jackiedoherty.org

Concern and community outrage continues to build as the Lowell School Committee meets tonight in council chambers at 7 pm to receive the proposed budget for FY 10. (Hearings on the budget will begin next Wednesday at City Hall, at 7 pm.) There are no motions from committee members but a number of important reports from the Finance, Transportation, and Facilities Subcommittees that begin to lay out the administration’s plans for slashing staff and programs to meet the expected $8 million budget shortfall. At the last school committee meeting, supporters for the school lunch program spoke passionately about keeping their program, which costs the district about $775,000 out of the local budget. Expect to see members from the Rogers School community tonight, expressing their despair at the possibility of closing their school to save $3.2 million. With $8 million in cuts required, there will be lots more programs, staff, and distressed people before this budget is completed. How to manage these difficult decisions? It requires keeping a laser-beam focus on what’s best for the students district wide, and trying as much as possible to mitigate the negative impact of cuts this deep with decisions that make the most sense overall. (If you can’t make it downtown tonight, the meeting will be televised live on cable channel 10. You can also get information on replays or on-demand streaming video at LTC’s website.)

With more bad news on the fiscal front and the Lowell Public Schools likely facing $8 million in cuts next year, the Facilities Subcommittee and other members met last night to discuss closing schools to save money. The administration proposed a new plan (Plan B) to close the Rogers Middle School, moving the strand of Portuguese-speaking students and their teachers to the Butler School, and dispersing the remaining students to middle schools throughout the district where space is available. The plan will save the district $3.2 million up front with additional savings in reduced rental fees possible by moving the Family Literacy Center, Adult Education, and portions of Central Office to the vacated Rogers School site. Since some middle schools are currently under enrolled, closing the Rogers School will not have a major impact on class sizes, which typically run about 25 students at the middle-school level. (Previously, the administration had proposed a plan to close the Moody School, sending those elementary students to the Bartlett Community Partnership School while moving the Bartlett middle-school students to the Stoklosa School, and using the old Moody building for administrative offices. That plan would have saved the district about $1.2 million.) According to the administration, Plan B not only saves more money, but it also displaces less students, and provides the district with a better site for offices, family literacy, and adult education as well as a centralized location in the city. The full committee will consider this cost-saving recommendation, among others, during Budget Hearings, which begin May 27 in Council Chambers at 7 pm. Closing the Rogers School—a thriving community of caring educators, students and families—is but one painful step in a long road of recommended cuts required to educate our students with $8 million less in revenue next year.  

Budget cuts, swine flu, city elections – these are trying times and it’s more important than ever that parents stay involved and speak out in support of public education. Please add your voice to that of other concerned parents by joining the Citywide Parent Council . The CPC mission is to empower parents to make a difference in the education of all Lowell’s school children. The last meeting of the year is tonight, 7:00 pm, at the East End Club. The agenda will include a year-end wrap-up, elections and planning for next year.

Warren Shaw’s op-ed for an appointed school board in yesterday’s Sun claims a failure in our “system of governance” because of the “current crisis on the Lowell School Committee.” That argument is not only flawed and unfair, it’s undemocratic. The radio host, farmer, and former Dracut selectman argues against elected school committees because he claims Lowell’s board is ineffective:  According to Shaw, one member’s alleged criminal actions puts a whole board in crisis. Shaw also claims elected members can’t negotiate well because they may live near their employees, and centralized control is better because it is less adversarial. Perhaps Mr. Shaw would support appointed legislators next? Many state and federal legislators face judicial scrutiny, get elected by their neighbors, and are adversarial. Yes, our system of governance is at times messy, inefficient, contentious and flawed. (How else to explain eight years of Bush?) But to suggest the solution is cutting voters out of the process is wrongheaded and goes against the democratic foundation on which this nation was built. The remedy for good governance is what it has always been: informed, attentive and active citizenry who hold their elected leaders accountable. 

OK, I admit to being easily aggravated on the issue of appointed school boards. Search this blog for “appointed school committee” and you’ll see several posts on the topic. (This one is dated, but still relevant since the state has yet to enact election-day registration; and I like this one too.)  As for Mr. Shaw, he doesn’t even consider the district’s progress around instruction, professional development, curriculum, and safety when discussing board efficacy, and I doubt his children attended the Lowell Public Schools in the last 10 years (or ever). He also seems unaware that the City Manager is a voting member of the school’s negotiating team or that the state determines Lowell’s minimal share of the costs for educating its students. With all due respect, perhaps Mr. Shaw should stick to Dracut issues which one can assume he knows more about.

In an unprecedented show of collaboration, nearly 250 teachers and administrators gave two hours on a beautiful Saturday morning to meet at the Stoklosa School today. The meeting was to talk about how the groups could work better together to improve student achievement. In these tough fiscal times, it was a welcome ray of hope to see so many staff—central office folks, teachers, social workers, instructional specialists, principals, and assistant principals—interested in learning about a new labor-management partnership in the Lowell Public Schools.  Joan Devlin, senior associate director from the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), spoke briefly about the many courses and professional development programs they offer, but the speakers from ABC School District, 20 miles southeast of Los Angeles, were the highlight as they demonstrated what this partnership can mean to a district. ABC Union President Laura Rico explained that after a teachers’ strike in 1993, she decided there had to be a better way and that it made no sense to “demonize” the administration. “I realized principals don’t want students to fail, and that we must keep our eye on the prize—student achievement.” ABC Superintendent Gary Smuts affirmed how useful the collaboration has been for the district: “Imagine how liberating it is to be able to say, ‘I don’t know. What do you think we should do?’” Some examples of the collaboration include teachers participating in the principal hiring process, using AFT programs to expand teacher-trainer models, holding union reps accountable for school improvement, empowering and consulting with teachers about curriculum, etc. (More information on ABC district’s partnership can be found in this article published in American Educator.)

For Lowell, today’s kick off collaboration will continue with four days of training in August. And in the great New England tradition, there was a compact to sign that states: “In the best interest of our students, we will build a mutually respectful and authentically collaborative culture, rooted in open, inclusive decision making and shared leadership.” With the Lowellian penchant for partnership, this collaboration just may shine a beacon of light on otherwise dark and difficult times.

The Lowell School Committee meeting tonight begins at 7 pm from City Hall and can be watched live on LTC channel 10 if you can’t make it downtown. (You can also get information on replays or on-demand streaming video at LTC’s website.) There are only two motions on for tonight’s meeting and since one is a request for a letter of thanks to DPW, I’m only going to include the other, which is from Mayor Caulfield and reads: “Request a legal opinion from the City Solicitor on the recent RFP approved by the Finance Subcommittee regarding Food Service in Lowell Public Schools.”  If you’ve read the local paper in the last few weeks, you know there’s been some backlash regarding getting this information, and that providing student lunches currently costs about $775,000. Expect to hear from folks on this issue during the public participation portion of the meeting. There will also be a number of reports from subcommittees including Finance, Personnel and Special Education as well as reports from the Superintendent regarding the city’s net school spending compliance, the budget calendar, Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education School reviews, and other initiatives. Lots of change in the air as the school committee and administration attempt to develop a budget that allows continued progress in the quality of education provided to our children within tight revenue guidelines. Also, check out LiL for their take on tonight’s meeting.

Despite the chilly rain, hundreds of educators attended tonight’s ninth annual Celebration of Teaching Awards at the Doubletree Hotel. Sponsored by the Lowell Rotary Club, the dinner has become an annual way to celebrate the many caring teachers in the Lowell Public Schools, as well as provide them with the opportunity to nominate their own favorites for “best teacher of the year.” Each school nominates a teacher, providing background information about their accomplishments, which often includes funny, heartwarming notes of endorsement from students. Based on the nominations, the Rotary then selects one winner for each of three categories: elementary, middle, and high school. The winners receive a $500 cash award, a trophy, and the priceless honor of being selected by their peers for excellent teaching. All nominated teachers are winners, but the Rotary’s pick for top three this year were: Ruth Buckley, Pawtucketville Memorial Elementary School; Frances Sacco, Stoklosa Middle School; and Martha Lappin Iarrapino, LHS.

Since its inception under the leadership of former Supt. Karla Brooks Baehr nine years ago, I have not missed the awards celebration. It always moves me to experience each school excitedly cheering for their nominee and to hear the ways our teachers touch the lives of children every day—just one more affirmation of what a great school system we have. I don’t know of any district statewide with this type of celebration of teaching excellence. The other 2009 award nominees are: Diane Antonelli, Maureen Welch, Christine Topjian, MaryAnn Nochnuk, Catherine Klingman, Patricia Colgan, Manuela Flynn, Ana Irwin, Leona Giovannini, Dawn Boehn, Charles Boliantes, Ernie Descheneaux, Jill Laganas, Ellen Melina Notishen, Mary Theres Linehan, Janeann Kay, Donna Reis, Steven Rose, Carol Anne Chipman, Rosemary Janco, Hilde Gilman, and Sue Wilson. Congratulations and thank you to each of them!

No, I’m not talking about the school committee, but our local arts scene: The last play of the season at the MRT is A Moon for the Misbegotten, a classic by Eugene O’Neil. Well, I say classic, but who knows? I saw this play in a college production about 20 years ago and was not impressed, as it seemed melodramatic, overwrought and dated. Still, I’m game to see it again. The great thing about live theatre is that there is always something to like, or to discuss or critique after the show. Productions can differ radically because of the added variables of directing, acting, even set design. I’m going Sunday night, but the play runs through May 17th with performances on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights at 8 pm; matinees run Saturdays at 4:30, Sundays at 2:00. Saturday night shows at 8:30 and Sunday night shows at 7:00 pm (call the box office at 978-654-4678). The recent positive review of the play in the Boston Globe indicates to me that some of the flaws in the production that I saw so long ago might have been countered by smart directing and excellent acting. It sounds like it might even be a bit humorous! On the other end of the spectrum, we have home-grown theatre right here in Lowell – the Image Theater strikes again with an ORIGINAL play by our own Jerry Bisantz. Entitled The Straight Line, featuring “beer, romance and gun fights,” the play will be upstairs at The Old Court for the next two weekends, Friday and Saturday nights at 8:00 pm. Last but not least, Lowell High School students will perform Little Shop of Horrors, opening tonight with performances Friday and Saturday at 8 pm at the Lowell Freshman Academy Theater (how do you spell that word anyway? – er as in Image Theater or -re as in Merrimack Repertory Theatre? These are the things that keep me awake at night!) So, there you have it, entertainment and then some for your rainy May weekend. There really IS a lot to like about Lowell! Enjoy!

Two students from a Lowell parochial school have been confirmed to have swine flu. The students and their mother, who is a paraprofessional in the public schools, never attended school since returning from their vacation in Mexico, which means their exposure to others has been limited and did not include school buses or classrooms. Given confirmation of their illness, the students and their mother will not be returning to school until this is behind them. Lowell schools will also follow the protocol recommended by the Mass. Dept of Public Health, which allows that students and school staff who have recently traveled to an area where swine flu cases have been confirmed and who do not have symptoms may attend school. (Keep in mind, the flu has a 24-hour incubation period.) Obviously, everyone is on heightened alert, and school nurses will be educating staff and children about ways to avoid exposure. According to the Mass. DPH website on influenza, you can protect yourself and others from swine flu the same way you protect yourself from seasonal flu: Avoid holding, hugging, kissing, or shaking hands with anyone who has a cold or the flu. Wash your hands often with soap and warm water, or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.  Avoid touching your nose, mouth or eyes, and clean areas that are touched often like door handles and telephones.

Yesterday, Lowell Public School students were sent home with an advisory from the state that included preventative information; additional information will come home with students today in English, Khmer, Portuguese and Spanish as needed as well as a ConnectEd phone call being made to parents at 5 pm tonight. If you have other questions, the Health Department advises calling Massachusetts Resources at the toll-free number:1-877-211-6277 or for more on the swine flu, check the Center for Disease Control website.

There was no room left in the parking lot of the Butler School when I got there last night. About 500 parents and students attended the first annual Lowell middle-school college fair—The Pathway to CAN (College Awareness Now). The event offered families an opportunity to learn about college readiness, how to make the most out of high school, financial aid, and more. Tables were set up in the gym for the more than 80 colleges represented at the fair. Workshops on how to pay for college were held for parents in the library while students met with LHS guidance counselors in the auditorium. Along with plenty of information, there were raffles, refreshments, and free giveaways. In all, the event was an incredible success, and kudos to the coordinated efforts of school department staff, teachers, parent liaisons, guidance counselors, and administrators who pulled the program together under the direction of Dr. Phala Chea. In addition to the tremendous number of folks who turned out for the event, the diversity of the families in attendance was truly inspiring. (If only we could capture half that interest at a Citywide Parent Council or school committee meeting!)

No doubt, the earlier we start kids thinking about college, the better. To follow, are a few tidbits from the fair.  First, some advice to the students: Although they don’t have course selection, middle –school kids make choices that impact their college readiness: They choose to attend school, give it their best effort, do their homework, and behave. High school students should take the highest level classes their skills allow, work hard, get good grades, and be involved in other activities such as sports, student government, clubs, and community service. Second, financial planning for parents: Start saving now—even a little bit each month adds up, and take advantage of available resources through MEFA (Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority). As usual when Lowell students are involved, high energy and creativity were rampant. As one Pyne Arts student noted in his rap to end the night: “The last thing I’m going to say is lead an educated life, and have a good day!”