Checking in on the District's Goals

Early each spring the administration shares a brief update on the status of district goals and initiatives.  There is so much going on in the Needham Schools, it’s easy to keep moving forward at a high speed without reflecting on where we are going and how we are doing.  However, the update to the School Committee allows us to press pause, step back, and check in to see if we are on track.

Here are some of the highlights we shared with the Committee:

•  Goal One:  Advance Standards Based Learning

-       Implemented new elementary math program (ThinkMath!) in grades 1-5.

-       iPad pilot program underway in 8^th grade.

-       Conducting world languages curriculum review.

-       Developing K – 12 common assessments.

-       Published curriculum maps.  For a look, click here: http://needham-public.rubiconatlas.org/Atlas/Public/View/Default

•  Goal Two:  Develop the Social, Emotional, and Wellness Skills of all Children

-       New elementary and parent programs initiated, including the “Social Thinking Curriculum” and fall middle school parenting conference.

-       Positive Coaching Alliance programs established for student athletes, parents, and coaches.

-       Bullying intervention curriculum developed and implemented in all grades.

-       Bullying prevention and intervention guide distributed throughout schools and community.

•  Goal Three:  Promote Active Citizenship

-       STEAM initiatives involve the growth of robotics teams, including FIRST Tech Challenge and girls’ robotics team at the high school; middle school students work with Stratus Center; and middle school teacher participating in Project LIFT.

-       Each school has identified and implementing at least one school and curriculum based service learning project.

-       District administrators studying cultural proficiency as it relates to all of our students and work in the schools.

•  Goal Four:  Ensure Infrastructure Supports District Values and Learning Goals

-       Pre-feasibility assessment of Mitchell and Hillside Schools underway.

-       Pilot teacher observation and evaluation model underway at Hillside and High Rock Schools.

-       Online payment vendor selected; new financial system software bids being evaluated for a spring award.

These highlights do not represent all of the activity in the district, but they reflect the current status of key elements in the district’s work plan.  Much remains to be accomplished as we collaborate and work together as a professional staff and within the broader community to strengthen teaching and learning in the Needham Schools.  Look for a final report on the 2011-12 goals later in June.

The Power and Promise of Needham's Teachers: Learning and Serving with Students in Florida

Over the last week I was again reminded of the power, promise, and role of great teachers in our schools.

Traveling to Palm Beach County, Florida I was privileged to join 20 remarkable Needham High School students and their four teachers who were serving and volunteering with Habitat for Humanity to help build a new home for a young mother named Yolanda.

Needham High Students with Yolanda

 

It was an honor for me to work alongside our students who were diligent, enthusiastic, respectful, and, well, just fun to be around. Without a groan, the kids were up at 6 every morning and piled into vans headed for a sweaty and grimy day building, digging, and landscaping. They never tired or complained, and they were always looking forward to the next task or chore as if it were a gift. They smiled, joked, and took care of one another like brothers and sisters (including one or two arguments over tuning the minivan’s radio station!).

The students were led by four superb members of the Needham High School faculty and advisors to the Habitat Club: Emily Will, Peter Arsenault, Diana Parkhurst, and Bill Goldman. Not only did these teachers give up their vacation time and many weekends and evenings earlier in the year to help students raise money and to organize trip logistics, they ensured everyone was safe, well fed, and on time to the worksite. They insisted that everyone work hard (no problem with this crowd), have fun, and learn about Habitat’s mission and the people they serve. Everyone, including the teachers, ate the same peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and slept on the same cold tile floor at the local YMCA; everyone pitched in to build, plant, and rake. The teachers were immensely patient, flexible, and often quite humorous, especially when they could poke fun at the superintendent.

Needham High Teachers Peter, Diana, Bill, and Emily

I watched proudly as our teachers assisted individual students, encouraged them, offered a suggestion, or, once or twice, even provided a stern look at just the right time. The conversations held in the van, on the job site, during meals, and even late into the night were wonderful opportunities for our high school students to interact with and learn from their teachers in ways that go far beyond the standard classroom routine. The teachers were incredibly enthusiastic and made it a priority to connect with and care for each student, including a late night run to the grocery store to buy a birthday cake for one of the boys who turned 18.

Throughout the week, no doubt the teachers learned many new things about these exceptional young people. I am also certain our students learned much from our teachers about what it means to be a caring and conscientious adult in a culture that sometimes underestimates the value of compassion and responsibility. Emily, Peter, Diana, and Bill were selfless and tireless on this trip, and they—and all of their Needham colleagues—are exemplary role models for young people.

Recent classroom visits in the Needham Schools and now last week’s experience on this service trip reinforce my belief that no single policy change, technology innovation, or curriculum update alone can improve and inspire students as much as a well educated, creative, dedicated, and joyful teacher. Without the presence of a caring adult who can guide, nurture, and personalize the educational experience for young people, inside and outside the classroom, learning will suffer and the hopes and aspirations of the individual child—indeed the entire community—are diminished.

The 2012-13 Needham Schools Budget Proposal: The Resources we need to Support Teaching and Learning

January not only marks the beginning of a new calendar year, it is also a critical time for the Needham School Committee as it considers and votes a budget for the 2012-13 (FY ’13) school year. I appreciate the School Committee members’ advocacy around the development of a budget plan that will provide appropriate resources for the 5,500 students in our schools. The task ahead of them is difficult, and I know they will certainly appreciate feedback from the community at the FY13 Budget Public Hearing scheduled for Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. at Broadmeadow.

In the past few years, the School Committee, Selectmen, and especially the Finance Committee have worked diligently with us to bridge the revenue and expense gaps that have resulted from a shaky economy and diminished resources. Everyone has tightened their belts and the schools are no exception. Together we have pared back programs, reduced staff, and postponed improvements in order to adapt and to balance budgets. The schools have reallocated and repurposed available funding, increased class size, decreased funding for supplies and materials, and as part of the collective bargaining process, cut health care costs in a significant way.

This year the loss of Federal stimulus funds, growing secondary enrollment, and stagnant local and state funding has resulted in a sobering budget development process and discussion. We simply cannot bridge the revenue gap with further cuts, reduced services, and higher class sizes.

Instead, this time around, I proposed a 5.7% overall increase in the FY13 budget, which I think is a reasonable, prudent, and balanced plan that will have a positive impact on teaching and learning in the Needham Public Schools. It addresses contractual obligations, enrollment growth, state mandates (mostly unfunded mandates), and allows a tiny amount for program improvement. It is a responsive plan and one that meets the community’s high expectations for its children.

FY13 Budget highlights include:

• The total requested budget is $51,264,825, a 5.7% increase of $2.8 million over the current school year.

• 85% of the total budget proposal is for level service, which maintains existing programs and staffing levels. Level service meets ongoing contractual obligations, mandated special education services, increased transportation costs, and enrollment growth. Only 15% of the total budget proposal increase is for program improvements, and of that amount, over half is to improve mandated services (e.g., English Learner Language instruction) or to strengthen our technology infrastructure.

• In order to meet growing enrollment, especially at the secondary level, 13.5 new teachers and staff are included in the $2.8 million budget proposal.

• Special Education improvements in the budget plan also include an expansion of the Preschool and a reorganization of the PreK through Grade 12 special education program to meet student learning needs and to ensure special education services are more efficient and the costs more sustainable into the future.

Members of the School Committee and central office administration have been working closely with the Finance Committee to review the school budget plan in anticipation of a presentation to the full Finance Committee on January 18^th. While supportive of identified needs in the schools, members of the Finance Committee are concerned that the proposed school budget exceeds available resources and may require reductions in Town services to fund the requests. They have asked the School Committee and school administration to reconsider some worthwhile budget requests. However, as your superintendent I am worried that reductions in this plan will further erode services parents and students have come to expect.

Through additional consultation with Town officials, I remain hopeful the Town will support this plan. I continue to believe this budget supports our district values and goals in a fiscally responsible way and in a way that strengthens student learning. And I am confident Town officials, school administrators, and parents, working together, are up to the challenge of finding a way to meet the critical needs of our children as they learn and grow in a community that cares deeply about them.

Please attend the School Committee’s FY13 Budget public hearing at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 17^th at Broadmeadow to learn more about the budget proposal and voice your ideas, concerns, and support. You may also email the School Committee at: schoolcommittee@needham.k12.ma.us .

Transforming Special Education in the Needham Schools

It’s time for us to transform special education in the Needham Public Schools.

After almost two years of surveys, focus groups, and a programmatic study of our special education services, Christine Brumbach, our Director of Student Development, tells me two things have become clear:

1. Needham teachers, administrators, and staff offer excellent programs and educational support for students with special education needs.

2. At the same time, we can become more efficient with our resources and offer even better services for special education and regular education students in each school throughout the district.

In order to become more efficient with limited resources and ensure all students are learning at high levels in an inclusive classroom environment we need to address these challenges:

• Develop an early intervening or Response to Intervention (RtI) model in each school that parents are aware of, teachers understand, and principals support.

• Provide professional development for regular and special education staff that reflects the district’s values and ensures collaboration and articulation between and among our teachers as they work to serve students with disabilities.

• Ensure vertical alignment and supervision of the district’s special education programs through a reorganization of the administrative structure and supports.

• Ensure a cohesive instructional model, including co-teaching and learning and skills centers, that meet students’ learning and developmental needs.

• Provide stronger transition planning from year to year and level to level to enable student growth and success.

• Support special educators, teacher assistants, and related service providers with a robust supervision program and opportunities to learn new skills.

• Stem the tide of out of district placements by examining the “breaking points” for existing in-district programs and by providing additional training and better supports for staff and families. Look for new program opportunities within our schools.

• Develop stronger, more trusting relationships with parents of special education students to ensure their children are well served and are growing and learning throughout their years in the Needham Public Schools.

We have a lot of work ahead of us, and we will need the support, encouragement, and assistance of parents and the community to get us there. But I am convinced we have the capacity and courage to bring an already strong special education program to the next level. Along the way, we welcome your suggestions, comments, and input.

Now, let’s get to work!

To the Editor: They're All Our Kids

To the Editor of the Needham Times:

The October 20, 2011 edition of the Needham Times reported on the concern a few Newman parents have expressed over the transportation of their Kindergarteners on a combined bus in the afternoon from the Pollard modular classrooms to the Newman campus.

The bus, which first makes a run to each elementary school to pick up our Boston resident students, is successfully being deployed to make an additional stop at Pollard to shuttle and drop off Newman’s Kindergarteners to Newman before it takes the remaining students home to Boston. The use of this bus to shuttle Newman’s Kindergarteners is convenient, cost effective, and safe. Despite some logistical challenges on both campuses this fall, we have worked to ensure student safety and provide an efficient transportation plan for all students. I want to take this opportunity to thank our Newman families for their patience and cooperation as we strive to make each day smoother for their children.

I want to express my disappointment, however, at the one or two parents quoted in the article whose comments and language suggest that Newman Kindergarteners are somehow placed in an untenable situation with other Needham elementary students on the brief bus ride to Newman. That is simply not the case. I am particularly concerned about the comment: “I don’t know these children. They’re not my neighborhood kids. I don’t know what their conversations would be, and I’m not ready for my child to be exposed to that.” As reported, this comment reveals more about the parent’s own fears and prejudices than it does about the reality of a seven-minute ride on a bus, which happens to be filled with exceptional young people from our elementary schools.

The comment also is clearly not representative of other Newman parents who, like parents throughout Needham, value diversity and a sense of community that supports strong and enduring friendships between and among all students regardless of the school they attend or the neighborhood—Needham or Boston—in which they live.

Indeed, this short hop from Pollard to Newman will provide a wonderful opportunity in the coming months for Needham Public School elementary students to get a chance to learn and care about one another. That’s really what we want our children exposed to.

Sincerely,

Daniel Gutekanst
Superintendent
Needham Public Schools

Keep Massachusetts Schools Safe and Expectations for Behavior High

This past week I joined colleagues from the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents (MASS) to testify against proposed new legislation that would significantly hamper a principal’s ability to exclude a student from school who distributes drugs on campus or assaults a teacher. Following are excerpts from my testimony:

The proposed Act relative to student access to educational services and exclusion from school (HB178) has several practical and logistical problems rendering it ineffective and detrimental to all students.

• First, the proposed act erodes local school control, imposes unnecessary rules, and prohibits a principal from maintaining high standards for behavior and safety in schools. Each unique student situation must be handled in a way that respects the rights of that individual but balances the student’s needs with the expectation of a safe, secure, and healthy learning environment for all students. Existing law already has specific and significant due process safeguards in place. The proposed law imposes impractical procedures (e.g., A student’s hearing will be held by an impartial building administrator—What if there is only one administrator?) and actually strips students of their rights (Information and evidence presented at a student hearing could be turned over to the police—School principals should not become extensions of the police or courts!).

• The proposed act is silent on who will pay for educational services for excluded and suspended students. Many school systems simply do not have the resources to offer alternative educational programs for suspended students. I support the notion of providing alternative services to keep students on track, but the Legislature will need to provide the significant resources required.

• The data does not support lowering the bar, and it essentially guts MGL Chapter 71, Section 37H. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey data shows that from 1997 to 2009 (the latest year data is available) students who were offered, sold, or given drugs in school decreased from 42% in 1997 to 26% in 2009. Also, the percent of students threatened or injured with a weapon at school decreased over the last ten years from 8.6% in 1999 to 7.0% in 2009. Finally, some are concerned that school suspensions and exclusions exacerbate the dropout rate among minority youth. But the trend is clear: The dropout rate for students of color has decreased steadily from 1995 to 2010 for Hispanic and African-American youth. In 1995 the dropout rate for Hispanic students was 9.3%, and in 2010 the rate was 7.4%; African-American students experienced a similar decline from 7.3% in 1995 to 5.1% in 2010. Setting the bar high for all students appears to be paying off.

• The Legislature sends mixed messages when it tells school administrators there must be “zero tolerance” for bullying but leniency for drug distribution and violence in schools. What, exactly, is the direction the Legislature would like us to take? The proposed act ignores the needs of students who depend on their communities, schools, principals, and teachers to establish high expectations for their behavior. School administrators have a responsibility to nurture school cultures free of drugs, and violence. Young people are savvy—they have little tolerance for adults who coddle, enable, ignore, excuse, or defend inappropriate, unsafe, and illegal behavior. Young people know the difference between right and wrong, and they know that drugs and weapons do not belong in school. And when someone violates their sense of security and safety, they expect adults will act in an immediate, consistent, and fair way to call out and sanction inappropriate or dangerous behavior. This is a special social compact we must have with our students. If you believe in young people, regardless of their personal circumstances, and you set the bar high, you empower them to achieve and grow into responsible adults who care about themselves, each other, and their community.

As written, HB178 diminishes student and school safety, erodes local autonomy and control, and, at its worst, believes young people are incapable of becoming the exceptional young people we know they are and we know they can become. I urge the Legislature to work with the MASS to improve this bill and ensure continued student success and safety throughout the Commonwealth.

Building a Sense of Community in a New School Year

I shared the following comments to teachers and staff on the opening day of school, September 6, 2011:

The opening of school marks another transition in our lives and the lives of our students. And transitions often bring about anticipation, hope, and perhaps a little anxiety. In fact, about a week or so ago I made a trip down to DC to drop off one of my daughters to school. Claire, who had just returned from Maine where she spent the summer as a bicycle and sea kayak guide in Acadia National Park, sighed as we navigated the car down Mass. Ave. through U-Hauls, boxes, and move-in day traffic at American University. “You know, dad,” she observed wistfully, “It’s a lot simpler on a kayak in Frenchman’s Bay…” Yep! Transitions sure can be tough!

The following day after saying goodbye to Claire I took an early morning run around the Mall and Capitol Hill before getting back into the car for the long trek home. The streets were quiet, clear, and clean and the Washington Monument looked bright in the early dawn. In the distance, I could see the Lincoln Memorial turn from rust to gold as the sun’s rays grew stronger. But the order and calm of the streets and the simple beauty of this particular morning belied the dissonance and acrimony that marred our nation’s capital earlier this summer as Congress and the President wrangled over the debt.

I lack the intellect and perspective to explain what is or is not going on in Washington or in our economy for that matter. But I do know that in order to solve big, sometimes intractable problems we must sit down together, speak and listen honestly and sincerely, compromise when necessary, be creative, and demonstrate great humility. I think those elements are essential if we wish to genuinely work together to improve our lives and the lives of others. And while we may not be able to directly impact the dysfunction in Washington, we most certainly can create conditions in our schools and classrooms that encourage and sustain a strong sense of community.

As educators we have an opportunity, we have an obligation, to create and support the conditions that will allow our young people to learn and become active, engaged, innovative, and civil students and citizens. We must provide the structures necessary to engage divergent thinking and respectful discourse. We are responsible for nurturing a sense of community where students can be included and participate in meaningful and productive ways.

So, my challenge to you is this:

How will you build a sense of community this year for your students, their families, and one another?

What is it you will do to ensure your school supports a strong and lively sense of community and learning? Building a sense of community and belonging is work for us all—not just teachers and principals. Students move in and out of smaller communities all day interacting with adults and others as they ride the bus to school, play together, visit the nurse, or eat lunch. What are the steps you will take to ensure that the framework exists to empower student inclusion, dialogue, equity, tolerance, and deep learning?

Educator Eric Schaps proposes that halfway into the school year teachers survey students to answer True or False to the following four statements:

• My class is like a family.

• Students in my class help one another learn.

• I believe I can talk to adults in this school about things that are bothering me.

• Students in my class can get a rule changed if they think it is unfair.

Perhaps responses to these simple statements might gauge student empowerment and connectedness to the school community. Many of you already ask questions like these, and I encourage all of you to do so. We should all agree to support the conditions that enable all students to feel safe, secure, and ready to learn.

How will you build community this year?

Young people look to adults for leadership and guidance. Therefore, it is critical for students to observe the school staff learning together and interacting as a genuine community. We must model the very traits we espouse and believe are critical to our students’ success. (You know, after watching the DC debt debacle, it is pretty clear that there are more than a few members of Congress who would benefit from a healthy dose of Morning Meeting or Middle School Advisory…)

How will you demonstrate the kind of respect, civic dialogue, collaboration, and intellectual engagement within your school, department, or cluster? How do you organize meetings, greet parents at the door, learn from one another, take care of one another, and celebrate the personal and professional achievements of colleagues and friends?

One of my favorite Boston College Professors, Gerry Starratt, wrote:

If teachers are to influence students to live as authentic persons who act out of a sense of autonomy, connectedness, and transcendence, as persons concerned about justice in their personal and social lives, genuinely caring for other people, and courageous enough to critique ingrained practices within society… then teachers will have to present themselves to students as people who strive to live their own lives this way.

Our students know; they watch and understand and follow our lead.

What example will you set, and how will you build a community of learners this year?

That is my challenge for us all as we embark on a new semester of growing and learning. Our task is critical, especially as we attempt to create and build a sense of community for our students within the current national context that is both sobering and discontent. And while the work is daunting, we must remember not to take ourselves too seriously and to find joy and laughter along the way. More than ever our students need the tools, skills, and encouragement to learn to live and work together in a way that challenges them personally and inspires them to care for others.

Seize the opportunity of a new school year to lead your students on a journey of discovery, learning, and community. In the process, you will guide them toward personal growth, academic excellence, and to their place as responsible and caring citizens.