Holyoke Level 5 District Turnaround Plan Executive Summary Executive Summary
In April 2015, the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted to designate the Holyoke Public Schools chronically underperforming (Level 5), placing the district in state receivership. In July 2015, by appointment of Commissioner Mitchell Chester, Stephen Zrike became the Receiver of the Holyoke Public Schools. The receivership provides the opportunity for a significant, sustained district turnaround in Holyoke.
At the core of this plan is the firm belief that all Holyoke students deserve a world-class education. For too long, many Holyoke students have not received a high-quality education or were allowed to fail. With this plan, we will raise the bar, improve the instruction and services we offer, and provide students with the skills and tools they need to be successful in school now, and later in college and their careers.
Central to the turnaround plan are the educators1 who are charged with transforming the district from one of low performance to one in which student achievement is consistently strong. Job one is ensuring that we employ an effective teacher in every classroom and that effective administrators lead our schools. To accomplish this, the district will implement strategies to retain high-performing staff and to recruit new talent to Holyoke, to ensure that all students receive strong instruction, interventions, and supports in every classroom, every day.
Throughout the plan, we focus on the following critical action steps to implement Holyoke's turnaround:
• Build on what is working and fix what is not working • Empower staff to make decisions while holding them accountable for results • Extend time to increase learning opportunities, for both students and staff • Provide students with individualized college and/or career plans and multiple pathways to reach their full potential • Invest partners' knowledge and skills strategically • Engage families as active partners, repairing relationships and building trust in the district
The Holyoke Public Schools will be a system of great schools that prepares its students for college and careers by challenging them to think critically and by providing safe, nurturing,
1 In this turnaround plan, the term "educator" means teachers, administrators, and other professional staff. culturally relevant environments in which they can learn and grow. The district's efforts will include a special emphasis on reengaging disconnected or at-risk youth, to bring them back into the system and provide them with academic and other necessary supports. The district will invest all its human, financial, and other resources in strategies that support students' learning, reallocating resources where appropriate from the central office to schools, in direct support of students. Guided by a central office designed to effectively support schools at all grade levels, the district's educators will participate in making school-level decisions that are tailored to their students. The Holyoke Public Schools will be a service-oriented district, truly welcoming and engaging families as active participants in students' education, and focused on building families' trust in the school system.
To achieve rapid improvement of academic achievement for all Holyoke's students, the district will implement strategies in five Priority Areas. These Priority Areas are aligned with t he recommendations ofthe Holyoke Level 5 district Local Stakeholder Group (LSG) that were submitted to Commissioner Chester and Receiver Zrike on July 10, 2015, and are based on Turnaround Practices in Action: A Practice Guide and Policy Analysis. 2 The guide presents key turnaround practices to be considered by state leaders, districts, schools, and policymakers striving to improve and sustain ongoing and future turnaround efforts.
The Holyoke Level 5 district turnaround plan Priority Areas include:
• Priority Area 1: Provide high-quality instruction and student-specific supports for all students, including students with disabilities and English language learners. • Priority Area 2: Establish focused practices for improving instruction. • Priority Area 3: Create a climate and culture that support students and engage families. • Priority Area 4: Develop leadership, shared responsibility, and professional collaboration. • Priority Area 5: Organize the district for successful turnaround.
Holyoke's turnaround will include concentrated efforts to improve its lowest performing schools: William J. Dean Vocational Technical High School (Level 4); Morgan Full Service Community School (Level 5); and schools at risk of falling into Level 4 status.
The Receiver and the Commissioner will monitor these Priority Areas closely, to ensure that strategies are being implemented effectively and are yielding the desired results. Changes will
2 Lane, B., Unger, C., and Souvanna, P. (2014). Turnaround Practices in Action: A Practice Guide and Policy Analysis. Baltimore, MD: Institute for Strategic Leadership and Learning. See Turnaround Practices in Action: A Practice Guide and Policy Analysis. This document is based on a detailed analysis of the experience of the initial 34 underperforming (Level4) schools during the first 3 years of turnaround (2010-2011 to 2012-2013). be made as needed to ensure that these strategies are having the desired impact on students' learning. Holyoke will invest its resources in strategies and tools that maximize student achievement; where strategies and tools do not demonstrate an impact on student learning, funds will be reallocated.
As a high-need and low-income community, Holyoke must ensure that its use of resources results in increased student learning. Staffing costs account for the bulk of expenditures in the school district's budget. We must ensure that those expenditures are made in the most effective manner to increase student learning; therefore, principals will have the authority to ensure that the most effective staff are selected and retained. In turn, professional learning and staff support are essential investments in staff. In every budget, the district will curtail expenditures that do not directly support the priorities identified in the turnaround plan, and reallocate funds and staff positions for more productive uses.
For the last several years, district administrators have had to cut personnel and non-personnel lines to balance the budget, and look to reorganization and reallocation to make funds available for key improvement initiatives. Some funding constraints of fiscal year 2017 are already known, so the challenge of fully implementing turnaround initiatives is to continue with reorganization and reallocation that prioritizes adequate funding for instruction.
The Commissioner and the Receiver will take all appropriate steps necessary to support the goals of the turnaround plan. Ensuring that great schools are available for all of our students will not happen overnight. Decades of decline have led to Holyoke's chronic underperformance. The strategies in the following pages will require considerable planning, discussion, and community participation in order for them to be effective. The plan includes information about how we will measure our progress along the way. The district will exit from receivership once gains are sufficient and positive change has been institutionalized to ensure continued growth and sustainable results. c ta -D. -c c :I 0... ta c... :I 1- • Priority Area 1: Provide high-quality instruction and student-specific supports for all students, including students with disabilities and English language learners.
• Priority Area 2: Establish focused practices for improving instruction.
• Priority Area 3: Create a climate and culture that support students and engage families. • Priority Area 4: Develop leadership, shared responsibility, and professional co llaboration.
• Priority Area 5: Organize the district for successful turnaround.
• Appendices
2 • Maintain and expand promising programs
• Revamp programs, practices, and policies that need improvement, such as supports for English language learners and students with disabilities.
• Leverage limited resources to maximize impact on student learning. - Example: restructure Central Office to provide maximum support and resources to schools. • Enable school-based decision making -Earned autonomy for school organization, staffing, use of time, and instructional approaches.
• Empower and hold staff accountable to make important decisions about what students need
• Increase opportunities for staff input
• Enhance educator evaluation system to promote student learning and achievement through a consistent focus on educator growth and development. 4 • Extend school day for students in Kindergarten through gth grade (min of 1,330 hours), and provide opportunities for learning time outside of the traditional school year (vacations and summer).
• Expand enrichment opportunities, such
as arts programming, to engage students ._..." .· ... and provide a richer, "fuller" experience.
• Provide teachers and administrators with more time to plan, collaborate, and learn together. Pathways to Career and/or College Succe~s
• Develop multiple academic and technical pathways to better prepare students for 21st century postsecondary or career expenences • Individualized, student centered learning plans guiding transition from middle school to post-secondary- higher education and/or employment. • Expand opportunities for students to earn college credits before graduating from high school. • Enhance the middle school experience Algebra I, coding, advisory periods, and building programs between gth and gth grade to ensure a smooth transition to high school. 6 • Leverage Holyoke's many assets by working directly with local partner organizations, such as community groups, faith leaders, the business community, and other local stakeholders
• Engage proven partners- including charter schools, turnaround operators, and educational management organizations
• Coordinate partner efforts so that there is clear alignment to our turnaround efforts - As an example, Full Service Community School 2.0
7 • Repair relationships and build trust with families
• More timely, meaningful and consistent communication
• Design increased opportunities for families to be informed, active participants in their children's learning- academic events at schools (e.g. STEM fairs, publishing parties) or through neighborhood events and home visits.
8 • Secondary Education Redesign Task Force
• Education Evaluation Enhancement
• Special Education Review • Strategy for and Staffing of Family and Community Engagement Office
• Central Office Redesign • Rethinking Use of Resources • Operational Plans for Time
9 Holyoke Public Schools 57 Suffolk Street- Holyoke, Massachusetts 01040 Tel. (413) 534-2005 Fax. (413) 534-2297 [email protected]
Dr. Stephen Zrike, Jr., Receiver October 8, 2015
Welcome to Erin Linville, HPS's new Chief ofStrategy and Turnaround Erin Linville will join Holyoke Public Schools as the Chief of Strategy and Turnaround on October 27th. Erin is currently the Interim Executive Director and Chief of Staff of Citizen Schools Illinois, where she focuses on relationship management with the District, schools and funders; strategy and performance management; and program quality. Prior to Citizen Schools, Erin was the Director of Strategy and an Instructional Support Leader in the Pilsen-Little Village Network of Chicago Public Schools, under Dr. Zrike' s leadership. Erin has also served as the Youth Director at a community center and consultant at Bain & Company. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from the University ofNotre Dame, Master's Degree in Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and Master's Degree in Educational Leadership from The Broad Center for the Management of School Systems. She is a mother oftwo young children, who will soon be ready for kindergarten. Her family will be relocating from the Midwest to Western Massachusetts. Please join us in welcoming Erin Linville to the Holyoke Public Schools team.
"A community working together to prepare our students for their future." HOLYOKE PUBLIC SCHOOLS 57 Suffolk Street - Holyoke, Massachusetts 0 I 040 Tel. (413) 534-2005 • Fax. (413) 534-3730
Dr. Stephen Zrike, Jr., Receiver Judy Taylor, Web and Print Communications Director
PRESS RELEASE- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 5, 2015
Holyoke Public Schools Secondary Education Redesign Working Group
The Holyoke Public Schools is pleased to announce that its Secondary Education Redesign Working Group has been commissioned by Receiver Dr. Stephen Zrike, Jr. to ensure that the middle and high school educational experience in Holyoke is of the highest quality, deeply engages students, and enables them to fully prepare for success after high school. A critical focus is to create and offer multiple academic and technical pathways for all secondary students in Holyoke.
1 The first phase of the Secondary Education Redesign Working Group begins today, October 5 h, and extends through the end of December. During this phase, the group will develop a comprehensive set of recommendations for secondary education redesign after reviewing secondary data and programming, visiting schools, and listening to presentations and experts in the field.
During the second phase, from January through June, the working group will support implementation work relating to any recommendations adopted by the Receiver.
The Secondary Education Redesign Working Group is comprised of the following members designed to contribute expertise and perspective from a wide array of successful secondary and community experience.
• Dr. Maureen Murray Adamson, Ed. D., Recently retired Superintendent of Schools in Braintree, MA., will serve as facilitator of the group
• Dana F. Brown, Principal at Malden High School.
• Stefan Czaporowski, Principal of Westfield Technical Academy.
• David Cruise, President and CEO of the Regional Employment Board of Hampden County, Inc.
• Jeffrey Hayden, Vice President of Business and Community Services at Holyoke Community College
• Angela Sweeney, Holyoke High School English Teacher
• Bruce Frey, Dean Technical High School Programming and Web Design Teacher
• Gladys Lebron-Martinez, Holyoke City Councilor and Youth Center Director at Career Point
• Gina Roy, Holyoke Public Schools Director of Student Services
• Shailah Stewart, Connecting Activities, MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education If you have any questions or are interested in visiting the Holyoke Public Schools, please contact Judy Taylor, Web and Print Communications Director at (413} 493-1605 [email protected].
"A community working together to prepare our students for their future" School Committee Meeting Understanding District Performance on MCAS
OCTOBER 13, 2015
Holyoke Public Schools According to 2015 MCAS, Holyoke's performance did not significantly change from last year.
Executive Summary FOR DISCUSSION
• Holyoke challenges persist - district performance remains among the lowest in the state.
- The percentage of Holyoke students meeting proficiency in ELA, Math, and Science continues to be below other peer districts (gateway cities).
- There was virtually no movement to close the gap between Students with Disabilities and their general education peers, and very small movement to close the gap between English Language Learners and general education students.
- While gains in grade 3 suggest that we may be on the right path in early education, all grades remain well below state averages in ELA, Math, and Science.
- While some schools made slight gains and others had small losses in student performance, overall MCAS scores across all schools remained relatively stagnant. • Low 2015 performance is not an anomaly - the district has not demonstrated significant progress over the last 10 years (see slide 11). • Bold and meaningful change is required in Holyoke
Holyoke Public Schools 2 Prior to looking at MCAS results, it is important to understand what the three different metrics measure.
Definitions of Three MCAS Metrics FOR DISCUSSION
• Percentage of students scoring "Proficient" or higher on Percent Proficient MCAS. or Higher • The levels include: (1) Advanced, (2) Proficient, (3) Needs Improvement, ( 4) Warning/Failing.
• A 100-point index that assigns 100, 75, 50, 25, or 0 points to each student participating in MCAS • The total points assigned to each student are added together and the sum is divided by the total number of students assessed. • The result is a number between 0 and 100, which constitutes a district, school or group's CPI for that subject and student group.
• A measure of student progress that compares changes in a student's MCAS scores to changes in MCAS scores of other students with similar scores in prior years. • A typical school or district in the Commonwealth would have a median student growth percentile of 50.
Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Holyoke Public Schools 3 With the exception of small improvements in ELL performance in ELA and Math, Holyoke's overall Proficiency rates were very similar in 2015 to where they were five years ago.
FOR DISCUSSION Percent Proficient or Higher on MCAS 2010-2015
ELA Math Science**
State* 61% 61 68% 69% 69% 69% 69% 59% 58% 59% % 60% 54% 53% 55%
~% ~% ~% ~% ~% ~% Holyoke ...... 25%.... 27% 28%___ . ,. _ 23%
13% 13% 6% 5% 4% 3% 5% SPED (HPS) 3% ELL/ Former o · L7o ELL 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2011** 2012 2013 2014 2015 (HPS)
*Since only a portion of students in grades 3-8 participated in 2015 MCAS in ELA and Mathematics, a representative sample of students from across Massachusetts was used to estimate student achievement at the state level in those subjects. ELA and Mathematics achievement results in the "ALL GRADES" category at the state level have therefore been suppressed. ** Science MCAS administered in Grades 5,8, and 10. ***MCAS results for science only avail able beginning in 2011. Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Holyoke Public Schools 14 Holyoke again saw increases in both Reading and Math scores in 3rd grade - a critical year in students' academic trajectories.
FOR DISCUSSION Percent of 3rd Graders Proficient or Higher on MCAS 2009-2015
3rd Grade Reading 3rd Grade Math 67% 69% 70% State 65% 66% 61%
61% 61% 60% 57% 58% 53%
Holyoke 35%
25%
7% 7% o ' .)-to ,------,------,------. ------,------.------~ , 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Holyoke Public Schools s Data also indicates that our subgroups continue to face sizeable achievement gaps.
FOR DISCUSSION District ELA MCAS 0/o Proficient/ Adv Grade 3 ELA MCAS 0/o Proficient/ Adv 2014 vs. 2015, by subgroup 2014 vs. 2015, by subgroup
District 32°/o
2014 2015 2014 20 15 # of students:
IMiroi~I~INI~INI 1<01~1~1~1~1~1~1
Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. 2014 results preliminary.
Holyoke Public Schools 6 When compared to peer districts, Holyoke continues to have the lowest percent of students proficient or higher in ELA, Math, and Science.
Comparison of MCAS 0/o Proficient or Higher by District 2015 FOR DISCUSSION Student Population MCAS 0/o Proficient or Higher
Boston 78% 20% 30% I I I 27% Fitchburg-- 77% 23% 7% I I I 30% Haverhill 58% I 22% I 7% I I I 38%
Holyoke 85% I 24% I 29% I 34% I 27% I 23°/o
Marlborough I 45% I 19% I 16% I 63% I 54% I 47%
New Bedford 76% I 22% I 11% I I I 23%
Salem 60% 22% 12% 55% 48% I 39%
Somerville 67% 21% 17% 60% 53% I 51%
Waltham 42% 20% 17% 66% 50% I 45% West 55% 20% 8% 52% Springfield I Worcester 73% 19% 35% I 59% I 46% I 33% State I 75°/o I 66°/o I 54°/o
Note: Comparable districts as determined by Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Districts with blank cells administered the PARCC exams in ELA and Math, and thus have not had performance data released for these subjects.
Holyoke Public Schools 7 The district saw growth in proficiency levels in grades 3, 4, & 8 ELA, and grade 3 math; we saw losses in grade 5 ELA and grades 4 & 6 Math.
Percent Proficient or Higher on MCAS by Grades 3 - 8 FOR DISCUSSION Comparison of 2014 - 2015
42% 48% ELA 35% 34% 26% 24% ll) 21% 17% ..... 21% 0 N
Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8
T - ~ - --.- Change* +6% I +4% -4% I -2% -1% +6%
Math 31% 35% -- I 22% 21% 22% 22% 18% - 19% 16% 16%
Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8 Change* +4% -4% -1% -11% 0% 0%
*The difference between grade level performance between 2013 and 2014 Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Holyoke Public Schools 8 A school-by-school look at the elementary level reveals mixed gains and losses within a relatively small range ( + 1- 5 points) on ELA MCAS measures.
FOR DISCUSSION ELA MCAS Composite Performance Index (CPI) and Student Growth Percentile (SGP) by School 2014-2015
53
2015 43 43 SGP
2014-15 CPI 76
65
ID oor N
Sullivan McMahon Donahue EN White Peck Kelly Morgan District __...._
Due to varying student demographics across schools, school-level results should be understood in the context of both performance (CPI) and growth (SGP).
Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Holyoke Public Schools 9 The higher proficiency levels at our high schools remain due, in some part, to alarmingly high dropout and low graduation rates.
Dropout Rates (2009-2013) ELA & Math Proficiency (2014- 2015) FOR DISCUSSION
14.1% 15.2% Dean Vocational & Tech Holyoke High School Dean 86% - ~ 10.3% 10.2% 10.1% 7.2% ot 6.2% 5 501 - 5 oot 5 5 10 10 10 HHS · · ~ < 2.9% 2.7% 2.5% 2.2% 2.0% State "C Cl) I 1 1/j () .... r:: 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 t:: CIS Cl) > "C"C -+:a::I CIS 1/j r:: - Cl) (2009-2013) 0 · Graduation Rates o'-,o .5::! ec.. State82% 83% 85% 85% 86% 68% 68% HHS 67% 68% 65%
39% 42% ELA Math ELA Math Dear134% 25%
I -. ------,------,------,------, 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2013-13 2014-15
Note : Dropout and graduation data not yet available for 2013-2014 Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Holyoke Public Schools !o A historical analysis of Holyoke ELA performance reveals that the district has remained fairly stagnant for the last 9 years.
Percent of 3rd graders Proficient or Higher on ELA MCAS FOR DISCUSSION 2007-2015
100
75
50
25°/o 25-421°/o 21o/o 20°/o 21% 16%
0 +-----~------~----~------~----~----~------~-----. 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Sou rce: Massachusett s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Holyoke Public Schools 11 Our district's next steps are closely tied to decisions and leadership at the state level.
Next steps for Holyoke
1. Implementation of the District Turnaround Plan
http://www.hps.holyoke.ma.us/pdf/receiver/turnaroundplan.pdf
2. We are not certain what the new state assessment system will be in Spring 2016
Holyoke Public Schools 12 CITY OF HOLYOKE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
HOLYOKE SCHOOL COMMITTEE MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2015 TIME: 6:00 P.M. DEAN TECH HIGH SCHOOL
School Committee Vice Chair Devin Sheehan called the meeting to order at 6:01p.m.
ROLL CALL
Present: Mayor Alex Morse, Devin Sheehan, John Whelihan, Mildred Lefebvre, Rosalee Tensley Williams, Dennis Birks, Irene Feliciano Sims, John Brunelle (arriving at 6:04p.m.), William Collamore and Erin Brunelle. Also present: Receiver Dr. Stephen Zrike.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Sullivan School Singers students led the Committee in the Pledge of Allegiance and sang The Star Spangled Banner.
Dr. Zrike thanked the students, Principal John Breish and Teacher Amanda Metcalf for coming to perform for him and the School Committee, especially so early in the school year.
Dr. Zrike updated members on the Governor's scheduled visit to Sullivan School, Tuesday, September 15th, at 10:00 a.m. The Governor, Commissioner of Education, Commissioner of Early Education and the Secretary of Education will visit a preK and a kindergarten classroom at the school, the Governor will read to students and will hold a press conference related to preK expansion and preK funding in Holyoke. Many School Committee members have indicated that they will be able to be in attendance at that event.
COMMUNICATIONS AND REPORTS
Back to School Update
There is an enrollment update included in the materials. The enrollment is down about 150 students overall but students continue to enroll every day, as is traditionally the case. Students continue to enroll in preK and kindergarten as well.
School staffing- 108 new teachers have been hired in Holyoke, 33 of whom are new teachers and the remainder have come from other districts. Twenty-six teachers who were noticed of nonrenewal due to certification issues have been rehired. There are a few openings remaining, including a physics teacher and special education teacher at Dean, Spanish at Holyoke High School, two ELL teachers at Morgan, and a science and instructional technology teacher at Dean. Principals have plans in place to support the school as the new school year begins. HOLYOKE SCHOOL COMMITTEE - SEPTEMBER 14, 2015 PAGE 2
Dr. Zrike has hired a Chief of Staff, Stephanie Davalos, whom he introduced. He said this position is necessary in order to give him time to get into schools to work with principals and teachers. Ms. Davalos will provide support with operational needs that exist across the central office. She will also support principals with operational issues and be a liaison between him and various departments.
There has been a lot of time spent engaging the community over the summer through community conversations. In recent weeks he has held more informal sessions with parents across the city, which has been invaluable for him.
The Summer Leadership Retreat was very productive. The retreat involved principals, directors and assistant principals over three days, which helped to bring the team together around planning for this year.
The media position at the High School was reinstated. School libraries are open across the district, staffed with paraprofessionals. School resource officers at back at both Dean and Holyoke High School. There was a home visit initiative involving 99 families, which Dr. Zrike wished could have involved more families. There has been a lot of positive feedback from parents and teachers involved who saw it as a valuable experience. Schools each had a beautification project over the summer, ranging from small to large. Over 500 students participated in the summer reading challenge across the district. Chromebooks were raffled off last week at each school for students who participated in the challenge. He would like to see the summer reading program grow in future years. The preK expansion classes continue to enroll students. Numbers are being monitored because they are not as high as they could be in some of the programs. Remaining slots have been opened up across the city. VOC and HeadStart have been asked to attend open houses to recruit more families to the preK programs. Peck School will be receiving support through new partnerships; one involves a partnership with the Center School to provide direct support with the TIP students. SchoolWorks is providing support to the leadership team at Peck this school year. The district is working to redefine the full service community school model to focus on the need for social/emotional supports for students by making sure there is a MSW in the FSCS manager position to coordinate mental health supports for students both in and out of school. Convocation was successful and there was a lot of positive energy. The message was around striking the right balance between urgency and celebrating the good work that has been started and needs to continue.
In planning for the release of the turnaround plan in early October, it is important to share publically what the receivership is and what it looks like. He believes that it's important to really listen to families. He wants the Holyoke Public Schools to be the school district of choice for families. He thinks there is a need to confront culture, race and poverty in the city. There has not been enough discussion about that. The school district needs to acknowledge the shift in the population of the city and the schools need to meet the needs of the students and families served. If this district is going to be dynamic and innovative, many things have to be done more quickly than is the case now. One such thing is procurement; people have to have the tools to do their jobs and to be empowered to make HOLYOKE SCHOOL COMMITTEE - SEPTEMBER 14,2015 PAGE 3 good decisions for students. There is a need to do an analysis of the district's ELL and special education services. A full review and audit will be done to help to determine recommendations about where there might be improvements made. He is interested in services being provided consistently for students who are developing English and those students who present with disabilities. He wants to be sure the right students are being identified for special education services. Schools have to be empowered to be the center of change. Central office needs to flip the way it works to be more in-service to schools. Educators should be designing and informing school and district improvement. He wants to be advised by educators in the Holyoke Public Schools. The system has to develop a process for monitoring progress. Progress should be reported on a regular basis. He should be held accountable by the community to report out on how schools are doing. There needs to be reporting out multiple times throughout the course of the year so that the public knows what is going well and what might not be going as well. The system needs to be more streamlined and select a few, high-leverage, key priorities as a focus rather than overwhelming schools and people working in the schools with initiative fatigue.
Dr. Zrike said he wants schools to focus on staff and student culture. To shift what's happening in classrooms there has to be a culture with staff and students where they are ready to teach and ready to learn. Schools have developed plans around how they are building staff and student climate and culture.
Dr. Zrike said that when he goes into classrooms he looks at what students are being asked to do. Students need to be asked to think critically and to write. Students need to be pushed to engage in higher-level discussion, reading, and writing. He has challenged schools to spend time looking at the tasks students are being assigned. He wants students doing meaningful work.
He commends Holyoke for having five key practices last year. Because he thinks five is a lot to manage, he has asked schools to pick one high-leverage practice to focus their professional development on.
Schools also need to have cycles of looking at data. He wants schools to look at student work and progress throughout the year.
One of the actions being taken now is that a Secondary Redesign Working Group is being established. This group will help to make recommendations about career and college pathways for students. The group will include experts from across the state and from across the City, including a teacher from Dean and HHS, Jeff Hayden from HCC, David Cruz from Workforce Development, and others from around the state. This group will think about what a secondary school experience needs to look like and what various pathways to college and career should look like. Bios will be provided when all members have been identified.
A position has been posted for a Director of Student and Family Engagement for the district. The idea is to get someone who knows the community, understands the community, is bilingual so that all family liaisons, outreach workers and reengagement HOLYOKE SCHOOL COMMITTEE- SEPTEMBER 14, 2015 PAGE 4 work can be under this position. The system does not currently have a way of reengaging students that have dropped out of school.
Dr. Zrike said he has heard a lot from parents about communication being problematic. People are saying they need better ways of engaging and better communication. Communication and timeliness of responses needs to be improved.
Dr. Zrike told members that he has been rather discouraged by the state of the facilities. There were some very hot days that were challenging for students and staff. Facilities need to be better equipped to support learning. Work has begun to develop a capital plan and a regular maintenance plan. He will be visiting schools with Captain Febo of the Police Department to take a look at school safety and security.
In response to a question from Ms. Lefebvre about preK enrollment at Kelly, Dr. Hyry Dermith explained that the HeadStart and VOC classes are not listed on the HPS enrollment.
Mr. Brunelle noted that enrollment is down about 150 at this point and asked if that is in line with the numbers from the previous year.
Dr. Hyry-Dermith said that last year on October 1st there was exactly the same number of students that were in the district the previous October 15t. Enrollment typically continues to grow until October 1st in the district so the final number may well be close to last year.
Mr. Brunelle asked if there is any follow up to determine where students go, i.e., charter, choice, moved out of district, etc, and if not, will that be done in the future.
Dr. Zrike said he thought that should be done. It is informative to know why people are no longer attending HPS, whether they have moved or whether they are choosing other options.
Mr. Brunelle asked if anything is being done to encourage or recruit students to come back to Holyoke public schools.
Dr. Zrike said programs have to be created so that people want to be part of the school system. The district and schools need to do better marketing and create programming, particularly at the middle school level, to entice students to come back. Some ideas for programming would be robotics, technology, coding, arts, and other enrichment programs, such as the dual language program.
Mr. Brunelle asked how the Chief of Staff and the Family and Community Engagement positions are budgeted.
Dr. Zrike said the Chief of Staff position is coming from contracted services in the receiver's cost center. The Family Engagement position is coming from Title 1 funds. HOLYOKE SCHOOL COMMITTEE - SEPTEMBER 14, 2015 PAGE 5
Mr. Brunelle commended efforts around improving school facilities and said that the school committee looks forward to supporting those efforts.
Mrs. Brunelle asked if the Committee could get information on class size. She indicated that parents have brought concerns to her about growing class size.
Dr. Zrike said he also has some concerns. He will provide a report to the Committee.
Mrs. Brunelle said she has heard some concerns from Metcalf parents about the length of time the young students are spending on the bus.
Dr. Zrike responded, saying there have been some concerns expressed by parents about drop-off times. He will be sure there is follow up on that issue.
Ms. Tensley Williams asked what type of reengagement activities are going on or being planned.
Dr. Zrike said it can be difficult for students to reenroll. Students typically would have to go to the high school to reenroll. Some school districts have drop-in reengagement centers in the community where a plan can be created to help students get back into schools so they can graduate. As a district there is also a need to look at what is being done for 9th graders who struggle in the first quarter of freshman year and/or those 9th graders who have been retained, because those are the students that are likely to leave school. There is a need to have a plan for students who are at-risk.
Ms. Lefebvre asked what monitoring is in place for incarcerated students and how they are reengaged post release.
Dr. Zrike said he would look into what the district processes are around those students and report back.
Ms. Feliciano Sims asked if there would be parents and students on the Secondary Redesign group and whether the sessions would be open to the public.
Dr. Zrike said he would look at a student for the group. He was not sure if the meetings would be open to the public. Any recommendations will be public. The idea is to bring people who know what skill sets students need to have to be successful in college and in the workforce.
Mr. Sheehan asked if the Committee could get information on where students are going for school choice, after the October 1st Census date and whether there has been an increase in home school population since last October 1st.
Dr. Zrike said that the dual language program continues to look for students for the first grade class. Some folks left because they were unsure of the future of the program. There has been work to promote that offering. HOLYOKE SCHOOL COMMITTEE - SEPTEMBER 14, 2015 PAGE 6
Dr. Zrike congratulated all the sports teams on the launch of a new season. He looks forward to attending games and supporting students.
MCAS scores will be released on September 24th.
Dr. Zrike told committee members how impressed he was with Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who visited Holyoke last week and read to a group of Lawrence School third graders. That was one of the most impressive interactions he has ever seen with students and a person of prominence. Justice Sotomayor communicated in Spanish with the children and talked about experiences, food and culture. It was a remarkable experience for the students.
Expeditionary Learning Curriculum Update
Dr. Zrike explained that the district has taken on a major initiative related to the English language arts curriculum in grades 4 through 8, led by Mary McAndrew. The implementation of Expeditionary Learning began last year and he is very much in support of that implementation.
Mary McAndrew, English Language Arts Director, said that teachers are excited about this curriculum and have been sharing photos of charts with student comments that exhibit excitement about the topics and engagement.
In the spring of 2014 significant work began to address curriculum needs in grades S-8. There was a need to develop a clear sequence of units, more specifics on what each unit would look like, and clear alignment of each unit to the Massachusetts Frameworks including guidance on which standards to prioritize and what lesson objectives to align to the standards. Scope and sequence documents were developed for the 2014-2015 school year to support teachers. Possible options for curriculum were researched during 2014- 2015 with teams of teachers. All teachers in grades 5-8 were invited to participate in the curriculum research. Curriculum options were evaluated using common core aligned specifications (alignment to curriculum frameworks, culturally responsive, assessment specifications and instructional supports.) Of the options considered, Expeditionary Learning Curriculum, was 92% aligned to HPS specifications. Expeditionary Learning is a free, downloadable and open source curriculum. The curriculum was written by teachers for teachers and it centers around authentic texts and engaging topics at each grade level. There are authentic assessments embedded in the units. Each lesson has clear, measurable learning targets for students to meet at the end of the lesson. Students are reading authentic text every day and speaking about their understandings every day with partners, in small group and in whole group. Students have multiple opportunities to write throughout each unit. Resources are posted on the HPS web page for teachers and parents.
In June of 2015 there was a full day professional learning opportunity for grades 5 through 8 teachers and a half day PD in August to focus on access and to share resources to develop high quality lesson plans. There will be ongoing support through the director and ILS HOLYOKE SCHOOL COMMITTEE- SEPTEMBER 14, 2015 PAGE 7 support at the building level as well as grade level study groups for teachers to support each other in developing plans to meet the needs of students.
Mr. Sheehan asked if there will be a push in upcoming months and years for more of the curricula in other content areas to be aligned with the Expeditionary Learning.
Dr. Zrike said the ELA curriculum shift is exciting because teachers were involved in the research and this is where they wanted to go. The district should look at the math curriculum, which was adopted prior to the PARCC assessment.
Policy Updates
Dr. Zrike told members that he talked with the vice chair and the secretary about how policy updates would occur going forward. He proposed bringing forth policies, as necessary, and putting them on the table for public comment for a period of time before adopting and implementing. The policies in the packet are from MASC as updates and in one case, a new policy (security cameras in schools.) Anyone wishing to provide comment will send feedback to the secretary, which he will review. The policies will be put on the HPS website with an e-mail link for comments.
Security Cameras in Schools- Holyoke has security cameras but there are always questions about how they are used. This policy makes use of security cameras clear.
Physical Restraint of Students - This is a policy revision based on new regulations. This policy will be in place in front of the regulation change that becomes effective January 1st 2016.
Emergency Plans- This policy revision includes changes because of new regulations that require regular meetings with Police and Fire Departments. All schools have emergency plans that are reviewed on a regular basis.
These policies will be put on the website and public comment will be accepted for the next two weeks.
Mr. Whelihan asked ifthe Committee could get monthly or quarterly budget statements.
Dr. Zrike agreed it would be a good idea to have Chris Regan report to the Committee on a quarterly basis on financials.
In response to Mr. Whelihan's request, Mr. Sheehan said that any member who has a request for information should go through the secretary. He noted that when information is requested by a Committee member, that information will go out to all members so that all members have the same information.
NEW BUSINESS HOLYOKE SCHOOL COMMITTEE - SEPTEMBER 14, 2015 PAGE 8
Minutes of Meetings
Special Meeting of August 10. 2105
MOTION #1: Ms. Lefebvre made a motion, seconded by Ms. Lefebvre, to approve the minutes of the Special Meeting of August 10, 2015. The motion carried unanimously.
Voting Delegate and Alternate to MASC Annual Business Meeting
Mr. Sheehan explained that the annual MASC conference is coming up. Members who expressed an interest in attending are Mildred Lefebvre, Irene Feliciano Sims, Ronnie Collamore and himself. He suggested Ms. Lefebvre and Ms. Feliciano Sims as the voting and alternate delegates.
MOTION #2: Mr. Collamore made a motion, seconded by Mr. Birks that Mildred Lefebvre be the voting delegate and Ms. Feliciano Sims the alternate voting delegate to the MASC delegate assembly. The motion carried unanimously.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Ms. Lefebvre informed members that the Kelly School open house will be Wednesday of this week and the Ward I parent/community meeting will be held at 5:00p.m., just prior to the open house. The purpose of that meeting is to hear from families and community members as to what they want to see in the schools or to share their experiences with the schools this year.
Mr. Birks reported that the HHS Field Hockey Team is holding a "Haunting" fundraiser this year. A group of"ghosts" will be moved around Holyoke each night to different homes. People can sign up for a "Haunting" by contacting 413 335-5538.
Dr. Zrike informed members that a team from Holyoke would be speaking at the State House Wednesday morning about the early childhood expansion. Expansion work began before his arrival in Holyoke with HPS, Valley Opportunity Council and Headstart
MOTION #3: Mr. Whelihan made a motion, seconded by Ms. Lefebvre, to adjourn. The motion carried unanimously.
The Holyoke School Committee meeting of September 14, 2015 adjourned at 7:43p.m. CITY OF HOLYOKE SCHOOL COMMITTEE
WARD I PARENT/COMMUNITY MEETING WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16,2015 TIME 5:00PM DR. MARCELLA R. KELLY SCHOOL
School Committee members present: Mildred Lefebvre, Irene Feliciano Sims, John Whelihan, John Brunelle, Dennis Birks, Devin Sheehan, William Collamore, Rosalee Tensley Williams; also present: Receiver, Dr. Stephen Zrike.
Ms. Lefebvre, Ward I School Committee Representative, welcomed parents and students in attendance and introduced the Committee members present.
Parents spoke about a variety of issues of importance to them, including the temperatures inside Kelly School during warm weather, the lack of screens on the windows and the concern that bees get into the classrooms through open windows, which can be a danger to some students.
Dr. Zrike talked about some of the projects underway to begin to address some of the physical plant issues at Kelly, including air conditioners for some classrooms.
Another topic of concern was bullying and how students report bullying, how the school staff follows up, and what can be done for children who are bullied as well as for the children who bully.
Principal Glasheen implored parents to go to her any time there is a problem that is not addressed after it is reported to a staff member. She will work with any parent that has concerns about their child's safety in school. She told parents they are working to customize the Second Step curriculum in classrooms to address situations that come up.
Concerns were expressed about having translators available for IEP meetings. One parent talked about an experience where she said she asked for a translator but none was provided. Parents need and want advocates to help navigate the special education process.
Sgt. Henry Lafortune from the Hampden Country Sheriffs Department told parents and staff that he is involved with the Ward I Safe Neighborhood Initiative. He would to like to see some kind of parent academy at Kelly School where parents could help and support parents with issues they face. He will be working with Kelly School and neighborhood residents to do what he can to help parents become stronger advocates for the children and their community.
Ms. Lefebvre, Dr. Zrike and Principal Glasheen thanked parents for attending the meeting and for speaking honestly about their concerns.
The meeting ended at approximately 6:00 p.m. , l ~ , 1 , , , r l , 1 1 Massachusetts ~School Buildirig AutlioHty I Deborah B. Goldberg John K McCarthy Chairman, State 7i·easurer £\·ecutive Director
September 30, 2015
The Honorable Alex B. Morse, Mayor City of Holyoke 536 Dwight Street Holyoke, MA 01040
Re: City of Holyoke, E.N. White Elementary School, Morgan Community School
Dear Mayor Morse:
I am pleased to report that the Board of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (the "MSBA") voted to approve the Proposed Accelerated Repair Project (the "Proposed Project") for the City of Holyoke (the "City") for boiler replacement projects at the E.N. White Elementary School and at the Morgan Community School. The Board approved an estimated maximum Total Facilities Grant of$635,638, which does not include any funds for potentially eligible owner's or construction contingency expenditures. In the event that the MSBA determines that any owner's and/or construction contingency expenditures are eligible for reimbursement, the maximum Total Facilities Grant for the Proposed Project may increase to $666,020. The final grant amount will be determined by the MSBA based on a review and audit of all project costs incurred by the Town, in accordance with the MSBA's regulations, policies, and guidelines and the Project Funding Agreement. The final grant amount may be an amount less than $635,638. Pursuant to the terms of the MSBA's Accelerated Repair Program, the City has 90 days to acquire and certify local approval for an appropriation and all other necessary local votes or approvals showing acceptance of the cost, site, type, scope and timeline for the Proposed Project. Upon receipt of the certified votes demonstrating local approval, the MSBA and the City will execute a Project Funding Agreement which will set forth the terms and conditions pursuant to which the City will receive its grant from the MSBA. Once the Project Funding Agreement has been executed by both parties, the City will be eligible to submit requests for reimbursement for Proposed Project costs to the MSBA. We will be contacting you soon to discuss these next steps in more detail, but in the meantime, I wanted to share with you the Board's approval of the Proposed Project for the City for the replacement of the boilers at the E.N. White Elementary School and Morgan Community School, and the Board's authorization to execute a Project Funding Agreement for this Proposed Project.
40 Broad Street, Suite 500 • Boston, MA 02109 • Tel: 617-720-4466 • Fax: 617-720-5260 • www.MassSchooiBuildings.org ~ ·· Page 2 September 30, 2015 Holyoke Accelerated Repair Board Action Letter
Sincerely, 1/) /J;(t ~K(ivfccarthy ecutive Director
Cc: Legislative Delegation Kevin Jourdain, President, Holyoke City Council Devin Sheehan, Vice Chair, Holyoke School Committee Dr. Stephen Zrike, Jr., Receiver, Holyoke Public Schools Leonard Gibbons, Director of Technology and Operations, Holyoke Public Schools James D. Kolb, Owner's Project Manager, STY Group, Inc. Daniel Wall, Designer, RDK Engineers, Inc. File: 10.2 Letters