The Use of Data

Data Rich and Information Poor

Anthony Serio

Superintendent of Schools

Billerica Public Schools

October 26, 2010

Generating the argument for the personnel to bring us the riches from the data warehouse is not easy in this economic environment. Yet, we face an audience that demands the data that will lead us to make the decisions that will effectively address the needs of our students and place learning as the focal point of our schools. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) in its pursuit of Race To The Top (RTTT) funds further makes this demand as we enter into the realm of value added education and growth charts for students and schools become the norm in published student data going home to parents.

At a recent meeting of school district leadership and the DESE on RTTT initiatives, special attention was given to the creation of near-real-time-data access to data in the education warehouse by implementing the Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF) allowing all 80,000 educators access to data. This initiative will be monitored by information systems staff in a school district that will have to activate access to the data warehouse. Training will have to occur on access and use of the data once selected. As an RTTT project, we can anticipate that this will be a component of student value added scenarios as staff determine the course of action to achieve student growth on various measures.

The DESE has also created the Data Cube a powerful search device that allows for the analysis of data to be customized by school and district staff. The DESE recently launched the District Analysis and Review Tool (DART) system that will allow schools and districts to compare their progress against similar communities. In addition, the DESE has increased the amount of data that we are required to report to further define the effectiveness of our schools. Several schedules for reporting data follow:

State Reporting (SIMS/EPIMS/SCS):

There are three major reports that need to be generated and submitted to the state:

• SIMS (Student Information Management System)
  
  • SIMS includes all demographic data for every student enrolled in the district; among other uses, SIMS information dictates the amount of Chapter 70 aid that a district receives in the following fiscal year.
    
• EPIMS (Educational Personnel Information Management System)
  
  • EPIMS is the reporting of all staff working with students in the district, including staff demographics, what classes they teach, licensure, and highly qualified status.
    
• SCS (Student Course Schedule)
  
  • The SCS report is new in FY11, and requires us to submit the individual schedules for each student enrolled in the district.  The end of year SCS report also must include final grades given in classes and credits earned for each course.
    

Reporting in these three areas (for FY11) falls under the following timetable:

October 4, 2010 – October 29, 2010: Submission of October 1 SIMS

October 4, 2010 – December 16, 2010: Submission of October 1 EPIMS

October 4, 2010 – December 16, 2010: Submission of October 1 SCS (New for 2010-2011)

November 5, 2010 – November 12, 2010: Submission of October 1 SIMS edits/updates

March 1, 2011 – March 31, 2011: Submission of March 1 SIMS

April 8, 2011 – April 22, 2011: Submission of March 1 SIMS edits/updates

June 1, 2011 – July 8, 2011: Submission of End-of-Year 2011 SIMS

June 1, 2011 – August 12, 2011: Submission of End-of-Year 2011 EPIMS (New for 2010-2011)

June 1, 2011 – August 12, 2011: Submission of End-of-Year 2011 SCS (New for 2010-2011)

July 15, 2011 – July 29, 2011: Submission of End-of-Year 2011 SIMS edits/updates

Prior to the 2010-2011 school year, there had only been the three SIMS submissions (October 1, March 1, and End-of-Year) and one EPIMS submission (October 1).  Beginning with FY11, there is now the additional requirement of an End-of-Year EPIMS report and two SCS reports (October 1 and End-of-Year). The End-of-Year reports require that someone be actively working on these submissions throughout the summer; in particular, the End-of-Year SCS report cannot have a first submission until all grades are in the system at the end of the school year, usually at the beginning of July. Needless to say, the need for data management and input has increase significantly and is often handled by clerical level positions. The validation of this data and the troubleshooting of errors reported by the DESE often fall to the immediate administrator that supervises these data entry positions.

A great deal of funding has gone into the development of the data warehouse and search engine COGNOS. Dedicated staffs at the DESE work through the data collected and create the programs to further advance the value added or growth charts developed from the data. Will the analysis that mines the data for useful information follow in the public schools? The intention is that it will follow but, I sense it will fall short of the direction that has been set by DuFour, Du Four, Eaker, Reeves, and Schmoker all of who highly influence our thinking about Professional Learning Communities and job embedded professional development by using the data to drive our decisions about pedagogy and ultimately what students learn. DuFour, DuFour and Eaker (2008) refer to the work of Shannon and Bylsma (2004) on four broad categories identified as common themes for districts leaders in support of PLCs. One theme is timely use of data from a variety of sources, technology infrastructure, training and time to delve into data to inform teacher practices. This theme addresses the need for a central office administrator who can dedicate resources to support the continuous improvement of student learning through available and useable data presented to principals and teachers in our schools.

Teachers and principals are anticipated to do this deeper level of analysis during common planning time and PLC sessions. Many districts use the principals along with department chairs, subject coordinators and directors or assistant superintendents for curriculum to disaggregate the data. Yet, teachers are to also develop common assessments that provide formative information about student learning and engage in collegial reflection to focus energy on improvement of instructional practice to maximize achievement. These common assessments should also be added to the data warehouse to provide a path of continuous improvement for the teachers’ classes and individual students.

This analysis function should be a process of optimization in which, data leads us to best practice that can be replicated in classrooms across the district. Instead we gain surface level information from the tons of data feed in to various web based warehouses. A great deal of funding goes into the development of the warehoused information and data mining tools but little into the personnel to work the data into meaningful reports to drive the PLCs in our schools. The data analysis should be taken as seriously as the data input. A dedicated leader of the Information Systems Department can drive the analysis.

Pat Martin in her developing paper with MassQue quotes;

“Based on research by Keith Krueger, 2010, most superintendents do not see technology as their job. Rather, they see technology as the responsibility of their school district’s chief technology officer. This view overlooks the particular role that superintendents now must play to support 21^st century learning environment. Therefore, the position of Assistant Superintendent for Teaching, Learning and Accountability takes on a new design based on the technology role in this position.”

Martin further states, “This is why I recommend looking at the Leadership Team of a school system through the lenses of technology. The effective educational leader is always trying to envision the next best way to engage students and improve learning. It is not the role of an educational leader to just monitor or police the technology students use; it is the role of educators to teach students how to use the technology tools that are available.” I agree whole heartedly but, I stress, as does she that we need to have central office leadership that brings skills in technology and education together and more so in the area of accountability. I paraphrase Pat Martin’s query “Who in the leadership organizational chart provides the vision and initiates and oversees the Information Systems (IS) and Accountability? This is a question for all superintendents to ponder.”

While the Assistant Superintendent and/or Director of Curriculum can successfully administer the role in relation to teaching and learning the IS functions must be addressed through a role that compliments curriculum positions in data entry, retrieval and analysis. As Martin (2010) indicated, the educational leader formulates the recommendations for technology purchases and the selection of the most effective technology –based professional development opportunities. The leadership position as developed will work with the Network Manager and Technology Solutions Manager to bring the bandwidth and equipment needed by the district staff to carry out research, instruction and presentation or on line training opportunities so readily available as cost saving professional development . The position bridges the needs of staff with the varying demands for system filtering set by government, system security (i.e. firewalls, virus and spam protection) and open access at times demanded by staff. In my mind, the accountability aspect of this position is paramount and must be addressed in a systematic, focused and cohesive way by a member of central services in top levels of the leadership organizational structure.

Race To The Post

Race To The Top

The Billerica Public Schools is excited to be part of the Race To The Top (RTTT) Initiative in Massachusetts. Having adopted our Strategic Plan in March of 2010, the systemic change of RTTT is in alignment with our overarching goal to create a school district that challenges our students and develops their Twenty-First Century Skills to compete in our global society. On October 12, 2010 School Committee Chair and Vice-Chair met with the Union President, Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent and several Coordinators to plan the grant for the first year and subsequent year projects. There was agreement on the projects to pursue documented in this narrative. School Committee voted at its meeting conducted on October 18, 2010 to approve the submission of the first year RTTT Grant in the amount of $4,455.
Our Vision and Mission follow from our Strategic Plan.
VISION STATEMENT OF THE BILLERICA PUBLIC SCHOOLS
The Billerica Public Schools will create a safe, respectful and collaborative community in which each student becomes empowered to reach his/her maximum intellectual, social and emotional potential.

MISSION STATEMENT OF THE BILLERICA PUBLIC SCHOOLS
The Billerica Public Schools is a learning community of parents, students, and school staff that strive to support a climate of continuous learning, reflection, and growth through partnerships with businesses, the community, and institutions of higher education; a place where students participate in a broad range of experiences that prepares them to become well-rounded individuals and active participants in their communities; a community with resources and technology necessary to achieve educational excellence; a community that promotes respect for the inherent dignity of each individual; and a community where successes are celebrated and challenges are met.

The first goal of our strategic plan’s curriculum section can only be met through the linking of several key areas designated in the RTTT Initiative.

Goal: Develop innovative means for providing rigorous educational and appropriate enrichment opportunities within the school, setting a higher standard for academic performance.

Systemic change can only be realized by the implementation of several tasks simultaneously. The convergences of several key themes in education have occurred that allows the restructuring of school in the sense of mission, personnel and culture. The RTTT Initiative recognizes the impotence of teacher and administrative effectiveness through evaluation and supervision. The District will request no funds during this first year but, will develop and implement a team to study various evaluation methods and will attend any DESE training or informative workshops. Evaluation and supervision tools are one of our primary objectives for this current negotiation period with the Billerica Federation of Teachers. All activities will be funded through the LEA budget for substitute teacher and travel as required. In future years we will participate in the recommended changes to evaluation and supervision processes as developed and negotiated with our teachers’ association, the Billerica Federation of Teachers.

Currently, Billerica has embarked on an initiative of Classroom Walk Through and Clinical Rounds. These methods of supervision are in line with the attempt to bring reflection into the teaching practice. This Metacognitive approach allows teachers to examine their classroom practices and the achievement of their students. This reflective practice informs the staff of differentiation in instruction that will assist the students to reach higher levels of achievement. Further, the emphasis on collegiality through Professional Learning Communities currently in use in Billerica brings the synergy of curriculum content and instructional practice to the forefront of systemic thinking and influencing the culture we hope to maintain in Billerica.
Clearly, the aforementioned approach to staff supervision enhances our work on RTTT project activities in 1A, as well as 2A, 2B, 3B, and 5A that we will pursue in years two, three and four of the RTTT grant cycle.

In relation to project 2A, Billerica has used staff to align curriculum and will continue this process as we explore the Common Core Standards. We will not request RTTT funds during the first year for this purpose. The District will pay for substitutes and provide travel to staff who attend the DESE informational and training programs later this academic year. Project 2b will be immediately addressed through a survey of staff conducted by the National Center for School Leadership. This survey will be administered during the last week in October and the early part of November, 2010. Billerica will use these results to set a baseline and establish measurable benchmarks for improvement. School Culture is very important in the restructuring of our schools and is often underestimated by leadership. The valuable information that will come from this survey will influence our direction in pursuit of simultaneous and ongoing change processes.
Billerica has a very well organized induction and mentoring program for teachers entering our system but, the training and models used are ten years old so, we welcome project 3B. We want to improve what we do in this arena by working with other district on mentoring models. The Billerica Schools has a well defined professional development program offering several classes per semester. In addition, we have an excellent relationship with several area colleges and the Merrimack Educational Center to advance teachers to their masters and hone their skills in specific disciplines and administration. We have availed ourselves of the District and School Assistance Council trainings but, we look forward to offerings of the ESE sponsored in project 2L.
The District believes in the interoperability, SIF, allowing open access to the data warehouse and placing the information into the hands of our staff. The district is committed to staff understanding the effective use of data. We have had a technology goal specific to optimization theory that once discovered, “Best Practices” will be replicated throughout the school district. We have a professional development goal to implement Professional Learning Communities and use data to inform teacher practices through reflection, dialogue and observation. The SIF will provide us the ability to reach these two goals and lead to relevance and rigor in our curriculum goal as stated above.
In the first year we will attempt to clean our data and dedicate a staff member to coordinate the SIF Initiative, project 3A. We will request the suggested $4,455 for our school district to pay the coordinator of the SIF Initiative in year one. These are the only funds that we will request this year. We will apply for any grants related to the SIF initiative. In years two, three and four of the RTTT initiative we will participate in activities that will emphasis the effective use of data, project 3B, and provide feedback to the DESE on the development of new data systems and tools, project 3C.
The District will participate with the DESE on the goal that all students accomplish MassCore Project 4A. It is our goal to raise the Bar on Rigor and Relevance. Our Strategic Plan adopted in March 2010 by the Billerica School Committee speaks directly to this section of the RTTT Initiative. Our District will request no funds at this time. We will concentrate on the plan for college, project 4B and Comprehensive School Counseling Program Model, project 4C in year two. We currently have an Early College relationship with Merrimack Community College and provide financial nights for students and their families to look at college funding options. We use on line tools for exploration of colleges and college application universal software. These projects 4B and 4C will only strengthen our program.
Our major focus will be on Projects 4D, 4E and 4F in years two through four. These areas are in line with the goals in our strategic plan as well as our redistricting committee. Our strategic plan calls for a more challenging Curriculum and with this in mind we will enter training for the AP program for middle school and high school during the second year of the grant. We offer ten AP classes at this time but, we wish to expand on the offerings. The International Baccalaureate will also be an area of consideration at all secondary grade levels.
Our redistricting committee is setting a goal to establish a STEM Innovative middle school that could then feed into a high school STEM Academy. This goal comes directly from our strategic plan. We will seek RTTT and Innovative grant funds in years two through four to accomplish these initiatives.
Restructuring of education can only occur with a concentrated effort on all of the RTTT Initiative projects. Project 5, help develop and implement a statewide teaching and learning system will be a natural outcome of the system change in the way we perceive schooling. The Billerica Public Schools concentrating on projects 1A, 2A and 4A will organically and authentically align with DESE activities in 5A, 5B, 5C and 5D. In order to change education one must participate in the discussion and take action in these RTTT projects to bring about the system thinking as a natural occurrence of our profession as educators.

Welcome back, I hope you have had a restful summer. Many of you are aware that out State Legislators passed a comprehensive Bulling Law in May 2010. The Billerica School District is proud to inform you that we are in the process of completing a comprehensive Anti-Bullying
Policy and Anti-Bullying Plan. Both Policy and Plan will reflect Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 71 Section 37O.

In developing the policy and plan, we were pleased to see that the tenets of the new regulations are consistent with Billerica Public Schools policy and procedures concerning student conduct. The new regulations further highlight specific procedures to identify and address bullying incidents of all forms. Any physical act or gesture, or any combination thereof, including cyber-bullying and incident of bullying occurring outside of the regular school day which materially and substantially disrupts the educational process or the orderly operation of the school, will be addressed by our school staff.

In accordance with the legislature, our Plan will be completed by December 31, 2010. At that time, the Plan will be sent home to parents and the Anti-Bullying-Policy will be included in next year’s handbook. In the meantime our working drafts are available for you to view on the Billerica Public School website, www.billerica.k12.ma.us.

The Billerica School District has always been committed to providing all students with a safe, comfortable environment in which to learn. We’re proud that our new policy and plan, and Massachusetts General Law, is consistent with our current procedures. We’re equally proud that, through the hard work of many staff, we have organized and streamlined our procedures for making our schools free from bullying of all kinds.

We are also launching our Extended Kindergarten program at each of our elementary schools. We have met our goal of enrolling 120 students in the program but, we still have openings at the Hajjar, Vining and Parker Schools. Parents interested in this program should contact my office.

We are implementing our new Special Education Intensive Compass and LAB programs for students on the autism spectrum and for students with behavioral challenges. We feel these programs will assist us in keeping students in our district, a major goal for our administration. We have employed a Compass Coordinator and an Assistant Special Education Director at the secondary level providing the opportunity to serve our families with more efficiency.

The School Committee, committed to lower class sizes, did add six primary grade level elementary teaching positions to our staffing plan. We are happy to report that we have had a very successful recruiting year and have added some outstanding teachers. Primary class sizes will remain in the high teens low twenties through most of the district. We also followed our plan for the ELL Department moving our tutors up to teaching level. This change came about as part of our corrective action plan in response to the Coordinated Program Review conducted by the DESE during the 2007-2008 Academic Year.

We have new administrators joining us; Tony Garas is now Principal of the Locke Middle School and Phillip Peters is the Assistant Principal at the Locke School. Victoria Hatem will be the Assistant Principal at the Ditson School and will continue as our English Language Learners Coordinator. Eileen Roake is the Principal at the Vining School while, Maureen O’Hara has moved over to take the helm of the Hajjar School. Mr. Al (Buddy) Metivier has retired over this summer. Assistant Superintendent for School Business, Frank Antonelli has retired and Paul Syzmanski has taken the position of School Business Administrator. Heather Geary will be joining our administrative staff in Special Education as the new Assistant Director at the Secondary Level. Tom Woodbury has fully retired from Billerica and his position as Director of Guidance will be taken by Julie Marashio. Dr. Salah E. Khelfaoui our Director of IS will be leaving Billerica to take a position as Assistant Superintendent with the Arlington Virginia Public Schools.

We are very excited about this school year and look forward to greeting your children on August 31, 2010.

Sincerely,

Anthony Serio Ed. D.

Welcome Back

August 2010

Welcome Back!
, I hope you have had a restful summer. Many of you are aware that out State Legislators passed a comprehensive Bulling Law in May 2010. We are proud to inform you that we are in the process of completing a comprehensive Anti-Bullying
Policy and Anti-Bullying Plan. Both Policy and Plan will reflect Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 71 Section 37O.

In developing the policy and plan, we were pleased to see that the tenets of the new regulations are consistent with Billerica Public Schools policy and procedures concerning student conduct. The new regulations further highlight specific procedures to identify and address bullying incidents of all forms. Any physical act or gesture, or any combination thereof, including cyber-bullying and incident of bullying occurring outside of the regular school day which materially and substantially disrupts the educational process or the orderly operation of the school, will be addressed by our school staff.

In accordance with the legislature, our Plan will be completed by December 31, 2010. At that time, the Plan will be sent home to parents and the Anti-Bullying-Policy will be included in next year’s handbook. In the meantime our working drafts are available for you to view on our Billerica Public School website, www.billerica.k12.ma.us. We want your feedback on this Bullying Plan.

The Billerica School District has always been committed to providing all students and staff with a safe, comfortable environment in which to work and learn. We’re proud that our new policy and plan, and Massachusetts General Law, is consistent with our current procedures. We’re equally proud that, through the hard work of many staff, we have organized and streamlined our procedures for making our schools free from bullying of all kinds.

A major component of the plan is professional development and we will experience the first of the trainings on the law Opening Day Monday August 30, 2010 starting with a BFT meeting at 7:30 A.M. Coffee and refreshments at 8:00A.M. The initial district meeting on the Bullying Plan will start at 8:30 A.M. We are very fortunate to be joined by Massachusetts Teacher of the Year Floris Wilma Ortiz-Marrero, of the Amherst Regional School District and our own Maureen Parker Teacher of the Year Semi-Finalist as our guest speakers.

The School Committee, committed to lower class sizes, did add six primary grade level elementary teaching positions to our staffing plan. We are happy to report that we have had a very successful recruiting year and have added some outstanding teachers. Primary class sizes will remain in the high teens low twenties through most of the district. We also followed our plan for the ELL Department moving our tutors up to teaching level. This change came about as part of our Corrective Action Plan in response to the Coordinated Program Review conducted by the DESE during the 2007-2008 Academic Year.

We have new administrators joining us; Tony Garas is now Principal of the Locke Middle School and Phillip Peters is the Assistant Principal at the Locke School. Victoria Hatem will be the Assistant Principal at the Ditson School and will continue as our English Language Learners Coordinator. Eileen Roake is the Principal at the Vining School while, Maureen O’Hara has moved over to take the helm of the Hajjar School. Mr. Al (Buddy) Metivier has retired over this summer. Assistant Superintendent for School Business, Frank Antonelli has retired and Paul Syzmanski has taken the position of School Business Administrator. Heather Geary will be joining our administrative staff in Special Education as the new Assistant Director at the Secondary Level. Tom Woodbury has fully retired from Billerica and his position as Director of Guidance will be taken by Julie Marashio. I am sorry to report that Dr. Salah Khelfaoui is leaving us to join the Arlington Virginia Public School District as their Assistant Superintendent for Information Systems and Accountability. I am sure that all of you will join me in wishing our new administrators, those retiring, changing roles and/or leaving us for other places well.

We will be launching many components of X2 this year including standards based report cards at the elementary level and scheduling, grading and report cards at the middle schools. Your laptop computer and other classroom technology will provide access to the X2 Parent Portal that will provide your students’ parents real time data on their child. I applaud the work of the staff piloting and pioneering these efforts.

The summer has been very busy with many activities to support our school staff through Collegial Reflection and our role in the “Learning Community”. The capacity building inherent in statistical analysis and standards based instruction/assessment coupled with staff concentrated dialog on student learning can bring continuous quality education to our District. Staff has the knowledge and ability to lead the District forward and should be recognized for their talent as participants in the Professional Learning Community as they use an inquiry approach to explore educated answers to District and site-based issues.

As I have mentioned in the past; the more recent school reform initiatives are based on the “Professionalism of Staff” and the development of the “Learning Community.” Recent authors point to the powerful combination of having staff research their assumptions for improving education through statistical analysis of data as a component of instructional decision making. We now have the data required to determine the growth we need to make as a ‘Learning Community” to move our District forward. Sound marketing of what we do right will allow the community to perceive the District in a better light as they see us enhancing our instructional practices and communication through technology and improving our skills as educators through our professional relationships.

Sincerely,

Anthony Serio Ed. D

Superintendent of Schools

Attachments

Celebrating Teachers

Celebrating Teachers

This is a time for celebration and I had the fortune to accompany Maureen O. Parker of the Locke Middle School and her family to the Massachusetts Teacher of the Year Reception at the State House on Friday June 11, 2010, a glorious celebration of teaching and learning. The Governor, Deval Patrick, Secretary of Education, Paul Reville and Commissioner of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Mitchell Chester were in attendance. It was also very special for me because the Teacher of the Year is someone that I have known for close to 20 years. Dr. Floris Wilma Ortiz-Marrero
of the Amherst Regional Public Schools. She is a teacher of English Language Learners. We taught together in CCD classes at Saint Bridget’s Church in Amherst Center. Her message was very powerful on respect, dignity and the need to reach all children in our schools no matter what their challenge. I have arranged for her to present at our opening day exercises with staff Monday August 30, 2010.

Maureen Parker is an outstanding Science teacher. She brings to the classroom her experience from the world of industry. The blend of her natural teaching ability and experience in industry provides opportunities for application of knowledge that is authentic in nature. Science is brought to life in meaningful ways and her students gain from the interactive assignments that she provides them. She sets high standards and her class gains from the rigor of her program. They can see the relevance and value of their studies to real world problem solving scenarios advance Twenty-First Century skills to her students.

In addition to her outstanding teaching techniques, is her commitment to the Locke School Community. She has established sound relations and all staff look up to her. She serves on committees in the Locke School and at the School District level. She works closely with her administrators and fellow Locke School staff. She volunteers for student social events, organizing and chaperoning dances, student activities and field trips. She does embody the new Three R’s of Relevance, Rigor and Relationships.

I am very proud of Maureen O. Parker, Dr. Ortiz-Marrero and all nineteen teachers honored yesterday at the State House. The press often defames our profession, but on this occasion there can only be positive reflection in the written accounts recording the day’s events. Thank you Maureen O. Parker for being the teacher you are and making it to the prestigious semi-finalist level, you are a special educator and the pride of Billerica.

Let It Snow, It is Winter in New England

Snow Calls:

Snow calls are difficult at best but there is logic to the decision; the gathering of data begins several days before a storm by following weather alerts and models. First this storm was to travel through the central part of our nation, not near us. Predictions two days before the recent event was little snow, a rain event. Tuesday the forecasters spoke of a couple of inches of snow and rain in the afternoon. We finish our decision by 4:45 A.M. on the day of an event. During the wee morning hours of the event nothing to the contrary was stated by the forecasters for our area and snow was not falling, snow up to four inches, turning to rain and temperatures in the fifties was indicated by most models by Six O’clock. Wednesday morning the call was for  a regular opening. Two to four inches of snow for this area will not cancel school. We did the right thing based on the data we had and, after reviewing the event, I feel the same way.  A delay would not have mattered, snow was still falling during the delay arrival time and, we were aware of that snow fall up and through late morning. We did get three to four inches of snow and finally rain set in for the afternoon as predicted. 

I call delays to clean up fallen snow, if it has stopped or, because weather patterns indicated clearing. I cancel school when it will remain a snow event throughout the day and over a half foot of snow is anticipated. A few inches of snow followed by rain or a clearing will not cancel school. We work with area schools on these decisions, highway department and police if snow falls during the night and wee hours of the morning, this storm did not allow for the latter but the former was completed by 4:30 A.M. and the area superintendents all agreed on a regular start.

We live in New England, snow is anticipated, schools open unless we have a major storm.

The Flu

The Flu

They did not name my flu but, I can tell you to follow your doctor’s advice. I did stay isolated and it did take five days for my fever to break. I was told to take it easy upon my return to the office, relapse can occur, I found I had no choice shortness of breath and head congestion has forced the issue.

I must tell you that if you have the flu stay home, less we spread this germ the better. Rest, liquids, Tylenol, cough medicine and decongestants until the fever breaks. Many school districts including ours have monitored student and staff absenteeism. Staff illness has caused some isolated schools to close in Massachusetts. So far we range from 5% absenteeism at the Thomas Ditson Elementary School to 12% at BMHS. Our absentee rate has improved this week.

Hope all of you are well but, if you have the flu, stay home.

Safety First

Safety during the Special Elections

In an attempt to keep our students safe from traffic during the Special Elections for US Senate the following calendar changes will be implemented for the 2009-2010 Academic Year.

November Third professional development day will now move to December Eighth. This is the Special Primary Election Day. No students will come to school only staff. November Third is now a school day for students and staff.

January 19, 2010 is a day off for staff and students. This is the Special Election Day for US Senate. This will create a four day weekend in mid January.  December 23, 2009 is now a school day to make up for January 19, 2010. December 22 is a full day (originally listed as a half day) and December 23 is a half day.

The last day of school is still Friday June 18, 2010. Under this plan the school year is not extended.

Many of you are aware of this note that I sent out to all exchange users. I am curious if others feel the same way about safety and keeping our students out of harm’s way. Between winter conditions and increased traffic, I decided to practice caution and change our calendar. What is your opinion of this action?

Parker School Project

Education in the Year 2025

Anthony Serio Ed. D.

I have been reading the blogs and articles about the Parker School building project recently reported in the Lowell Sun and Billerica Minuteman. The protagonist and antagonist of this project have argued the merits of cost, enrollment, capacity, square footage, redistricting, extras (often called ‘bells and whistles’) and the statement “no town wants to leave money on the table.” That statement was attributed to the Director of the Massachusetts School Building Authority. However, was she discussing Billerica or just making a general comment regarding school building projects and in what era was she referring to, the previous Department of Education days or the current MSBA, an agency charged with controlling school construction costs?

I have yet to hear anyone speak about the entering kindergarten class who will graduate in the year 2025 as seniors from BMHS. What education environment should they enter in September 2012? Will it be an environment that allows students an education where they have the space to explore various stations for the rudiments of literacy, numeracy, imaginative play and socialization? We know that students need to practice independently and interdependently the various skills to be an accomplished student. Many skills are enhanced at the technology pod in the classroom as well as the technology center, a feature of this building.

The new Parker School is designed with modern education in mind. The dedicated art and music space will allow for exploration of two- and three-dimensional art projects with space for storage and display. Choral and instrumental lessons will take place in an acoustically-designed space. The technology center adjacent to the multimedia center completes the articulation that a library in today’s education is a melding of print and information research found in various forms of media culminating in presentations by staff and students for their peers through technology. These environments are the centers and classrooms to support and prepare the modern student and productive citizens of the future.

I know some have questioned the issue of square footage and student enrollment but flexibility must also be understood for our future. First, will we redistrict? There will not be full scale redistricting but the new Parker School has the ability to alleviate the over-capacity at our other elementary schools. This may mean the movement of two or three streets from other school catchment areas. Educational programming can be addressed including students who face the challenges of autism or do not have English as their primary language. The movement in early childhood education and the emphasis toward universal pre-school programming and all-day kindergarten may be considerations for our future and can be addressed through the new Parker School. Some have questioned the declining enrollment in the elementary schools of 180 students by 2013; however, we expect enrollment to rebound in 2014 and by 2017, we will have more students in the elementary schools than we currently have enrolled.

The Parker School houses our elementary grade school Compass Program for students on the autistic spectrum. The building has been designed with the knowledge that we have more students entering this program and we want to move students currently in out-of-district placements back into our school environment. The rooms required for the services of speech and language, physical and occupational therapy and vestibular stimulation are all included in the design for an enrollment of 500 including special education students. Moving students back into our Compass Program from out-of-district placements could have significant cost savings to the district in the future.

The current Parker School, built in 1953, has exceeded its useful life, resulting in mechanical infrastructure and structural integrity issues creating safety concerns and various code compliance issues. The new Parker School will address extensive Americans with Disabilities Act code issues. The new building will also use a sustainable green design and include a safe design for transportation, student drop-off, and parking. The building will provide excellent air ventilation, computer-monitored temperature and mechanical controls, air conditioning and substantial natural light throughout the school. The green sustainable design includes LED lighting, green roof, super insulation and porous cement to assist with drainage and will result in cost-effective savings on utilities and heating costs. The air conditioning will allow the building to be used year round and will house our summer programs. Green design will also act as another lesson for our students to realize the importance of working to conserve our environment.

The MSBA worked closely with the Billerica Building Committee for the Parker School Project which was appointed by the Town Moderator. The feasibility study included the enrollment projections for the building, a conceptual design that captured the educational programming within the scope of the project and the cost estimations. These components were all approved in stages leading to acceptance of the Parker School Project by the MSBA and the granting of $17.6 million as the State’s share of the $34 million cost which includes all construction costs, contingencies, Owners’ Project Manager fees, architectural fees, plus all technology, furnishings, fixtures, and equipment.

The Parker School Project will be completed in one-phase construction on the current Parker School site and will not call for the reassignment of the Parker School students to other schools throughout the District. Construction on this community school that will address recreational and other Town organizations’ needs through use of its gym, media center, cafetorium (cafeteria with a stage for performing arts), art and music rooms, will begin in the summer of 2010 with completion expected by September 2012 in time for the start of the new school year.

Remember to exercise your right to vote on Saturday November 21, 2009!