Why an iPhone could actually be good for your 3-year-old

But here’s the tantalizing part: If done the right way, with the right limits, handing a preschooler a smart phone could be good not just for the parents’ sanity. It might even be good for the child’s development.

Read the full article here. I question his logic. He quotes from sources to show both sides of the story but makes the leap to say it is a good thing without having proved that it is.

I think the evidence shows that kids should spend more time away from technology and TVs as long as possible. The book "Last Child in the Woods" raises the issue of "nature-deficit disorder". Kids should spend more time in nature and less time with technology. For more on this topic, you can read what I wrote earlier this year.

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

Why an iPhone could actually be good for your 3-year-old

via Boston Globe -- Globe Magazine by Neil Swidey on 10/30/09

Parents who hand smart phones to their preschoolers as a distraction are shocked to see how quickly the kids become pros. They may worry about such early screen time. But for this generation of "mobile kids," portable, wireless technology promises to improve the way they learn.

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Letter from Ed Cafasso

Tuesday, as you know, is Election Day in Franklin. I hope you will get to the polls to cast your votes for candidates for Town Council, School Committee, and other positions, including Board of Health and Board of Assessors. I am seeking my third full term as a volunteer member of the School Committee and once again I ask for your support. In my view, our schools face three priorities in the next two years:

Budget – We were able to balance the current year’s budget with state and federal stimulus money, a wage freeze for school employees, and budget cuts. Our task will be no easier when we begin working with Superintendent Maureen Sabolinski to create the fiscal 2011 budget. The stimulus monies that helped us this year will not be available next year. It also seems clear that our state aid will be threatened and local revenues will likely fail to keep pace with rising costs.

Franklin High School – Principal Peter Light and his team have made big strides in strengthening the academic and cultural atmosphere of FHS. We need to continue to support those improvements while also finalizing a plan for addressing the building’s structural deficiencies and classroom capabilities. Community support will be critical to move forward with the renovations that will help Franklin High deliver a competitive experience for our students.

Efficient Academic Excellence – The Franklin Public Schools remain a fantastic bargain in a community that offers a nice quality of life with incredibly low property tax rates. Your schools spend well below average in every cost category, but your students consistently score well above average on every academic benchmark. It’s a record to be proud of, but it’s highly unlikely to continue unless we provide more financial support and reduce our reliance on state aid.

The contested race for Franklin Town Council demands your attention on Tuesday. Twelve candidates are running for nine Council seats. In addition to having the final say on school spending, the new Council will face tough decisions on how to fund and manage public safety, public works and other services that are important to our quality of life and property values.

You can learn more about the Town Council candidates at:
http://www.milforddailynews.com/homepage/x876590732/Meet-the-candidates-for-Franklin-Town-Council

Please take the time to vote for the candidates of your choice on Tuesday. It’s important to make your voices heard to those who seek to represent you. I will be outside the Field House at various times during the day. I hope you’ll say hello. And thank you for your support.

These e-mails are provided as a constituent service. I try to distribute at least one e-mail update each month during the school year, as issues warrant. As always, I welcome your thoughts and suggestions. If you are receiving duplicate e-mails or if you no longer wish to receive these e-mails, please let me know and I will remove you from the distribution list. If you know of someone you would like to add to the list, please send along their e-mail address.

Thank you!

Ed Cafasso, Member
Franklin School Committee
edcafasso@comcast.net

Fall back!

Friendly reminder that you should have turned your clocks back one hour.

You can use the extra hour to think about who you'll chose to vote for on Tuesday when the polls open from 6:00 AM and close at 8:00 PM in the High School field house.

The election collection can be found here

In the News - First Universalist

The Faithful Nine were Grace Buchanon, Joe Cook and his wife Ellie, Edna Fitzgerald, Marion Chilson, Lincoln and Bunny Dana and Robert and Emilia Dean. Emilia Dean and Bunny Dana are the only living members.

"They were determined this church was not going to die," Rosine said. "Their families grew up in the church, were baptized, had weddings and funerals...they were not going to let this church die."

Franklin church will dedicate rooms those who kept it alive

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Ashley Studley/Daily News correspondent

"can track the growth in individual students’ achievement"

Nearly everyone can probably recall a teacher who lit their passion for poetry or who was able to help them connect all the dots in a seemingly incomprehensible algebra formula. We know that individual teachers can make a huge difference.

But public schools in America have been bent on ignoring the obvious: Almost nothing about the way we hire, evaluate, pay, or assign teachers to classrooms is designed to operate with that goal in mind. Most teachers receive only cursory performance evaluations, with virtually every teacher graded highly. We use a one-size-for-all salary structure, in which the only factors used in raises are teachers’ higher-education credentials and number of years in the system, neither of which is strongly linked to their effectiveness. And we often let seniority, rather than merit, drive decisions about where a teacher is placed. It is in many ways an industrial model that treats teachers as identical, interchangeable parts, when we know that they are not.

Now, increasingly challenging this status quo is a new wave of research showing that one can actually measure the difference a teacher makes. The studies use a statistical analysis of standardized test results to measure the “value added” that each teacher contributes each year, revealing stark differences in their ability to move a class forward. According to one recent value-added study of Los Angeles schools conducted by Harvard economist Tom Kane, having a good teacher for a single year translates to a 10-point-higher score on student achievement tests that use a standard 100-point scale. “That’s a big difference.” says Kane.

Read the full article in the Boston Globe here

This will likely be a topic of much discussion as the school year progresses. The new School Committee will be dealing with a tight budget and a teacher contract negotiation amongst other issues during the school year.

Are you looking for work?

Do you know someone looking for work?

You are not alone. With unemployment at 13% in RI and 9.3% in MA, there are lots of folks out of work and looking.

There is a heavy population of those 40+ looking for work. There is also a significant number of recent college graduates out looking for work.

In the course of my own job search effort, one thing became evident: the power of we. Who you know is as important as what you know. By talking with each other, sharing our experiences, sharing what has worked or didn't work. By networking with each, sharing our connections, who knows who, we can help each other get a better connection to the next position.

With as many resumes being submitted for each job posting, the pile for the hiring manager is overwhelming. How do you get out of the pile? Your network!

A core group my connections who understand the "power of we" are working hard to put together the LaidOff Camp. The camp will facilitate the best practices of the job search effort. In one afternoon, over the course of four hours, you'll be able to participate in a session to help your own individual job search effort. Sessions on networking, using LinkedIn, interview tips, a practice interview session and others are being planned for this event.

This is a non-profit effort. The $10 charge will simply allow us to cover the facility fee and provide some refreshments during the afternoon.

For this small dollar cost, you will walk away with more knowledge, more connections and hopefully more confidence in taking the next step in your job search effort.

You should visit the LaidOff Camp website to register.

You should tell whomever you know that is looking for work about this event.

We are in this together and the 'power of we' can help us to success!


A sample of recent posts to the LaidOff Camp website:

• Session: How To Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile Fo...
• What do I wear to LaidOff Camp?
• This is "a performance-driven marketplace"
• Should we have a session on posture?
• How bad is unemployment in New England?

This was originally posted on Steve's 2 Cents

Downtown Partnership prepares for Holiday Stroll

Don't Miss Out on Free Advertising for your business!

If you are interested in participating in the upcoming Downtown Holiday Stroll Event on December 3rd please contact us by November 3rd.  The event will include Tree Lighting Ceremony, Music, Holiday Singing, and much more.

Participating Retailers will be listed on flyers, posters, website and Press Releases. This is free for FDP members!

All interested retailers must e-mail the Franklin Downtown Partnership at Downtown.Franklin@yahoo.com attn: Lisa no later than November 3rd  in order to be included in the Stroll.


IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

Retailers should submit a short one line description of what activity or special holiday offering they will have for visitors. This is for the flyer and poster. A two sentence description should be submitted for the press release. Depending on the number of participants and the room available the Holiday Stroll Committee may need to edit this information.

Note:  Sponsors will be given first priority and a large listing on all promotional materials.  If you would like to be a $100 bronze sponsor please contact the FDP office at (774)571-3109 by November 1st.

Gov Patrick on the state budget cuts

Franklin appears to be dodging reductions in State Aid as Chapter 70 and local aid are referenced in this video by Governor Patrick.

J.F. Kennedy School PCC plans recycling fundraiser

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

J.F. Kennedy School PCC plans recycling fundraiser

via Wicked Local Franklin News RSS by GateHouse Media, Inc. on 10/29/09

 The J.F. Kennedy Parent Communication Council (PCC) will hold a recycling fundraising event on Saturday, Oct. 31, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. at the J.F. Kennedy Elementary School parking lot, Pond Street, Franklin.

Bring clean redeemable bottles and cans. No water bottles. The group will also accept computers, electronics and appliances for recycling. Fees for these items vary from $5-$20. All computer hard drives will be destroyed and items will be properly handled by our professional recycler.

Proceeds from this fundraiser will be used by the PCC for educational programs for the J.F. Kennedy Elementary School students.

For more information contact Blanca Di Giacomo at dijoc@comcast.net.

Things you can do from here:

• Subscribe to Wicked Local Franklin News RSS using Google Reader
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Chamber Job Fair - Wed Nov 5th 10:00 - 2:00

Job Help is on the Way!

The United Regional Chamber of Commerce, in conjunction with Living Waters Church, is sponsoring Employment Workshops and a Job Fair on Nov. 5 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Living Waters Church, 15 John L. Dietsch Blvd., North Attleborough. Companies that are actively hiring, as well as representatives from educational facilities, will be at the event.

Do you or someone you know need to sharpen your job search skills? Then you are welcome to attend this free event!

The following workshops will be offered in two sessions (10:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.) and (11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.):
          * Ten Tips for the Tongue Tied
          * Interview Tips for the Non-Salesperson
          * Develop a Marketing Plan for Your Job Search
          * 10 Most Common Interview Mistakes

Need a resume? We can help you prepare your resume and print it on the spot.

In the News - candidates

The line up of Town Council candidates is reviewed in the paper today.

Meet the candidates for Franklin Town Council

from The Milford Daily News News RSS by GateHouse Media, Inc.

You can also review the Election Collection here.

The Body Mass Index (BMI) controversy

What is the story about the Body Mass Index (BMI) discussion at the School Committee meeting on 10/27/09?

1. The school district nurses have been recording height and weight of students for years
2. Some of the School Committee members were unaware of this detail
3. The State has changed the regulations to use the height/weight data obtained to calculate the student’s BMI to send to the parents for use in discussions with the family physicians
4. The district could loose $43,000 in grant money over 11 years if they are not in compliance
5. Compliance with the BMI process would mean the nurses would take less measurements of student’s height/weight. Only certain grades would be required for measurement. 
6. Non-compliance would require taking measurements of all students across all grade levels
7. Regulation language provided was not clear in what the new vs. old requirements were
8. Some School Committee members objected to the intrusion of the schools into a patient/physician relationship
9. Some School Committee members see the bigger benefit of providing the BMI information to the parents to help address the overweight and related health issues associated with the youth today

End result of discussion Tuesday
The policy draft was voted not to move to a Second Reading by a 4-3 vote.


What does this mean?
The policy draft goes back to the subcommittee to address the questions that were raised before coming back to the full committee.


Note: two of the four votes against the policy are leaving the School Committee. Cora Armenio is not running for re-election. Matt Kelly is running for Town Council. The positions of the next two members of the School Committee are unknown.


Should this be an issue to go back and challenge the State on to fund their mandate? For about $40,000?


The privacy issue is one to fight but the case in this circumstance I think is weak. Privacy rules already cripple teachers and I don't hear anyone raising an issue with those.

If your child requires medication at school and the regular teacher has a substitute, did you know that the regular teacher can not leave information about your child's special requirements?

If your child has a severe allergic reaction to something like peanuts, did you know the classroom teacher can not provide a list of these needs to the supervisory personnel for their recess time when the regular teacher won't always be on duty?

I think these are more life threatening issues that privacy rules currently hinder. 


Isn't the BMI a measurement as simple as taking one's temperature? Would it violate someone's privacy to let the parents know the child is running a temperature?

You can respond with a comment or answer the poll question on the top of the center column:


Should your school measure BMI to report to you and your physician? Yes or No

In the News - Franklin Candidates, write in for Assessor

The candidate forum at the Senior Center seems to have been quite informative. I recommend clicking through to read the full article. There are several good quotes from the candidates that would help make a decision on who would best sit on the Town Council to address Franklin's problems.

Franklin candidates speak to seniors

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Ashley Studley/Daily News staff

---------

Feeley to try write-in campaign for assessor spot

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Ashley Studley/Daily News staff

School Committee Mtg 10/27/09

The collection of posts live reported from the School Committee meeting on Tuesday October 27th are

• Live reporting - Closing
• Live reporting - Superintendents report
• Live reporting - Action Items
• Live reporting - BMI Q&A
• Live reporting - BMI Screening
• Live reporting - Life Long Learning
• Live reporting - FHS Update
• Live reporting - School Committee 10/27/09

Slideshare slows page

In case you notice that the page is loading slowly today, I have as well. It seems to be related to the SlideShare posted yesterday as part of the School Committee meeting.

I'll need to find another service to use to post slides in that format. In the meantime, I hope it doesn't slow down reading the pages too much. If it does, I'll remove the slides until I find a better tool.

Please let me know if it is hindering your reading!

In the News - BMI, MCAS

As the School Committee voted down the policy change by a 4-3 vote and 2 of the votes against this measure are leaving the committee, the next time this comes up could indeed be a different story.

Franklin school officials debate weighing students

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Ashley Studley/Daily News staff

------

As mentioned here previously, the growth model for MCAS has been released.

State releases new way to evaluate MCAS scores

from The Milford Daily News Homepage RSS by Abby Jordan/Daily News staff

How Did Test Scores Become King?

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

How Did Test Scores Become King?

via ASCD Inservice by ASCD Bloggers on 10/27/09

Post submitted by guest blogger Gerald Bracey. A longtime champion of accurate analysis of education research and vocal advocate for public education, Bracey died October 20, 2009. In my article in the November Educational Leadership ("The Big Tests: What Ends...

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Live reporting - Closing

Amrenio - four years ago, there were seven candidates and three write-ins. Two years ago, again seven candidates with no competition. Please step up to take action in the Town to create some choice for the voters.

Continues with thanks and reflections on her time on the committee.

We have laughed yelled, vented, conversed, and collaborated. Thank you!

Kelly - Thank you for working together, it has been a pleasure.

Motion to enter executive session with no intention to return
passed 7-0

Live reporting - Superintendents report

5. Information Matters

Superintendent’s Report
a. Kim Marshall
b. Instructional Support Team
c. Adaptive Leadership
d. Superintendent’s Roundtable
e. ELL Teacher

Sabolinski - I included class size data in your packets.  The wage deferrals, stimulus money helped to maintain reasonable class sizes.

H1N1 - the support of the faculty has been tremendous, we will be ready for the clinics. There is no time line as the supply of the vaccine has been at a trickle. A letter to update the parents will be going out via ConnectED tomorrow.

Mullen - There is a Latin 4/5 position with 37 students
Sabolinski - We had tried to use a long term sub position to fill in, but that person opted not to take this position. It is a difficult position to fill.

School Committee Sub-Committee Reports - none

School Committee Liaison Reports
Met with the Joint PCC, many have become 501(c)3 organizations but not all
They were also looking for building use information

Live reporting - Action Items

4. Action Items
a. I recommend acceptance of a check for $214.28 from the Remington PCC for a 6th grade field trip for the YMCA.  Approved 7-0

b. I recommend approval of the recurring field trip for the 3 middle schools to New York City as detailed.  Tabled for tonight

c. I recommend approval of using $6,000.00 from the Athletic Revolving Account to cover cost of starting a varsity swim team at FHS.  Approved 7-0

d. I recommend acceptance of a check for $1,330.00 from the Parmenter PCC for a Gr. 3 field trip to Plimoth Plantation.  Approved 7-0

e. I recommend acceptance of a check for $94.49 from Target’s Take Charge of Education Program for Remington Middle School.   Approved 7-0

f. I recommend approval of budget transfers as detailed.  Approved 7-0

Armenio - Can you summarize?
Goodman - transfers from the Life Long Learning, $50,000