Enjoy!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
"learning is not a linear exercise, it’s random, it’s self-directed, it looks like spaghetti."
It’s been a great 10 days in Australia, one that’s been too packed for much blogging, obviously, and one that was highlighted yesterday by a visit to one of those “I really wish my kids went to school there” type of schools in a Melbourne suburb. It’s hard to capture everything that’s cool about the Wooranna Park Primary School in a blog post, but let me boil it down to this: the kids are driving the learning, from the design of the school and the curriculum to the decision making around school policy and more. It’s one of those inquiry-based learning environments where the moment you step into it you just feel something different. Different spaces. Different colors. Different conversations. Different stuff up on the walls.Read the full posting by Wil Richardson on his blog here.
Franklin has been a model district for others in the state to come and view, especially with regards to the kindergarten program. Will that continue?
Franklin, we will need to decide which way we want to go. We can step up to properly fund the schools and our future. Or not.
What will Franklin decide?
YouTube Edu - 100+ Colleges on YouTube
Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:
via Free Technology for Teachers by rbyrnetech@hotmail.com (Mr. Byrne) on 3/26/09
It looks like YouTube is making an attempt to be a little more school friendly. YouTube recently launched YouTube Edu. As Read Write Web reported, YouTube Edu is the aggregation of more than 100 college and university videos from the institutions themselves. The videos include college campus tours as well as lectures from professors. YouTube Edu can be searched by institution, by popularity, or by topic.Applications for Education
If YouTube is not blocked in your school district, YouTube Edu could be a nice resource for those involved in helping students research and select a college to attend. The lecture videos could provide a nice complement to instruction in a high school setting.
If YouTube is blocked in your school, you may want to look at some of these alternatives:
20+ Educational Alternatives to YouTube
Six More Educational Alternatives to YouTube
Academic Earth
Next Vista
Save 20% on all books & DVDs from National Geographic!
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"make sure those who are underage are not able to get liquor"
GHS
FRANKLIN —
The Franklin Mobil Inc. faces a possible suspension of its liquor license after allegedly selling alcohol to a minor, police announced yesterday.
A clerk at The Franklin Mobil, 660 West Central St. (Rte. 140), sold a six-pack of Bud Light to a 20-year-old man in a sting operation March 13, said police Lt. Thomas J. Lynch.
"We had an underage operative go into the Mobil gas station, he grabbed a six-pack of Bud Light, put the money on the counter, the guy rang it up and he handed over the money and walked out with a six-pack in a brown paper bag," Lynch said.
The clerk did not ask for identification, Lynch said.
Mobil management could not be reached for comment yesterday.
The Mobil store has not had any past offenses, he said.
Read the full article about this sting operations and others to be conducted here in the Milford Daily News.
"Capital projects like the senior center did not put the town in debt"
GHS
FRANKLIN —
In one of its final tweakings of a long-term financial plan and report for the town, the Fiscal Planning Committee decided its wants to stress that the recession is not responsible for Franklin's recurring deficit.
"We have a crisis trend, a recurring fiscal deficit ... and it's been exacerbated by the macro-fiscal crisis," said Councilor Shannon Zollo.
The committee should give one set of recommendations for dealing with the current crisis in the short term, and another set for ending the structural deficit, Zollo suggested.
Echoing Zollo's sentiments, Vice Chairman Doug Hardesty said, "The fundamental message is, with or without this economic crisis, this problem exists in Franklin."
Committee members agreed that they do not want people to have a misperception that the recent salary freezes agreed to by town unions solves the structural deficit problem.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
State Education Mandates - Part 6
From time to time, particular around the budget period, reference is generally made to Franklin Public Schools having to support "unfunded mandates." I managed to find a listing of such compiled by the Massachusetts Association of School Committees. This is Part 6 in the series:
Note: on the length of the school year, it is defined in days (180 required) but as we recently found out with the Horace Mann/Oak Street complex problem, the State has not yet defined how much time qualifies as a "day" of school.
CurriculumThe full listing is available here (DOC)
Frameworks. Districts revise and create new curricula to conform to the state curriculum frameworks and demands for timely update as the revises and updates frameworks on a regular basis. This work must be done after school and during the summer. Instruction hours must provide at minimum 990/900 hours of instructional time.
Individual Student Success Plans. Districts are required to deploy administrative, teaching, secretarial, guidance, and technology staff and resources (including but not limited to intervention programs in ELA and Math) to ensure that students receive additional support services that address individual student needs as a result of statewide assessment mandates (MCAS). Instructional support and resources such as texts, workbooks, and online instruction are examples of areas that require increases in expenditures.
Curriculum Requirements. The Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks require that districts provide additional instructional staff (e.g. health teachers and guidance staff) to ensure that all curriculum areas are addressed. The periodic review and alignment of every curriculum area requires substantial investment in time (including committee review, curriculum development, printing and dissemination of curricula) and resources (texts, consumable items, and online access).
The length of the school year (180 days) requirement impacts costs incurred for snow and ice removal and climate control in multiple buildings.
Note: on the length of the school year, it is defined in days (180 required) but as we recently found out with the Horace Mann/Oak Street complex problem, the State has not yet defined how much time qualifies as a "day" of school.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Financial Plng Comm 03/26/09
The live reporting from the Financial Planning Committee meeting held 3/26/98
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