The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
Overview of 2008-2009 Board Meetings
Highlights
Locations: 6 of 10 regular meetings (60%) were held in Malden, 4 of 10 (40%) were held off-site. Three of four special meetings (75%) were held in Malden.
Length of Board Meetings: The average length of a regular Board meeting was 4.04 hours. The average length of a special meeting was 3.19 hours.
Agenda Items: Charter schools (9 out of 10 months), the state budget (8 out of 10 months), and the accountability redesign (5 out of 10 months) were the most frequent topics on the monthly agendas.
Board Votes: The Board cast 51 votes on agenda items during the 2008-2009 session. 37 of 51 votes cast (72.5%) were unanimous in favor of the motion. 27 of 51 votes cast (52.9%) were on agenda items related to charter schools.
Public Comment: 6.9 individuals on average spoke during the public comment period each month. The most popular topics addressed during public comment by frequency were charter schools (26 times), 21st century skills (7), school libraries (6), MCAS (6) the budget (4), and English language learners (4).
2008-2009 Board Session Logistics
Dates
- August 11, 2008 Retreat
- 10 regular meetings between September 2008 and June 2009
4 special meetings: October (accountability), December (21st century skills), March (charter school policy), June (accountability)
Locations
- Retreat held at Henderson House, Weston
- 6 of 10 regular meetings (60%) were held in Malden
- 4 of 10 regular meetings (40%) were held off-site (Holyoke, Somerville, Chelmsford, Brookline)
75% of special meetings held in Malden
Duration of Meetings
- The average length of a regular meeting was 4.04 hours, or 242.6 minutes. The average length of a special meeting was 3.19 hours, or 191.25 minutes.
The longest regular meeting was February 2009 and lasted 5.17 hours, or 310 minutes. The shortest regular meeting was January and lasted 3.5 hours, or 210 minutes.
Agenda Items
The most frequent agenda items were: charter schools (9 months out of 10), state budget (8 months), accountability redesign (5 months), MCAS or MCAS appeals (4 months), educator leadership (3 months), curriculum frameworks (3 months), and student advisory council (3 months).
The topics for the four special meetings were accountability (October, June), 21st century skills (December), and charter schools (March).
The Board cast 51 votes on agenda items. The Board cast 37 votes (72.5%) in unanimous support of a motion. The Board cast 27 votes (52.9%) on matters related to charter schools.
The Board heard from the State Student Advisory Council (September, December, June), the Advisory Council on School and District Accountability and Assistance (April, June), and the Parent & Community Education and Involvement Advisory Council (June).
2008-2009 Agenda Items Mapped to Board Priorities
Month Educator Development Curriculum & Instruction Accountability Redesign Supports for Students and Families Sept. 2008 FY10 Budget FY10 Budget FY10 Budget FY10 Budget Board Mission Board Mission MCAS Performance Appeals Board Mission Grants Grants Advisory Councils appointments State Student Advisory Council Charter school amendments Grants District and School Reviews Board Mission Grants Oct. 2008 Board FY10 Budget Proposal MCAS Results & AYP Determinations MCAS Results & AYP Determinations Board FY10 Budget Proposal Initiatives to Strengthen Educ. Leadership Board FY10 Budget Proposal Educational Proficiency Plans Grants Grants Grants Board FY10 Budget Proposal Ballot Question 1 Ballot Question 1 Ballot Question 1 State System of Acct. and Assistance Advisory Councils Charter Schools Grants Ballot Question 1 Special Meeting - Acct. and Assist. Nov. 2008 Board FY10 Budget Proposal 21st Century Skills Board FY10 Budget Proposal Board FY10 Budget Proposal Voc-tech educ. regulations Nat'l History Teacher of the Year MCAS Performance Appeals Board FY10 Budget Proposal Acct - Charter School Review and Renewal Process Charter Schools Dec. 2008 TIMSS Charter School Renewals Student Advisory Council Trimester Report 21st Century Skills Charter Schools - Uphams Corner Special Meeting - 21st Century Skills Jan. 2009 Voc-tech educ. regulations Update on curriculum frameworks & initial draft of revised ELA framework Charter School Renewals Charter Schools - Uphams Corner Waiver of Procedural Regulation (charter public hearing) Regional school district regulations New charter applicants Feb. 2009 FY10 Budget FY10 Budget FY10 Budget FY10 Budget Mass TeLLS MCAS History & SS Assessments MCAS History & SS Assessments Charter school renewals, report on conditions Graduation Rate Standard for FY09 AYP New charter applicants State System of Acct. and Assist. Mar. 2009 FY10 Budget FY10 Budget FY10 Budget FY10 Budget Progress report on Math Curriculum Framework revision process Growth model Charter school policy recap Graduation Rate Standard for FY09 AYP Charter amendment request Special Meeting - Charter school policy Apr. 2009 FY10 Budget FY10 Budget FY10 Budget FY10 Budget School & District Acct. and Assistance: Adv. Council report; Progress report and next steps 2008 Dropout Report and Dropout Prevention and Recovery Initiatives Charter school amendments May 2009 FY10 Budget FY10 Budget FY10 Budget FY10 Budget Educator preparation and license Update on State-Led Common Core Standards Initiative and Revision of ELA and Math Curriculum Frameworks Charter school review and renewal process Regionalization and Inter-district collaboration Jun. 2009 FY10 Budget FY10 Budget FY10 Budget FY10 Budget Educational Leadership: Proposed Policy Standards for Principals, Supts, and other leadership roles Commissioner Evaluation 2nd report from Advisory Council on School & District Acct. & Asst. Commissioner Evaluation Commissioner Evaluation Board schedule for 2009-2010 Commissioner Evaluation Board schedule for 2009-2010 Board schedule for 2009-2010 Approval of non-operating districts Report from Parent & Community Education and Involvement Advisory Council Board schedule for 2009-2010 State Student Advisory Council Year-End Report Special Meeting - Accountability redesign
Public Comments at Regular Meetings
On average, 6.9 individuals addressed the Board each month.
Month-by-month total number of speakers were September (1), October (5), November (6), December (9), January (11), February (14), March (2), April (7), May (6), June (8).
The most popular topics discussed during public comment, by frequency, were: charter schools (26), 21st century skills (7), school libraries (6), MCAS (6), the budget (4), English language learners (4), and educator licensure and testing (3).
The most frequent speaker was Steve Hemman, executive director of MARS (4 times), followed by Kathleen Skinner, MTA (twice), Marc Kenan, Mass. Charter Public School Assn. (twice), Gloucester Superintendent Christopher Farmer (twice), and Marilyn Segal, Citizens for Public Schools (twice).
The most frequent organizations represented by individuals who addressed the Board were associations (17 times), parents (11 times), educators (10 times), superintendents (7 times), non-profit / public interest (6 times), school board member or charter board member/founder (6 times), business (3 times), and legislators (2 times).