Celebrate the Holidays with 3 Festive Productions

Franklin Performing Arts Company (FPAC) celebrates the holidays with three festive productions. Ring in the season with Tchaikovsky’s timeless ballet The Nutcracker, FPAC’s original musical Humbug!, and A Glass Slipper Christmas, a holiday panto with a twist on the Cinderella fairy tale.

FPAC’s magical journey of The Nutcracker will be presented at the Franklin High School auditorium on December 3 at 7:30 p.m. and December 4 at 2:00. A popular FPAC holiday tradition for more than 20 years, the production features guest artists Vilia Putrius and Mindaugas Bauzys, company dancers with Festival Ballet Providence, as the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier. Rosario Guillen, a student of the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, will dance the part of the Nutcracker/Prince, with Aaron Andrade of Lincoln, Rhode Island, playing the role of Dr. Drosselmeyer. Set to Tchaikovsky’s beloved score, the world-famous ballet showcases more than 100 area dancers and features a 27-piece professional orchestra under the direction of Peter Cokkinias. 

 FPAC’s magical journey of The Nutcracker

FPAC’s original panto, A Glass Slipper Christmas, will be staged at THE BLACK BOX on December 9 and 10 at 7:30 p.m. with a Sunday matinee on December 11 at 2:00. Based on the story of Cinderella, the production follows in the British tradition, retelling a well-known fairy tale in an exaggerated style filled with audience participation, popular music, slapstick comedy, jokes, dances, and more. Audiences are invited to cheer for the hero, boo at the villain, and sing along to favorite songs. The panto also entertains with double entendre, references to modern culture, and open satire of other works.

FPAC’s large-cast holiday musical, Humbug!, will be presented on December 17 at 7:30 p.m. and December 18 at 2 p.m. at the Franklin High School auditorium. A family favorite since debuting as part of the company’s 2008 season, Humbug! is an original musical retelling of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. With musical hits of every genre and live accompaniment by a 10-piece band of professional musicians, Humbug! transports audiences from Dickensian England to contemporary America as the novel’s iconic characters and storyline are cleverly reimagined with modern setting and dialogue. Humbug! stars the script’s writer, Nick Paone, as Ebenezer Scrooge. 

For more information or to purchase tickets, call (508) 528-3370 or visit www.FPAConline.com.

"there is still work to be done, especially with the subgroup that included disabled students"

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"Three local schools scored in the highest level of performance in standardized testing, district officials said Tuesday. 

The School Committee heard a presentation at its Tuesday night meeting on the district's progress in testing, with officials saying Franklin High School, Oak Street Elementary School and Kennedy Elementary School had earned the state's "level one" accountability rating, the highest available. 

Assistant Superintendent Joyce Edwards said the high school and Kennedy School had previously held the rating, while the Oak Street School's performance represents an improvement. 

"We're currently a level two district... that's the predominant level across the state," she said. "That number is based on the lowest-performing school in the district."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20161115/franklin-schools-review-testing-results


The presentation document with the MCAS and PARCC summary can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2016/11/live-reporting-mcas-and-parcc-results.html

MassBudget: Feeding Students, Counting Kids, Funding Schools

Six Recommendations for Improvement

Feeding Students, Counting Kids, Funding Schools: Six Recommendations for Improvement To expand educational opportunity by making sure that more students are well-fed and ready to learn, the federal government has created a program that allows schools to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students in districts with large numbers of low-income students. Schools that implement this program, called Community Eligibility, no longer collect paper forms from every child to determine who is eligible for free or reduced price meals. Instead, schools use a data matching system to count students as low income for school meals purposes when they are enrolled in other programs that support low-income families. This data-matching direct certification process improves efficiency and expands access to school meals. The interaction of this program and our school funding formula has, however, led to some challenges. MassBudget's new policy brief Counting Kids at School: 6 Steps to Better Numbers, presents strategies to fix these unintended consequences. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has recognized the challenges and has already made significant improvements to its data systems. At the direction of the Legislature, DESE is developing further recommendations, which will be final by December 19. Based on MassBudget's ongoing research on direct certification and its impact on Chapter 70 funding, this new brief presents six recommendations that could help the Commonwealth to achieve a more accurate count of low-income students. You can read MassBudget's six recommendations in the new policy brief HERE (link). Related MassBudget resources: To read about implementation of the Direct Certification program in Massachusetts, read Direct Certification for School Meals: Feeding Students, Counting Kids, Funding Schools. MassBudget's Children's Budget provides a concise description and funding history of the School Food Programs and Chapter 70 Aid. See the Kids Count Data Center data on Free and Reduced Price Lunch Enrollment Rates by School District and Economically Disadvantaged Students by School District. For MassBudget's video and explanation of the Chapter 70 program, see Demystifying the Chapter 70 Funding Formula: How the Massachusetts Education Funding System Works. The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) produces policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state's economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts. MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER 15 COURT SQUARE, SUITE 700 BOSTON, MA 02108

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, 15 Court Square, Suite 700, Boston, MA 02108 Sent by nberger@massbudget.org in collaboration with Try it free today

In the News: donation drive for rail trails; Council to consider 'country store'

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"Bay State Trail Riders Association Inc., a local nonprofit, is planning a donation drive to fund trail improvements to local trail systems in state forests and parks. 

Projects currently underway will impact state forests and parks in Bellingham, as well as Douglas, Upton, Mendon and Blackstone. 

Items will be turned in to Savers of Woonsocket. Savers will pay BSTRA 20 cents per pound for soft items and 5 cents per pound for hard items.

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20161115/bay-state-trail-riders-to-hold-donation-drive

"The Town Council will consider creating a new "rural business" zoning district and adopting a definition for "country store." 

The council is slated to vote at its meeting Wednesday on several zoning bylaw changes that would allow a country store within town that could sell such items as fruits, vegetables and arts and crafts. 

In a memorandum to the council, Town Administrator Jeffrey Nutting said the change had been requested by the Washington Street business Hillside Nurseries, which is looking to offer goods for sale. Nutting wrote that such a move has been discussed for years. 

The new Rural Business District would allow for low-intensity commercial uses near or in residential neighborhoods."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20161115/franklin-council-to-consider-country-store

Live reporting: Closing

5. Information Matters
Superintendent’s Report
thanks to Mr Gleason for the article and to the Davis Thayer students for their contribution to the Franklin Food Pantry

Panther Pride night on Monday, an open house for the 8th grade game

Ticket still available for the Thanksgiving football game

Harlem Wizards game sold out for Friday

Horace Mann veterans day celebration for friends and family


School Committee Sub-Committee Reports

Policy Sub Committee – MaryJane Scofield
meeting on Nov 29th at 7:00 PM

Community Relations meeting last week
mostly about budget, how to get more for the schools
testing and data
communications interest

next meeting Dec 3, 9:00 AM in the conference room
thankful for the response by the policy subcommittee

School Committee Liaison Reports

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

request to have Roy, Ross, and Spilka to talk about the budget process

joint budget subcommittee looking to set meeting in early December


7. Motion to Adjourn
passed 7-0

Live reporting: Action Items

4. Action Items
a. I recommend approval of the Budget Transfers as detailed.
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0

b. I recommend moving Policy JICA – School Dress Code Policy to a second reading.
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0

c. I recommend adoption of Policy JKAA – Physical Restraint of Students as discussed.
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0

d. I recommend acceptance of two checks totaling $9,104.61 for Davis Thayer as follows:
1. $8,100.00 from PCC for field trips.
2. $1,004.61 from O’Connor Portraiture for supplemental supplies
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0

e. I recommend acceptance of a check for $800.00 from the Parmenter PCC for field trips.
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0

f. I recommend acceptance of two checks totaling $2,213.00 from the Oak Street PCC as follows:
1. $1,288.00 for in-house enrichment
2. $925.00 for field trips
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0

g. I recommend acceptance of a check for $725.00 from the JF Kennedy PCC for field trips.
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0

h. I recommend acceptance of two checks totaling $3855.28 for Keller as follows:
1. $2,000.00 – IBM for supplemental supplies
2. 1855.28 – Keller PCC for field trips
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0

i. I recommend acceptance of the grant - donation of 15 Ableton Push music devices, valued at $14,969.85 for FHS Sound Recording Teacher Drew O’Connors’ class.
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0

j. I recommend acceptance of a check for $440.00 from BJ’s Wholesale Club for the Central Office gift account.
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0

k. I recommend acceptance of a check for $150.00 from the Jefferson PCC for in-house enrichment.
motion to approve, seconded, passed 7-0

Live reporting: Dress code and student restraint

The draft student dress code policy

The draft policy on  physical restraint of students

community entrance to FHS

The full agenda can be found here
http://www.franklinmatters.org/2016/11/franklin-ma-school-committee-agenda-nov.html