine High School shooting.  It is understandable, given the tremendous loss of Miss Scott, who by all accounts was an extraordinary young lady who treated all with acts of kindness and compassion.

That's the chief aim of Rachel's Challenge:  to perpetuate Rachel Scott's legacy to schoolchildren worldwide by presenting the story of her brief and prophetic life (she often told her family and friends that she felt that she would die young but would make a big difference in the world).  The presentation details Rachel's many acts of kindness and compassion- particularly to those who were different or disabled- and her thoughts from the six diaries she kept in her short life.  During the presentation students are invited to accept "Rachel's Challenge," five simple credos to live your life by.  They are:
  1. Look for the best in others.
  2. Dream big.
  3. Choose positive influences.
  4. Speak with kindness
  5. Start your own chain reaction of kindness.
Simple advice, no?  All of us- not just kids- sometimes need these reminders...

As I have been involved with this program for the past three years, I am often asked if it is an anti-bullying program. It isn't per se, as there is no formal curriculum that deals specifically with social skills and/or situations.  However, at the heart of bullying in schools is an examination of a school's climate and culture.  This program, with its emphasis on promoting prosocial behaviors between peers and students and staff and making explicit connections to kids and the community through community service, is undeniably beneficial to school climate. 

I look forward to seeing the Kindness and Compassion Clubs (the formal structure for promoting the five challenges) at Clough and Memorial begin their work.  In a society where there is often so division and lack of civility, it is great to see a program that stresses the basics in what we want in all of our kids:  kindness and compassion.

Many thanks to physical education teachers Chrissy Horn and Dan Hayes, Clough Principal Jan Gallagher, Memorial Principal Deb Swain, and the Mendon-Upton Education Foundation for bringing Rachel's Challenge to the elementary level.  Great work! 

The National Debt for 6th Graders

Sunday, September 18, 2011 1 Comments A + a -


If we are to be competitive with emerging economies of the world (see China and India), our schools must speak to what has come to be known as "21st century skills."  These are skills that are absolutely critical for a student to be successful in postsecondary education and more importantly, the workforce.  Some of these skills are absolutely not new:  effective communication, critical thinking, problem solving, and analytical thought are key ones.  However, according to the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, a national non-profit that advocates for a new direction of school reform, equally critical are 21st century interdisciplinary themes such as global awareness, environmental literacy, civic literacy... and get this- financial, economic, business, and entrepreneurial literacy.  This clearly has a lot of implications for how and what we teach kids, particularly around the standards of "understanding how to make appropriate personal economic choices" and "understanding the larger role of the economy on society."

These thoughts ruminated in my head as I read a piece in a recent morning faculty bulletin from Miscoe Hill Principal Ann Meyer.  It was a simple exercise for kids and adults alike to put the national debt in perspective.  It read like this:

Below is a nice simple view of the financial problem in the U.S.  It is also the reason why Standard & Poor downgraded the U.S. credit rating:
  • U.S. Tax Revenue:  $2,170,000,000,000
  • Federal Budget:  $3,820,000,000,000
  • New Debt:  $1,650,000,000,000
  • National Debt:  $14,271,000,000,000
  • Recent Budget Cut:  $38,500,000,000
Okay, so all of those zeroes make us glaze over!  So let's make this problem a little simpler... and pretend that the federal government is a family of four and they have a household budget and expenses.  With that said, let's remove eight zeroes from the figures!
  • Annual family income:  $21,700
  • Money the family spend:  $38,200
  • New Debt on the Credit Card:  $16,500
  • Outstanding Balance on All Credit Cards:  $142,710
  • Recent Budget Cut:  $385
Interesting perspective, no?  I was curious if a child... say a middle school student... could understand this analogy. Thus, I put my own middle schooler, my 11-year old daughter Molly, to the the test.  Here she is pondering the facts of this financial dilemma:


I asked her to write out the above bullet points of the fictitious family of four and then answer the following questions:  1)  What do you think of this? and 2) What would happen to this family? 

After some thought, Molly's comments to me included the following:
  • "I don't get it... how can you spend more money than you make??"
  • "This family really didn't cut much from their budget.... ya think??"
  • "Dad, do you think that this family would lose their house?  I do."
Out of the mouth of babes....

If this analogy on the national debt doesn't drive it home neatly for you, there's always comedian Bill Maher's plate of food analogy.... Enjoy!


9/11... Ten Years After

Sunday, September 11, 2011 0 Comments A + a -


Today was a solemn day that was filled with many emotions:  sadness, heartache, anger, fear, resignation, and hope to name but a few.  For most, the ten year anniversary of September 11, 2001 is a moment in time to pause and reflect on the tremendous loss of life not only on that tragic day, but also on the sacrifice of so many servicemen and women in two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq over the past decade.  Today also marked the official unveiling of a local memorial that is stirring.

Fire Lt. Michael Zarella of the Mendon Fire Department has made it a life passion over the past five years to plan and construct a formal memorial to his 348 colleagues on the FDNY that perished on 9/11.  The fruit of his labors was seen today, as this moving memorial was dedicated in the front lobby of the Mendon Fire Station.  The hallmark of the exhibit is a 10 foot steel beam that was once part of the World Trade Center.  The beam is twisted and ripped, complete with shredded bolts and attached concrete, all reminders of the towers' stunning collapses.  On the wall behind the beam are the names of all of the fallen FDNY first responders.  Also on the wall is a flat screen television that displays over 1600 images from that fateful day and the immediate aftermath.


During today's dedication, I was very impressed with Michael Zarella.  He is bright and articulate, and his passion for this important project clearly shines through.  He spoke with authority in describing his journey over the past five years in successfully obtaining the 1500 lb beam for this memorial.  He retold the story of his two emotional visits to Hangar 17 of JFK International Airport, the official repository for all of the World Trade Center remains.  Because of the thousands of hours he has put into research and fact-finding, his knowledge of the events of 9/11, the recovery of the WTC artifacts, and the many anecdotes of the first responders is impressive.

We are blessed to have this new memorial and Lt. Zarella as resources in our community.  As this memorial is a permanent fixture, it should be viewed by all... particularly our young people.  It is a fact that nearly half of our students in our schools were not even alive when 9/11 occurred.  Our students at Nipmuc were very young- anywhere between Pre-K to grade 2.  Their memories may be hazy at best.  I will be recommending to our principals and teachers that they bring our students to this fine memorial where appropriate.  It will reinforce and teach to our students this recent defining moment in our nations' history.

May we all never forget.

Come on, Irene!!

Monday, September 05, 2011 0 Comments A + a -

New Clough Principal changes the sign signaling the start of school once again...
Okay, this is not how I imagined the first three days of the 2011-12 school year would go!  To say the least, it was maddening to cancel school due to the damage and loss of power because of Tropical Storm Irene (yes, it lost its Category I hurricane status by time it hit Mendon-Upton).  Never in my life have I logged as many hours speaking to local officials- police, fire, DPW, and our friends at National Grid- to get a handle on the safety conditions in both towns as well as a sense of when power would be restored to Miscoe Hill Middle School.  The more people I spoke to, the stronger sense of the severe damage- particularly in Mendon- I got.

The power loss wore on our nerves.  Living over the border in Rhode Island, I got my power back Tuesday morning at 2 am... and I know I was one of the lucky ones.  Each day when I went to my office (which is attached to Miscoe Hill) I felt frustrated without electricity, Internet, phones, or running water.  Last week was one of those rare, sustained reminders of how we take so many of life's conveniences for granted.  Perhaps adding to the surreal feeling was the fact that every day post-Irene was a gorgeous, sunny day in the 80's.  How could we be having these cancelled days??!!

I know many of our parents felt the stress of the situation as well.  I may be a new superintendent, but I don't think that I will ever receive as many requests from parents asking me to cancel school as I did last week.  They told stories of lack of running water (and hence, no showers, etc.) and just the general stress from the lack of amenities.  For some, it was real tough going...

But as it often is in life, much good can come from bad.  I've heard many stories of families coming together during all of the unexpected "down time," bonding while doing fun and silly things.  I know that I had the opportunity to play Scrabble and Monopoly with both of my daughters for two consecutive nights... that's probably the first time that's happened in years!  I also went to sleep on Sunday and Monday nights after reading in bed by candlelight... the dreamer in me ignored my eyestrain and postulated that this must have how it was in the 1800's and earlier.  I kind of liked that feeling!

However, what makes me feel the best is the way that people come together during a crisis.  A casual glance at one's Facebook feed told the story of families reaching out to others with offers of shelter, food, and showers.  One of our moms in the district wrote me an e-mail describing the challenges of the days after the storm, but then she closed the correspondence with this insight:  "...community members are reaching out to each other.  Those with power are welcoming those without into their homes for showers, charging phones and such, getting water (many are on wells without power), and just some conversation.  We have a friend's medication in our fridge for her and send them home with ice for their cooler and refreshed after long awaited showers....It may not be the start of the year that people are accustomed to, but I think it just may be the start of the year that we needed.  Something that brings us all together, realizing the important things about community... I hope this stays with us... as we go forward."


I hope the same too!  Here's to September 6 and beyond!

Welcome to the MURSD Superintendent's Blog!

Sunday, June 26, 2011 5 Comments A + a -

I am thrilled to be starting as the new Superintendent of the Mendon Upton Regional School District on July 1!  From what I have observed to date, I believe that possibilities for our students are limitless due to the work of a caring professional and support staff, engaged parents, and a supportive community.  I look forward to connecting with all stakeholders in the coming months.

As proactive, two-way communication is one of  my primary goals, I am establishing a few new methods.  First, I will be using social media to get the word out about district news, accomplishments of our students, and upcoming events/meetings.  So please feel free to friend me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.  There are links to do so on the left hand side of the blog.

I will use this blog to give a more detailed look at district news and accomplishments.  Additionally, I will share some thoughts regarding the latest news in education that affects our students as well as students across the Commonwealth and nationally.  I do so as I feel that it is very important for all of us to be informed of current research and best practices.

Please feel free to comment on any posts as I welcome your feedback.  Have a happy and restful summer!
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