Franklin Matters

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Franklin Public Schools: Welcome back - Update

A message from FRANKLIN PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT

Hello,

I hope that you have had a restful and enjoyable February vacation week. Although the snowy weather persisted, at least we did not have to worry about missing any more school days!

Throughout the week, the DPW and facilities departments have been working hard to keep our roads and schools clear and well-treated. I spent the week conducting building inspections at all of our schools with the town Building Inspector and the Fire Safety Officer, which we do annually at this time of year. Additionally, the Building Commissioner and the Town Facilities Director have been assessing all of our school roofs and conducted snow removal at several of our schools last week, which they had actually begun the previous week when students were in school. They have assured us that all of our schools are safe.

With this most recent snow/rain event yesterday, the DPW has been plowing, treating and scraping town roads and school lots and entrances. Early tomorrow morning they will check all schools for slippery spots which may occur as a result of temperatures falling below freezing tonight.

We anticipate opening school as scheduled tomorrow, so please plan accordingly. Should anything change, I will send out a message by 5:30 AM.
Because of the continued snowfall, the snowbanks have not gotten any smaller and it has been difficult to clear all sidewalks. Emergency busing will continue to be available to students who typically walk to school for the week. I would ask that parents please communicate with your child's school if he/she will be using emergency busing and provide written permission.

I urge both adult and student drivers to continue to exercise extreme caution due to the high snow banks and slippery conditions. And as always, please be mindful of pedestrians and other drivers.

With March just around the corner, hopefully we will turn the corner for this unprecedented winter!

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Be safe!

Sally Winslow
Assistant Superintendent of Schools

Parmenter School - during the vacation, sidewalks cleared today

This e-mail has been sent to you by FRANKLIN PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT. To maximize their communication with you, you may be receiving this e-mail in addition to a phone call with the same message.

Franklin, MA: School Committee - Agenda - Feb 24

Vision Statement

The Franklin Public Schools will foster within its students the knowledge and skills to find and achieve satisfaction in life as productive global citizens.

AGENDA

"The listing of matters are those reasonably anticipated by the Chair which may be discussed at the meeting. Not all items listed may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by law."

Franklin Public Schools - "the key to learning"

1. Routine Business

Citizen’s Comments
Review of Agenda
Minutes: I recommend approval of the minutes from the February 10, 2015 School Committee Meeting.
Payment of Bills Mr. Clement
Payroll Mrs. Douglas
FHS Student Representatives
Correspondence: Budget to Actual – Miriam Goodman

2. Guests/Presentations

a. PARCC Update – Joyce Edwards

http://www.franklinmatters.org/2015/02/parcc-update-to-school-committee-feb-24.html

b. District Improvement Plan (DIP)/Goal Update – Joyce Edwards

http://www.franklinmatters.org/2015/02/fps-district-improvement-plan-midyear.html

3. Discussion Only Items

Professional Development Revolving Account
Snowday Make Up
Policy – Second Readings

o KCDA – Memorial Commemorations
o KCD-E1 – Non-Budgeted Funds Donation Form
o KCD-E2 – Guidelines for Donations of Gifts/Memorials Non-Budgeted Funds to the Franklin Public Schools

4. Action Items

a. I recommend approval for the creation of a Professional Development Revolving Account as discussed.
b. I recommend approval of the budget transfers as detailed.
c. I recommend approval of the request of Frank Fitzgerald to take RMS students to the Rock Spot Climbing Gym in Lincoln, RI on March 5, 2015 as detailed. This is a recurring trip.
d. I recommend adoption of the 2015-16 School Calendar as detailed.
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2015/02/fps-school-calendar-2015-2016-draft.html

e. I recommend adoption of the following Policies as discussed:

1. KCDA – Memorial Commemorations
2. KCD-E1 – Non-Budgeted Funds Donation Form
3. KCD-E2 – Guidelines for Donations of Gifts/Memorials Non-Budgeted Funds to the Franklin Public Schools

f. I recommend acceptance of two checks totaling $3,300.00 for in house enrichment at FHS.

1. Vicario Studios $3,200.00
2. Christopher Blassick 100.00

5. Information Matters

Superintendent’s Report
School Committee Sub-Committee Reports
School Committee Liaison Reports

6. New Business

To discuss future business that may be brought before the School Committee.

7. Executive Session

Personnel Update

8. Adjourn

FPS: School Calendar 2015 - 2016 draft revision

The School Calendar for next year has been revised and is available below. It is scheduled for discussion at the School Committee meeting on Tuesday, Feb 24.

There may be additional changes to this before it is finalized. One item missing is the gradual start for kindergarten that has been in effect for most of the prior years. The K teachers were provided special training for the impementation of the MKEA assessments at the beginning of this year and there was no time in the schedule for the gradual start.

The full School Committee agenda for Tuesday, Feb 24 can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2015/02/franklin-ma-school-committee-agenda-feb_22.html

PARCC Update to School Committee - Feb 24, 2015

The PARCC brochure handed out at recent parent night meetings can be found here

The 10 Questions about PARCC can be found here

Related posts on PARCC
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/06/parcc-or-mcas.html

http://www.franklinmatters.org/2014/03/franklin-voices-future-parcc-ma.html

http://www.franklinmatters.org/2013/09/school-committee-mcas-and-parcc.html

PARCC - Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers

What is PARCC?
Youc an find out more about PARCC on their webpage http://www.parcconline.org/

The full School Committee agenda for Tuesday, Feb 24 can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2015/02/franklin-ma-school-committee-agenda-feb_22.html

FPS: District Improvement Plan - Midyear Update

Parmenter School in the snow

Choggy’s Chuggers - Chad Larivee Fund Raiser - Friday, April 10

Please join us for a fun evening at the Franklin Elks to honor and support Chad Larivee!

Many of you know Chad and his story. If you don't, I encourage you to read it here: http://www.gofundme.com/k3fp0w

The adult-only evening will include a silent auction, 50/50 raffle, raffle drawing, DJ entertainment, light appetizers, and cash bar.

Tickets can be pre-purchased for $26/person and will guarantee you entry into the event. If you would like to reserve tickets, please mail a check made payable to Choggy’s Chuggers by April 6 to:

Ted Rossi430 Franklin Village DriveSuite 160Franklin, MA 02038

If you plan to pay at the door ($26/person - cash or check please), admission will be on a first come basis and limited to the first 200 people.

Looking forward to a fantastic evening!

screen grab of email invitation to Choggy's Chuggers

Location

Choggy’s Chuggers for Chad Larivee
7:00 PM on Friday, April 10, 2015
Elks Lodge
1077 Pond Street
Franklin, MA 02038 (map)
(508) 533-2136

Voices of Franklin: Bill Callahan - Proposed Memorial Policy

Proposed Memorial at the Franklin High School

It is always a tragedy when someone loses someone close them, especially if that someone is a child. Our hearts are with the family. This letter is not directly about that loss, of which I'm sure everyone has the deepest sympathy. This letter is about why we have a policy against personal memorials on school grounds and how we decide and change school policies.

The current policy in Franklin does not allow a memorial to an individual on school grounds. This policy was not created in a vacuum. It was decided upon after consulting a person with expertise in grief counseling, and then was voted on by the school committee and put into place based on the professional opinion that this is what would be best for the students of the school. That's fitting, since that is the primary responsibility of both the school and the school committee.

Now the committee is considering changing this rule. Why is that? Is it because new knowledge is available that says that individual memorials are good for the students, or at least not detrimental? Is it because the expert may have been wrong, and that memorials have no effect either way. If so, it might be good to check the latest research, or to look at the policies of other schools similar to Franklin High School, and see which policies worked out the best.

In fact, neither of these reasons is why the policy change is under consideration. The proposed policy change precipitated directly from the offer to donate a high profile memorial to a single student on public property because the family of that student has the means and desire to do so.

One commenter implied that kids are different, that some deserve nice privately funded memorials and some don't, and those that disagree with his view are naive. I respectfully disagree. Franklin is the birthplace of Horace Mann, the father of public education. His argument for it was that in a democracy, everyone has the right to vote, so it behooves us to make sure that everyone who is voting has the education needed to make wise decisions about candidates and policies, and that the way to ensure that is to have public schools, free to all children, regardless of means. Schools, in Mann's view, are central to a working democracy, where everyone needs to be educated. Public education, should be the great equalizer, where a child can reach his or her potential no matter how rich or powerful that child's parents are.

I know that not all schools provide the same education, that people pick school districts based on the quality of the schools, and that the quality of the schools depends on the tax base, and thus the general wealth of the families in the district. But that doesn't mean that we should throw away rules based on science, psychology and fairness because someone of money or power feels that they are entitled to change the rules that they don't like.

I reiterate that I don't wish any ill on the family who has lost a child. In fact, I think the idea of a personal memorial is a good one. It just should not be placed at the school. Alternatively, perhaps the memorial could be placed at the school, but dedicated to all students have lost their lives, rather than just a single individual. The memorial proposed is of a panther, the school's mascot, which represents all the students. My hope is that we can reach an agreement on this that will satisfy the family and keep to our ideal of the inherent worth and dignity of every student who has passed away, whether their parents can afford a memorial or not.

Bill Callahan

Franklin Resident

billca42@gmail.com