Franklin Matters

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

"a coherent answer"

At first, the silence in the room was deafening. Then, gasps and questions came flying out. “Hey, Jason’s typing on MY screen.” Then, “Whoa. There’s a chat box. Are we ALLOWED to use that?!?!” After the first five minutes, the students figured out that they were supposed to work together to answer the question that I provided. I was amazed. I had not provided the students with a single verbal prompt or redirection, and they were using the tool to write a response together. Before I knew it, they had drafted a coherent answer to the question together. Their single response was much better than anything they had written individually all year.

How did this occur?

Etherpad is a free tool that allows users to collaborate in real real time. There’s no need to refresh your screen with Etherpad, it automatically updates every .5 seconds!

To read the full posting click through to
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/02/using-technology-to-find-students.html

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

FM Budget Workshop Part 9 (Final) 1/25/10

Franklin conducted a budget workshop on Monday, Jan 25, 2010. This is part nine and the last segment of the recording. Jeff Nutting provides some closing remarks, Scott Mason thanks Bob Richer (?), citizen at large, for participating. Bob provides some good feedback on the session.

Time: 15 minutes, 17 seconds

MP3 File

Session Notes:

Franklin conducted a budget workshop on Monday, Jan 25, 2010. This is part nine and the last segment of the recording. Jeff Nutting provides some closing remarks, Scott Mason thanks Bob Richer, citizen at large for participating. Bob provides some good feedback on the session.

I do pick up from the quote by Beth Fitzmaurice that I ended with in part 8:

"Special ed is not in fact a sentence, it is an opportunity to provide some specialized education but there is a mechanism in the law to re-evaluate the child every three years, and to do a full battery of evaluation, to re-determine eligibility."

I thought it quite appropriate to repeat this statement and then get into Jeff's closing, etc.

There are no documents associated with this segment.

This completes the three hour budget workshop recording. If you do have additional questions, please reach out as Jeff Nutting indicated.

Thank you for listening.

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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!

Note: email subscribers will need to click through to the website to listen to the audio version.

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Live reporting from the workshop can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/live-reporting-special-meeting-budget.html

and here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/live-reporting-budget-workshop.html

Parts 1-4 cover the Town budget with Susan Gagner, Jeff Nutting and Jim Dacey leading the discussion

Part 1 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/fm-budget-workshop-12510-part-1.html

Part 2 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/fm-budget-workshop-part-2-12510.html

Part 3 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/fm-budget-workshop-part-3-12510.html

Part 4 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/fm-budget-workshop-part-4-1252010.html

Parts 5-8 cover the School budget with Maureen Sabolinski, Miriam Goodman, Sally Winslow, and Beth Fitzmaurice leading the discussion.

Part 5 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/fm-budget-workshop-part-5-12510.html

Part 6 of the workshop recording can be found here

http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/fm-budget-workshop-part-6-12510.html

Part 7 of the workshop recording can be found here

http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/fm-budget-workshop-part-7-12510.html

Part 8 of the workshop recording can be found here

http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/fm-budget-workshop-part-8-12510.html

FM Budget Workshop Part 8 - 1/25/10

This is Part 8 of the Budget Workshop held in Franklin, MA on Jan 25th. This segment covers Beth Fitzmaurice, Director of Special Education, continuing to provide the details of Special Education for the Schools budget.

Time: 17 minutes, 26 seconds

MP3 File

Session Notes:

Franklin held conducted a budget workshop on Monday, Jan 25, 2010. This is part eight of the session recording. Beth Fitzmaurice, Director of Special Education, covers the details of providing Special Education for the students in the Franklin School District picking up from the transportation costs from the prior segment to cover the variables of budgetary impact including the circuit breaker reimbursement process and ending with a great statement:

"Special ed is not in fact a sentence, it is an opportunity to provide some specialized education but there is a mechanism in the law to re-evaluate the child every three years, and to do a full battery of evaluation, to re-determine eligibility."

Documents associated with this recording

FPS Understanding the Budget 1/25/2010 (Page 22 through 29 (end))

FPS - Understanding the Budget 1/25/10

View more presentations from Steve Sherlock.

FPS Private School Tuition (a sample of tuitions from the State website - for out of district placements)

https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B0wjbnXDBhczNjdlZmFlYTQtODBjZC00ZGU1LWIyOTAtMzU1MWM5M2Y3ZmM1&hl=en

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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!

Note: email subscribers will need to click through to the website to listen to the audio version.

-----

Live reporting from the workshop can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/live-reporting-special-meeting-budget.html

and here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/live-reporting-budget-workshop.html

Part 1 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/fm-budget-workshop-12510-part-1.html

Part 2 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/fm-budget-workshop-part-2-12510.html

Part 3 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/fm-budget-workshop-part-3-12510.html

Part 4 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/fm-budget-workshop-part-4-1252010.html

Part 5 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/fm-budget-workshop-part-5-12510.html

Part 6 of the workshop recording can be found here

http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/fm-budget-workshop-part-6-12510.html

Part 7 of the workshop recording can be found here

http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/fm-budget-workshop-part-7-12510.html

FM Budget Workshop Part 7 - 1/25/10

This is part 7 of the budget workshop held in Franklin on Jan 25, 2010 with members of the Town Council, School Committee and Finance Committee participating along with key administration folks from the Town and School Dept as well as some citizens.

Time: 18 minutes, 34 seconds

MP3 File

Session Notes:

Part 7

Franklin held conducted a budget workshop on Monday, Jan 25, 2010. This is part seven of the session recording. Beth Fitzmaurice, Director of Special Education, covers the details of providing Special Education for the students in the Franklin School District beginning with the number of students receiving special educations services as of Jan 15th, 2010 and closing this segment with discussion on special education transportation costs.

Documents associated with this recording segment

FPS Understanding the Budget 1/25/2010 (Page 18 through 22)

FPS - Understanding the Budget 1/25/10

View more presentations from Steve Sherlock.

FPS Private School Tuition (a sample of tuitions from the State website)

https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B0wjbnXDBhczNjdlZmFlYTQtODBjZC00ZGU1LWIyOTAtMzU1MWM5M2Y3ZmM1&hl=en

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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

Note: email subscribers will need to click through to the website to listen to the audio version.

Live reporting from the workshop can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/live-reporting-special-meeting-budget.html

and here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/live-reporting-budget-workshop.html

Part 1 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/fm-budget-workshop-12510-part-1.html

Part 2 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/fm-budget-workshop-part-2-12510.html

Part 3 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/fm-budget-workshop-part-3-12510.html

Part 4 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/fm-budget-workshop-part-4-1252010.html

Part 5 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/fm-budget-workshop-part-5-12510.html

Part 6 of the workshop recording can be found here

http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/fm-budget-workshop-part-6-12510.html

FM Budget Workshop Part 6 - 1/25/10

This is Part 6 of the Budget Workshop held in Franklin, MA on Jan 25th. This segment covers Asst Superintendent Sally Winslow providing an overview on the nuances of Special Education for the Schools budget.

Time: 21 minutes, 55 seconds

MP3 File

Session Notes:

Franklin held conducted a budget workshop on Monday, Jan 25, 2010. This is part six of the session recording. Asst. Superintendent Sally Winslow cover the nuances and requirements of providing Special Education for the Franklin Schools budget

Documents associated with this recording

FPS Understanding the Budget 1/25/2010 (Page 6 through 17)

FPS - Understanding the Budget 1/25/10

View more presentations from Steve Sherlock.

FPS SPED Eligibility
https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B0wjbnXDBhczNTQzMjYyMmMtZWQyZS00YmZiLTg4MDItY2NiYzU3ZGQ0MGRh&hl=en

FPS SPED Placement
https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B0wjbnXDBhczZjRmYzgwYTctODY1NS00ZmU5LWEzYWItNTM2ZDE2MDdlMWVl&hl=en

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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!

Note: email subscribers will need to click through to the website to listen to the audio version.

------

Live reporting from the workshop can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/live-reporting-special-meeting-budget.html

and here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/live-reporting-budget-workshop.html

Part 1 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/fm-budget-workshop-12510-part-1.html

Part 2 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/fm-budget-workshop-12510-part-1.html

Part 3 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/fm-budget-workshop-part-3-12510.html

Part 4 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/fm-budget-workshop-part-4-1252010.html

Part 5 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/fm-budget-workshop-part-5-12510.html

Jordan, UT: Jordan School District

With school vacation this week, many folks will be traveling. Let's travel a little ourselves via the web to find out what else is going on with local blogs, in particular those covering local government and education.

Current J - the blog for the Jordan School District
http://current.jordandistrict.org/

T4 is a resource for comprehensive school improvement plans:
http://t4.jordan.k12.ut.us/t4/content/section/7/39/

T4 is a resource for teachers
http://t4.jordan.k12.ut.us/t4/content/section/5/38/

The Flip over video page is a wealth of resource links on how to use the Flip video camera
http://t4.jordan.k12.ut.us/t4/content/view/314/37/

In your travels, have your found a good blog to share?

Monday, February 15, 2010

FM Budget Workshop Part 5 - 1/25/10

This is Part 5 of the Budget Workshop held in Franklin, MA on Jan 25th. This segment covers the start for the discussion around the Schools budget.

Time: 25 minutes, 25 seconds

MP3 File

Session Notes:

Franklin held conducted a budget workshop on Monday, Jan 25, 2010. This is part five of the session recording. Superintendent Maureen Sabolinski and Finance Director Miriam Goodman, cover the overview of the Franklin Schools budget.

Documents associated with this recording

FPS Understanding the Budget 1/25/2010 (Page 1 through 5)

FPS - Understanding the Budget 1/25/10

View more presentations from Steve Sherlock.

FPS Overview
https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B0wjbnXDBhczZDc0MTI1ZjktMzRlNy00YjM3LWJmMjYtOWYyZTk3NWQ1YWJl&hl=en

FPS Teacher Salary Grid
https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B0wjbnXDBhczZDVmYjBmZDgtNDJhNS00YmY2LTljOTQtNDNhNTk5NWY3N2Zk&hl=en

------

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!

Note: email subscribers will need to click through to the website to listen to the audio version.

Live reporting from the workshop can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/live-reporting-special-meeting-budget.html

and here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/live-reporting-budget-workshop.html

The first four sessions cover the Town side of the budget

Part 1 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/fm-budget-workshop-12510-part-1.html

Part 2 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/01/fm-budget-workshop-12510-part-1.html

Part 3 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/fm-budget-workshop-part-3-12510.html

Part 4 of the workshop recording can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/fm-budget-workshop-part-4-1252010.html

Central Falls, RI in the news

At one time, Central Falls was the most densely populated square mile in the US. It is now in the news as the Superintendent is preparing to fire all the high school teachers.

Why?

The school apparently is failing its students. The Superintendent wants to make changes. The Teacher Unions is hold its ground to make changes "upon negotiation".

Read the full article here

and more here

Franklin, MA: Skipping weekly review

I'll skip the weekly review (podcast) for this week. I will have one for the week ending Sunday the 21st.

If you missed one of the updates during the week, you can see them all here:

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Franklin Flatbread/Spruce Pond Creamery

As the girls were growing up, one of our family traditions was to walk to Spruce Pond Creamery on the last day of school to help celebrate. I've been known to go with a banana split for dinner. It does have multiple food groups, right (fruit, dairy, nuts, chocolate!) :-)