Tonight, the teachers union will announce whether it will take a wage freeze and suspend course reimbursements to save teachers' jobs this year.
An affirmative vote would save the school district $1 million: $800,000 in salary increases, and the remainder in tuition reimbursement, said Franklin Education Association President Chandler Creedon, a psychologist at Horace Mann Middle School.
Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here
Famed Canadian performer Garnet Rogers will be appearing at the Circle of Friends Coffeehouse on Saturday, April 18th at 8:00 PM. Garnet has established himself as "one of the major talents of our time". Hailed by the Boston Globe as a "charismatic performer and singer", Garnet is a man with a powerful physical presence and a voice to match. With his "smooth. dark baritone" his incredible range, and thoughtful, dramatic phrasing, Garnet is widely considered by fans and critics alike to be one of the finest singers anywhere. His music, like the man himself, is literate, passionate, highly sensitive, with a deep purpose. An optimist at heart, Garnet sings extraordinary songs about people who are not obvious heroes and of the small victories of the everyday. As memorable as his songs, his over the top humor and lightning-quick wit moves his audience from tears to laughter and back again. Garnet suggests that you bring a non-perishable food item as a donation to the Franklin Food Pantry.
BELIEVE ...
ACHIEVE ...
All Franklin schools could be without a librarian this September, a move principals suggested as a way to fill the district's approximate $2.5 million budget gap.
"None of the cuts are palatable in any way," said Assistant Superintendent Maureen Sabolinski, who becomes superintendent July 1.
Administrators had to weigh their options, and librarians have the least impact on instruction on a day-to-day basis, she said.
Keeping class sizes to a manageable level is a top priority, School Committee members and principals have said.
"Principals at each level made the recommendation for that cut independently; each had librarians on the table," Sabolinski said.
Read the full article on the loss of the librarians in the Milford Daily News here
View the presentation outlining all the potential budget cuts here
Participate in the School Committee meeting Tuesday April 14th, 7:00 PM Town Hall.
Read the full report that David Elkind references here.
... what we do in education has little or nothing to do with what we know is good pedagogy for children. For example, we could significantly improve education at all levels and in all parts of the country with one change in policy—reducing class size to 18 or less at all grade levels. It is a basic truism of education that the more one-on-one time a child has with a teacher, the better the learning and educational outcome. Yet in practice educational policy is determined by political, economic, cultural, and personal ego concerns. This happens because children and adolescents do not vote, and have little or no say in their own governance. And we, who speak for children and youth, have not been able to muster the political muscle to make the educational needs of children either heard or responded to.
The data and arguments offered in this report are both powerful and compelling. But if they are to have any impact, we need to find champions in the media, in the arts, and in politics who will make the case for us. After all, what do we know? We are just the teachers of young children—who just happen to be the future of our nation.