Thursday, September 25, 2008

Live performances this weekend in Franklin

Classical music on Sunday

Franklin’s own LiveARTS Sunday Concert Series presents the 2008-2009 season lineup and opening performance scheduled by award-winning Triple Helix, the Piano Trio, on Sunday, Sept.28, at 3:30 p.m.

All concerts are held at the First Universalist Society in Franklin, 262 Chestnut St.

LiveARTS Sunday Concert Series is an affordable way for classical music lovers to enjoy professional, high-quality artistry right in their backyard. Season subscriptions are $45 adults, $30 youth and seniors, and $75 for family groups of three or more. Season subscriptions give you the gift of four concerts for the price of three.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here


Folk music on Saturday

Don White is appearing Saturday at the Circle of Friends Coffeehouse. Opening will be Teresa Storch. View the full schedule and order your tickets online at the Circle of Friends website here


Cabaret at the High School

The student production of Cabaret will be conducted at Franklin High School this weekend. I could not find additional information online but if you call the high school, they should be able to provide the details.


Accreditation - more kindergartens earn the mark!

FRANKLIN -

John F. Kennedy and the F.X. O’Regan Early Childhood Development Center are one of the first early childhood programs to earn accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the nation’s leading organization of early childhood professionals.

"We’re proud to have earned the mark of quality from NAEYC, and to be recognized for our commitment to reaching the highest professional standards," said principals Joan Toye and Karen Seyfried. "NAEYC Accreditation lets families in our community know that children in our program are getting the best care and early learning experiences possible."

read the full article in the Franklin Gazette here

I recall that Oak St Elementary School's kindergarten actually achieved this NAEYC certification first in the new process. Check out the announcement from last year and here.

I think it is more impressive that many of the Franklin schools have accreditation than which one was first.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

In the News - salt prices, students organize, late bus may return

"It was worse than I expected," said Brutus Cantoreggi, Franklin's director of public works. "That's a lot, especially with everything else going up. Fuel is killing me."

Franklin is part of a 24-town consortium that locks in contract prices for road salt. Other area communities in the consortium include Medfield, Medway, Millis, Walpole, Sharon, Wrentham and Norwood. The low bid this year was from Eastern Mineral at $70.20 a ton. Eastern Mineral's bid last year was $52.68.

read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

"Carrying big bulky binders was not the answer I was looking for, and with the demands for tracking student portfolios along with the pressure from impending cuts that would increase class ratios and teaching burdens, I was intent on finding the right tools for this challenge," Bergen said. "Kids who are disorganized are disorganized as adults."

Meanwhile Productive Education LLC of Framingham was reaching out to superintendents across Massachusetts to tell them about its new Organize360 system using Document Organizing Assistant binders, or DocOA, pronounced "Doc Away." It is a three-ring binder-organizing tool for handling school papers.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

Following Superintendent Wayne Ogden's announcement that the district this year does not have the money to fund the late bus, parents, administrators and Holmes Bus Service "stepped up to the plate" and found a way to continue offering the service, Roy said.

"We had a bus company (Holmes) willing to negotiate a better deal for the district, which brought the total down to a reasonable $10,000," Roy reported.

Parent Communication Councils from Franklin High School, Annie Sullivan, Remington and Horace Mann middle schools all committed to donating up to $3,300 to completely cover the cost of the late bus, Roy said.

However, the councils will be able to keep their money, he said.

"The Town Council chairman (Christopher Feeley) is very receptive to the notion of the town picking up the cost of the late bus ... There is clearly an overwhelming need for it," said Roy, adding that Feeley and Vice Chairwoman Deborah Bartlett will bring the topic to the council.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

School Committee Meeting - 9/23/08

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Live reporting - Superintendent

Superintendent’s Report
  • FEA Contract
the full negotiation took over two years

  • Literacy Initiative
professional development required to implement this program
more uniform practices across the district
you will hear more about this, it is a multi-year initiative
later this year, should have Michelle Kingsland Smith and some of the lab teachers come in to provide an update

9/29/08 - Horace Mann Auditorium, kick off

School Committee Sub-Committee Reports - none
School Committee Liaison Reports - none

Live reporting - action items

Action Items:
  • I recommend approval of the Budget Transfers as detailed on the attached memo.
tabled - no vote no discussion this evening
  • I recommend approval of the request of the BICO Board of Directors to amend the preamble of the existing agreement of the BICO Collaborative to include the School Committee of the Town of Easton, MA.
approved unanimously
  • I recommend acceptance of a check for $400.00 from the Remington PCC for supplies for RMS.
per earlier discussion tabled to be brought back in a future meeting

  • I recommend acceptance of a check for $600.00 from the Annie Sullivan PCC for 8th grade YMCA end-of-year trip buses.
approved unanimously
  • I recommend acceptance of a check for $9,028.50 from the Davis Thayer PCC for Field Trips and In-House Enrichment as listed on the attached.
approved unanimously
  • I recommend acceptance of a check for $300.00 from the Remington PCC for a 6th grade field trip to the YMCA.
approved unanimously

Live reporting - future agenda items

Cafasso - could we get an update from each of the principals

Trahan - any update on the new building committee?

Rohrbach - an update from Pandora on life long learning

Sabolinski - community health council

Roy - get an update from Chandler on ballot question 1, should bring that before the committee to see if we will take a position

Trahan - if we don't take a position, we should at least let the folks know what it means to the Franklin situation

Live reporting - late bus appears to be coming back

Jeff Roy

previous meeting determined there was no funding for the late bus
after the meeting, parents, administrators, and the bus company stepped up to the plate

the bus company negotiated a better rate, reduced the cost to approx. $10,000
local PCC's started fund raising, commitments made for funding

Roy explored if the Town would be open to picking up the cost of the late bus, Feeley will bring it to the Council, Bartlett also aboard bringing it to the council

a collective effort

Is this for the middle and high school?
Initially for the middle school, could get that answer as the final details are worked out

Live reporting - high school experience

Director: Pandora Carlucci

Facilitors: Kristin Letendre, Kristy Yankee

A first year program to help incoming students to adapt to the high school experience

Student perspective: Emma Kripp

interested in the Freshman transition
The Freshman Collaborative was a good program but the felt there was more to do

four day course, team building/project adventure
incorporated the 7 Habits for Highly Effective Teens

started each day with an ice breaker, merging students from the four middle schools helped to get to know some others they may not have come across before

academic sessions on English, Science, and Math

worked on items from the 7 Habits
goal setting, mission statement creation, collaborative worj
time management, planning

Emma:
liked the program, it helped a lot
coming from the Charter School was an adjustment
met four of her five teachers during the program
I think they should continue this for future classes

next year, get locker assignments
get schedule and planner during the session
to meet some of the Freshman guidance counselors
would like a greater participation of incoming students
incorporate some professional development for teachers to help

Mullen:
good work, had heard about it and this filled in some gaps

Rohrbach:
how do students get lost?

Yankee:
on email conferences, communications between parents and teachers as soon as issues arise

Trahan:
excellent

MacLeod:
Did students have to pay?

Slight:
How are you going to increase the enrollment?

Yankee:
Start earlier, spread word of mouth

Armenio:

Carlucci, Gould:
Scholarship form is available on the website
The more people sign up, the cheaper it will be
logistics were being worked up still so we were later this year than we would like to be

Rohrbach:
sell the t-shirts at Stop&Shop
would have you any this else?

Emma:
I would add a history teacher

Mrs Kipp:
This was great, I wish this had been available for my son who also came from the Charter School to the high school.

Sabolinski:
Loved to observe the culture and climate created during the week

The poster overview of the High School Experience program, including the t-shirt!

SchCom - High School Experience

There is a Creative Commons license attached to this image. AttributionNoncommercialShare Alike

This photo can also be found on Flickr at
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3290/2884013510_6a09f67646.jpg

Live reporting - Teacher's Contract

The teachers union and School Committee gave formal signature to the Teachers Contract.

Asst Supt Sabolinski updated that the secretaries contract was also signed this afternoon. They chose not to come out for the formal signature.

Live reporting - School Committee meeting 9/23/08

Full committee present this evening: Armenio, Cafasso, Kelly Mullen, Roy, Rohrbach, Trahan

Student Representatives: Pat Slight, Brittany MacLeod

-----
Call to order Mr. Roy

Pledge of Allegiance

Moment of Silence


1. Routine Business
  • Citizen’s Comments -
Chandler Creedon, President of Franklin Teachers Association
asking for the School Committee to endorse the vote against the Question 1
a similar vote garnered 45% of the vote in an earlier election, early polls show that this could very well pass if the public is not fully informed of what impact it could have

would serve to damage our economy, would force property tax increases

those who would say NH has a better model without a personal income tax, should realize that their property taxes are #1 in the nation


  • Review of Agenda
Action item # 3 from Remington to be reworked and brought forward in a future meeting
  • Minutes: I recommend approval of the minutes from the September 9, 2008 School Committee Meeting.
Motion to approve - unanimous
  • Payment of Bills Mr. Kelly
Motion to approve - unanimous
  • Payroll Ms. Armenio
  • FHS Student Representatives
Cabaret, a theater production in the cafeteria
progress reports already
SAT exams on Saturday
project to watch the media for specific individuals; Ogden, Sabolinski included in the search
  • Correspondence

"Educating our kids makes absolutely basic economic sense"

Why, indeed, do we sink far more funding into retroactive punishment than into setting a foundation for a child's success? But it's one thing to demonstrate that a holistic and preventative approach makes economic sense, and quite another to actually change the approach. Most people would rather apply a band-aid or suppress a symptom than identify a root cause and treat it. Transformative innovation doesn't come easy. Innovators need not only to be persuasive and patient, they need to weather the discouraging words of doubters, to do much with little when skeptics won't lend a hand, and to hold a clear vision of what the solved problem will look like. Anyone who has seen a solution from miles away and forged a path to get there knows this.
From the award winning World Changing blog, read the full post here

I had the good fortune to hear Geoffrey Canada speak at the GEL 2006 Conference. He is quite an impressive individual. Persuasive? He defines the word.

Even Ben Franklin said:

If a man empties his purse into his head, no one can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Question 1 - Yes or No?

As part of the preparation for November's election, the major question for MA will be Question 1 on the ballot:

The State Income Tax Repeal is also known as Massachusetts Question 1. It is an initiated state statute that will appear on the November 4, 2008 ballot in Massachusetts.[1]

If the measure passes, it will end the state's current 5.3% income tax on wages, interest, dividends and capital gains. If that happens, Massachusetts will join Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming in not taxing income. Two other states, New Hampshire and Tennessee, have an income tax, but only on interest and dividends.

Read more on this link here

The Boston Sunday Globe hosted the opposing views on the Opinion Page.

You can read the Yes side here

You can read the No side here

In the News - diabetes, Charter School

GHS
Posted Sep 22, 2008 @ 12:23 AM

FRANKLIN —

More than anything, Ivy Patten wants a cure for juvenile diabetes, so her 14-year-old son, Tyler, can live a normal life.

The possible complications he and others diabetics face are "not a pretty picture," she said: blindness, amputation, nerve damage, kidney problems and death.

"My fears are several. First, a cure will not come very soon. You're always afraid blood sugar is going to go too low and he'll go into a seizure, pass out and die, and it's a very real fear," Patten said.

Many things can trigger problems with a diabetic's blood-sugar level, she said, and often they are not under a person's control.

Technology can help people manage diabetes, she said, but that is not enough.

"We really need to get a cure ASAP," said Patten, especially because the longer a person has diabetes, the greater his or her chances of complications.

,,,,,

For more information about the walk at the Franklin Town Common on Saturday, Sept. 27, which takes place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., log on to www.hotshots4thecure.org.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

-------------------------

Milford Daily News
Posted Sep 21, 2008 @ 11:43 PM

FRANKLIN —

Renting out the historic Red Brick School is a top priority for the Benjamin Franklin Classical Charter Public School, said Principal Kevin O'Malley.

"The topic is still under discussion here. I can assure you, it's a front-burner issue," O'Malley said.

Charter school officials have met with the Brick School Association and had several discussions with Town Administrator Jeffrey D. Nutting about leasing the nearby property.

O'Malley has introduced the topic to the charter school's board of trustees, who will discuss the prospect at their next meeting, on Oct. 2 at the school library, he said.

"The idea is to have position papers presented where we'll talk about whether it's a good idea or not a good idea for the school," O'Malley said, noting that he is unsure whether the board will vote on Oct. 2.

"We're at a point where it's in everyone's best interest to discuss this thing and come to a conclusion. If we don't decide (on Oct. 2), then we will very soon," he said.

Town officials have been great and are making the process easy, O'Malley said. He said the charter school community wants to give back to Franklin, too.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

School Committee Agenda 9/23/08

September 23, 2008
Municipal Building – Council Chambers
7:00 P.M.

AGENDA

Call to order Mr. Roy
Pledge of Allegiance
Moment of Silence

1. Routine Business
  • Citizen’s Comments
  • Review of Agenda
  • Minutes: I recommend approval of the minutes from the September 9, 2008 School Committee Meeting.
  • Payment of Bills Mr. Kelly
  • Payroll Ms. Armenio
  • FHS Student Representatives
  • Correspondence:


2. Guests/Presentations:
  • Signing of FEA Contract
  • FHS Experience

3. Discussion Only Items
Budget to Actual

4. Action Items:
  • I recommend approval of the Budget Transfers as detailed on the attached memo.
  • I recommend approval of the request of the BICO Board of Directors to amend the preamble of the existing agreement of the BICO Collaborative to include the School Committee of the Town of Easton, MA.
  • I recommend acceptance of a check for $400.00 from the Remington PCC for supplies for RMS.
  • I recommend acceptance of a check for $600.00 from the Annie Sullivan PCC for 8th grade YMCA end-of-year trip buses.
  • I recommend acceptance of a check for $9,028.50 from the Davis Thayer PCC for Field Trips and In-House Enrichment as listed on the attached.
  • I recommend acceptance of a check for $300.00 from the Remington PCC for a 6th grade field trip to the YMCA.

5. Information Matters:
Superintendent’s Report
  • Literacy Initiative
  • FEA Contract

School Committee Sub-Committee Reports
School Committee Liaison Reports

6. New Business:
To discuss future business that may be brought before the School Committee.

7. Executive Session
Contractual Negotiations

8. Adjourn

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Harvest Festival visitors - Thank You!

A hearty "Thank you" to all that I had a chance to talk with at the Harvest Festival in downtown Franklin today.

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FM #15 - The 5 Things you need to Know this Week

The 15th podcast on what matters in Franklin, MA. This podcast sumarizes the five things you should know about what happened in Franklin this week.
  1. The School Building Committee was appointed.
  2. The bylaw to rezone parcels on RT 140 was moved to another meeting.
  3. The Finance Planning Committee really got working this week.
  4. The teacher layoffs were confirmed, doubter anonymous should rest easier now.
  5. The imminent danger of Question 1 for Franklin's budget.

    Time: 11 minutes, 37 seconds



MP3 File

Session Notes:

Music intro
My intro FM #15

This podcast for Franklin Matters will focus on the 5 things you need to know about what happened this week.

First, the Town Council appointed the new School Building Committee. This is the one that will work on the high school but because there will be other school buildings that will need work on them before the high school is completed, the committee is not called the High School Building Committee. The State Dept of Education has guidelines that determine the make of the committee so the Town Council was expressly careful to follow the guidelines in making their appointments.

In this clip from the Town Council meeting on 9/17/08, we hear Chair Chris Feeley read the appointments

- insert clip from Town Council/Chris Feeley with the announcement -

Town Officials

  • Chris Feeley, Town Council
  • Scott Mason, Town Council
  • Ed Cafasso, School Committee
  • Paula Mullen, School Committee
  • Maureen Sabolinski, Ass't Supt of Schools
  • Pamela Gould, High School Principal
  • Michael D'Angelo, Town/School Facilities Director
  • Jeff Nutting, Town Administrator
Citizens
  • Lou Allevato
  • Thomas Cameron
  • William Goode
  • Rob Halter
  • Michael LeBlanc
  • Thomas Mercer
  • Scott Nathan
Second, the bylaw to rezone some parcels along RT 140 near the Knights of Columbus and Dunkin Donuts ends up being rescheduled for another meeting as it was evident that the matter was not going to gain enough votes. Two councilors were absent with a two thirds majority required to pass. One factor for the lack of cohesion on the decision was the Department of Planning and Community Development had not provided the additional information required by a couple of members of the council.

In this segment from the Town Council Meeting of 9/17/08, you’ll hear the request and the response from Brian Taberner.

- insert clip from B Taberner with Vallee saying he wasn’t aware of the outstanding request -


Third, the working sessions for the Finance Planning Committee (FPC) started in earnest this past Thursday night. Fire Chief McCarraher spent about 45 minutes reviewing his operation followed by Police Chief Williams. These two discussions were the most informative of all the meetings I have attended in the past 18 months. The information generated from this session will be very helpful in the telling the story as the FPC goes forward.

You should recall that the FPC is charted with developing a long term plan for the Town, assuming there is an override next year (very likely) what is the long term outlook, how many will there need to be, or is something like the Arlington plan going to work in Franklin.

Fourth, doubting anonymous should be satisfied now. As reported in the Franklin Gazette delivered on Friday, and in the Milford Daily News on Sunday, Supt Wayne Ogden confirmed that yes, there really were 44 teachers laid off and not replaced. Debbie Pellegri and the Brick School Association filed a FOI request and obtained the information on the teachers let go. Now that you have the info, you have the proof that the teachers were indeed let go. Let it go. Let’s get on with business. Let’s work together to avoid another layoff.

http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x1603414373/Superintendent-Franklin-teacher-layoffs-did-happen

Fifth, I think Question One is the most imminent danger that Franklin faces. Question One is on the ballot in November.

The State Income Tax Repeal is also known as Massachusetts Question 1. It is an initiated state statute that will appear on the November 4, 2008 ballot in Massachusetts.[1] If the measure passes, it will end the state's current 5.3% income tax on wages, interest, dividends and capital gains.

You can find objective information at this link:
http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/Massachusetts_State_Income_Tax_Repeal_%282008%29

You can find the Yes position here: http://www.smallgovernmentact.org/

You can find the No position here: http://votenoquestion1.com/?adtrack=education&gclid=CO2I-trz65UCFQpwGgodmkJeew

Where would you cut $11 million from the Town Budget?
Public safety is about 9 M, Central Gov’t Services is about 9 M. Public Works is about 6 M. If 2.8 million cost the town 44 teachers, what would loosing $11 million dollars cost the town?

The idea of the commonwealth is for all of us together to work and pay for the community services we need. If you think taking $11 million dollars out of the Franklin budget would bring you the community you want, I’d like to know what it would look like.

These are the five things that matter to Franklin this week:
  1. School building committee
  2. bylaw rezoning
  3. FPC working sessions
  4. teacher layoffs confirmed
  5. the imminent danger of Question 1
---- ---- ----

This podcast has been a public service provided to my fellow Franklin citizens and voters by Steve Sherlock

For additional information, please visit Franklinmatters.blogspot.com/

If you have questions or comments you can reach me directly at shersteve @ gmail dot com

The musical intro and closing is from the Podsafe Music Network
Jon Schmidt - Powerful Exhilarating Piano Music

"Doubting anonymous" should be satisfied now

Milford Daily News
Posted Sep 20, 2008 @ 10:52 PM

FRANKLIN —

Weeks into the new school year, some residents are still skeptical that the district actually laid off 44 teachers, an accusation Superintendent Wayne Ogden says he wishes were true.

Referring to an anonymous caller who only identified himself as a former town councilor, who asserted teachers were not given pink slips, or have since been rehired, Ogden said, "He is completely wrong.''

"I wish he were right. I wish that were true. I'd be a happier human being. In fact, I might not have resigned,'' he said.

Residents will be able to check "the truth according to the Department of Education,'' by the end of October, when the department publishes the number of students, teachers and administrators in every school district in Massachusetts, Ogden said.

The department produces both a current list and last year's numbers, so people can compare and view them side-by-side, he said.

.......


This summer, Town Clerk Deborah Pellegri, on behalf of the Brick School Association, submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the School Department, seeking the names of all those teachers and positions that had been cut.

"We weren't doubting (teachers had been laid off), we just wanted to see the people's names and how many people were let go,'' Pellegri said.

The list she received in response to her request identified the names, positions, and corresponding schools of 46 teachers, four of whom were part-time, and two administrators.


Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here


"It just amazes me to think that people can be so cruel to animals"

Milford Daily News
Posted Sep 20, 2008 @ 10:50 PM


FRANKLIN —

With the vigilance of a cat stalking its prey, self-proclaimed "Cat Lady'' Dorothy "Dottie'' Luff, 81, scours the woods that are home to a colony of feral cats for traps.
Every day, she said she watches for them, terrified someone will catch and later kill one of her precious babies, whom she has named, fed and cared for over the past decade.

Recently, while she was checking on "Gayle,'' "Leftie'' (so-named because she always rubs against Luff's left leg), "Debbie'' and "Blackie,'' Luff looked down and saw an unfamiliar puff of fur on the ground.

As she petted the animal, she thought it was the softest fur she'd ever felt, and turned it over to discover it was a raccoon, and it was dead. Someone had stabbed it with a stick through the front of its body, she recalled, shaking her head and remarking that no child or animal had done it.

"Sometimes I think the humans are worse than the animals,'' Luff said.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here