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| Safe online standards introduced by the Mental Health Coalition |
"Nearly all of the fire departments in Massachusetts do not meet national staffing standards, according to a survey conducted by the state fire union in the wake of the deadly fire at a Fall River assisted living facility.
....
Per standards set by the National Fire Protection Association, fire engines or ladder trucks should each be staffed with a minimum four on-duty members. In Massachusetts, the average number of firefighters on an engine is less than 2.5 firefighters and the average responding on a ladder is less than two, according to the survey.”
• Engine 1: 1 Lieutenant, 2 Firefighters• Engine 2: 1 Captain, 2 Firefighters• Ambulance 1: 2 Firefighter/Paramedics• Ambulance 2: 2 Firefighter/Paramedics• Battalion 1: 1 Battalion Chief
"It’s a generation permanently scarred.Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic began, Massachusetts students remain far behind where they were when the global health catastrophe struck and school leaders undertook the drastic step of shutting in-person learning down for months.This is despite billions of dollars in federal aid to redress the damage done by prolonged school closures. Math skills have stagnated and reading achievement has worsened. Children who were not yet in high school when schools closed their doors have graduated, less equipped to navigate the world than those who came before.Dozens of Massachusetts superintendents surveyed by the Globe said it will be years before students catch up. While a minority said their students have already matched pre-pandemic scores or will by the end of next year — six years after schools closed — most said it will take longer."
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| Private Well Owners |
RCAP Solutions is an integrated community development corporation working with a multi-faceted suite of services in communities throughout the northeastern part of the U.S. and the Caribbean. Established in 1969 (as Rural Housing Improvement), RCAP Solutions has supported the power and potential of communities for over half a century as strategists of community-wide well-being. Our mission is to foster personal and public self-reliance and improve the quality of life for individuals, families, and the communities in which they live. For more information, visit: www.rcapsolutions.org.
The Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts is dedicated to improving the health of those who live or work in Central Massachusetts, with particular emphasis on vulnerable populations and unmet needs. Through its unique and impactful approach to grantmaking, The Health Foundation supports community-identified health issues, with health defined broadly to include social determinants of health and with a focus on promoting health equity. As a health conversion foundation launched in 1999 following the sale of the not-for-profit HMO Central Massachusetts Health Care Inc. The Health Foundation’s grants have totaled over $59 million to more than 230 unique organizations over its history. For more information, visit www.thfcm.org.
The 495/MetroWest Partnership will host representatives from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for a presentation regarding the Commonwealth's new PFAS drinking water standard, to be followed by a Question & Answer period.
Presenters will include:
Background
In January 2019, DEP announced its intention to initiate the process to develop a drinking water standard, known as a Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL), for a group of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS).
On December 27th, 2019, proposed revisions to the drinking water regulations were published in the Massachusetts Register, marking the start of the formal public comment period.
The revised PFAS regulation was published on October 2nd, 2020:
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| 495/MetroWest Partnership: New PFAS Drinking Water Standard: Presentation and Q&A with MassDEP |
"Reopening swaths of public life in Massachusetts will play out across four distinct phases and involve new widespread and mandatory safety regulations for all businesses.Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
The approach, announced by the Baker administration on Monday, could launch as as soon as next week with an initial phase applying to businesses that are best able to limit the type of person-to-person contacts that have fueled the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The broad-stroke framework that Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito outlined would ease forced shutdowns of non-essential businesses gradually over a timeline yet to be determined, building up to a “new normal” once a vaccine or other treatment for the highly infectious disease is available.
Many details about the process are still in the works and will depend on the recommendations an advisory panel will file in one week and on the trajectory of trends in the state’s COVID-19 outbreak. If public health data shows a new spike in cases or increased risks, the administration could order a return to an earlier phase."
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| 4-phase reopening strategy |
At the Tuesday meeting (Oct 20, 2015) of the state Board of Elementary and Higher Education where the latest standardized test scores were released, those scores weren’t the main topic of the day. Instead, talk focused on a new twist in the ongoing discussion of whether to keep using the MCAS test or switch to PARCC: How about neither one?
Mitchell Chester, commissioner of elementary and secondary education, is due to make his recommendation on the tests to the board before its Nov. 17 vote. In a special meeting Monday, he told the board that he was now weighing a third possibility, or “Door No. 3,” as he put it: a so-called “MCAS 2.0,” which could use elements of the new PARCC tests to build a state-specific assessment.
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| State Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester, left, and Education Secretary Jim Peyser speak with reporters following the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meeting on Tuesday. (image from CommonWealth Magazine) |
“None of the above” now looks like the correct answer to that test question.
What looked like an either-or choice between retaining the state’s MCAS exam or scrapping it in favor of the new Common Core-aligned PARCC test has taken an unexpected turn and landed on a compromise plan to develop a revamped state test being billed “MCAS 2.0,” which would include a lot of content from the PARCC test.
State Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester made it clear on Tuesday that he won’t recommend formal adoption of the PARCC test, developed by a multistate consortium of education leaders, but will instead seek to have the state retain control of the standardized test it administers to public school students while at the same time drawing from the new PARCC test to upgrade MCAS.You can continue to read the article online here:
This meeting will happen at the Alumni Restaurant (Function Room) 391 East Central Street Franklin MA from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Childcare will be provided.You can sign up for childcare with the information here
Good Morning, Steve!
Went to one of the MA DOE PARCC meetings last night (Tuesday) at the Framingham State Univ. A two hour presentation and Q&A ran to three hours plus. Attendees were interested/concerned parents just trying to learn more about Common Core and PARCC field tests that will be starting this April. Teachers (from K-12), school committee officials and college professors. I would say about two dozen attendees. Ran into some Medway educators and learned about a meeting Medway is holding next week which may be of interest to Franklin parents/educators/school committee members.
In addition below is the link to MA DOE website with listing (below) of future PARCC MA Community Meetings run by Bob Bickerton, Senior Associate Commissioner and/or Maureen LaCroix, Special Assistant to Deputy Commissioner.
I picked up an extra copy of Power Point presentation, if you would like it to provide to readers, it's 12 pages long.
Thank you
Sandra Fredrick
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| PARCC |
“What the study underscored is the tremendous amount of potential here—they’re a national resource,” Lubinski says. “But it’s hard to separate the findings of this study from what we know about gifted kids in general. The genuine concern is, we know we’re not identifying all of this population. We’re not getting nearly enough, and we’re losing them.”
To people more worried about kids who are falling through the cracks altogether, doing slightly less than we could for the most gifted might not seem like a pressing problem. But if the study is right that exceptional youthful ability really does correlate directly with exceptional adult achievement, then these talented young kids aren’t just a challenge for schools and parents: they’re also demonstrably important to America’s future. And it means that if, in education, we focus on steering all extra money and attention toward kids who are struggling academically, or even just to the average student, we risk shortchanging the country in a different way.
“We are in a talent war, and we’re living in a global economy now,” Lubinski says. “These are the people who are going to figure out all the riddles. Schizophrenia, cancer—they’re going to fight terrorism, they’re going to create patents and the scientific innovations that drive our economy. But they are not given a lot of opportunities in schools that are designed for typically developing kids.”
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| Horace Mann Middle School, Oak St Elementary School |
A new University of Virginia study found that kindergarten changed in disturbing ways from 1999-2006. There was a marked decline in exposure to social studies, science, music, art and physical education and an increased emphasis on reading instruction. Teachers reported spending as much time on reading as all other subjects combined.
The time spent in child-selected activity dropped by more than one-third. Direct instruction and testing increased. Moreover, more teachers reported holding all children to the same standard.
Is this drastic shift in kindergarten the result of a transformation in the way children learn?
No. A 2011 nationwide study by the Gesell Institute for Child Development found that the ages at which children reach developmental milestones have not changed in 100 years.
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| Oak St/Horace Mann school complex |
The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, which is appointed by the governor but operates independently, will decide today whether to postpone the vote, state education officials said. Reville said he could not predict if board members would comply with the request.
State education officials have been exploring the possibility of adopting the national standards for more than a year, a controversial proposition for a state known to have some of the most rigorous academic standards in the nation.
The national standards, which Massachusetts officials helped to develop, specify what material should be taught in English and math at every grade level. The voluntary effort was spearheaded by associations representing the nation’s governors and state education leaders and has received the support of President Obama, who is now pushing states to adopt the standards by offering financial incentives.Read the full article in the Boston Globe here:
“Our message all along has been clear and consistent: Massachusetts will only adopt the Common Core standards if they match or surpass our current expectations for students,” said Education Secretary Paul Reville. “Even if the Board votes to adopt, the Commonwealth would still maintain the opportunity to add to the standards, personalize them to Massachusetts and build them out in a way that will allow our educators to propel our students to the next level of learning.”
“Our goal is to provide every student in the Commonwealth with the best possible schools, teachers, curriculum and opportunities they need to be successful in school, college, careers and in life,” Chester said. “We will take the time to evaluate the Common Core Standards before making a decision, and if we ultimately find that the final product represents a decline in expectations from our state standards, we will not hesitate to walk away.”
The Common Core State Standards and survey can be viewed by clicking hereRead the full posting on the School Committee blog here:
In April and May 2007, the Massachusetts Office of Educational Quality and Accountability (EQA) conducted an independent examination of the Franklin Public Schools for the period of 2004–2006. The EQA analyzed Franklin students’ performance on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) tests and identified how students in general and in subgroups were performing. The EQA examined critical factors that affected student performance in six major areas: leadership, governance, and communication; curriculum and instruction; assessment and evaluation; human resource management and professional development; access, participation, and student academic support; and financial and asset management.
On Tuesday, January 22, 2008, the audit report will be presented to the School Committee.
and:
And:The state report finds that, on average, three-fourths of all students in Franklin attained proficiency on the 2006 MCAS tests, much more than that statewide. More than four-fifths of Franklin students attained proficiency in English language arts (ELA), more than two-thirds of Franklin students attained proficiency in math, and nearly two-thirds of Franklin students attained proficiency in science and technology/engineering (STE). Ninety-seven percent of the Class of 2006 attained a Competency Determination.
The report also pointed to shortfalls in school funding, which was “insufficient” to fully fund costs associated with increased enrollment, additional special-education teachers, contractual salary increases, and utilities. But the report praised Franklin for passing a $2.7 million property tax increase last spring, which “solidified the community’s commitment to the school district and the educational needs of the children in Franklin.”
The EQA was created by the Massachusetts Legislature in July of 2000, to provide independent and objective programmatic and financial audits of the 350-plus school districts which serve the cities and towns of Massachusetts. The agency is the accountability component of the Education Reform Act of 1993, and was envisioned in that legislation. The complete standards can be read by clicking here.
The full 28 page EQA report on Franklin can be read by clicking here.
Mark your calendar for the Jan 22nd meeting!