Friday, September 11, 2009
In the News - grant money for downtown
The Million dollar grant announced as received by the Town during the Town Council meeting on 9/2/09 is discussed in more detail here
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Kathi Meyer on teen drinking
The Taylor Meyer tragedy has lead to an increase awareness of teen drinking. Kathi Meyer is interviewed in this video from the Norfolk County District Attorney, William Keating.
Note: Email subscribers will need to click through to the web site to view the video.
Other info on teen drinking:
The W.A.S.T.E.D presentation at Franklin High School
Other videos from the Norfolk District Attorney can be found here
Note: Email subscribers will need to click through to the web site to view the video.
Other info on teen drinking:
The W.A.S.T.E.D presentation at Franklin High School
Other videos from the Norfolk District Attorney can be found here
Friday, Sep 11 - Jack Murray Performs at Cafe Dolce
Friday, September 11th
Jack Murray, a Downtown Partnership member, will be performing at Cafe Dolce, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
All donations will be given to the Dana Farber Cancer Center at Milford Regional Medical Center.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Franklin School Student Population Drops
The Franklin Public Schools start the year with 121 less students than one year ago. The totals by level of school are shown for comparison in the table below.
| 2008 | 2009 | Diff | |
| Elementary | 3091 | 2998 | -93 |
| Middle School | 1524 | 1478 | -46 |
| High School | 1622 | 1640 | 18 |
| Totals | 6237 | 6116 | -121 |
That there are less students riding the bus shouldn't be a surprise. That the 'bus loss' number is greater than the 'student loss' number likely reflects something of the economic situation and the choices that parents have made.
The Milford Daily News reports on the School Committee meeting here
Fewer students riding bus in Franklin
School Committee Mtg 09/08/09
The collection of live reporting posts from the School Committee meeting of Tuesday, Sep 8th can be found here
Live reporting - Superintendents report
Live reporting - Action Items
Live reporting - Discussion only items
Live reporting - SIP Franklin High
Live reporting - SIP Annie Sullivan
Live reporting - SIP Remington
Live reporting - Presentations (School Improvement...
Live reporting - School Committee 9/8/09
Live reporting - Superintendents report
Live reporting - Action Items
Live reporting - Discussion only items
Live reporting - SIP Franklin High
Live reporting - SIP Annie Sullivan
Live reporting - SIP Remington
Live reporting - Presentations (School Improvement...
Live reporting - School Committee 9/8/09
Did you know?
How do you Remember the Warning Signs of Suicide?
Here’s an Easy-to-Remember Mnemonic:
IS PATH WARM?
Read more about suicide and how to detect early warning signs here:
Here’s an Easy-to-Remember Mnemonic:
IS PATH WARM?
| I | Ideation |
| S | Substance Abuse |
| P | Purposelessness |
| A | Anxiety |
| T | Trapped |
| H | Hopelessness |
| W | Withdrawal |
| A | Anger |
| R | Recklessness |
| M | Mood Changes |
Read more about suicide and how to detect early warning signs here:
Franklin Citizens Rail Trail Committee - 9/10/09 - Agenda
Agenda for Sept 10, 2009
I. Call to Order / Introductions of New Attendees
A. Introduction of new attendees
B. Volunteer to write minutes of the meeting
C. Motion to accept meeting minutes of 8/19/09
II. Report from our representative from DCR
A. Gates at Spring St
B. Leveling of the Trail
III. Membership Committee Report (Denison, McKeown, Sawyer)
A. Committee to present work and ask for Committee approval
B. Meeting attendees will be asked to fill out Membership Forms and send in checks to our Treasurer
IV. Report from Finance Committee (Rossetti)
A. Report from Treasurer
VII. Report of Fund Raising Committee (Sawyer)
A. Shall we start planning for road race and other events
B. Do we have the Lions Club for insurance protection?
C. Do we have the Franklin Bolts or other local groups?
VIII. Publicity (Dave Labonte)
A. Distribution of brochure, do we need a second printing
B. Report on Meeting with Franklin PLUC (Svendsen)
C. Comments from new attendees from PLUC
D. Tentative date for next meeting w/PLUC is Sep 30th
E. Date for Rotary Club presentation set for Sep 17th
IX. Unfinished Business
A. Questions from members / attendees
X. New Business
A. Update on End of Summer Cookout
Date set for Sept 19 w/the 20th as the Rain Date
B.
C.
D.
Set Date for Next Meeting and Adjourn
I. Call to Order / Introductions of New Attendees
A. Introduction of new attendees
B. Volunteer to write minutes of the meeting
C. Motion to accept meeting minutes of 8/19/09
II. Report from our representative from DCR
A. Gates at Spring St
B. Leveling of the Trail
III. Membership Committee Report (Denison, McKeown, Sawyer)
A. Committee to present work and ask for Committee approval
B. Meeting attendees will be asked to fill out Membership Forms and send in checks to our Treasurer
IV. Report from Finance Committee (Rossetti)
A. Report from Treasurer
VII. Report of Fund Raising Committee (Sawyer)
A. Shall we start planning for road race and other events
B. Do we have the Lions Club for insurance protection?
C. Do we have the Franklin Bolts or other local groups?
VIII. Publicity (Dave Labonte)
A. Distribution of brochure, do we need a second printing
B. Report on Meeting with Franklin PLUC (Svendsen)
C. Comments from new attendees from PLUC
D. Tentative date for next meeting w/PLUC is Sep 30th
E. Date for Rotary Club presentation set for Sep 17th
IX. Unfinished Business
A. Questions from members / attendees
X. New Business
A. Update on End of Summer Cookout
Date set for Sept 19 w/the 20th as the Rain Date
B.
C.
D.
Set Date for Next Meeting and Adjourn
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Live reporting - Superintendents report
News you can use.
Previously posted to Franklin Matters
School Opening
Some enrollment glitches, over all a quieter start to the school year, the planning this summer paid off.
Enrollment comparison
Concerned about lossing 19-20% of what could have been the incoming freshman class
The class size is currently very reasonable.
Looking for ways to beef up public relations for the high school.
Q - can we break down how the students were lost?
A - Yes, we can do that now that we know.
Could usually count on 9-10 percent each year prior to this.
My note - are they forgetting that there was mass confusion during May, June and into early July about the FY 2010 year? The enrollments would have been taken place during that time.
Moving to executive session
Previously posted to Franklin Matters
School Opening
Some enrollment glitches, over all a quieter start to the school year, the planning this summer paid off.
Enrollment comparison
Concerned about lossing 19-20% of what could have been the incoming freshman class
The class size is currently very reasonable.
Looking for ways to beef up public relations for the high school.
Q - can we break down how the students were lost?
A - Yes, we can do that now that we know.
Could usually count on 9-10 percent each year prior to this.
My note - are they forgetting that there was mass confusion during May, June and into early July about the FY 2010 year? The enrollments would have been taken place during that time.
Moving to executive session
Live reporting - Action Items
4. Action Items
- I recommend adoption of Horace Mann Middle School’s School Improvement Plan motion to approve; passed 7-0
- I recommend adoption of Remington Middle School’s School Improvement Plan motion to approve; passed 7-0
- I recommend adoption of Annie Sullivan Middle School’s School Improvement Plan motion to approve; passed 7-0
- I recommend adoption of Franklin High School’s School Improvement Plan motion to approve; passed 7-0
- I recommend acceptance of a check for $554.22 from the Tri County Partnership as credit for Life Fair for the FHS gift account motion to approve; passed 6-0, 1 abstain (Armenio)
- I recommend acceptance of a check for $100.00 from Kristen Redpath in memory of her late husband, Donald Redpath, for the FHS Science Department. motion to approve; passed 7-0
Live reporting - Discussion only items
3. Discussion Only Items
The report on the listing of projects completed during the summer in all the schools will be added later.
90% of the work done was done at the High School, the remaining items will be done this fall.
Roy - typically at the end of the school day, the technology center is empty. A recent visit revealed 30-40 students working in the new area.
Transportation
The following chart was not part of the School Committee package but was prepared with the FPS data as provided. The data tells a story at a glance on what the pay-to-ride fee increase has done to the numbers of students riding the buses.
No route changes on the transportation side.
While ridership is down, the same number of buses is still be run as last year.
Q - Is there a way we can recover some costs with a half ride program, having parents pay for the ride home.
A - We would have to look at the bus capacity by route. Some buses we have already heard have some extra seats. We would be better able to do the analysis as the situation settle.
Q - Can you clarify the rule on the free ride?
A - There was a school committee policy some years ago that if there was not a safe walkway to school, it used to be a free ride. It is not a state requirement. The State requires free busing for those within 2 miles. The State allows a student to walk a half mile to a bus stop. We try to minimize that.
Comment - caution on some parents who have bought the pay-to-ride to get the afternoon ride home. You may need to implement some re-funds to for those parents if the half ride goes through.
H1N1 - spending much time on this health issue instead of instructional issues. Part of the town-wide planning process. The State may be sponsoring the vaccination clinics. The schools put the information out, people tend to listen rather than if the Police or other Town departments.
The Schools are collecting data weekly on attendance and illness rates.
Dr Timothy Johnson will be doing a town hall style meeting next week on Channel 5 to review the does/don'ts.
Purell can't be stored in the schools due to the alcohol content. They are working to obtain a non-alcohol based with aloe to avoid overwashing and creating additional issues.
Superintendent's goals
Roy - suggestion to bring it up to see how it would be handled this year.
Mullen - to take lead on developing goals for Maureen. Committee members can send their suggestions to her.
- Facilities Update
- Transportation Update
- H1N1 Update
- Superintendent’s Goals
The report on the listing of projects completed during the summer in all the schools will be added later.
90% of the work done was done at the High School, the remaining items will be done this fall.
Roy - typically at the end of the school day, the technology center is empty. A recent visit revealed 30-40 students working in the new area.
Transportation
The following chart was not part of the School Committee package but was prepared with the FPS data as provided. The data tells a story at a glance on what the pay-to-ride fee increase has done to the numbers of students riding the buses.
Discover Simple, Private Sharing at Drop.io
No route changes on the transportation side.
While ridership is down, the same number of buses is still be run as last year.
Q - Is there a way we can recover some costs with a half ride program, having parents pay for the ride home.
A - We would have to look at the bus capacity by route. Some buses we have already heard have some extra seats. We would be better able to do the analysis as the situation settle.
Q - Can you clarify the rule on the free ride?
A - There was a school committee policy some years ago that if there was not a safe walkway to school, it used to be a free ride. It is not a state requirement. The State requires free busing for those within 2 miles. The State allows a student to walk a half mile to a bus stop. We try to minimize that.
Comment - caution on some parents who have bought the pay-to-ride to get the afternoon ride home. You may need to implement some re-funds to for those parents if the half ride goes through.
H1N1 - spending much time on this health issue instead of instructional issues. Part of the town-wide planning process. The State may be sponsoring the vaccination clinics. The schools put the information out, people tend to listen rather than if the Police or other Town departments.
The Schools are collecting data weekly on attendance and illness rates.
Dr Timothy Johnson will be doing a town hall style meeting next week on Channel 5 to review the does/don'ts.
Purell can't be stored in the schools due to the alcohol content. They are working to obtain a non-alcohol based with aloe to avoid overwashing and creating additional issues.
Superintendent's goals
Roy - suggestion to bring it up to see how it would be handled this year.
Mullen - to take lead on developing goals for Maureen. Committee members can send their suggestions to her.
Live reporting - SIP Franklin High
2. Guests/Presentations
a. School Improvement Plans
Increase summer reading
Increase graduation percent for lower socio-economic students
Continuation of increasing Advanced placement participation
open response questions within Math is a problem area and a team is being formed to look at more closely
Safety - run the lock down drill this year and develop an updated evacuation plan. In particular, the attendance procedures work but they are too slow.
EdLine is live now, students and parents will be receiving access codes in the next week or so. Access to grading will be deployed later to avoid potential misinterpretation of the results they would see.
They are looking to expand the concept of summer reading, expand to provide more choices, need to analyze what the level of participation was this year and then look to increase the offerings.
Looking at how to challenge the students in English with more AP or honors classes. Using the College Board predictive results to see what the students are that are not yet in the AP classes.
Goal for complete wifi access, it is complete (with a couple of classroom exceptions). It is a free public wifi but students using to access via a secure channel to their folders. Printing is not yet available this way but they are working on this. Trying to go paperless as much as possible. 200 laptops are in, 50-60 are being used daily. Some are going out overnight. Minor issues with some but tech support is handling those.
Own online course management system is now functioning, it was used for summer school. About 40-50% fof the faculty are using it (either in an experimental stage or deployed).
55 teachers have courses built into Moodle today, per Sabolinski
Sabolinski, thanks to the collaboration and coordination amongst the middle and high school.
a. School Improvement Plans
- Franklin High School – Peter Light
Increase summer reading
Increase graduation percent for lower socio-economic students
Continuation of increasing Advanced placement participation
open response questions within Math is a problem area and a team is being formed to look at more closely
Safety - run the lock down drill this year and develop an updated evacuation plan. In particular, the attendance procedures work but they are too slow.
EdLine is live now, students and parents will be receiving access codes in the next week or so. Access to grading will be deployed later to avoid potential misinterpretation of the results they would see.
They are looking to expand the concept of summer reading, expand to provide more choices, need to analyze what the level of participation was this year and then look to increase the offerings.
Looking at how to challenge the students in English with more AP or honors classes. Using the College Board predictive results to see what the students are that are not yet in the AP classes.
Goal for complete wifi access, it is complete (with a couple of classroom exceptions). It is a free public wifi but students using to access via a secure channel to their folders. Printing is not yet available this way but they are working on this. Trying to go paperless as much as possible. 200 laptops are in, 50-60 are being used daily. Some are going out overnight. Minor issues with some but tech support is handling those.
Own online course management system is now functioning, it was used for summer school. About 40-50% fof the faculty are using it (either in an experimental stage or deployed).
55 teachers have courses built into Moodle today, per Sabolinski
Sabolinski, thanks to the collaboration and coordination amongst the middle and high school.
Live reporting - SIP Annie Sullivan
2. Guests/Presentations
a. School Improvement Plans
Goals
Q - on "Brain based instructional strategies"
A - getting students involved and engaged more completely with all their senses.
Q - What impact does differentiated learning have on the results?
A - differentiated instruction with an average of 30 students in a class is hard. It is a real issue. As long as we have class sizes and ratios that high it will be a challenge to continue to produce the results that Franklin has become used to seeing.
a. School Improvement Plans
- Annie Sullivan Middle School – Beth Wittcoff
Goals
- Response to intervention
- Literacy
- Annual Yearly Progress (AYP)
- Mathematics
Q - on "Brain based instructional strategies"
A - getting students involved and engaged more completely with all their senses.
Q - What impact does differentiated learning have on the results?
A - differentiated instruction with an average of 30 students in a class is hard. It is a real issue. As long as we have class sizes and ratios that high it will be a challenge to continue to produce the results that Franklin has become used to seeing.
Live reporting - SIP Remington
2. Guests/Presentations
a. School Improvement Plans (SIP)
Goals
a. School Improvement Plans (SIP)
- Remington Middle School – Paul Peri
Goals
- Incorporate reading/literacy strategies in the classrooms of all core content areas
- Targets the skills of the student who are at risk for not meeting district and state learning expectations in math
- Targets the skills of two sub-group populations of students
- Connecting RMS to the Franklin Community
Live reporting - Presentations (School Improvement Plans)
2. Guests/Presentations
a. School Improvement Plans (SIP)
Video taped an interview with high performing students, cooperative learning doesn't always work for them, pay attention to them, they have a right to learn something new every day
28% of the student lacking in the basic fundamentals, added some focus to this and got great results (with pre- and post-test results)
Action plans
The kids feedback was to do more pre-testing, if they already know it, let's move on to something else.
a. School Improvement Plans (SIP)
- Horace Mann Middle School – Dr. Anne Bergen
Video taped an interview with high performing students, cooperative learning doesn't always work for them, pay attention to them, they have a right to learn something new every day
28% of the student lacking in the basic fundamentals, added some focus to this and got great results (with pre- and post-test results)
Action plans
- Wide reading to develop background knowledge
- Writing goal
- Math goal
- School enrichment model
The kids feedback was to do more pre-testing, if they already know it, let's move on to something else.
Live reporting - School Committee 9/8/09
Attending: Armenio, Cafasso, Kelley, Mullen, Roy, Rohrbach, Trahan
Missing:
1. Routine Business
Citizen’s Comments - none
Review of Agenda - none
Minutes: I recommend approval of the minutes from the August 25, 2009 School Committee Meeting. motion to approve, passed 7-0
Payment of Bills - Mr. Kelly motion to approve, passed 7-0
Payroll - Ms. Armenio
FHS Student Representatives – Welcome to the new student representatives: Zach Price (President of Senior Class) and Christie Gianetti (Student Government President)
Correspondence
Missing:
1. Routine Business
Citizen’s Comments - none
Review of Agenda - none
Minutes: I recommend approval of the minutes from the August 25, 2009 School Committee Meeting. motion to approve, passed 7-0
Payment of Bills - Mr. Kelly motion to approve, passed 7-0
Payroll - Ms. Armenio
FHS Student Representatives – Welcome to the new student representatives: Zach Price (President of Senior Class) and Christie Gianetti (Student Government President)
Correspondence
- Budget to Actual
- Letter from Kristen Redpath (donation)
Interview with Obama on education
President Obama is interviewed by Damon Weaver, from the KEC TV News Team out of Kathryn E. Cunningham/Canal Point Elementary in Florida, in preparation for the Presidential address to students today.
The video interview (about 10 minutes) can be viewed here:
The video interview (about 10 minutes) can be viewed here:
Schools - Brochure/Flyer Dissemination Process
Based on feedback received from parents and guardians about the overwhelming number of flyers and brochures that have been traditionally sent home in student backpacks, we will be piloting an innovative way to disseminate information this year. In lieu of sending home paper copies of information we will establish a website where all approved brochures, notices and flyers will be posted. A link to the site will be featured prominently on the district web site, school based web sites and in the monthly schools newsletters to parents. The link will be titled NEWS YOU CAN USE and the link is: http://www.franklin.ma.us/auto/schools/FPS/flyer/default.htm
With approval from the Office of the Superintentendent of Schools, we will continue to disseminate information from all Town of Franklin Departments and non profit community groups such as the Parent Communication Councils (PCC), Franklin Education Foundation (FEF) , the YMCA and non-profit community based service and athletic programs such as Boy/Girl Scouts, Metrowest basketball etc.
In the last two years we have been inundated with requests from a number of local and out of town businesses to sponsor programs, fundraisers and special events. We will forward some of these requests to the PCC officers for consideration as we are not in a position to sponsor these types of activities as per our district policies.
Non-profit groups that would like their information to be posted for web site publishing should contact the Office of the Superintendence at 508-553-4819.
With approval from the Office of the Superintentendent of Schools, we will continue to disseminate information from all Town of Franklin Departments and non profit community groups such as the Parent Communication Councils (PCC), Franklin Education Foundation (FEF) , the YMCA and non-profit community based service and athletic programs such as Boy/Girl Scouts, Metrowest basketball etc.
In the last two years we have been inundated with requests from a number of local and out of town businesses to sponsor programs, fundraisers and special events. We will forward some of these requests to the PCC officers for consideration as we are not in a position to sponsor these types of activities as per our district policies.
Non-profit groups that would like their information to be posted for web site publishing should contact the Office of the Superintendence at 508-553-4819.
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