FYI from BSF, 03.03.23

 
 
 

When President Clinton and Vice President Gore wired American schools in the 1990s, the country committed to connecting children and educators to the internet.  Those wires were intended to carry information and experiences from around the world into classrooms. 

It turns out, the wires go both ways.

Even with all the societal changes and disruptions over the past two decades, perhaps the biggest change in schooling may be now what comes out of schools.

Data.  

Lots and lots of data.

Faster internet, innovations in data collection and sharing, and learning software and apps - paired with federal and state mandates - has resulted in a lengthy list of requirements and opportunities to report and assess data.  Local school districts, local governments, state, the federal government, and the general public can pore over enormous amounts of school information.   

To wit, a public school student in Massachusetts has no less than 56 data elements tracked year to year, not including all the data collected at the school level around grades, other standardized assessments, classroom assignments, bus assignments, etc.

Managing this well has become a required, core competency of schools and school districts.  

A report by Ernst and Young (agenda item #3), commissioned by the state in the compromise to avoid state receivership in Boston, showed deficiencies in BPS data “quality, accuracy, completeness, and reporting,” affecting issues from graduation rates to student discipline.  The inability to track buses, resulting in students with special needs being deprived of school time or services, led to an official state finding.  The state’s inspector general has criticized Boston's bus performance, citing the lack of accurate data.  The district cannot or will not report how funding was spent on English learners.   Enrollment projections do not align with state or federal reporting, and are no longer accurate for long term facilities planning.

BPS pulled a solid Harvey Leonard by not calling a snow day on Tuesday.  How was attendance, given some research indicates school held during inclement weather can create a disadvantage for high-need students?  We don’t know.  But, a simple google search would quickly report that attendance at New York City Public Schools yesterday was just short of 90%.

Source: Boston Public School Budget Development Pages, All Funds (here, and for following analyses and graphs)

English learners could be among those high-need students affected.  How is federal funding being distributed for their support?  We don’t know.  But, a simple google search would bring you to a recent budget document in Lowell, MA as an example that lays it out for you.

How were buses on Tuesday, given the slick roads?  We don’t know.  But, a simple google search provides timestamps for all the yellow schools buses in Baltimore Public Schools yesterday.

Other large school districts have figured this out.  

BPS now has the technical assessment, mandate, and the funding to join them.

Notes in the Margin

The February break did little to stop school news.

Additional chatter on two hot button issues - Boston police’s role in schools and school mergers. 

After school supports in Boston are being expanded.

Paraprofessionals (classroom aides who are not certified as teachers) and their low pay has been an issue in recent contract negotiations and teacher strikes.  This is no longer a small budget item, nor a minor strategy: Boston has budgeted for ~2,100 paraprofessionals next year.  To put that in perspective, there are more classroom aides in Boston than there are teachers in nearly every district in the Commonwealth.

Springfield will be the first complete, universal preK city in the Commonwealth.

Governor Healey’s first proposed budget has clear education priorities:

Universal meals, which cut down on chronic absenteeism, may be extended.

The Governor’s budget proposal makes clear references to the state creating “off ramps” to account for the sunset of pandemic-related federal funding.   Massachusetts school districts still have a bunch of money left to spend, but there are some school districts that are already preparing for a  fiscal cliff, such as Amherst-Pelham and Lenox.

The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education met on Monday and Tuesday.  But, in spirit, the meeting took place in the 2010s, with the first debate in some time regarding a newly approved charter school (in Worcester).  To be continued.  Some administrator license requirements have been softened to account for vacancies.  Full meeting materials here and here.

Is there a case for the “science of math” instruction?

On Tuesday, oral arguments concerning the constitutionality of the Biden administration's cancellation of student debt were presented at the Supreme Court.  The ruling will affect ~25% of Massachusetts households.  Readers of tea leaves analyzed the questions of the justices and the performance of the attorneys.   

Will Austin