Friendly reminders - events today

• The Kindergarten registration takes place today at Horace Mann Middle School. Information on the forms and documents required can be found here

http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/03/kindergarten-registration.html

Parmenter sign

• Minute to Win It at the Franklin Library for kids 6-12

http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/04/franklin-library-minute-to-win-it.html

• Life is Good co-founder Bert Jacobs speaks at Dean College Thursday evening at 6:30PM

http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/04/life-is-good-co-founder-bert-jacobs-at.html

In the News:summer art, kindergarten, arraignments

Franklin schools announce summer art classes

by GateHouse Media, Inc.

The Franklin Public Schools Summer Art Institute will offer a two-week program from July 1 to 12 .

Franklin announces Ready Set Kindergarten program

by GateHouse Media, Inc.

Franklin Public Schools Summer Program 2013 is offering Ready Set Kindergarten.

Dunkin’ Donuts suspects held after superior court arraignments

by Lindsay Corcoran/Daily News staff

A husband and wife accused of robbing several Dunkin’ Donuts shops last October using a syringe are both still in custody following their recent arraignments in Worcester Superior Court.

In the News: sports conditioning, kindergarten catches

High School Notebook: Programs are working out

by Dan Cagen/Daily News staff

At both Lincoln-Sudbury and Franklin, strength and conditioning have helped players properly work out off the ice. Both in on-field success and fewer injuries, there's been great benefit.

Full-day kindergarten catches on

by Mike Gleason/Daily News staff

Under growing pressure to boost academic performance, many school districts in MetroWest and the Milford area are going to full-day kindergarten which educators say gives those students a jump-start in learning.

DEAN COLLEGE CHILDREN’S CENTER “PARENT SEMINAR: KINDERGARTEN, HERE I COME”

DEAN COLLEGE CHILDREN'S CENTER

"PARENT SEMINAR: KINDERGARTEN, HERE I COME" 

Franklin, MA…Dean College Children's Center is sponsoring "Parent Seminar: Kindergarten, Here I Come," on Monday, February 25, 2013 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at the Dean College Campus Guidrey Center on Emmons Street, Franklin. Parking is at 89 West Central Street.

Dean College

The panel seminar focuses developmental aspects of a child's growth – social, cognitive, emotional, fine motor, and gross motor skills. Questions concerning "What is readiness?", "What do Kindergarten teachers expect my child to know", and "How to know if my child needs a gift of another year in preschool?" will be addressed. The panel will examine which aspects are considered by parents and educators when gauging a child's "readiness" for Kindergarten.

Parents of young children and educators are encouraged to attend. This panel seminar is interactive and those attending are encouraged to bring questions. Panel members include fabulous Kindergarten teachers from the area, with insight from educators of Dean Children's Center. Admission for the public is $10 at the door.

Dean College Children's Center is a non-profit, NAEYC accredited preschool providing children with an initial school experience that reflects current research in child development and offers a hands-on experience for Early Childhood Education students preparing for careers in education.

For more information on this educational seminar, contact us at: 508-541-1598

Franklin, MA: Getting ready for school

The last week of summer is upon us as schools open after Labor Day for the first time in several years. The teachers report on Weds and Thur this week for preparation and professional development. The students report on Tue Sep 4th.

The Davis Thayer sign:

The Parmenter sign:

Check with your school for when the K Orientation begins on Tuesday, Sep 4th. The starting times may differ school to school.

Generally across the district, there is the orientation on Tuesday, half the class reports for a full day on Wednesday. The other half of the class reports on Thursday. Then the full kindergarten class reports on Friday. This provides a good opportunity for the K teachers to greet the students and start getting the school routine established for this young and precious group.

The full school calendar for 2012-2013 can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2012/08/franklin-ma-school-calendar-2012-13.html

The bus schedule can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2012/08/franklin-ma-school-bus-routes-for-2012.html

Franklin, MA: Kindergarten Enrollment

The Kindergarten enrollment as of 4/2/12. This is a line item for discussion at the School Committee meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Apr 10, 2012.

Franklin Public Schools K-registration as of 4-2-12

Note: the actual enrollment for K exceeds the projection provided last January. The details of that projection can be found here  http://www.franklinmatters.org/2011/01/school-enrollment-projections.html

Looking at the current K classroom staffing and the enrollment to date, it looks like there should be some re-alignment of K teachers to better balance the class size across the district. Parmenter for example has 4 K classes this year and may only need 2 next Sep. Current K classes and class size can be found in the following Enrollment document.

The enrollment comparison of March 2011 to March 2012:

Franklin Public Schools: Enrollment Compare March 2011 2012


Disclosure: yes, my wonderful wife teaches kindergarten at Oak Street Elementary School.

Full-time kindergarten is an investment

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

Full-time kindergarten is an investment

via The Milford Daily News News RSS by David Riley and Scott O'Connell, Daily News correspondent on 3/24/12

Full-day kindergarten has evolved from a rarity to the norm in Massachusetts public schools over the past decade, reflecting the needs of working parents and also evidence that the extra time in school is crucial to a child's development. In 2000, less than a third of kindergartners attended full-day programs, according to the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. This year, 83 percent of Bay State kindergarten students are enrolled in full-day classrooms.

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to The Milford Daily News News RSS using Google Reader
• Get started using Google Reader to easily keep up with all your favorite sites

"if we had plenty of resources and teachers had time"

The front page of the Boston Globe on Sunday caught my eye with the headline "State aims to test kindergartners"

Paul Reville, the state’s education secretary, emphasized that the kindergarten readiness assessments, which are in the conceptual phase, “shouldn’t be mistaken for an early MCAS’’ and will not be used to determine who should enter kindergarten. 

“It will be a more subtle and nuanced approach to assessing students,’’ Reville said. “The goal is to get a better sense of how students are doing, particularly in literacy.’’ 

The assessments ‘shouldn’t be mistaken for an early MCAS.’ 

The labor-intensive data collection, however, could be a tough sell to local districts and teachers, especially as budget cuts have pushed up class sizes, said Jason Sachs, director of early childhood education for Boston public schools. Boston, he said, already uses 14 assessments in kindergarten.

There are already plenty of assessments available or being conducted. Let's focus on providing some time and resources to actually using those assessments to improve the educational experience for the kindergartners.

The article fortunately admits:

For generations, state education officials have known that it is critical for children to start kindergarten ready to learn, and they have been keenly aware of a wide skills gap among students on the first day, even without a testing system in place. 

The gap exists for a variety of reasons, such as uneven quality of preschool programs, the frequency of parents reading to their children at home, or simply because children by nature can grow and develop at widely different rates in the early years.

So even with generations of knowledge and experience, the State is pursuing this to obtain some Federal funding.

“Each type produces helpful data for teachers and policymakers,’’ Scott-Little said. “In an ideal world, if we had plenty of resources and teachers had time, a combination would provide the best picture of where children are.’’ 

Monty Neill, executive director of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing - a Jamaica Plain organization critical of standardized testing - said he is encouraged that the state is pursuing observation-based assessments for kindergartners. But he said he is concerned the state, because of shortages of money and time, could ultimately create a system , that collects data based on one observation instead of several over a period of time. 

“The results could likely be more damaging than helpful,’’ Neill said. “The public ought to pay very careful attention to this.’’

Yes, I agree. We all should pay attention to what testing or assessments are being looked at and why? We should also be looking to ensure that this doesn't become an unfunded mandate, meaning that the State says we must do this but does not provide the funding for the "labor intensive" activity.

Franklin's voters have consistently voted down operational overrides to properly fund the schools. The high school project will be coming up early next year. Will the Town Council also give us an option for another override? Who knows. You should ask questions of the potential Town Council candidates and of the School Committee candidates. The opportunity is now through Nov 8th to decide who we want to lead our discussion.

You can (and should) read the full article in the Boston Globe here (subscription registration may be required)


Note: yes, my disclosure statement includes the fact that my wife happens to be a kindergarten teacher here in the Franklin Schools. Some would dismiss these comments offhand just because of that connection. So be it. I choose to do this information sharing because the education that is available to our 6,000 students today is NOT what available to my daughters. Both of them have successfully graduated from FHS (2004 and 2006). Both have successfully graduated from college and both are gainfully employed today.

In the News - registration postponed, fire, Dean seminar

Franklin kindergarten registration postponed

by GateHouse Media, Inc.

Two cats die in Franklin fire

by Joe O'Connell/Daily News staff

Dean College Children's Center sponsors Early Childhood seminar

by GateHouse Media, Inc.

Franklin, MA

Franklin, MA: Financial Impact Full-Day vs Tuition-based Kindergarten

This internet radio show or podcast is number 83 in the series for Franklin Matters.

This is a special session. The audio has been synchronized with the presentation to create a complete package. The package will provide the update by Miriam Goodman, Franklin School Business Administrator, on full day vs. half-day kindergarten. The presentation and discussion occurred at the School Committee meeting on Jan 11, 2011.

You can also review the meeting video on the Franklin website.

The link to the Kindergarten presentation is here:

http://view.liveindexer.com/ViewIndexSessionSL.aspx?indexPointSKU=suY%2bgbIOkRUfeduJ9u%2f2aw%3d%3d/

The full meeting can be viewed here:

http://view.liveindexer.com/ViewIndexSessionSL.aspx?ecm=634307043717953928&indexSessionSKU=bV0o80oxKwE2UUa+RXKE4A%3D%3D&siteSKU=L7qhQ46xin/r3Z0jcDVCNw%3D%3D/



During the presentation you will hear the voices of Miriam Goodman and Maureen Sabolinski, Superintendent. In the question and answer period, questions and comments will be asked by School Committee members – Ed Cafasso, Sue Rohrbach, Chairperson Jeff Roy, and Bill Glynn in order of their voices.

My keyboard and that of Brian Benson, the Milford Daily News reporter, is heard in the background as we type away reporting on the meeting. Hopefully, you won't find it too intrusive.

Without further ado, here is the presentation:

Franklin MA - Financial Impact Full-day vs Tuition-based Kindergarten

View more webinars from Franklin Matters.

This podcast is my public service effort for Franklin. I can use your help.

How can you help, you ask?

If you have an interest in covering the Planning Board, Conservation Commission, and or the Zoning Board of Appeals meetings in Franklin, please let me know.

And as always -

• If you like this, please tell your friends and neighbors
• If you don't like this, please tell me.

It will be via your feedback that I can improve this for you.

Thank you for listening.

-----

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 music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana"  c. Michael Clark & Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission

I hope you enjoy!


Franklin, MA

"half-day or tuition-based program would not save the district money"

"The impact of going to a half-day program would ... lead to a reduction in our foundation budget, which would significantly impact our Chapter 70 money," Goodman said, adding the district's foundation budget for kindergarten is $3.4 million for this school year.

Goodman said it is too early in the budget process to determine exactly how much money Franklin would lose by switching programs.

The district might save money in fiscal 2012 because next year's state aid is determined using October 2010 enrollment, but Franklin would likely lose money in subsequent years, Goodman said.

"This analysis really shows, at least from my perspective, that over the long run financially it's a loser," School Committee member Ed Cafasso said. "The financial evidence is fairly overwhelming that one year of savings would be wiped out every other year." 

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

Review the notes from the full School Committee meeting (including the presentation document on kindergarten) here


Franklin, MA

Live reporting - Kindergarten

d. Budget Update - Kindergarten

428 students in K, moving to half day would be counted as 214 FTE
enrollment decreases by half, determines the foundation budget
$3.4 million for full day, $1.7 million for half-day or tuition based

Foundation budget - Req'd Local Contribution = Chap 70 Aid
Impact of moving to half-day would not be seen until FY 2013

Shifts the burden of a currently state funded program to the local taxpayers

Cafasso - this is an issue that has been kicked around, the analysis shows over the long run, it is loser. With a working community like Franklin, there would be reputational damage.

Rohrbach - we have batted this idea around a lot. We had two first graders who showed us what kindergarten can do for us.

Roy - the evidence is overwhelming, we just can't do this in a prudent way. Thank you for doing this early in the process. I'd rather know this up front.

Sabolinski - this would create another structural deficit down the road.

Glynn - why does another district do this?
Goodman - they may be starting from nothing and going to half day, where we would be loosing the foundation budget as I noted earlier. Other districts may not be in the same situation


Financial Impact of Half Day or Tuition Based K




Franklin, MA

Franklin, MA: Kindergarten registration

Hold the dates to register for kindergarten:

February 1st, 3rd, and 7th

4:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M.

Horace Mann Middle School – Cafeteria

224 Oak Street, Franklin, MA

All the details on the forms required and how to obtain them to have them filled out before arriving at registration can be found in the flyer here:

Franklin, MA - Kindergarten Registration

Note: email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin Matters to view the document.


Franklin, MA

In the News - kindergarten, more fast food on 140

Franklin to hold kindergarten sign up

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Staff reports

Note: the dates posted by the paper don't agree with the dates posted on the Franklin schools website.

Franklin developer: New Taco Bell, Wendy's won't intrude

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Brian Benson/Daily News staff

Franklin, MA

Franklin, MA: Kindergarten registration

Hold the dates to register for kindergarten:

February 1st, 3rd, and 7th

4:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M.

Horace Mann Middle School – Cafeteria

224 Oak Street, Franklin, MA

All the details on the forms required and how to obtain them to have them filled out before arriving at registration can be found in the flyer here:

Franklin, MA - Kindergarten Registration

Note: email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin Matters to view the document.


Franklin, MA

I know at least one K teacher that will like this article

Wow, this article will generate some conversation!

... as in other studies, the Tennessee experiment found that some teachers were able to help students learn vastly more than other teachers. And just as in other studies, the effect largely disappeared by junior high, based on test scores. Yet when Mr. Chetty and his colleagues took another look at the students in adulthood, they discovered that the legacy of kindergarten had re-emerged.

Students who had learned much more in kindergarten were more likely to go to college than students with otherwise similar backgrounds. Students who learned more were also less likely to become single parents. As adults, they were more likely to be saving for retirement. Perhaps most striking, they were earning more.

All else equal, they were making about an extra $100 a year at age 27 for every percentile they had moved up the test-score distribution over the course of kindergarten. A student who went from average to the 60th percentile — a typical jump for a 5-year-old with a good teacher — could expect to make about $1,000 more a year at age 27 than a student who remained at the average. Over time, the effect seems to grow, too.

The economists don’t pretend to know the exact causes. But it’s not hard to come up with plausible guesses. Good early education can impart skills that last a lifetime — patience, discipline, manners, perseverance. The tests that 5-year-olds take may pick up these skills, even if later multiple-choice tests do not.

Read the full article in the NY Times here
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/business/economy/28leonhardt.html?_r=1&src=tptw

The study presentation slides can be found here:
http://obs.rc.fas.harvard.edu/chetty/STAR_slides.pdf


And yes, in case you did not know, my wife is a kindergarten teacher.
http://www.franklin.ma.us/auto/schools/oak/classrooms/sherlock/default.htm




Franklin, MA

In the News - kindergarten, Dean College

Franklin kindergarten information nights slated

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Staff reports

Two Dean College students charged with attempted robbery

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by Ashley Studley/Daily News staff

Franklin, MA

"working with the very young is often more effective than waiting"

“When you’re 3, your life is hard,” the mother says. “You get angry.” Now the boy is 7 and in the first grade, and the daily battles are over. His mother says she believes her son’s behavior improved in part because he matured, but also because she and the boy’s father learned to respond better when he became upset. “He’s still a sensitive kid, and he still gets mad,” she says. “Now he’ll go, ‘Grrr,’ but he doesn’t slam a door.” Expectations are that he will flourish. And as for the mother, “I understand him better,” she says.

Read the full article in the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine here:

Little kids, big problems

from Boston Globe -- Globe Magazine by Linda K. Wertheimer

Why early-childhood mental health services make sense.


This effort is aligned with that of the Early Childhood Development Center in the Franklin, MA school system and discussed further as part of the kindergarten program that can be found here:
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/04/full-day-kindergarten-free-or-tuition.html

Full day Kindergarten - free or tuition based?

"Tell me what you think of Paid Kindergarten @$2600.00 per child."

This question came in from a loyal reader of Franklin Matters. Hmm, I thought paid kindergarten was offered by private schools. I did not realize that public schools could charge tuition so I went looking.

The map is contained in the Appendix of the Kindergarten report from the DESE referenced below. Focusing in a little closer on the map reveals Franklin and the surrounding communities.

Franklin's neighboring communities
District	Full-day	Availability	Free or Tuition	Quality Grant	Tuition
Bellingham	Yes	Some	Tuition	No	$3,250
Medfield	Yes	Some	Tuition	No	$4,500
Medway	Yes	Some	Tuition	No	$3,255
Norfolk	Yes	Some	Tuition	Yes	$3,000
Wrentham	Yes	Some	Tuition	No
FY10 Kindergarten programs available by municipality and at charter schools

As usual, the devil is in the details. The MA state regulations are very clear on the following:

(1) All school districts shall provide kindergarten education for all eligible children.

(2) Class size for kindergartens shall not exceed an average of 25.

(3) Kindergarten classes shall be taught by qualified and certified teachers.

Regulatory Authority: 603 CMR 8.00: M.G.L. c.69, §1B

MA state regulations go on to say:

All school districts are required to provide a free, part-time kindergarten education for eligible children. Although the department strongly encourages all districts to offer full-day kindergarten free of charge, districts may charge tuition for hours beyond the 425 instructional hours required for part-time kindergarten.

Districts receiving state funds under the Quality Full-Day Kindergarten grant program that charge tuition must abide by the following requirements and submit a signed Statement of Assurance to the Office of Elementary School Services. All School Committees and the staff involved in kindergarten registration and determining income eligibility should also be informed of these policies.

The bold I added for emphasis and therein lies the difference between "tuition-based" kindergarten and "free" kindergarten. MA is continuing to move to requiring full-day kindergarten across the state. The most recent update on this progress to full-day kindergarten mentioned the following:

Between FY00 and FY10 the percentage of kindergarten students attending full-day programs grew from 29 percent to 77 percent of students who attend public school kindergarten. A variety of factors has contributed to the growth of full-day programs, including a commitment by districts to expand their early education programs and the support provided by the state. 

There are now 279 districts in the Commonwealth that have some or all full-day kindergarten. Universal, voluntary full-day kindergarten is a key component of an early care and education system for children birth to third grade. Kindergarten is the threshold year in children’s lives and education, merging home, non-public and public early education and care and preschool programs into the public education system. Funding for the Kindergarten Development Grant Program in the last eleven fiscal years (FY00 to FY10) has supported school districts’ voluntary transition from half-day to full-day kindergarten and the ongoing quality enhancement of existing full-day programs.

The benefits of full-day kindergarten can be maintained and magnified as children continue in school. It can contribute to cost savings and improve educational outcomes if the elements of quality are in place from preschool through third grade, with strong leadership at every level. The Department is committed to full-day kindergarten programs even during fiscally strained times. If there is a need to restructure funding, the Department is open to targeting grant awards to high need districts, including those that meet the new accountability and assistance system schools in levels 3 and 4. We also want to ensure that the Chapter 70 reimbursement policy promotes tuition-free full-day kindergarten and creates disincentives for eliminating existing full-day kindergarten programs.

The full report can be found here: http://www.doe.mass.edu/research/reports/0310kindergarten.pdf

The other important difference has to do with full-day versus half-day kindergarten. According to the MA state regulations, half-day kindergarten must be free. A school district can charge for full-day kindergarten but it is not as easy as it sounds. The kindergarten educational curriculum required by the state must be delivered free. So even if you have a full-day program and decide to charge for it, the required curriculum must be delivered during the "free" half-day. 

Chapter 70 funds from the state are provided according to a complicated formula. One key number in the formula is the number of eligible students. If you do have a full-day tuition based kindergarten, those students come out of the Chapter 70 reimbursement. So will the community be able to charge enough to fully fund the service they provide and offset the Chapter 70 reimbursement they lose? Not likely.

To explore this further I sat down with Superintendent Maureen Sabolinski, Director of Finance Miriam Goodman, and Karen Seyfried, Principal/Director of F.X. O'Regan Early Childhood Development Center.

Franklin offers free full day kindergarten for several reasons:

1 - The Franklin Public School philosophy aligns with the State's direction on full day kindergarten. Early and developmentally appropriate education pays great benefits. The district has been a high-performing district for some time. It is no coincidence that full day kindergarten has been instrumental to the district's success. When other districts go to the State DESE for guidance on how to implement full day kindergarten, Franklin is used as a reference. Franklin Public Schools welcomes such discussions and visits.

2 - Full day kindergarten helps the district manage its Special Education costs. As acknowledged with the quote from the state above, early identification and remediation of instructional issues help the student overcome them quicker. While overall 'out of district' education costs are determined by the state, Franklin helps to control its own destiny with full day kindergarten. It may seem to be a "no-brainer" but this does help. Fewer students require special education with the Franklin program and those that do generally require less of a program overall. Over 90% of the ECDC students go into a general classroom.

3 - Even if Franklin were to explore a tuition-based program for full-day kindergarten, the costs and issues for implementation would not be covered by the money generated by the tuition. The curriculum today is delivered over a full day schedule. Moving to a tuition-based full day would require reworking the curriculum so that the required portion could be covered in the 'free' half day portion leaving the 'enrichment' program for the remaining half day. The tuition lost by removing the kindergarteners from the Chapter 70 reimbursement would require that the tuition charge be in excess of $4300 per student in order to break-even. This would be cost prohibitive.

So while Franklin is surrounded by communities where most charge for kindergarten, it is not a viable option, nor the right direction for Franklin.

Importance of Kindergarten registration

As a follow-up to the announcement here yesterday on the Kindergarten registration scheduled for next week, I received this letter from a Franklin parent:

I was at my school's PCC meeting and one piece of information that I did not realize was that the registration for Kindergarten in February helps determine the staffing of the Kindergarten teachers for the next year. Even if a parent is not sure if the child is going to the public school they should register them in February and then if they change their mind let the school know. From my understanding what happened last year is many students were not enrolled by their parents until July so it brought the counts in the class to 25 students.

It would be helpful for parents just starting the school process to understand why they need to register their child in February even if they are not 100% sure that is where they are going to get a better grasp of staffing needed for the next school year. Of course a class might still be this large if they cut kindergarten teachers in the budget but the forecast of how many teachers are needed is not truly shown in the February registration statistics if we have such a large number of parents registering in July.

It was also discussed at the School Committee meeting Tuesday evening that full-day kindergarten is desired, expected, a goal but is not guaranteed at this time due to the uncertainties in the budget.

Stay tuned for updates on the budget as the situation develops over the next couple of months.

Let me restate what I wrote earlier this week (bold added for emphasis):

In summary, the next several months can be very interactive. Franklin citizens can provide their input to the charter, the downtown project, and ultimately the Franklin budget. If you were waiting for a good time to get involved, the time is now.

Kindergarten registration information can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/franklin-ma-kindergarten-registration.html