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The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education

Briefing for the April 23, 2019 Regular Meeting of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education

To:
Members of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
From:
Jeffrey C. Riley, Commissioner
Date:
April 12, 2019

The next regular meeting of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will be on Tuesday, April 23, 2019, at Newton North High School (Auditorium), 457 Walnut Street, Newtonville, MA. The meeting will start at 9:30 a.m. rather than our usual 8:30 a.m. start, and should adjourn by 1:00 p.m. If you need overnight accommodations or additional information about the schedule, please call Helene Bettencourt at (781) 338-3120.

Overview

We are holding the April 23 regular meeting at Newton North High School in honor of Maya Mathews, who in June will conclude her one-year term as elected chair of the State Student Advisory Council and as a member of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. Newton Superintendent David Fleishman and Newton North High School Principal Henry Turner will welcome the Board to the school and make a brief presentation at the start of our meeting.

We congratulate Katherine Craven on her appointment by Governor Baker to chair the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education starting this month. Our business agenda on April 23 includes discussion of the FY2020 state education budget as proposed by the House Ways and Means Committee. Maya Mathews will present highlights of the State Student Advisory Council's work this year. The Board will also discuss one of the Department's ongoing special education initiatives, the Massachusetts IEP Improvement Project.

Regular Meeting

Comments from the Chair

Chair Craven will offer her thoughts on her new role and will brief the Board on current and anticipated issues and activities.

Comments from the Commissioner

  1. New Bedford-Alma del Mar Charter School Partnership. I will report to the Board on the status of this collaborative effort.

  2. Grade 10 English Language Arts MCAS Question. As Board members know, the Department heard from Boston Public Schools administrators on Friday, March 29, that some students had raised concerns about an essay prompt that was near the end of the 10th grade English language arts MCAS test. On Sunday, March 31, I decided that we would not score the item, and we asked districts to instruct students who were taking makeup tests not to answer the question. The test will still have a similar ratio of writing to other content as in past years, even with this essay question removed.

    While have a strong item review process, this question got through. We took swift action to address the problem and are continuing to review all the information related to this issue to determine how we can improve the process in the future. We hope to hear directly from students after testing concludes. I will provide an update at the April 23 meeting and look forward to discussing this with the Board.

Comments from the Secretary

The Secretary will brief the Board on current issues and activities.

Items for Discussion and Action

  1. Welcome from Newton Public Schools

    Newton Superintendent David Fleishman and Newton North High School Principal Henry Turner will welcome the Board to Newton North High School and make a brief presentation. Information about the school is included in your materials under Tab 1.

  2. Report from the 2018-2019 State Student Advisory Council — Discussion

    Board member Maya Mathews will present highlights from her end-of-year report on activities of the State Student Advisory Council (SSAC). While Maya will continue to serve as SSAC chair and as a Board member through June, it is fitting for her to present the report this month, since we are meeting at her school. She will submit the full 2018-2019 report on behalf of the SSAC in June.

  3. FY 2020 Education Budget Proposal from House Ways and Means Committee — Discussion

    The House Ways and Means Committee released its proposed FY2020 budget on April 10. At our April 23 meeting, we will review the House Ways and Means Committee's education budget proposal in relation to the Board's budget priorities, as well as the outlook for federal education funding. Senior Associate Commissioner/CFO Bill Bell and Budget Director Julia Jou will join the discussion.

  4. Special Education IEP Improvement Update — Discussion

    The Massachusetts IEP Improvement Project is one of the Department's initiatives to strengthen the quality of special education in the Commonwealth. The memorandum under Tab 4 provides background information and an overview of recent progress on the project. At the April 23 meeting, Senior Associate Commissioner Russell Johnston and members of the Department's Office of Special Education Planning and Policy will discuss the project with the Board and answer your questions.

Other Items for Information

  1. Chronically Underperforming Schools: Third-Quarter FY2019 Reports

    In the fall of 2013, four schools were designated as chronically underperforming in response to their low performance and lack of improvement while designated as underperforming schools: UP Academy Holland (UAH) and Paul A. Dever Elementary School (Dever) in Boston, Morgan Full Service Community School (Morgan) in Holyoke, and John Avery Parker Elementary School (Parker) in New Bedford. This month the Board is receiving the third-quarter FY2019 progress update for each school, focusing on activities from January-March 2019. The materials include FY2019 MCAS accountability targets, for easy reference. The Board will receive the FY2019 end-of-year report on each school in June.

  2. Report on Grants Approved by the Commissioner

    Enclosed is information on grants that I have approved since the last meeting, under the authority the Board has delegated to the Commissioner.

If you have questions about any agenda items, please call me. I look forward to seeing you at the meeting at Newton North High School on April 23.