Franklin Downtown Partnership launches new website
The new website can be found here: franklindowntownpartnership.org/
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
In the News - Downtown Partnership, Price Chopper, MCAS
The new website can be found here: franklindowntownpartnership.org/
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Live reporting - Closing
5. Information Matters
Superintendent’s Report
Big Lots - opening the 19th, will donate $2500 to the Parmenter School
Still looking for folks to participate in the visioning sessions
Can't move them away from during the week, already scheduled
School Committee Sub-Committee Reports
budget subcommittee did meet on Friday
did come up with a game plan to run by everyone
Kindergarten full day, half day discussion - January 25th
Saturday budget workshop, January 29th
level service budget, same services with the increased costs
explaining the budget in detail, allowing to have conversation in detail with the administrators
Once the money we will get from the State and Town is clear, then we can adjust
Feb 1 public hearing
Budget adoption on Feb 15th
Space needs subcommittee tweaking the report for a Jan presentation
School Committee Liaison Reports
6. New Business
To discuss future business that may be brought before the School Committee.
FEF Casino night Nov 19th
7. Executive Session
Contractual Negotiations
motion to enter, not to return to public meeting
passed 7-0
8. Adjourn
Franklin, MA
Superintendent’s Report
Big Lots - opening the 19th, will donate $2500 to the Parmenter School
Still looking for folks to participate in the visioning sessions
Can't move them away from during the week, already scheduled
School Committee Sub-Committee Reports
budget subcommittee did meet on Friday
did come up with a game plan to run by everyone
Kindergarten full day, half day discussion - January 25th
Saturday budget workshop, January 29th
level service budget, same services with the increased costs
explaining the budget in detail, allowing to have conversation in detail with the administrators
Once the money we will get from the State and Town is clear, then we can adjust
Feb 1 public hearing
Budget adoption on Feb 15th
Space needs subcommittee tweaking the report for a Jan presentation
School Committee Liaison Reports
6. New Business
To discuss future business that may be brought before the School Committee.
FEF Casino night Nov 19th
7. Executive Session
Contractual Negotiations
motion to enter, not to return to public meeting
passed 7-0
8. Adjourn
Franklin, MA
Live reporting - Action items
4. Action Items
a. I recommend acceptance of a check for $250.00 from College Board for FHS Scholarships and AP Testing. motion to accept, passed 7-0
b. I recommend acceptance of a check for $500.00 from BJ’s Community Relations Program for Remington Middle School. motion to accept, passed 7-0
c. I recommend acceptance of a check for $733.40 from Remington PCC for Remington Middle School.
motion to accept, passed 7-0
a. I recommend acceptance of a check for $250.00 from College Board for FHS Scholarships and AP Testing. motion to accept, passed 7-0
b. I recommend acceptance of a check for $500.00 from BJ’s Community Relations Program for Remington Middle School. motion to accept, passed 7-0
c. I recommend acceptance of a check for $733.40 from Remington PCC for Remington Middle School.
motion to accept, passed 7-0
Live reporting - Discussion only items
3. Discussion Only Items
Budget to Actual - no questions, no discussion
Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan
Public comment period open through Dec 9th
Final discussion and vote on plan Dec 14th
Community Outreach
Bill Glynn
Why do we face such a challenge year after year?
The community needs to discuss this, all the stakeholders
I have attended PCC's meetings, I wholeheartedly agree with Steve, more of this is necessary
Cafasso - Community Relations Subcommittee needs to have a meeting
Engagement, everyone has their own style
if you are talking about communications as a committee, then we need to think about what we want to accomplish
the idea of an open mic night has come up before, a brief presentation then answer any and all questions
I prefer communications around specific matters of importance, i.e. the budget, the high school renovations
It is hard to talk about individual topics, logistically hard
No one is not in favor of it
Not just the channels, the medium, parents love the school newsletters
We have a lot of different options, take the different presentation and put them online and promote it
The problem is our website is not user friendly
A really good website would make this easier
We could revive our Facebook page, what do we link to?
Certainly the high school has to be a communications topic, and the budget has to be
Mullen - we need a more strategic effort, we have the subcommittee in place
attending the high school PCC, you have a good place where parents want to be, they don't meet that often
are you taking time away from another presentation that might be more strategic?
Rohrbach - I am sitting here thinking about what people are thinking about
We are communicating, we meet the Joint PCC's regularly and wait for an invitation
In addition to that, we are out pretty much everyone of us, at coffees, etc.
Our spring is virtually on the road if there is an override
The School Committee blog is active, the meeting is available via video on demand
we do do a lot, currently, we need to do so in a simplistic way so we are not overburdening them with data
I think we communicate very well, we need to assess how we can do it differently
I am in favor of doing a town wide forum once or twice a year
Roy - I do want to acknowledge the level of engagement is very high
Sabolinski - maybe our own category, almost very high
Roy - Franklin School Advocacy group, 7:00 PM 3rd floor training room
I can't think of a better public forum, we have a 100 comfortable chairs
I make an attempt to make these meetings as comfortable
I would love to see more people to engage in this forum
I get fearful that if we do too much people will get sick of us, I get fearful we'll burn out
People in the long run, will do the right thing
Trahan - challenging people in the community and empowering them
they need to come forward and want to get the information
Maybe what we need is to issue the challenge, tell us what you need
Cafasso - We need to talk with Tim Raposa, we need to focus on the website
it will take money to get it hosted.
Glynn - I agree with Ed that the budget and the high school are two key items
I think it is all opportunistic, it is all good
Sabolinski - the four top topics
budget, override, redistricting, programmatic (kindergarten, etc.)
Policy – First Reading
GBEBA/JIA Staff Research Policy
GBEBA Staff Research Projects
Sample MASC Policy for Facebook and Social Networking
Looking for direction from the committee as to whether to review the current policy (JU) in light of this draft from the MASC:
MASC Sample FacebkSocNetworkPolicy
This draft only references Facebook, our current policy is better than this draft.
A policy without definitions is a dangerous thing.
There are places and uses where it can be useful but it can get out of hand.
It is allowed if school sanctioned
Franklin, MA
Budget to Actual - no questions, no discussion
Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan
Public comment period open through Dec 9th
Final discussion and vote on plan Dec 14th
Community Outreach
Bill Glynn
Why do we face such a challenge year after year?
The community needs to discuss this, all the stakeholders
I have attended PCC's meetings, I wholeheartedly agree with Steve, more of this is necessary
Cafasso - Community Relations Subcommittee needs to have a meeting
Engagement, everyone has their own style
if you are talking about communications as a committee, then we need to think about what we want to accomplish
the idea of an open mic night has come up before, a brief presentation then answer any and all questions
I prefer communications around specific matters of importance, i.e. the budget, the high school renovations
It is hard to talk about individual topics, logistically hard
No one is not in favor of it
Not just the channels, the medium, parents love the school newsletters
We have a lot of different options, take the different presentation and put them online and promote it
The problem is our website is not user friendly
A really good website would make this easier
We could revive our Facebook page, what do we link to?
Certainly the high school has to be a communications topic, and the budget has to be
Mullen - we need a more strategic effort, we have the subcommittee in place
attending the high school PCC, you have a good place where parents want to be, they don't meet that often
are you taking time away from another presentation that might be more strategic?
Rohrbach - I am sitting here thinking about what people are thinking about
We are communicating, we meet the Joint PCC's regularly and wait for an invitation
In addition to that, we are out pretty much everyone of us, at coffees, etc.
Our spring is virtually on the road if there is an override
The School Committee blog is active, the meeting is available via video on demand
we do do a lot, currently, we need to do so in a simplistic way so we are not overburdening them with data
I think we communicate very well, we need to assess how we can do it differently
I am in favor of doing a town wide forum once or twice a year
Roy - I do want to acknowledge the level of engagement is very high
Sabolinski - maybe our own category, almost very high
Roy - Franklin School Advocacy group, 7:00 PM 3rd floor training room
I can't think of a better public forum, we have a 100 comfortable chairs
I make an attempt to make these meetings as comfortable
I would love to see more people to engage in this forum
I get fearful that if we do too much people will get sick of us, I get fearful we'll burn out
People in the long run, will do the right thing
Trahan - challenging people in the community and empowering them
they need to come forward and want to get the information
Maybe what we need is to issue the challenge, tell us what you need
Cafasso - We need to talk with Tim Raposa, we need to focus on the website
it will take money to get it hosted.
Glynn - I agree with Ed that the budget and the high school are two key items
I think it is all opportunistic, it is all good
Sabolinski - the four top topics
budget, override, redistricting, programmatic (kindergarten, etc.)
Policy – First Reading
GBEBA/JIA Staff Research Policy
GBEBA Staff Research Projects
Sample MASC Policy for Facebook and Social Networking
Looking for direction from the committee as to whether to review the current policy (JU) in light of this draft from the MASC:
MASC Sample FacebkSocNetworkPolicy
This draft only references Facebook, our current policy is better than this draft.
A policy without definitions is a dangerous thing.
There are places and uses where it can be useful but it can get out of hand.
It is allowed if school sanctioned
Franklin, MA
Live reporting - MCAS - part 3 - Q&A
Closing comments on the presentation itself:
27.5% percent of the graduating class earned the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship
Literacy work in the district makes a difference
Data analysis has doubled, so folks are getting the data to use and improve instruction and curriculum
Concern with increasing class size puts greater pressure on the special ed and low income students
MCAS is a moving target which in and f itself makes it hard to continue to perform
Core standards are in their final changes, the 2011 MCAS tests will reflect the current core standards
during 2012, the tests will be a hybrid of new standard and old standards
in 2013 the tests will be fully against material in the updated core standards
Cafasso - What happened in 2009 to cause the trough? (see slide 9 - Math subgroups Franklin to State Comparison)
Michele Kingsland-Smith - the 8th grade test is the hardest test they will take, as well as changes in the District which affected the instruction
Cafasso - I don't understand the growth slide, can you take a number
Kingsland-Smith - Better to see at an individual level, it measures the amount of growth for that performance in comparison to the other students. You may have had the same grade but you achieved your grade by growing more from the prior year than someone else.
Cafasso - you are highly efficient and we need to convince folks to continue to invest in this efficiency
Roy - Slide 13
Steve Sherlock - provided the analogy of the crew team, both finish in a tie, one had started out and got a big lead. the other team increased the rate of the strokes to finish in the tie. Hence the second team had a greater rate of strokes like the greater growth they are talking about.
A great presentation
Me: I concur, this is one of the better presentations I have seen, it makes sense.
Franklin, MA
27.5% percent of the graduating class earned the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship
Literacy work in the district makes a difference
Data analysis has doubled, so folks are getting the data to use and improve instruction and curriculum
Concern with increasing class size puts greater pressure on the special ed and low income students
MCAS is a moving target which in and f itself makes it hard to continue to perform
Core standards are in their final changes, the 2011 MCAS tests will reflect the current core standards
during 2012, the tests will be a hybrid of new standard and old standards
in 2013 the tests will be fully against material in the updated core standards
Cafasso - What happened in 2009 to cause the trough? (see slide 9 - Math subgroups Franklin to State Comparison)
Michele Kingsland-Smith - the 8th grade test is the hardest test they will take, as well as changes in the District which affected the instruction
Cafasso - I don't understand the growth slide, can you take a number
Kingsland-Smith - Better to see at an individual level, it measures the amount of growth for that performance in comparison to the other students. You may have had the same grade but you achieved your grade by growing more from the prior year than someone else.
Cafasso - you are highly efficient and we need to convince folks to continue to invest in this efficiency
Roy - Slide 13
Steve Sherlock - provided the analogy of the crew team, both finish in a tie, one had started out and got a big lead. the other team increased the rate of the strokes to finish in the tie. Hence the second team had a greater rate of strokes like the greater growth they are talking about.
A great presentation
Me: I concur, this is one of the better presentations I have seen, it makes sense.
Franklin, MA
Live reporting - MCAS - part 2
2. Guests/Presentations (continued)
b. MCAS Presentation – District Leadership Team
Sharon Jackson, computer teacher @ HMMS
Eileen Belastock, Math Dept. Chair @ FHS
Lucas Giguere, Assistant Principal @ ASMS
Margaret Miller, Head Teacher/Math CET @ DT
RuthAnn McHugh, Head Teacher/Math CET @ Keller
The presentation itself can be found here
Slide 11
New growth measure introduced to districts in 2009 that will enhance districts’ ability to analyze MCAS data to inform instruction, and make programmatic and curricular decisions.
Scale of 1-100, student growth percentiles (SGP’s) are calculated using two or more years of consecutive MCAS data.
Growth is measured by comparing changes in MCAS performance from one year to the next with that of “academic peers” (individual student, school, district).
Academic peers - students in state with same MCAS performance history
Takes into account the test t (Math or ELA) & increasingly more difficult/complex grade level learning standards.
Not calculated on Grade 3 tests as this grade represents the first year in the test administration cycle.
Not calculated for Science/Technology or Biology tests as two consecutive years are needed
Commissioner of Education in his September 10, 2010 memo to Massachusetts Educators,
“In simple terms, students earning high growth percentiles answered more questions correctly on the spring 2010 MCAS test than did their academic peers;
conversely, students earning low growth percentiles answered fewer questions correctly than their academic peers.”
Slide 12
Graphic represents a Growth Bar Graph – identifies % of students who performed within each of the growth percentiles from yellow (Very Low) to dark green (Very High)
The goal is for all students fall within the Moderate to Very High Growth percentiles (40-100%) on ELA and Math MCAS tests
This graphic represents all Franklin students in ALL grades who took the ELA MCAS tests.
62% of all students demonstrated Moderate to Very High Growth on their ELA MCAS Tests
42% demonstrated High/Very High Growth on ELA tests
37% demonstrated Low Growth on these tests
CPI Performance on ELA 94.0 Very High
Slide 13
This graphic represents ALL Franklin students in EACH grade who took the ELA MCAS tests.
In grades 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 at least 60% of all students demonstrated Moderate to Very High Growth on their ELA MCAS Tests
Gr 4 - 73% M to VH
Gr 5 – 68% M to VH
Gr 6 – 60% M to VH
Gr 7 – 63% M to VH
Gr 8 – 61% M to VH
51% of Gr 10 students demonstrated Moderate to Very High Growth on their ELA MCAS tests
92% of Gr 10 students performed at the Advanced/Proficient levels on this test
Slide 14
This graphic represents all Franklin students in ALL grades who took the Math MCAS tests.
60% of all students demonstrated Moderate to Very High Growth on their Math MCAS Tests
38% demonstrated High/Very High Growth on Math tests
39% demonstrated Low Growth on these tests
CPI Performance in Mathematics – 89.9 almost Very High
Slide 15
This graphic represents ALL Franklin students in EACH grade who took the Math MCAS tests.
In grades 4, 5, 7,8 and 10 at least 50% of all students demonstrated Moderate to Very High Growth on their Math MCAS Tests
Gr 4 - 74% M to VH
Gr 5 – 69% M to VH
Gr 7 – 63% M to VH
Gr 8 – 56% M to VH
Gr 10 – 53% M to VH
45% of Gr 6 students demonstrated Moderate to Very High Growth on their Math MCAS tests
78% of Gr 6 students performed at the Advanced/Proficient levels on this test
Slide 17
This graphic represents our Student Growth distribution for our Low Income and SPED students in ALL grades in English Language Arts
Low Income Student Growth
54% of all Low Income students demonstrated Moderate to Very High Growth on their ELA MCAS tests
65% of non-Low Income students demonstrated Moderate to Very High growth on the same tests
36% LI students demonstrated High to Very High growth in ELA as compared to 44% non-LI students
10% more Low Income students demonstrated Low Growth on the ELA tests than non-Low Income students
Students in this subgroups demonstrated High performance with a CPI of 82.9
57% of Low Income students performed at the Advanced/Proficient levels vs 87% of non-Low Income students
Special Education Student Growth
54% of all Sped students demonstrated Moderate to Very High Growth on their ELA MCAS tests
34% of Sped students demonstrated High to Very High growth on ELA tests
45% of Sped students demonstrated Low Growth on the ELA MCAS tests
43% of Franklin Sped students performed at Advanced/Proficient levels on this test
Data was unavailable for the team to compare Sped with Non-Sped Student Growth Percentiles. This data will be included in the MCAS Report to School Committee.
Slide 18
This graphic represents our Student Growth distribution for our Low Income and SPED students in ALL grades in Mathematics
Low Income Student Growth
In Mathematics, students in the Low Income Subgroup demonstrated similar growth patterns as non-Low Income students
61% of all Low Income students demonstrated Moderate to Very High Growth on their Math MCAS tests
61% of non-Low Income students demonstrated Moderate to Very High growth on the same tests
36% LI students demonstrated High to Very High growth in Math as compared to 39% non-LI students
39% of Low Income and non-Low income students demonstrated Low Growth on Math tests
45% of Low Income students performed at the Advanced/Proficient levels vs. 78% of non-Low Income students
While performance is not where we would like it, students are demonstrating growth at a level comparable to their non-subgroup peers.
Special Education Student Growth
62% of all Sped students demonstrated Moderate to Very High Growth on their Math MCAS tests
39% of Sped students demonstrated High to Very High growth on Math tests
39% of Sped students demonstrated Low Growth on the Math MCAS tests
30% of Franklin Sped students performed at Advanced/Proficient levels on this test
While we continue to work toward closing the achievement gap, students are demonstrating growth at a level comparable to their non-subgroup peers.
Slide 20
The DESE uses several factors to identify comparable districts in the Commonwealth including student population, town demographics, performance, etc.
Graph identifies the ten towns the state compares with Franklin.
ELA Performance
In ELA, Franklin ranked 6th among the districts for % of Advanced/Proficient students (83%)
1- Wellesley 88%
2-Needham 87%
3-Westwood 86%
4-Andover 85%
5-Chelmsford 84%
Franklin ranked in the top 4 districts for lowest % of students scoring a Warning on Math MCAS tests
Behind Andover, Needham, and Westwood
Math Performance
In Math, Franklin ranked in the top half among the districts for % of Advanced/Proficient students (75%)
1-Andover 81%
2-Westwood 80%
3-Needham 79%
4-Natick-Wellesley 77%
Franklin’s % of students in the Warning performance level was similar to most districts in the comparison
Slide 21
The DLT also compared its performance in ELA and Mathematics with districts within the Hockomock League
ELA Performance
In ELA, Franklin ranked 3rd in the Hockomock League (tied with Mansfield) % of Advanced/Proficient students (83%)
1- King Philip 86%
2-Sharon 84%
3 – tie: Franklin/Mansfield 83%
Only 3% of students scored Warning in ELA
Math Performance
In Math, Franklin shared the top rank with Sharon for % of Advanced/Proficient students (75%)
Franklin also shared with Sharon the fewest number of students in the Warning performance level
Slide 22
The District Leadership Team also compared its performance in ELA and Mathematics with districts that have similar Per Pupil Expenditures
ELA Performance
In ELA, Franklin ranked 1st in the % of Advanced/Proficient students (83%) with the next highest district performing at 80% (Easton)
The district was tied with Easton for 1st in the lowest % of students scoring a Warning in ELA (3%)
Math Performance
In Math, Franklin also ranked #1 for % of Advanced/Proficient students (75%)
The next closest district, Easton, had 70% of students perform at this level )
Franklin also ranked the lowest for % of students at both the NI (19%) and Warning (6%) performance levels
Bottom Line - Franklin outperforms other districts with similar per pupil expenditures
Slide 23
The DLT finally compared its performance in ELA and Mathematics with the top 10 highest performing districts in the state
Performance
In ELA and Mathematics, Franklin ranked 10th of 11 districts in the % of students in Advanced/Proficient students
ELA 83%
Math 75%
Lowest Aggregate Student Growth Percentile (SGP) in Math
Top ½ for Sped SGP in Math
Bottom 3 districts for Aggregate and Sped SGP in ELA
Other Comparisons:
Franklin ranks 10th of the 11 districts
Franklin has the lowest Per Pupil Expenditure
Franklin has the lowest Student Growth Percentile in the Aggregate
Franklin has higher class sizes than high performance districts
Franklin ranks 5th in Professional Development expenditures
Franklin ranks 5th in its per teacher professional development expenditure
Bottom Line – Franklin puts $ were it counts - instruction
Slide 25
ELA Performance
The number of students performing in the Advanced/Proficient categories in ELA increase over time for the class of 2011
Grade 3 – 80%
Grade 10 – 90%
The number of students performing in the Needs Improvement/Warning Categories decreased for this class
Grade 3 – 20%
Grade 10 - 9%
Math Performance
The number of students performing in the Advanced/Proficient categories in Math increase over time for the class of 2011
Grade 4 – 66%
Grade 10 – 87%
The number of students performing in the Needs Improvement/Warning Categories decreased for this class
Grade 4 – 33%
Grade 10 - 13%
Slide 26
John/Abigail Adams Scholarship
114 of 414 high school seniors (September enrollment figures) were awarded the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship based on their Grade 10 MCAS performance. This award represents 27.5% of the senior class. Students qualified for this scholarship by scoring: (a) in the Advanced category in English Language Arts or Mathematics and Advanced or Proficient in the other subject area on the grade 10 MCAS assessments; and, (b) in the top 25% of the students in the district on these tests.
Performance/Growth Improvement
The number of 7th grade students who scored Advanced/Proficient in Math increased from 64% in 2009 to 73% in 2010
The number of 5th grade students who scored Advanced/Proficient in Science increased from 68% in 2009 to 74% in 2010
60% of students in our subgroups demonstrated Moderate to Very High Growth on Math MCAS Tests – Our Math initiatives are working
54% of students in our subgroups demonstrated Moderate to Very High Growth on ELA MCAS tests – Literacy work is making a difference.
CPI performances in both subgroups on both tests show slight improvements
Data Analysis
Data Warehouse use doubled in two years ( from 32 to 64 authorized users)
All department chairs, Reading Coaches, Math CET’s, coordinators, Head teachers, etc. are authorized users of Data Warehouse
MCAS and AYP data is analyzed at all levels – classroom, grade level, by discipline, building and district levels
Used to inform instruction, program, curriculum changes and revisions
District Initiatives to improve teaching and learning
Middle school math/sped PD – math co-teaching workshops & math consultant
Literacy & Leadership Teams – set PD goals - common instructional strategies, vocabulary, lab teachers/support & modeling, intensive PD
RtI team – vision and protocols for supporting struggling learners
DLT – analyze data, collect evidence of practice and district progress toward meeting DIP goals, recommendations for new DIP goals
Central Office support to schools in AYP Improvement status
Allocation of ARRA funds to all school to support building AYP/MCAS initiatives
Building Initiatives to improve teaching and learning
Comprehensive data analysis
Use of faculty meetings to address building issues & generate action plans
Instructional improvement plans to address AYP concerns
Revisions to School Improvement Plans
Fall testing to identify at risk students and provide instructional support/interventions
Analysis of end of unit math assessments to inform instruction and identify struggling students
Teacher before/after school study groups to look at student work and problem solve ways to improve student performance
Before and after school clubs, academic support sessions and tutoring
Aligning instructional strategies with student profiles (needs & strengths)
Teaching of test taking skills
Math/Reading support groups (additional academic support during the school day)
Software purchases to provide additional practice of foundational skills
MCAS skills reviews built into daily instruction
Progress monitoring of struggling students & more frequent communications (progress reports) to parents
Individual Student Success Plans K-8 (ISSP’s)
Educational Proficiency Plans (EPP’s) at the high school
Participation on DESE Assessment Development Committees
Slide 28
Class size – 24 districts in our comparison studies were contacted
Only 2 districts (Attleboro & Stougton) had larger class sizes at the elementary level
Only 2 districts (Mansfield & Attleboro) had larger class sizes at the middle level
Franklin had the highest class size at the high school
Considering the subgroup AYP concerns & increases in our LEP populations, class size is a considerable factor teachers’ ability to meet the needs of these students.l
Subgroups & AYP
District is working had to narrow the achievement gap & provide additional support before/during/after school for students with disabilities
several factors make this difficult: class size, length of school day, change in AYP target CPI scores every other year
targets will increase for the AYP determinations based on Spring 2011 MCAS test administrations
Increase performance expectations do not take into consideration severity of student disabilities, personnel required to provide adequate support structures
Budget & Instructional materials
No textbook line item in district budget – CI for requests
Ask/Purchase only minimum needed, knowing that other departments have needs as well
Loss of core curriculum teams now requires ELA, math, STE and HSS to cycle through a 5 year cycle with the UA disciplines
Common Core standards in Math & ELA will be vetted through professional groups & finalized this year.
Districts are expected to be prepared to fully implement these frameworks by the fall of 2012. We won’t have teams in place to do this work and meet these expectations
Spring MCAS 2012 – transitional test - will include some Common Core test items
Spring MCAS 2013 – tests will reflect Common Core standards ONLY (1 year transition to revised test)
Middle School Math
While we are making gains – growth percentiles are promising we still need to continue our efforts
Maintain academic support efforts (during and after school)
Tutoring
Math co-teaching model – Special Ed/General Ed initiative – share expertises
Aligning required math content with instructional strategies that complement each student’s learning style and needs.
b. MCAS Presentation – District Leadership Team
Sharon Jackson, computer teacher @ HMMS
Eileen Belastock, Math Dept. Chair @ FHS
Lucas Giguere, Assistant Principal @ ASMS
Margaret Miller, Head Teacher/Math CET @ DT
RuthAnn McHugh, Head Teacher/Math CET @ Keller
The presentation itself can be found here
Slide 11
New growth measure introduced to districts in 2009 that will enhance districts’ ability to analyze MCAS data to inform instruction, and make programmatic and curricular decisions.
Scale of 1-100, student growth percentiles (SGP’s) are calculated using two or more years of consecutive MCAS data.
Growth is measured by comparing changes in MCAS performance from one year to the next with that of “academic peers” (individual student, school, district).
Academic peers - students in state with same MCAS performance history
Takes into account the test t (Math or ELA) & increasingly more difficult/complex grade level learning standards.
Not calculated on Grade 3 tests as this grade represents the first year in the test administration cycle.
Not calculated for Science/Technology or Biology tests as two consecutive years are needed
Commissioner of Education in his September 10, 2010 memo to Massachusetts Educators,
“In simple terms, students earning high growth percentiles answered more questions correctly on the spring 2010 MCAS test than did their academic peers;
conversely, students earning low growth percentiles answered fewer questions correctly than their academic peers.”
Slide 12
Graphic represents a Growth Bar Graph – identifies % of students who performed within each of the growth percentiles from yellow (Very Low) to dark green (Very High)
The goal is for all students fall within the Moderate to Very High Growth percentiles (40-100%) on ELA and Math MCAS tests
This graphic represents all Franklin students in ALL grades who took the ELA MCAS tests.
62% of all students demonstrated Moderate to Very High Growth on their ELA MCAS Tests
42% demonstrated High/Very High Growth on ELA tests
37% demonstrated Low Growth on these tests
CPI Performance on ELA 94.0 Very High
Slide 13
This graphic represents ALL Franklin students in EACH grade who took the ELA MCAS tests.
In grades 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 at least 60% of all students demonstrated Moderate to Very High Growth on their ELA MCAS Tests
Gr 4 - 73% M to VH
Gr 5 – 68% M to VH
Gr 6 – 60% M to VH
Gr 7 – 63% M to VH
Gr 8 – 61% M to VH
51% of Gr 10 students demonstrated Moderate to Very High Growth on their ELA MCAS tests
92% of Gr 10 students performed at the Advanced/Proficient levels on this test
Slide 14
This graphic represents all Franklin students in ALL grades who took the Math MCAS tests.
60% of all students demonstrated Moderate to Very High Growth on their Math MCAS Tests
38% demonstrated High/Very High Growth on Math tests
39% demonstrated Low Growth on these tests
CPI Performance in Mathematics – 89.9 almost Very High
Slide 15
This graphic represents ALL Franklin students in EACH grade who took the Math MCAS tests.
In grades 4, 5, 7,8 and 10 at least 50% of all students demonstrated Moderate to Very High Growth on their Math MCAS Tests
Gr 4 - 74% M to VH
Gr 5 – 69% M to VH
Gr 7 – 63% M to VH
Gr 8 – 56% M to VH
Gr 10 – 53% M to VH
45% of Gr 6 students demonstrated Moderate to Very High Growth on their Math MCAS tests
78% of Gr 6 students performed at the Advanced/Proficient levels on this test
Slide 17
This graphic represents our Student Growth distribution for our Low Income and SPED students in ALL grades in English Language Arts
Low Income Student Growth
54% of all Low Income students demonstrated Moderate to Very High Growth on their ELA MCAS tests
65% of non-Low Income students demonstrated Moderate to Very High growth on the same tests
36% LI students demonstrated High to Very High growth in ELA as compared to 44% non-LI students
10% more Low Income students demonstrated Low Growth on the ELA tests than non-Low Income students
Students in this subgroups demonstrated High performance with a CPI of 82.9
57% of Low Income students performed at the Advanced/Proficient levels vs 87% of non-Low Income students
Special Education Student Growth
54% of all Sped students demonstrated Moderate to Very High Growth on their ELA MCAS tests
34% of Sped students demonstrated High to Very High growth on ELA tests
45% of Sped students demonstrated Low Growth on the ELA MCAS tests
43% of Franklin Sped students performed at Advanced/Proficient levels on this test
Data was unavailable for the team to compare Sped with Non-Sped Student Growth Percentiles. This data will be included in the MCAS Report to School Committee.
Slide 18
This graphic represents our Student Growth distribution for our Low Income and SPED students in ALL grades in Mathematics
Low Income Student Growth
In Mathematics, students in the Low Income Subgroup demonstrated similar growth patterns as non-Low Income students
61% of all Low Income students demonstrated Moderate to Very High Growth on their Math MCAS tests
61% of non-Low Income students demonstrated Moderate to Very High growth on the same tests
36% LI students demonstrated High to Very High growth in Math as compared to 39% non-LI students
39% of Low Income and non-Low income students demonstrated Low Growth on Math tests
45% of Low Income students performed at the Advanced/Proficient levels vs. 78% of non-Low Income students
While performance is not where we would like it, students are demonstrating growth at a level comparable to their non-subgroup peers.
Special Education Student Growth
62% of all Sped students demonstrated Moderate to Very High Growth on their Math MCAS tests
39% of Sped students demonstrated High to Very High growth on Math tests
39% of Sped students demonstrated Low Growth on the Math MCAS tests
30% of Franklin Sped students performed at Advanced/Proficient levels on this test
While we continue to work toward closing the achievement gap, students are demonstrating growth at a level comparable to their non-subgroup peers.
Slide 20
The DESE uses several factors to identify comparable districts in the Commonwealth including student population, town demographics, performance, etc.
Graph identifies the ten towns the state compares with Franklin.
ELA Performance
In ELA, Franklin ranked 6th among the districts for % of Advanced/Proficient students (83%)
1- Wellesley 88%
2-Needham 87%
3-Westwood 86%
4-Andover 85%
5-Chelmsford 84%
Franklin ranked in the top 4 districts for lowest % of students scoring a Warning on Math MCAS tests
Behind Andover, Needham, and Westwood
Math Performance
In Math, Franklin ranked in the top half among the districts for % of Advanced/Proficient students (75%)
1-Andover 81%
2-Westwood 80%
3-Needham 79%
4-Natick-Wellesley 77%
Franklin’s % of students in the Warning performance level was similar to most districts in the comparison
Slide 21
The DLT also compared its performance in ELA and Mathematics with districts within the Hockomock League
ELA Performance
In ELA, Franklin ranked 3rd in the Hockomock League (tied with Mansfield) % of Advanced/Proficient students (83%)
1- King Philip 86%
2-Sharon 84%
3 – tie: Franklin/Mansfield 83%
Only 3% of students scored Warning in ELA
Math Performance
In Math, Franklin shared the top rank with Sharon for % of Advanced/Proficient students (75%)
Franklin also shared with Sharon the fewest number of students in the Warning performance level
Slide 22
The District Leadership Team also compared its performance in ELA and Mathematics with districts that have similar Per Pupil Expenditures
ELA Performance
In ELA, Franklin ranked 1st in the % of Advanced/Proficient students (83%) with the next highest district performing at 80% (Easton)
The district was tied with Easton for 1st in the lowest % of students scoring a Warning in ELA (3%)
Math Performance
In Math, Franklin also ranked #1 for % of Advanced/Proficient students (75%)
The next closest district, Easton, had 70% of students perform at this level )
Franklin also ranked the lowest for % of students at both the NI (19%) and Warning (6%) performance levels
Bottom Line - Franklin outperforms other districts with similar per pupil expenditures
Slide 23
The DLT finally compared its performance in ELA and Mathematics with the top 10 highest performing districts in the state
Performance
In ELA and Mathematics, Franklin ranked 10th of 11 districts in the % of students in Advanced/Proficient students
ELA 83%
Math 75%
Lowest Aggregate Student Growth Percentile (SGP) in Math
Top ½ for Sped SGP in Math
Bottom 3 districts for Aggregate and Sped SGP in ELA
Other Comparisons:
Franklin ranks 10th of the 11 districts
Franklin has the lowest Per Pupil Expenditure
Franklin has the lowest Student Growth Percentile in the Aggregate
Franklin has higher class sizes than high performance districts
Franklin ranks 5th in Professional Development expenditures
Franklin ranks 5th in its per teacher professional development expenditure
Bottom Line – Franklin puts $ were it counts - instruction
Slide 25
ELA Performance
The number of students performing in the Advanced/Proficient categories in ELA increase over time for the class of 2011
Grade 3 – 80%
Grade 10 – 90%
The number of students performing in the Needs Improvement/Warning Categories decreased for this class
Grade 3 – 20%
Grade 10 - 9%
Math Performance
The number of students performing in the Advanced/Proficient categories in Math increase over time for the class of 2011
Grade 4 – 66%
Grade 10 – 87%
The number of students performing in the Needs Improvement/Warning Categories decreased for this class
Grade 4 – 33%
Grade 10 - 13%
Slide 26
John/Abigail Adams Scholarship
114 of 414 high school seniors (September enrollment figures) were awarded the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship based on their Grade 10 MCAS performance. This award represents 27.5% of the senior class. Students qualified for this scholarship by scoring: (a) in the Advanced category in English Language Arts or Mathematics and Advanced or Proficient in the other subject area on the grade 10 MCAS assessments; and, (b) in the top 25% of the students in the district on these tests.
Performance/Growth Improvement
The number of 7th grade students who scored Advanced/Proficient in Math increased from 64% in 2009 to 73% in 2010
The number of 5th grade students who scored Advanced/Proficient in Science increased from 68% in 2009 to 74% in 2010
60% of students in our subgroups demonstrated Moderate to Very High Growth on Math MCAS Tests – Our Math initiatives are working
54% of students in our subgroups demonstrated Moderate to Very High Growth on ELA MCAS tests – Literacy work is making a difference.
CPI performances in both subgroups on both tests show slight improvements
Data Analysis
Data Warehouse use doubled in two years ( from 32 to 64 authorized users)
All department chairs, Reading Coaches, Math CET’s, coordinators, Head teachers, etc. are authorized users of Data Warehouse
MCAS and AYP data is analyzed at all levels – classroom, grade level, by discipline, building and district levels
Used to inform instruction, program, curriculum changes and revisions
District Initiatives to improve teaching and learning
Middle school math/sped PD – math co-teaching workshops & math consultant
Literacy & Leadership Teams – set PD goals - common instructional strategies, vocabulary, lab teachers/support & modeling, intensive PD
RtI team – vision and protocols for supporting struggling learners
DLT – analyze data, collect evidence of practice and district progress toward meeting DIP goals, recommendations for new DIP goals
Central Office support to schools in AYP Improvement status
Allocation of ARRA funds to all school to support building AYP/MCAS initiatives
Building Initiatives to improve teaching and learning
Comprehensive data analysis
Use of faculty meetings to address building issues & generate action plans
Instructional improvement plans to address AYP concerns
Revisions to School Improvement Plans
Fall testing to identify at risk students and provide instructional support/interventions
Analysis of end of unit math assessments to inform instruction and identify struggling students
Teacher before/after school study groups to look at student work and problem solve ways to improve student performance
Before and after school clubs, academic support sessions and tutoring
Aligning instructional strategies with student profiles (needs & strengths)
Teaching of test taking skills
Math/Reading support groups (additional academic support during the school day)
Software purchases to provide additional practice of foundational skills
MCAS skills reviews built into daily instruction
Progress monitoring of struggling students & more frequent communications (progress reports) to parents
Individual Student Success Plans K-8 (ISSP’s)
Educational Proficiency Plans (EPP’s) at the high school
Participation on DESE Assessment Development Committees
Slide 28
Class size – 24 districts in our comparison studies were contacted
Only 2 districts (Attleboro & Stougton) had larger class sizes at the elementary level
Only 2 districts (Mansfield & Attleboro) had larger class sizes at the middle level
Franklin had the highest class size at the high school
Considering the subgroup AYP concerns & increases in our LEP populations, class size is a considerable factor teachers’ ability to meet the needs of these students.l
Subgroups & AYP
District is working had to narrow the achievement gap & provide additional support before/during/after school for students with disabilities
several factors make this difficult: class size, length of school day, change in AYP target CPI scores every other year
targets will increase for the AYP determinations based on Spring 2011 MCAS test administrations
Increase performance expectations do not take into consideration severity of student disabilities, personnel required to provide adequate support structures
Budget & Instructional materials
No textbook line item in district budget – CI for requests
Ask/Purchase only minimum needed, knowing that other departments have needs as well
Loss of core curriculum teams now requires ELA, math, STE and HSS to cycle through a 5 year cycle with the UA disciplines
Common Core standards in Math & ELA will be vetted through professional groups & finalized this year.
Districts are expected to be prepared to fully implement these frameworks by the fall of 2012. We won’t have teams in place to do this work and meet these expectations
Spring MCAS 2012 – transitional test - will include some Common Core test items
Spring MCAS 2013 – tests will reflect Common Core standards ONLY (1 year transition to revised test)
Middle School Math
While we are making gains – growth percentiles are promising we still need to continue our efforts
Maintain academic support efforts (during and after school)
Tutoring
Math co-teaching model – Special Ed/General Ed initiative – share expertises
Aligning required math content with instructional strategies that complement each student’s learning style and needs.
Live reporting - MCAS - part 1
2. Guests/Presentations
b. MCAS Presentation – District Leadership Team
The presentation itself can be found here
Slide 3
The district made AYP in 2010 with no NCLB accountability status (a good thing)
District ELA performance was identified as Very High (all grades)
District Math performance was identified as High (all grades)
The district has made AYP for 5 consecutive years
The aggregate (all students) have made AYP in both Math & ELA for 8 consecutive years (since 2003)
District subgroups (Low Income & Special Ed) did not make ELA or Math AYP at the elementary and middle levels – this continues to be a focus area for the district (and is a consistent finding across the state).
FHS students in subgroups DID make AYP in both ELA and Math, an improvement over their 2009 performance in Math (did not make AYP in math in 2009)
Slide 4
The district continues to perform above the state in the Aggregate in ELA at all grades.
District performance averages 1 to 2 performance levels above that of the state on all ELA tests.
ELA Aggregate performance levels
83% of Franklin students performed at the Advanced/Proficient level compared to that of the state (68%)
Only 17% of Franklin students performed at the Needs Improvement/Warning level compared to that of the state (32%)
The percentage of students scoring in NI/W decreased markedly from 20% in 2009 to 9% in 2010.
Slide 5
The district continues to perform above the state in Subgroups (Low Income and Special Ed) in ELA at all grades.
Subgroup performance is consistently 1 performance level above that of the state on ELA tests.
ELA Special Ed Subgroup performance:
42% of Franklin Spec. Ed. students performed at the Advanced/Proficient level compared to that of the state (68%)
District and state data is consistent in the Needs Improvement category for Special Education subgroups (41% & 42% respectively)
However, fewer Special Ed students in the district performed in the warning category than the state (17% vs. 30%)
Special Education CPI’s (76.9 - Moderate) places this subgroup one performance level above that of the state (67.3 – Low)
ELA Low Income Subgroup performance:
55% of Franklin Low Income students performed at the Advanced/Proficient level compared to that of the state (47%)
District and state data is consistent in the Needs Improvement category for Low Income subgroups (36% & 37% respectively)
Fewer Low Income students in the district performed in the warning category than the state (9% vs. 16%)
The Low Income CPI (82.9 - High) places this subgroup one performance level above that of the state (76.5 – Moderate)
Slide 6
The district continues to perform above the state in the Aggregate in Math at all grades.
District performance averages 1 to 2 performance levels above that of the state on all Math tests.
Math Aggregate performance levels
75% of Franklin students performed at the Advanced/Proficient level compared to that of the state (59%)
25% of Franklin students performed at the Needs Improvement/Warning level compared to that of the state (42%)
The percentage of students scoring in NI/W showed a slight decrease from 26% in 2009 to 25% in 2010.
Slide 7
The district continues to perform above the state in Subgroups (Low Income and Special Ed) in Math at all grades.
Subgroup performance is consistently 1 performance level above that of the state on Math tests.
Math Special Ed Subgroup performance:
31% of Franklin Spec. Ed. students performed at the Advanced/Proficient level compared to that of the state (21%)
28% of Franklin Spec. Ed. students performed at Warning level compared to that of the state (45%)
District performance in the Needs Improvement/Warning category was 10% lower than that of the state (69% vs. 79%) – this continues to be a focus for the district.
Special Education CPI’s (66.7 - Low) places this subgroup one performance level above that of the state (57.5 – Very Low)
5 year trend shows district improvement in narrowing the achievement gap.
Math Low Income Subgroup performance:
46% of Franklin Low Income students performed at the Advanced/Proficient level compared to that of the state (37%)
District and state data is consistent in the Needs Improvement category for Low Income subgroups (36%)
Fewer Low Income students in the district performed in the warning category than the state (18% vs. 27%)
The Low Income CPI (75.1 - Moderate) places this subgroup one performance level above that of the state (67.1 – Low)
5 year trend shows district improvement in narrowing the achievement gap.
Slide 8
The district continues to perform above the state in the Aggregate on the high school Biology MCAS test.
Administered to all grade 9 students
District performance reflected 1 level above that of the state on the same test.
Biology CPI of 94.0 compared to that of the state (82.1)
Last 3 years, Advanced/Proficient performance increased; numbers of students performing at the Warning/Failing level has decreased.
Biology Aggregate performance levels
87% of Franklin students performed at the Advanced/Proficient level compared to that of the state (63%)
10% of Franklin students performed at the Needs Improvement/Warning level compared to that of the state (23%)
13 % of students scored in Warning/Failing category compared to 13% at the state level
Subgroup Performance
The district continues to perform above the state in Subgroups (Low Income and Special Ed) in Math at all grades.
Subgroup performance is consistently 1 performance level above that of the state on Math tests.
Biology Special Ed Subgroup performance:
31% of Franklin Spec. Ed. students performed at the Advanced/Proficient level compared to that of the state (21%)
28% of Franklin Spec. Ed. students performed at Warning level compared to that of the state (45%)
District performance in the Needs Improvement/Warning category was 10% lower than that of the state (69% vs. 79%) – this continues to be a focus for the district.
Special Education CPI’s (66.7 - Low) places this subgroup one performance level above that of the state (57.5 – Very Low)
Biology Low Income Subgroup performance:
46% of Franklin Low Income students performed at the Advanced/Proficient level compared to that of the state (37%)
District and state data is consistent in the Needs Improvement category for Low Income subgroups (36%)
Fewer Low Income students in the district performed in the warning category than the state (18% vs. 27%)
The Low Income CPI (75.1 - Moderate) places this subgroup one performance level above that of the state (67.1 – Low)
Slide 9
The district continues to perform above the state in the Aggregate on the 8th grade STE MCAS test.
District performance reflected 1 level above that of the state on the same test.
Gr 8 Science CPI of 83.2 compared to that of the state (71.0)
Last 3 years, little change in performances in all 4 categories – District STE Curriculum team investigating data to inform curriculum revisions/updates
Gr 8 STE Aggregate performance levels
69% of Franklin students performed at the Advanced/Proficient level compared to that of the state (40%)
33% of Franklin students performed at the Needs Improvement/Warning level compared to that of the state (41%)
Only 7% of students scored in Warning/Failing category compared to 19% at the state level
Gr 8 STE Subgroup Performance
The district Special Ed subgroup performed higher than the state in CPI’s (58.3 vs. 50.2) but at the same level as the state (Very Low)
The district Low Income subgroup performance level was one higher than that of the state (Low vs. Very Low). Again, this is a focus for the district and the STE Curriculum team.
19% of students with disabilities and 36% of LI students performed at the Advanced/Proficient level compared to state subgroups (10% & 18%)
30% of special ed students performed at the Warning level compared to that of the state (51%)
19% of LI students performed at the Warning level compared to that of the state (37%)
Three years of subgroup data mimes the aggregate data - little change in % of students in each performance category at the district and the state levels – a concern for the district
Slide 10
The district continues to significantly outperform the state in the Aggregate on the 5th grade STE MCAS test.
District performance reflected 3 levels above that of the state on the same test.
Gr 5 Science CPI of 91.4 compared to that of the state (79.7)
Greatest change has been in shifting student performance from NI and Warning to Advanced/Proficient
Gr 5 STE Aggregate performance levels
74% of Franklin students performed at the Advanced/Proficient level compared to that of the state (53%)
23% of Franklin students performed at the Needs Improvement/Warning level compared to that of the state (36%)
Only 3% of students scored in Warning/Failing category compared to 11% at the state level
Gr 5 STE Subgroup Performance
The district Special Ed subgroup CPI for STE was 75.0 - Moderate, reflecting 1 performance level above the state (CPI 62.3 – Low)
The district Low Income subgroup CPI of 81.3 reflects two performance levels above the state (CPI 65.6 – Low).
32% of students with disabilities and 47% of LI students performed at the Advanced/Proficient level compared to state subgroups (21% & 29%)
21% of special ed students performed at the Warning level compared to that of the state (34%)
11% of LI students performed at the Warning level compared to that of the state (23%)
Three years of subgroup data identifies slight increases in the Advanced/Proficient levels and slight decreases in the NI and Warning performance levels.
Franklin, MA
b. MCAS Presentation – District Leadership Team
Sharon Jackson, computer teacher @ HMMS
Eileen Belastock, Math Dept. Chair @ FHS
Lucas Giguere, Assistant Principal @ ASMS
Margaret Miller, Head Teacher/Math CET @ DT
RuthAnn McHugh, Head Teacher/Math CET @ Keller
The presentation itself can be found here
In addition to the representatives here tonight….
Bob Lima, Brenda Redding – FHS
Craig Williams - ASMS
Emily Constantine - HMMS
Janet Chitty, Keith Turner - RMS
Bea MacPherson, Shirley Babcock - DT
Judy Johnson - Jefferson
Mary Jane Wiles - Keller
Peggy Yanuskiewicz - Kennedy
Courtney Reilly – Oak St.
Trish Capaldi – Parmenter
Denise Miller – Assistant to the Superintendent (and master data queen!)
Slide 3
The district made AYP in 2010 with no NCLB accountability status (a good thing)
District ELA performance was identified as Very High (all grades)
District Math performance was identified as High (all grades)
The district has made AYP for 5 consecutive years
The aggregate (all students) have made AYP in both Math & ELA for 8 consecutive years (since 2003)
District subgroups (Low Income & Special Ed) did not make ELA or Math AYP at the elementary and middle levels – this continues to be a focus area for the district (and is a consistent finding across the state).
FHS students in subgroups DID make AYP in both ELA and Math, an improvement over their 2009 performance in Math (did not make AYP in math in 2009)
Slide 4
The district continues to perform above the state in the Aggregate in ELA at all grades.
District performance averages 1 to 2 performance levels above that of the state on all ELA tests.
ELA Aggregate performance levels
83% of Franklin students performed at the Advanced/Proficient level compared to that of the state (68%)
Only 17% of Franklin students performed at the Needs Improvement/Warning level compared to that of the state (32%)
The percentage of students scoring in NI/W decreased markedly from 20% in 2009 to 9% in 2010.
Slide 5
The district continues to perform above the state in Subgroups (Low Income and Special Ed) in ELA at all grades.
Subgroup performance is consistently 1 performance level above that of the state on ELA tests.
ELA Special Ed Subgroup performance:
42% of Franklin Spec. Ed. students performed at the Advanced/Proficient level compared to that of the state (68%)
District and state data is consistent in the Needs Improvement category for Special Education subgroups (41% & 42% respectively)
However, fewer Special Ed students in the district performed in the warning category than the state (17% vs. 30%)
Special Education CPI’s (76.9 - Moderate) places this subgroup one performance level above that of the state (67.3 – Low)
ELA Low Income Subgroup performance:
55% of Franklin Low Income students performed at the Advanced/Proficient level compared to that of the state (47%)
District and state data is consistent in the Needs Improvement category for Low Income subgroups (36% & 37% respectively)
Fewer Low Income students in the district performed in the warning category than the state (9% vs. 16%)
The Low Income CPI (82.9 - High) places this subgroup one performance level above that of the state (76.5 – Moderate)
Slide 6
The district continues to perform above the state in the Aggregate in Math at all grades.
District performance averages 1 to 2 performance levels above that of the state on all Math tests.
Math Aggregate performance levels
75% of Franklin students performed at the Advanced/Proficient level compared to that of the state (59%)
25% of Franklin students performed at the Needs Improvement/Warning level compared to that of the state (42%)
The percentage of students scoring in NI/W showed a slight decrease from 26% in 2009 to 25% in 2010.
Slide 7
The district continues to perform above the state in Subgroups (Low Income and Special Ed) in Math at all grades.
Subgroup performance is consistently 1 performance level above that of the state on Math tests.
Math Special Ed Subgroup performance:
31% of Franklin Spec. Ed. students performed at the Advanced/Proficient level compared to that of the state (21%)
28% of Franklin Spec. Ed. students performed at Warning level compared to that of the state (45%)
District performance in the Needs Improvement/Warning category was 10% lower than that of the state (69% vs. 79%) – this continues to be a focus for the district.
Special Education CPI’s (66.7 - Low) places this subgroup one performance level above that of the state (57.5 – Very Low)
5 year trend shows district improvement in narrowing the achievement gap.
Math Low Income Subgroup performance:
46% of Franklin Low Income students performed at the Advanced/Proficient level compared to that of the state (37%)
District and state data is consistent in the Needs Improvement category for Low Income subgroups (36%)
Fewer Low Income students in the district performed in the warning category than the state (18% vs. 27%)
The Low Income CPI (75.1 - Moderate) places this subgroup one performance level above that of the state (67.1 – Low)
5 year trend shows district improvement in narrowing the achievement gap.
Slide 8
The district continues to perform above the state in the Aggregate on the high school Biology MCAS test.
Administered to all grade 9 students
District performance reflected 1 level above that of the state on the same test.
Biology CPI of 94.0 compared to that of the state (82.1)
Last 3 years, Advanced/Proficient performance increased; numbers of students performing at the Warning/Failing level has decreased.
Biology Aggregate performance levels
87% of Franklin students performed at the Advanced/Proficient level compared to that of the state (63%)
10% of Franklin students performed at the Needs Improvement/Warning level compared to that of the state (23%)
13 % of students scored in Warning/Failing category compared to 13% at the state level
Subgroup Performance
The district continues to perform above the state in Subgroups (Low Income and Special Ed) in Math at all grades.
Subgroup performance is consistently 1 performance level above that of the state on Math tests.
Biology Special Ed Subgroup performance:
31% of Franklin Spec. Ed. students performed at the Advanced/Proficient level compared to that of the state (21%)
28% of Franklin Spec. Ed. students performed at Warning level compared to that of the state (45%)
District performance in the Needs Improvement/Warning category was 10% lower than that of the state (69% vs. 79%) – this continues to be a focus for the district.
Special Education CPI’s (66.7 - Low) places this subgroup one performance level above that of the state (57.5 – Very Low)
Biology Low Income Subgroup performance:
46% of Franklin Low Income students performed at the Advanced/Proficient level compared to that of the state (37%)
District and state data is consistent in the Needs Improvement category for Low Income subgroups (36%)
Fewer Low Income students in the district performed in the warning category than the state (18% vs. 27%)
The Low Income CPI (75.1 - Moderate) places this subgroup one performance level above that of the state (67.1 – Low)
Slide 9
The district continues to perform above the state in the Aggregate on the 8th grade STE MCAS test.
District performance reflected 1 level above that of the state on the same test.
Gr 8 Science CPI of 83.2 compared to that of the state (71.0)
Last 3 years, little change in performances in all 4 categories – District STE Curriculum team investigating data to inform curriculum revisions/updates
Gr 8 STE Aggregate performance levels
69% of Franklin students performed at the Advanced/Proficient level compared to that of the state (40%)
33% of Franklin students performed at the Needs Improvement/Warning level compared to that of the state (41%)
Only 7% of students scored in Warning/Failing category compared to 19% at the state level
Gr 8 STE Subgroup Performance
The district Special Ed subgroup performed higher than the state in CPI’s (58.3 vs. 50.2) but at the same level as the state (Very Low)
The district Low Income subgroup performance level was one higher than that of the state (Low vs. Very Low). Again, this is a focus for the district and the STE Curriculum team.
19% of students with disabilities and 36% of LI students performed at the Advanced/Proficient level compared to state subgroups (10% & 18%)
30% of special ed students performed at the Warning level compared to that of the state (51%)
19% of LI students performed at the Warning level compared to that of the state (37%)
Three years of subgroup data mimes the aggregate data - little change in % of students in each performance category at the district and the state levels – a concern for the district
Slide 10
The district continues to significantly outperform the state in the Aggregate on the 5th grade STE MCAS test.
District performance reflected 3 levels above that of the state on the same test.
Gr 5 Science CPI of 91.4 compared to that of the state (79.7)
Greatest change has been in shifting student performance from NI and Warning to Advanced/Proficient
Gr 5 STE Aggregate performance levels
74% of Franklin students performed at the Advanced/Proficient level compared to that of the state (53%)
23% of Franklin students performed at the Needs Improvement/Warning level compared to that of the state (36%)
Only 3% of students scored in Warning/Failing category compared to 11% at the state level
Gr 5 STE Subgroup Performance
The district Special Ed subgroup CPI for STE was 75.0 - Moderate, reflecting 1 performance level above the state (CPI 62.3 – Low)
The district Low Income subgroup CPI of 81.3 reflects two performance levels above the state (CPI 65.6 – Low).
32% of students with disabilities and 47% of LI students performed at the Advanced/Proficient level compared to state subgroups (21% & 29%)
21% of special ed students performed at the Warning level compared to that of the state (34%)
11% of LI students performed at the Warning level compared to that of the state (23%)
Three years of subgroup data identifies slight increases in the Advanced/Proficient levels and slight decreases in the NI and Warning performance levels.
Franklin, MA
Live reporting - Remington Teacher Recognition
2. Guests/Presentations
a. RMS – Paul Peri, Mary Kass, Joe O’Halloran
From Left to Right:: Joe O’Halloran, Jeff Roy, Mary Kass, and Paul Peri
Franklin, MA
a. RMS – Paul Peri, Mary Kass, Joe O’Halloran
From Left to Right:: Joe O’Halloran, Jeff Roy, Mary Kass, and Paul Peri
Franklin, MA
Live reporting - School Committee Meeting
Present: Douglas, Cafasso, Rohrbach, Mullen, Roy, Trahan, Glynn
Absent: none
1. Routine Business
Citizen’s Comments - Steve Sherlock provides some insights on the mid-term for the Committee and three recommendation for the coming year.
Review of Agenda
Minutes: I recommend approval of the minutes from the November 9, 2010 School Committee Meeting. motion to approve, with one correction - the Teen Angels presentation begins at 6:30PM. passed 7-0
Payment of Bills Mr. Glynn motion to approve, passed 7-0
Payroll Mrs. Douglas
FHS Student Representatives
Unfortunately, the FHS soccer team lost in OT 1-0
Mrs Sabolinski - read a few comments from alumni
heartfelt connections from former team members
Spirit Week underway
You can find out the details with an RSS Reader by subscribing to Panther Book
Correspondence: none
Franklin, MA
Absent: none
1. Routine Business
Citizen’s Comments - Steve Sherlock provides some insights on the mid-term for the Committee and three recommendation for the coming year.
Review of Agenda
Minutes: I recommend approval of the minutes from the November 9, 2010 School Committee Meeting. motion to approve, with one correction - the Teen Angels presentation begins at 6:30PM. passed 7-0
Payment of Bills Mr. Glynn motion to approve, passed 7-0
Payroll Mrs. Douglas
FHS Student Representatives
Unfortunately, the FHS soccer team lost in OT 1-0
Mrs Sabolinski - read a few comments from alumni
heartfelt connections from former team members
Spirit Week underway
You can find out the details with an RSS Reader by subscribing to Panther Book
Correspondence: none
Franklin, MA
Attention: Franklin Area Bloggers - media makers
The listing of Franklin Area bloggers is continuing to grow. Have you looked at the section along the far right column? There are now 36 blogs writing something about Franklin or doing business based in Franklin. From the School Committee to the Police Association, Cub Scouts to Dr VanRoon, photographers to humorists; the variety is quite good to see.
There is a group of media makers that gathers each month in downtown Attleboro, at Morin's Diner. It is informal and quite informational! A form of networking event and focused on sharing what each is doing. The opportunities for learning from one another and collaborating with one another are there.
Sunday at 10:00 AM won't be the best time for some of the area bloggers. But if you are interested in getting an event like this, in Franklin, and at a more convenient time, let me know. Maybe a Monday evening at a local restaurant would work better. Maybe another evening would be better, or maybe a Saturday morning. Let's see if (1) there is interest, and (2) we can get a number together to make it worthwhile!
If you can make it Sunday to see what it is like, you can register (for free) on Eventbrite http://snemm.eventbrite.com/
If you can't make it Sunday and are interested in doing something local, please leave a comment or send me an email.
Franklin, MA
There is a group of media makers that gathers each month in downtown Attleboro, at Morin's Diner. It is informal and quite informational! A form of networking event and focused on sharing what each is doing. The opportunities for learning from one another and collaborating with one another are there.
Sunday at 10:00 AM won't be the best time for some of the area bloggers. But if you are interested in getting an event like this, in Franklin, and at a more convenient time, let me know. Maybe a Monday evening at a local restaurant would work better. Maybe another evening would be better, or maybe a Saturday morning. Let's see if (1) there is interest, and (2) we can get a number together to make it worthwhile!
If you can make it Sunday to see what it is like, you can register (for free) on Eventbrite http://snemm.eventbrite.com/
If you can't make it Sunday and are interested in doing something local, please leave a comment or send me an email.
Franklin, MA
Franklin, MA: Town Council - Agenda - 11/17/10
A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – October 20, 2010
B. ANNOUNCEMENTS
Meetings of the Town Council are Recorded
C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS
D. CITIZEN COMMENTS
E. APPOINTMENTS
Franklin Disability Commission (Mary O'Neill)
Library Board of Trustees (Karen Gerwatowski)
Long Range Financial Planning Committee
F. HEARINGS
G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS
H. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS
Cable- Creation of a Non-profit access Corporation
Proposed Changes to the Sign Bylaw, the Commercial 1 Zoning District, & Creation of a New Downtown Commercial Zoning District- Zoning Bylaw – Bryan Taberner, Department of Planning & Community Dev.
I. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS
J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
1. Resolution 10-63: Acceptance of Amendment to Chapter 138, Section 33B
K. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT
L. OLD BUSINESS
M. NEW BUSINESS
N. COUNCIL COMMENTS
O. EXECUTIVE SESSION – Negotiations, Litigation, Real Property, as May Be Required
P. ADJOURN
Franklin, MA
B. ANNOUNCEMENTS
Meetings of the Town Council are Recorded
C. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS
D. CITIZEN COMMENTS
E. APPOINTMENTS
Franklin Disability Commission (Mary O'Neill)
Library Board of Trustees (Karen Gerwatowski)
Long Range Financial Planning Committee
F. HEARINGS
G. LICENSE TRANSACTIONS
H. PRESENTATIONS/DISCUSSIONS
Cable- Creation of a Non-profit access Corporation
Proposed Changes to the Sign Bylaw, the Commercial 1 Zoning District, & Creation of a New Downtown Commercial Zoning District- Zoning Bylaw – Bryan Taberner, Department of Planning & Community Dev.
I. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS
J. LEGISLATION FOR ACTION
1. Resolution 10-63: Acceptance of Amendment to Chapter 138, Section 33B
K. TOWN ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT
L. OLD BUSINESS
M. NEW BUSINESS
N. COUNCIL COMMENTS
O. EXECUTIVE SESSION – Negotiations, Litigation, Real Property, as May Be Required
P. ADJOURN
Franklin, MA
FM #77 - Franklin, MA: Mid-term Review
Next year, as you well know, will be a tough operational budget year with a possible high school renovation project on the horizon with a debt exclusion for a sum total uncertain at this time.
The operational and capital needs of the Town are not well understood by the general population.
You can not accept that. If you do, you give into the CAVE people What are the CAVE people? An acronym for Citizens Against Virtually Everything. This a great term that Bill Glynn took back from a conference he attended with other members of the School Committee and School Dept Administration
If we assume perception is reality, and your attendance indicates your level of effort, then there is room for improvement for some of you.
Details for the chart can be found at the following Google document
I understand that there may be very good reasons for missing meetings
You do this because Franklin matters to you for a variety of reasons
Let's assume perception is reality, I recommend you take a series of actions to really help improve the outreach to our community
1) Member of the Council meet at the Senior Center regularly; Bill Glynn held a sit/chat during the summer; need to do something for the remainder of the residents on a regular basis
2) plan for another budget workshop or series of workshops
What of the Long Term Planning Committee?
This group sort of disappeared after the override, it is good to see the group on the agenda for the meeting Wednesday. Maybe we'll find out what is going on
The Finance Committee is getting reduced from 11 members to 9 per the one question that passed on the Charter Changes. They are scheduled to meet in December. How is the change going to be handled?
3) Get out in front of the big issues, be proactive, don't let the void be filled in by others with hearsay, determine the conversation
For the School Committee in particular, I believe your normal year end meeting is scheduled to be held in the training room on the 3rd floor. It is your own review session, I would heartily recommend that you change the location, bring the meeting out into the open, broadcast it, foster the engagement with your community.
I could have done some ratings in a variety of ways. I chose not to do so. It was deliberate. I think you have been able to observe my own actions, you know I don't create screaming headlines. I am not out to sell anything. I am working to share information to create an informed voter. You can help in that effort.
Consider yourself a crew team. The crew team needs all the oars in the water swinging in synch with one another to succeed.
I think you for your service to the community.
I thank you for your time tonight.
As I close this session this week, let me remind you that
The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark and Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission
I hope you enjoy!
Note: email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin Matters to listen to the audio podcast.
The operational and capital needs of the Town are not well understood by the general population.
You can not accept that. If you do, you give into the CAVE people What are the CAVE people? An acronym for Citizens Against Virtually Everything. This a great term that Bill Glynn took back from a conference he attended with other members of the School Committee and School Dept Administration
If we assume perception is reality, and your attendance indicates your level of effort, then there is room for improvement for some of you.
Details for the chart can be found at the following Google document
I understand that there may be very good reasons for missing meetings
You do this because Franklin matters to you for a variety of reasons
Let's assume perception is reality, I recommend you take a series of actions to really help improve the outreach to our community
1) Member of the Council meet at the Senior Center regularly; Bill Glynn held a sit/chat during the summer; need to do something for the remainder of the residents on a regular basis
2) plan for another budget workshop or series of workshops
What of the Long Term Planning Committee?
This group sort of disappeared after the override, it is good to see the group on the agenda for the meeting Wednesday. Maybe we'll find out what is going on
The Finance Committee is getting reduced from 11 members to 9 per the one question that passed on the Charter Changes. They are scheduled to meet in December. How is the change going to be handled?
3) Get out in front of the big issues, be proactive, don't let the void be filled in by others with hearsay, determine the conversation
For the School Committee in particular, I believe your normal year end meeting is scheduled to be held in the training room on the 3rd floor. It is your own review session, I would heartily recommend that you change the location, bring the meeting out into the open, broadcast it, foster the engagement with your community.
I could have done some ratings in a variety of ways. I chose not to do so. It was deliberate. I think you have been able to observe my own actions, you know I don't create screaming headlines. I am not out to sell anything. I am working to share information to create an informed voter. You can help in that effort.
Consider yourself a crew team. The crew team needs all the oars in the water swinging in synch with one another to succeed.
I think you for your service to the community.
I thank you for your time tonight.
As I close this session this week, let me remind you that
- If you like what I am doing here, please tell your friends and neighbors
- If you don’t like something, please tell me
The music for the intro and exit was provided by Michael Clark and the group "East of Shirley". The piece is titled "Ernesto, manana" c. Michael Clark and Tintype Tunes, 2008 and used with their permission
I hope you enjoy!
Note: email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin Matters to listen to the audio podcast.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Another #1 listing for Franklin
I spoke with Nathan Beck on Saturday at the electronics, etc. recycling fund raiser for the FHS Girls Hockey Team. I had just heard about the event that morning and would have liked to be able to share the information in advance. We exchanged business cards and his father, Steve, sent along this information.
Franklin is also number 1 as a contributer to Big Brothers Big Sisters
http://www.bbbsfoundation.org/web/pagedetail.aspx?pgID=WEB-Franklin
If you missed this one, still have electronics to recycle, then mark your calendar for another event in April, 2011.
Thanks to Nathan and Steve for sharing this information!
Franklin, MA
I've been doing electronic collections since 2002, directing the net proceeds to K-12 programs. I principally target music and fine arts, but also generate funding for safe driver programs, girls athletics, community service centers and, of course, Big Brother Big Sister. I'm the director of Big Brother Big Sister Foundation and founder of the CREW (Community Recyclers of Electronic Waste). My son now runs events for CREW all over the state, in NH and soon New York and PA.
Three weeks ago, CREW hit the $3,000,000 mark in net monies donated to charities, edu and other programs through collection events
In most towns, I folded BBBS into the mix. BBBS is there for clothing, CREW for electronics. In about six towns now, we hold town wide recycling days twice a year with everything I can think of. Books, metal, cardboard, onsite document shredding, electronics, household goods, appliances and of course clothing. They work well
Falmouth High School fine arts and music program nets about $8,000 a year with these events. Norwell about $3,000, Dedham about $12,000. I am pitching them to every town and we'll start up in April.
Martha's Vineyard Community Services has netted $51,000 in the last three years. Not a bad piece of change for a much needed community center that helps 22,000 people a year.
The Franklin girls ice hockey team netted about $760. Less than I expected, but the first of these events in any given town is dicey, especially in mid November. We're going to do another in April and I am certain I can get them $2,000+. That isn't bad for the hockey team, it helps keep them on the ice.
We have only a couple left, usually I stop the first weekend in November. Charlestown is on 12/4 and a tri town event, sponsored by Congressman Ed Markey's office, is on the slate for 12/11. After that, we hibernate until April; BBBS does house to house pick ups of electronics in the winter months.Big Brothers Big Sisters website is http://www.bbbsfoundation.org/web/pageDetail.aspx?pgID=home
Franklin is also number 1 as a contributer to Big Brothers Big Sisters
http://www.bbbsfoundation.org/web/pagedetail.aspx?pgID=WEB-Franklin
If you missed this one, still have electronics to recycle, then mark your calendar for another event in April, 2011.
Thanks to Nathan and Steve for sharing this information!
Franklin, MA
Mount Saint Mary's Abbey - fund raising
Mount Saint Mary's Abbey sent a fund raising letter that I think is worthwhile sharing here:
Mount St Mary's Abbey 11/15/10
A brief video of the wind turbine in action was shared here earlier this year
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/abbey-wind-turbine.html
Franklin, MA
Mount St Mary's Abbey 11/15/10
A brief video of the wind turbine in action was shared here earlier this year
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/02/abbey-wind-turbine.html
Franklin, MA
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Franklin, MA: MCAS 2010 - presentation document
Take a few minutes this morning to preview the presentation on the MCAS results for the Franklin School District. This presentation is scheduled for discussion at the School Committee meeting on Tuesday, Nov 16, 2010.
I am looking forward to the discussion, I like the layout of the data. It covers the major points on how we are doing and provides comparisons to the DESE districts most like us as well as to the Hockomock League schools.
What questions about this data would you ask on Tuesday night?
Note: email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin Matters to view the document.
Franklin, MA
I am looking forward to the discussion, I like the layout of the data. It covers the major points on how we are doing and provides comparisons to the DESE districts most like us as well as to the Hockomock League schools.
2010 MCAS Results for Franklin, MA
View more presentations from Franklin Matters.
What questions about this data would you ask on Tuesday night?
Note: email subscribers will need to click through to Franklin Matters to view the document.
Franklin, MA
Franklin, MA: School Committee - Agenda - 11/16/10
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.
Mission Statement
The Franklin Public Schools, in collaboration with the community, will cultivate each student's intellectual, social, emotional and physical potential through rigorous academic inquiry and informed problem solving skills within a safe, nurturing and respectful environment.
"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."
1. Routine Business
Citizen’s Comments
Review of Agenda
Minutes: I recommend approval of the minutes from the November 9, 2010 School Committee Meeting.
Payment of Bills Mr. Glynn
Payroll Mrs. Douglas
FHS Student Representatives
Correspondence: none
2. Guests/Presentations
a. RMS – Paul Peri, Mary Kass, Joe O’Halloran
b. MCAS Presentation – District Leadership Team
3. Discussion Only Items
Budget to Actual
Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan
Community Outreach
Policy – First Reading
- GBEBA/JIA Staff Research Policy
- Sample MASC Policy for Facebook and Social Networking
4. Action Items
a. I recommend acceptance of a check for $250.00 from College Board for FHS Scholarships and AP Testing.
b. I recommend acceptance of a check for $500.00 from BJ’s Community Relations Program for Remington Middle School.
c. I recommend acceptance of a check for $733.40 from Remington PCC for Remington Middle School.
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
Contractual Negotiations
8. Adjourn
In the New - vision for the high school
As a follow up article to the School Committee meeting on Tuesday, Nov 9th, the Milford Daily News shares this:
The notes from the School Committee meting including the link to the documents associated with the visioning exercise can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/11/live-reporting-superintendent-report.html
Franklin, MA
Community members called to help sketch vision of Franklin High
from The Milford Daily News News RSSThe notes from the School Committee meting including the link to the documents associated with the visioning exercise can be found here
http://franklinmatters.blogspot.com/2010/11/live-reporting-superintendent-report.html
Franklin, MA
YMCA - "The camp filled a gap"
"She came home every day so happy," Reeve said last week as Abigail happily pointed to pictures of herself at camp. "She couldn't wait to tell me who she saw or what she did."
The camp was held in August as part of the Hockomock Area YMCA's integration initiative, which helps disabled children participate in YMCA programs with their able-bodied peers. The initiative's major fundraiser, the Legends Ball, will be held Tuesday in Foxborough. The dinner will feature many current and former New England Patriotsplayers and other Boston athletes.
from The Milford Daily News News RSS
Franklin, MA
Franklin Fire Dept
In days of tight money, the Milford Daily News has an article today that reviews the purchase process for fire trucks as they are so expensive. Maintenance become important to keep the equipment in top shape and to extend the useful life.
Having participated in a number of discussions with Chief Gary McCarraher as he has presented to the Town Council, Finance Committee, or Financial Planning Committee, I can say that Franklin does very well in this area.
You can read the full article here:
I would recommend visiting the Fire Dept page on the Franklin website.
You can view the equipment housed at Station One (downtown)
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_Fire/hqeqpt
You can view the equipment housed at Station Two (King St)
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_Fire/st2equpt
Take a few minutes to explore the Fire Dept page. You can find a whole bunch of useful information there!
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_Fire/index
BTW - the Globe decided to write about the effects that budget cuts are having to Fire Departments. You can read their story online here or in the print of the Sunday Globe Magazine.
Franklin, MA
Having participated in a number of discussions with Chief Gary McCarraher as he has presented to the Town Council, Finance Committee, or Financial Planning Committee, I can say that Franklin does very well in this area.
You can read the full article here:
How old are your town's firetrucks?
from The Milford Daily News News RSSI would recommend visiting the Fire Dept page on the Franklin website.
You can view the equipment housed at Station One (downtown)
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_Fire/hqeqpt
You can view the equipment housed at Station Two (King St)
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_Fire/st2equpt
Take a few minutes to explore the Fire Dept page. You can find a whole bunch of useful information there!
http://franklinma.virtualtownhall.net/Pages/FranklinMA_Fire/index
BTW - the Globe decided to write about the effects that budget cuts are having to Fire Departments. You can read their story online here or in the print of the Sunday Globe Magazine.
Franklin, MA
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