The Green Reel: "Escape from Suburbia"

The Green Reel: a series of films for sustainable living will be shown on Sunday evenings this winter.

What: "Escape from Suburbia"

When: 7:00 PM on February 1, 2009

Where: Agudas Achim, 901 North Main St, Attleboro or directions here

Free and open to the public. For more info: 508-695-2389

read more about the file "Escape from Suburbia" here

Sponsors:

Agudas Achim
Crystal Spring Center
Simply Keep It Local
Oak Knoll Wildlife Sanctuary
Citizens for a Sustainable Local Economy
Murray Unitarian Universalist Church
Green Committee of First Universalist Society of Franklin
New Dawn Earth Center
Oake Knoll Ayrshires
Franklin Area Climate Team
White Barn Farm
St Mark's Episcopal Church-Foxboro

"if Obama fails, we all fail"

By James Johnston/Daily News columnist

GHS

Posted Jan 28, 2009 @ 11:36 PM

---

FRANKLIN —

In 1992, Rush Limbaugh was a supporter of Pat Buchanan's bid for the Republican Party's nomination for president of the United States. Buchanan was taking on sitting president George Herbert Walker Bush, and did a number on him in the voting booth in the New Hampshire primary election that winter.

Bush saw that Limbaugh's influence with the Republican Party's base was quite strong and had to be neutralized. To that end, President Bush invited Limbaugh to the White House for a nice little dinner and a sleep-over in the Lincoln Bedroom.

After his night in the White House, Rush dropped Buchanan and climbed aboard the doomed Bush presidential bandwagon and rode it to defeat in the election.

Bill Clinton won, and this really upset poor old Rush for the next eight years. This may likely be why he took all of those drugs. In October 2003, he started his five weeks of drug rehabilitation, and then he returned to the airways in November proclaiming himself "cured." The state of Florida wasn't quite sure or convinced that this was the case. Authorities in Florida engaged in a three-year investigation of Limbaugh, and in 2006, Rush was arrested for his abuse of prescription drugs.

Read James Johnston's full article about Rush Limbaugh in the Milford Daily News here

Storm wrap up

Franklin Police assisted with three minor accidents on East Central Street, on Lincoln Street near Daniels Street, and on Upper Union Street by Independence Way, said Deputy Chief Stephan Semerjian.

No one was injured, he said.

"Whenever there's no school, there's always less traffic, few pedestrians and no buses, which makes it easier for us," said Semerjian.

The roads were getting slippery mid-afternoon, he said, which is when they're most dangerous.

"The DPW's trying to keep up with it, but it's not easy," Semerjian said.

Read the full article on how the area fared with Wednesday's storm in the Milford Daily News here.

"better way, a less expensive way"

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted Jan 28, 2009 @ 11:29 PM

---

FRANKLIN —

For years, Town Administrator Jeffrey D. Nutting has sung the praises of regionalizing services, updating archaic laws and making reforms on the state level to save towns like Franklin big bucks.

Now that the Massachusetts Municipal Association has elected him its new president, Nutting gets to advocate for such changes directly to the governor, six times a year.

The MMA elected Nutting on Saturday.

The MMA is an organization of town officials that advocates for municipal policies before the Legislature, the executive branch, regulatory bodies, and the courts. The association's board of directors meets with the governor six times a year to discuss issues facing cities and towns, according to the MMA Web site, www.mma.org.

Read the full article about Jeff and the MMA's efforts in the Milford Daily News here

quarterbacks and teachers

... effective mentoring of a new teacher can make an enormous difference in that person's ability to become a "star" teacher. But the problem, he argues, is that the process of mentorship is much too haphazard. As he says, "It's like training NFL quarterbacks by randomly sending them out to teams - some CFL teams, some Division III teams, some Division I College teams, some community teams, and a few to NFL teams."

...

If Matt Cassell can thrive in the NFL, after essentially zero college quarterback experience, what exactly is New England doing right? And what can the rest of the league learn from them?

I would go further and ask "What can school districts learn from this?" Teacher development will even tougher in times of lean budgets when mentoring stipends are not allocated. Teacher development is tough already with much of the community not appreciating or fully understanding "professional development days". These "professional development days" are looked for by many parents as "get-away days" for long weekends.

You should be involved in the discussion on the cost benefit analysis of each school budget dollar. With budget cuts looming, what stays in the budget will be critical to maintaining a healthy learning environment.

Read more of this article about "teachers and quarterbacks" by Malcolm Gladwell here.

Be active in the school budget process.

Franklin - Total Cuts 9C

Total 9C Reduction to Additional Assistance & Lottery = $-299,676.00


Per the listing provided by the Governor today

robbers operating in Franklin

By Staff reports

GHS

Posted Jan 28, 2009 @ 12:22 AM

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FRANKLIN —

Police are warning the community and retailers to beware of robbers in the area.

Four Franklin stores were hit on four different occasions: Dec. 11, at the East Central Shell Station; Dec. 21, at Olymia Sports Store at the Franklin Village Mall; Jan. 22, at the Xxtra Mart on East Central Street; and on Jan. 24, at the Sprint phone store on West Central Street, according to a press release issued by Deputy Chief Stephan Semerjian.

Read the full story in the Milford Daily News here

School Committee Mtg 01/27/09

The collection of posts covering the School Committee meeting on 1/27/09

• Live reporting - meeting closes
• Live reporting - Superintendent
• Live reporting - Action items
• Live reporting - Discussion only items
• Live reporting - FY 2010 Budget
• Live reporting - Steering Committee for Stragic Pl...
• Live reporting - Life long learning
• Live reporting - School Committee

• School Committee - Agenda - 1/27/09

"What was a 'conservative' budget then is now 'overly ambitious' "

By Joyce Kelly/Daily News staff

GHS

Posted Jan 28, 2009 @ 12:18 AM

---

FRANKLIN —

Once again, the School Department is looking at serious cuts thanks to both the recession and rising costs of mandatory services.

Administrators last night told the School Committee that just to maintain the same level of school services, teachers and staff next year, the district would need about $3.5 million more than its current budget.

Superintendent Wayne Ogden was quick to state the School Department does not expect to get that much, but, he explained, he wanted to propose a level-service budget for the community.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily News here

Creativity should be a priority

TED always has interesting and thought provoking talks. This one is entertaining as well as thought provoking.

Enjoy!

Live reporting - meeting closes

Jazz night (mentioned earlier) is only time to see the middle and high school jazz bands perform together. The Remington cafeteria is set up like a night club for this event.

Franklin Education Foundation - Trivia Bee coming up Thursday, March 19th

Live reporting - Superintendent

5. Information Matters
Superintendent’s Report

• Make Up Day – School Calendar Change (covered earlier)
  
• Neglect and Abuse
• Special Education Educational Assistant (covered earlier)
  
• Peanut Butter (covered earlier)
  

Ms Chris Neill - worked in the Freshman Collaborative as the Spec Ed teacher; had held principal positions at a couple of schools. This is a great selection on Peter's part.


School Committee Sub-Committee Reports - none


School Committee Liaison Reports
Cafasso - Building Committee did accept and appreciated the School Committee recommendations on priorities

Live reporting - Action items

4. Action Items

1. I recommend the approval of budget transfers as detailed on the attached list. Approved 7-0
   
2. I recommend acceptance of the donation of $2,500.00 from the Helen Keller PCC for a field trip and buses to the Museum of Fine Arts for Keller’s 4th grade students. Approved 7-0
3. I recommend approval of the field trip to Roger Williams Zoo in Providence, RI for Keller’s 5th graders on May 1, 2009. Approved 7-0
4. I recommend the hiring an Educational Assistant for the ALP that has not been budgeted for. Approved 7-0
5. I recommend acceptance of a check for $350.00 from B & B Framers and B.F. Kushner of Franklin for mat boards for art for the Jefferson Elementary School. Approved 7-0
6. I recommend approval of the FHS Cheerleading field trip to Atlantic City, NJ for a competition from 2/13 – 2/15/09 as detailed. Approved 7-0
7. I recommend signing and ratifying the contract between Maureen Sabolinski and the Franklin School Committee for the position of Superintendent of Schools. Approved 7-0

Live reporting - Discussion only items

3. Discussion Only Items

• Make Up Day for HMMS/Oak/ECDC Complex

Ogden did request an exemption from the DOE, it was denied

Two possible solutions

• half day on Good Friday
• appending another day at the end of the year

More data is being gathered before making this decision but because it is a calendar decision, you will need to make it.

• Peanut Butter in our Schools

All the peanut food products were removed to be safe.

• First Reading of Policy KCDB - School Based Advertising Content

Motion to move the KCDB policy to a second reading - Approved 7-0

Live reporting - FY 2010 Budget

Approach to provide the same level of services as this year.
$3.8 million or 6.9% increase would be required

What the state budget does will drive what our numbers come out as

Budget will be posted to the School's website tomorrow for a more detail review

a "level service" budget
the individual schools got the same allocation as last year. The individual schools may have chosen to distribute within differently.

Dollars allocated on a per pupil basis, will account for the major differences in the overviews for each line item

Teacher reimbursements to individual teachers and hence to the schools were centralized.

Increases for health benefits are projected to be about 10-15%

Armenio - This budget year will not be pleasant, not that any of the recent ones were too pleasant. This assumes School Choice would be continued at the same level as this year?

Ogden - Yes

Armenio - So if the reductions are such that people choose to bring the students back to their home district, that would be revenue we would loose.

Cafasso - On the transportation, can you give us a little more what is behind that?

Goodman - We are expecting an increase, there is an offset for the pay-to-ride, but there is also an increase in special ed out of district transportation.

Slight - What is included in the cost per pupil?

Ogden - the material and expenses associated with each level of the schools

Ogden - Chapter 70 formula possibly to be re-done for the FY 2011 year.

Rohrbach - some relief in spec ed transportation cost would be appropriate

Ogden - Rep Deleo did not think that was possible this year

Roy - Per Nutting, he is expecting Franklin to be short approx 4.5 to $5 million for FY 2010.
We have to be cautious, none of the reductions already made will not be considered for being back next year. It is more likely to see further cuts.

Ogden - what we may get is more like a level funded budget

Live reporting - Steering Committee for Strategic Plan

Strategic Plan Update

• Maureen Sabolinski
• Strategic Planning Team Member(s)

The slides can be viewed here

The PR Statement as read by April Crehan:

The Franklin (MA) Public Schools’ Strategic Plan allows the district to respond to emerging trends, events, challenges, and opportunities within the framework of the district's core values, vision, and mission. The School Committee has started the process to review and update the Plan adopted by the district in 2004. In conjunction with the Superintendent, the School Committee has appointed a Strategic Plan Steering Committee to manage this process. The Steering Committee will solicit input from all interested parties in the community with regard to the core values, vision, and mission of the Franklin Public Schools.

Strategic planning in education is a complex process. The Steering Committee recognizes that there are many parties interested in the education of the children of Franklin. Because the core values, vision, and mission articulated in the Strategic Plan will guide decisions regarding our children’s education for the next five years, it is vital that the interests of the community are represented. Opportunities for periodic review and feedback to and from the community will be included in the development and implementation of this Strategic Plan.

The Steering Committee:

Co-Chair:

• Judi Bassignani - Principal, Parmenter Elementary
• Miriam Goodman -Director, Franklin Public Schools Finance

Members:

• Colleen Ahern - Teacher, Sullivan Middle School
• April Crehan - Student, Franklin High School
• Renee Danho - Community, Dean College
• Ted McIntire - Parent
• Susan Rohrbach - School Committee
• Steve Sherlock - Community
• Peg Sweeney - Parent
• Rosanne Walsh - Teacher, Remington Middle School

Administration Liaisons

• Wayne Ogden - Current Superintendent of Schools
• Maureen Sabolinski - Incoming Superintendent of Schools

Live reporting - Life long learning

2. Guests/Presentations
Lifelong Learning Update

• Pandora Carlucci

Mission statement:

The programs under the aegis of the Lifelong Learning Institute endeavor to contribute to the development of the Town of Franklin as a knowledge community.

Approx 5500 participants in all the offerings from Life Long Learning

Franklin. MA -Life Long Learning Program

View more presentations or upload your own. (tags: learning community)

Survey after every session, utilize the feedback for the next round of programs

Approx. 244 faculty and staff to run the program

$1.3 million revenue generated last year. All equipment become part of the Franklin School District inventory.

Private music lessons - trained and active performers as musicians

2300 students in the Summer program. Catalogs are at the Post Office ready for delivery.

Jeanne Hummel does the brochures and the website and does a marvelous job doing this.

Second summer of the High School Experience coming up. Added a Social Studies teacher to the course.

Nancy Schoen working with the music mentors has been taking the program to a new level.

"We are all teachers and learners."

Cafasso - You are doing a stellar job! I appreciate your hard work.

Kelly - I think it is very important to stress that this is self-funded.

Live reporting - School Committee

Attending: Armenio, Cafasso, Kelly, Mullen, Roy, Rohrbach, Trahan


Call to order Mr. Roy
Pledge of Allegiance
Moment of Silence

1. Routine Business

• Citizen’s Comments - none
  
• Review of Agenda - no executive session needed
  
• Minutes: I recommend approval of the minutes from the January 13, 2009 School Committee Meeting. approved 7-0
  
• Payment of Bills - Mr. Kelly approved 7-0
• Payroll - Ms. Armenio
• FHS Student Representatives

Ms Neal - replacing Mr Light as 10th Grade Vice Principal
Mr Light - has launched a blog and podcast off the FHS website, click on Mr Light's name
Jazz Cafe - Feb 4, 7:00 PM - at Remington-Jefferson

• Correspondence: Letter from Bethany Trainor

NewBCamp - find out about blogging, podcasting, Twitter, etc.

It's been almost one year since the inaugural NewBCamp took place and there's another one coming up in Providence.

What is NewBCamp?
It is a gathering of people interesting in learning and sharing about the new social media tools; blogs, podcasts, video blogs, Twitter, etc.

What is in it for me?
If you are interested in learning about these tools, then this is the place for you. The focus is on the new user (i.e. newbie or NewB). You won't feel lost, you will be amongst those who are learning from those who are willing to share.

What does it cost?
It is very reasonably priced at only $10. Less than a movie!

What are the details?

When:

February 8, 2009 - 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Where:

Johnson & Wales

Pepsi Forum
8 Abbott Park Place
Providence, RI 02903

There's also a brand new website http://www.newbcamp.com . Explore the site, add comments and pages to the wiki, and sign up to give presentations!

NewBCamp is brought to you by two organizations - Free Geek Providence and SofT ICE at Johnson & Wales.

If you would like additional information, please feel free to contact me. I will be there at the Welcome/Registration Desk.

The Green Reel: "Escape from Suburbia"

The Green Reel: a series of films for sustainable living will be shown on Sunday evenings this winter.

What: "Escape from Suburbia"

When: 7:00 PM on February 1, 2009

Where: Agudas Achim, 901 North Main St, Attleboro or directions here

Free and open to the public. For more info: 508-695-2389

read more about the file "Escape from Suburbia" here

Sponsors:

Agudas Achim
Crystal Spring Center
Simply Keep It Local
Oak Knoll Wildlife Sanctuary
Citizens for a Sustainable Local Economy
Murray Unitarian Universalist Church
Green Committee of First Universalist Society of Franklin
New Dawn Earth Center
Oake Knoll Ayrshires
Franklin Area Climate Team
White Barn Farm
St Mark's Episcopal Church-Foxboro