Mayor Dave in the blogo-sphere

The Cap Times covers Madison Mayor Dave's blog which is hosted on the city's website.  The article goes on to discuss the issues of politicians and blogging.  Cieslewicz, as mayor, can speak for himself in an official capacity, and the blog's status would be similar to a press release or other communiqué from the mayor's office so long as it sticks to city business.  The mayor doesn't allow comments, but his office has a much higher profile and there are many other avenues for public feedback.  

Of course no one on the school board can speak for the board as a whole, so any blogs should be privately hosted and operated.

I found this quote interesting:

“Some research has shown that whatever a politician’s intention is with the blog, the content will inevitably get him or her into trouble, politically,” she adds.

So far I think I've avoided that fate, despite relentless criticism from some of my colleagues.  I do feel avenues for communication with the public are far more important than any political risk I might run.  

Tax rates comparisons.

Sunday's State Journal reproduces this table for comparing property tax rates in Dane County:

http://danedocs.countyofdane.com/webdocs/pdf/treasure/tax_chart.pdf

I just found it interesting to see where our communities fall...

Merry Christmas to all...

4k-8 study report

At last nights board meeting former Winnequah Principal Patti McGinnis presented the results of the 4k-8 study commissioned by the board last summer.  The report detailed the costs of implementing 4k-8 grade configurations in each community.  The proposed configuration would require significant changes to Winnequah school to accomodate programming for Monona 3-8th grade students and some changes to Glacial Drumlin to shift CG 4th graders into the building. 

The report (I'll link it here when it is up on the district website) was very thorough, and I found it a useful exercise to see all the costs and factors that go into making a school laid out in one place.  It is worth a read on that basis.  One issue identified from the study was that the scheduling wouldn't work with the current encore staff and additional staffing would be required.  These additional requirements hadn't been worked out, but they would add to the costs included the study.

The bottom line of the study is an estimated $1.05-1.1M in the first year with an ongoing cost of $150-200K each year thereafter, plus the additional staffing costs.
This study was involved significant effort from much of the administrative staff, I'd like to thank them for the care and thoroughness of this report.

Update:  The report has been posted on the district website and can be accessed by clicking here (Adobe Acrobat required).

Update: Patti reminds me that the Winnequah and Glacial Drumlin staff made significant contributions to the report, and deserve our thanks!

Race to the top

The district received an initial solicitation from the state DPI regarding "Race to the top" funds. The race to the top funds will be divided into two parts, with half of the funds going to districts that agree to implement programs in 5 areas outlined in the memorandum:

I. Standards & Assessments

1. Implement a curriculum aligned to the Common Core Standards in reading, English language arts, and mathematics.
2. Implement a statewide benchmark assessment system in reading and mathematics that allows measurement of growth throughout the school year.
...
II. Data Systems
1. Develop or enhance local data systems or tools that track student growth and link students, their course records, and their test scores to teachers to enhance instructional improvement efforts.
2. Support education research efforts by continuing to provide data currently required by state and federal law and new data required for Race to the Top.
...
III. Effective Teachers and Principals
1. Provide school-based coaches for reading and mathematics at a level sufficient to having coaches in each school in the district at least the equivalent of one full day each week. These coaches must be highly trained and work with teachers in classrooms to implement new curriculum and/or instructional strategies as well as assist teachers in using data effectively to improve instruction.
2. Implement a teacher mentoring program that utilizes an ongoing feedback process that supports teacher growth and development.
3. Implement a principal mentoring program that includes ongoing feedback and supports principal development.
4. Provide professional development and support to staff to implement new curriculum and/or instructional strategies as well as to use data effectively to improve instruction.
5. Develop or implement a rigorous, transparent, and fair annual evaluation system for teachers and principals that differentiates effectiveness using multiple rating categories, takes into account data on student growth as a significant factor, and includes multiple observations or examples of actual classroom instruction.

...
6. Develop a plan to ensure the equitable distribution of effective teachers in high-poverty and high-minority schools.
7. Adopt criteria for principal placement that includes prior evaluations and student achievement indicators, if principals have prior experience.
...
IV. Turning Around Struggling Schools
1. Implement a response to intervention model that provides diagnostic assessments, core instruction to all students, differentiation strategies, and interventions in reading and mathematics.
2. (applies only to Milwaukee)
3. Implement or expand interventions for students who need more academic support and instructional time in at least one of the following areas: extended learning time, enhanced transitions, or intensive interventions.
...
V. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)
1. Expanded opportunities for courses in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, which may include but is not limited to:

Click through here for the complete document.

I think that all of this is worthwhile, and MG is well positioned to meet these requirements.  Indeed MG has already gone down much of this path already, we have a leadership role in WI in the implementation and use of growth based assessments, data systems, RTI, teacher mentoring and other elements on the list.  I am particularily pleased to see the "Effective Teachers and Prinicipals" efforts outlined in the proposal.  The features outlined should be what schools are doing at a minimum, and would be considered fundamental requirements for basic operation in any well run private sector organization.   I don't think they go far enough, for example the teacher mentoring requirement only extends to teachers in their first two years.

The problem of course is that these efforts require significant resources, done well the professional development portions alone will need substantial investments of time that in my judgement currently aren't available.   To fund these requirements, the DPI has estimated that MG's allotment would be $127K (more might be available if some other districts choose not to participate). 

12/16 documents

The documents presented at the budget workshop are posted on the district web site here (Adobe Acrobat required).

In what I thought was a productive discussion the administration presented details from a list of 27 items totaling about $1.9 million in potential savings. Virtually all of the items represent reductions in personnel and services to students or the community. Each item is listed in the document with a summary of the savings and the impact on the district and district goals.

The list includes suggested reductions in administrative staffing, support staff, elementary and middle school arts programming, custodial services, middle and high school teaching staff. A few other areas not yet detailed, are also found at the bottom of the list. These should provide a few more options to add to the list.

The meeting on Wednesday served only to introduce this list and the board requested more information on many of the items. No decisions or prioritization of the list have been made at this point.

Probably the most important meeting of the year...

Takes place tonight in the Nichols Board Room.

AGENDA Wednesday, December 16, 2009
I. Opening of Meeting – Susan Fox
II. Declaration of Public Notice
III. Discussion of Possible Budget Reductions – Craig Gerlach
IV. Adjournment

Contract climate

Rick Kerr forwarded a link to this interesting Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article about the status of teacher contract negotiations around the state. Recent changes in the law (elimination of the QEO), the economy and the state funding levels have combined to set a new climate around contract negotiations.

Snow Day Tomorrow...

My kids are already celebrating!

December 9th board agenda

Next Wednesday's agenda can be found here.  Items of note:

X. New Business

  B. Discussion and Possible Approval of Financial Audit 2008-2009 – Reilly, Penner & Benton LLP

-The audit results of the 2008-9 year will be presented to the board.  The report details a very clean audit with no compliance issues or discrepencies found.  The one deficiency noted is that the district relies on the Audit accountants to prepare detailed financial statements in compliance with the complicated GAAP requirements.  The auditor notes that this is a very common practice among school districts due to the level of expertise required.  

C. Report from Applied Population Laboratory Regarding Enrollment Projections – Sara Lazenby

- The annual APL enrollment report will be presented.  The "Baseline Model", which is usually accurate to a couple percent, shows a slight increase in enrollment (by about 100 students) over the next five years.

F. Update on Energy Committee – Jill List

- The energy committee has started working on ideas for reducing energy consumption through changes in operation and behaviour, I'm interested in hearing how this is moving forward.

"The Little Match Girl" tonight at the MGHS auditorium...

Playtime productions musical "The Little Match Girl" is in the MGHS auditorium tonight at 7:00pm,  "Cookie Walk" benefit and fundraiser starts at 6:00pm.

Don't miss it!

No "rainy day" ahead

In this week's column about the last school board meeting, Adam refers to our budget reserve as a "rainy day" fund that will be eaten up by future deficits. Problem is we don't have a "rainy day" fund. At the end of the last budget year we did have cash on hand of nearly $5 million, (what we call the "budget reserve") but this is necessary for the day-to-day operations: payments to the district come in large lumps at long intervals (the schedule can be found here), in order to meet our obligations before and between these payments we have to spend down our cash reserves and then some. In fact we still need to do a few million dollars in "cash-flow" borrowing each year to keep us solvent between state payouts. So there is no pot of money sitting around for us to spend.


The "budget reserve" does dramatically reduce required short term borrowing and avoids the resulting interest payments, each dollar reduction to the budget reserve results in higher interest costs to the district. Further, the size of the reserve helps maintain the district's bond rating, which helps reduce the cost of any district borrowing. This is why the board recently passed a policy recommending a 15% "budget reserve". At the time I advocated for some teeth to this policy- requiring a plan to restore the budget reserve to 15% should it drop below- but the majority of the board opposed this provision.

If the budget forecast predicted a year or two of deficits before returning to a balanced budget, then it might be okay to spend down the reserve temporarily to preserve programs and refill it later. But the projections show a continued and growing deficit for the foreseeable future, so spending down the reserve would only increase costs and make future cuts worse. It will be tempting for politicians (like me) to spend the reserve now to avoid unpopular cuts, but IMHO this would be short sighted and only leave the district in worse shape in the future.

A familiar sound and a difficult story...

The familiar sound (to me) of the Cal-Train heard in this sad NPR Story caught my ear on the way to work today. I used to live near and regularly cross the rail road intersection at the center of this story about a high school suicide "cluster" in Palo Alto, CA. PA is an upscale suburban community adjacent to Stanford University, and home to one of the best high schools in the SF Bay area.

The story led me to other research on the issue. It seems that the local parents have it right: research indicates that reducing the opportunities for suicide appears to be the most effective approach to reducing rates. Although screening for and treating depression, anxiety and mental illness are important, in most cases it appears suicide is a relatively spontaneous act and can be reduced by eliminating access to ready means. Other research shows that the nature of media coverage and responses to one suicide have an important role in preventing similar actions.

Among the bad news is important information that could provide life-saving guidance to school district plans and responses.

spam be-gone

I've been receiving (and deleting) a lot of "comment spam" on my older posts. Comment spam are unrelated comments that list website url's in an attempt to improve search engine rankings. So I have turned on comment moderation for anything older than 30 days. You are still welcome to comment on older posts, you will just have to wait until I get around to approving the comment before it appears. It is rare for me to receive real comments on old posts, so I don't think it is a problem.

Again the rules for comments here:

1) Keep it civil.
2) Don't speak for anyone else or assign motivations to others.
3) No unsupported accusations.

#2 is the rule most frequently violated. I want to hear what you think, and I believe a free exchange of views in a public forum is important to our communities.

Next Wednesday which is this Tuesday...

There is no school on Wednesday, so this week's board meeting was moved from Wednesday to Tuesday (11/24) evening.

Items of note on the agenda:

IX. New Business
B. PMA Five-Year Budget Forecast Model Presentation (30 min)

-This is probably the most difficult situation we are facing. Most people don't know that for the last several years the PMA budget forecast shows a significant structural budget deficit that starts to increase by nearly a million dollars a year by 2011. The problem has been simple: state revenue caps and the funding formula limit the annual increase in revenue to less than 2%, while the QEO results in average annual increases in personnel costs (80% of the budget) of about 4.5%. The difference between revenue and expenses -more than 2%/year- will quickly start adding up.

Of course the QEO law was recently repealed, but I doubt that will result in reductions in costs that will bridge the gap, nor should it.

There isn't any good news in this, but the vast majority of school districts in the state are facing the same problem. We are fortunate that our facilities are in very good shape compared to other districts, with little defered maintenance or significant pending infrastructure requirements. Couple that with our energy reducing efforts and a healthy budget reserved and MGSD is probably in better shape to weather the coming years than the vast majority of Wisconsin districts.

C. Discussion of Revised Policy #425-Open Enrollment (and Rule #452-Open
Enrollment Procedure) (20 min)

- The concern here relates to establishing criteria for refusing OE students. State law requires us to take OE students provided that there is sufficient space, but how is "space" defined? Are we allowed to turn down students because we won't be able to accommodate them after a few years in the next school?

XI. Future Agenda Items and Meetings
A. December 22 - Report of 4K-8 Grade Configuration in Each Community Study

At the December meeting we will hear the report from the administration regarding the results of the -4k-8 study. This study is primarily focused on the costs required to implement 4k-8 in each community, rather than the environmental or education benefits.

B. Gifted and Talented Policy

- Jill List asked that we review this policy because of parent concerns. One of the general trends under NCLB (no child left behind law) is for districts to focus attention on the lower performing students, often shifting resources from higher performing students. I believe one of the biggest problem with NCLB is that it sets a single status goal, rather than growth or averages. To meet AYP requirements districts need to just get an increasing number of students over a fixed bar, there is no incentive to expend energy on those students who are comfortably over it or who are too far below to have a reasonable chance of making it. I also think that we have an obligation to challenge every student to their fullest potential, regardless of their level of proficiency.

The future lies ahead...

I've long argued that the information revolution is going to fundamentally change education in this country, the way that it has already transformed nearly every information based segment of the economy. For example there is the potential for every teacher in the country to have simultaneous access to the best available content on any topic.

The Wisconsin Academy is sponsoring a lecture tonight on the topic "Digital Media and the Future of Schooling: A Look at the 2050 Classroom" at 7:00pm tonight. Predicting the future 40 years out is always a risky undertaking, but an examination of the potential currently available technology has as a agent change in the classroom is certainly a worthwhile effort.

What do you think...

Context: In order to have a balanced budget we anticipate facing a shortfall of about $1 million in the next fiscal year, or roughly 3% of our current operating budget. This reduction falls on top of significant cuts over the last couple of years - a fact that means we have already cut all or most of the "low hanging fruit", and I don't believe we can make a 3% cut without noticeably reducing services. It is an unfortunate circumstance, however I think it can be done while continuing to make strides toward improved academic achievement.

I have my own ideas for dealing with the issue, but I would like to hear thoughts and ideas from the community: Comment away!

The Little Match Girl...

Playtime Productions Fall Season is in Full swing. This season's performance features 25 kids, many of them MG students, in a beautiful musical adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson's "Little Match Girl".

I've been involved with the Playtime shows for the last couple of years, and I'm always impressed by the talent on display and the results of the hard work and dedication shown by these kids- and you will be too. So don't miss your chance to enjoy the show and support this worthwhile organization - I've posted some of the most convenient dates below, you can find the full schedule here.

And don't worry, this production is appropriate (and entertaining) for even the youngest kids despite the serious subject matter.

Overture Center for the Arts Playhouse
Friday, November 20 at 7:00

Monona Grove High School
Friday, December 4 at 7:00
PTP Gala Benefit Cookie Walk starts at 6:00

Barrymore Theatre
Sunday, December 6 at 6:00

Tomorrow is Veteran's day

so no mail delivery.

Oh yeah, there's a school board meeting too...

Items you might find interesting on the Agenda all revolve around curriculum related issues at the high school:

New Business
B. Discussion and Possible Approval of the High School English Instructional Materials. (Bill Breisch, Janet Blimling and Paul Brost).
- Staff will present a request for approximatly $30,000 for new English Instructional Materials related to curriculum alignement.

C. Discussion and Possible Approval of the Project Lead the Way Principles of Engineering (POE) Course as a Science Elective Beginning the 2010-11 School Year.
(Jake Mihm & Jeff Otto) (20 min.)

D. Board Rule 343.2 – Class Size – Discussion
- Changes to the class size guidelines with increased ranges in the high school will be considered. Increasing class size is probably the easiest way to reduce costs in the district, given the current budget outlook revised guidlines may be necessary to provide the flexibility needed to get through the next year.

More ACT

A new book, Crossing the Finish Line has studied the relationship between standardized test scores and college graduation rates. Among the conclusions:

•Taken separately, high school GPA is a better predictor of college graduation rates than SAT/ACT score. This findings holds true across institution type, and gets stronger the less selective an institution is. High school GPA is three to five times more important in predicting college graduation than SAT/ ACT score.
•SAT and ACT scores are proxies for high school quality. When the authors factored in which high schools students attended (i.e. high school quality), the predictive power of high school GPA went up, and the predictive power of SAT/ ACT scores fell below zero.

This is a subtle statistical point: unnormalized, ACT scores have predictive power, high scores mean higher college success. However when GPA's are normalized by the schools average ACT score that predictive power disappears. That is pretty strong signal that standardized test scores are an independent measure of "High School Quality", while GPA is a measure of the student's individual performance.

I have been a bit concerned about alingment to the ACT's "College Readiness Standards", but this large study really justifies that move.

Obama visits Madison today...

President Obama and Sec. of Education Arne Duncan will be in Madison today to speak at Wright Middle School on education reform in the US. For the first time, the Secretary of Education has significant discretionary funds ($4.35 billion) for spending on education reforms. The Department of Education will be accepting proposals for projects aimed at four reform areas:

-- To reverse the pervasive dumbing-down of academic standards and assessments by states, Race to the Top winners need to work toward adopting common, internationally bench marked K-12 standards that prepare students for success in college and careers.

-- To close the data gap -- which now handcuffs districts from tracking growth in student learning and improving classroom instruction -- states will need to monitor advances in student achievement and identify effective instructional practices.

-- To boost the quality of teachers and principals, especially in high-poverty schools and hard-to-staff subjects, states and districts should be able to identify effective teachers and principals -- and have strategies for rewarding and retaining more top-notch teachers and improving or replacing ones who aren't up to the job.

-- Finally, to turn around the lowest-performing schools, states and districts must be ready to institute far-reaching reforms, from replacing staff and leadership to changing the school culture

There is one issue standing in the way for Wisconsin: a state law that prevents standardized test results from being used to evaluate teachers, which makes WI ineligible for "Race to the Top" funds. A bill in the legislature aims to repeal that law.

I oppose using the current WI mandated state wide test, the WKCE, for evaluating teachers. As I have discussed before that test is too flawed and unwieldy for such a purpose. I could support such a move in the future, provided we have the right assessments that are well designed for the purpose. A good assessment would be focused on measures of individual growth, be well aligned with the curriculum, have specific articulated measures that provides guidance to the teaching staff, be aligned with the school year and provide specific and prompt feedback to allow direct responses. In addition if used to evaluate teachers, assessments need to be carefully designed and normalized to provide a full measure of fairness.

Indeed I think the primary goal of these assessments should be to evaluate the quality of the teaching in a district, not the students. If the teaching is good, the students will progress.

Piling on

I've started a post on this topic four different times, but never figured out where to go with it, but the combined weight of the punditry has finally pushed me over the edge: Jack, Sunny, Doug and finally the WSJ all weigh in on the "Halloween" issue, (we have heard from a number of parents as well). For anyone who hasn't heard, Barb Berg asked students at Cottage Grove elementary not to dress up for Halloween this week (although that was later relaxed.)

About the coverage: Kudos to Doug to for actually corresponding with Principal Berg over the issue even though he disagrees. I have to take issue with Sunny's characterization of Barb's concerns about "minimz(ing) the disruption to learning that day" as "lame-o". Cultivating an environment conducive to learning should be above almost everything else on Barb's list, and she has both the experience and the position to make judgments about what is and isn't disruptive in her school. Regardless of how we feel about the issue I believe we have to take that judgment at face value. And Jack's encouragement of students to break the rules is, in my opinion, irresponsible. Communicating concerns and disagreements with the administration and the board is appropriate and welcomed (at least by me! ) But don't put the kids in the middle.

What do I think? Most of my thoughts go to the fact that it is always this kind of issue that gets attention from the public and the local pundits. It seems like it is never the good things (like the MG leadership in assessments and curriculum alignment over the last several years) or the important things (like the too high percentage of MG students who need remedial classes in college) that "make the news". Nothing would please me more than to have 200 parents show up at a board meeting to complain about academic issues! I understand that Halloween is a significant tradition and I have seen how much fun the kids have with Halloween celebrations in school. I don't see any evidence they aren't appropriate. I understand and sympathize with the concerns of the parents I have heard from, but this year there is no school the two days before Halloween (due to the WEAC convention) and if Barb thinks it is better to keep the kids focused in a different direction in the time she has, I just can't get to worked up about it.

This isn't a board decision, and there is no district wide policy on Halloween or other in-school celebrations.

And in Enrollment news:

The "3rd Friday" count report is out - the school funding formula is calculated using student populations calculated from enrollment on the 3rd Friday in September and January. The 3rd Friday count is our first accurate measure of the enrollment for the year.

Total enrollment for the year is 3089, including open enrollment students, up from 3084 last year. That number includes 171 open enrollment students, 76 of whom are at the high school.

Subtracting out the OE students, we find an increase of 12 resident students at Maywood, while at the high school the freshman class was smaller than the class that graduated last year- a trend that has been going on for some time.


September 2009 enrollment:

Taylor Prairie 403
Cottage Grove 463
Maywood 237
Glacial Drumlin 719
Winnequah 245
HS 947

I'll link the full report when it is posted on our website!

Tomorrow's meeting

Tomorrow's board meeting is at GD school, the agenda can be found here.

Items I think are of note:

VI. School Update c. High School Class Officer Update of Fall Activities– Paul Brost
-Principal Brost and some of the High School class officers will update the board on not homecoming week activity.


IX. New Business
A. Discussion and Possible Approval of Education for Employment Plan – Sheila Hibner.
- The Education for Employment Plan ensures we have a comprehensive curriculum span that prepares the student for a successful career by developing both academic and workplace competencies. The plan is a good example of the articulated curriculum planning that goes beyond a single classroom.


IX. New Business
D. Discussion and Possible Approval of the Resolution for Revenue Limit Exemption for
Energy Efficiency

-The state is no allowing school districts to raise funds beyond the revenue limit for energy efficiency projects, such as the ones we are in the process of completing. At MG we are ahead of the game and have already funded our projects through guaranteed performance contracts- a better deal for the taxpayers. However there is the matter of $50,000 budgeted for the TP roof, an amount that was above what could be included in the contracts. By taking advantage of the revenue limit exemption we can close this gap without tapping the general fund.


X. Old Business
E. District Goals Update
-We will be hearing from the administration plans for meeting the district goals as adopted by the board earlier this year.

F. 2010-2011 Budget Deficit Discussion
- We are anticipating a potential budget deficit of $1M next year. The board will be discussing the approach we wish to take to address this major issue.

More ACT

Mary Possin forwarded a 2007 report from the state comparing ACT scores and college freshman GPA's both statewide and for MG graduates. The data includes MG students who graduated between 2003 and 2005 and attended the state university system. One chart: http://i653.photobucket.com/albums/uu251/petersobol/MGHSACTReadinessPG5.jpg

The data shows the correlation in aggregate between the ACT scores and college success, at least in the first semester. Unfortunately I don't have access to the raw data for a real statistical analysis, because I would like to see how this works on an individual basis, but the data does strongly reinforce the idea that the ACT college readiness standards are a good way to go.

Interestingly the data shows MG students outperform the statewide average for a given ACT score, something we need to consider as we move ahead with curriculum alignment.

Now in the news...

So what was it that brought the news media out to the MGSD Annual meeting last night? Our leadership in assessments? Our ongoing efforts to align curriculum with college readiness standards? The positive open enrollment growth? The struggles to balance the budget? Anything even vaguely related to education?

Of course not.

The answer: "Packers Game!"

(Whoops- NBC 15 took down the embed link, but you can still click through to the video here.. Your's truly manages to stammer through a line about 1:30 into the video.)

Thanks to everyone who came out for the quiet, uneventful and short annual meeting.

Many, Many thanks...

to each of the bakers of 250 pies, the dozens of volunteers and the hundreds of attendees at the 2009 Monona Pie Party. Together we raised nearly $6200 for the Monona Public Library's early childhood literacy program, and had a wonderful Saturday afternoon.

One of the party's sponsors, Alice O'Mahar of Pampered Chef, will continue to contribute 25% of all sales to the Library through October 23rd! Click through to her website here.

And don't forget the other sponsors: Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar, Chad's Carpentry, Copps Foods, Friends of Monona Public Library, Grimm Book Bindery, Huntington Learning Center, Ken’s Meats & Deli, Kessenich's Ltd, Monona Grove Nursery School, Monona Motors, Monona Parks & Recreation, Monona Veterinary Clinic, Pizza Oven ,Starbuck's, Victoria Hull and WendtWorks Facepainting.

So who made the best pie? The Baker's Choice for Best Dinner Pie went to Liz Primozic of Madison for her Beet Pie (yes, made with beet's!), and the Best Dessert Pie award went to Jan Dorschel's Rosy Raspberry Pear Pie. Kristin Sobol won the "Kid's Choice" award with her Vanilla Cream Birthday Pie.

7 pies each sold for more than $100, my "Rueben Pie", Coz Skaife's "Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater Pie” and "Lost Mitten Apple Raspberry Pie”, They were Shirley Klinkner’s "Mile High Strawberry Pie", Sarah Whalen’s Cherry Pie, Liz Primozic’s "Beet It Pie", and Jan Dorschel’s "Rosy Raspberry Pear Pie".

And who walked away with the top prize for the pie that raised the most money? ...me...
although Kristin's mom made the (crisco free) crust.

Piebrarians

A final reminder that tomorrow is THE Monona Pie Party at the community center. This year the event is a benefit for early literacy materials at the Monona public library.

On the subject of libraries, I found this NPR story of a librarian, social intelligence and knowing when to break the rules really moving. God bless the librarians.

While this story occured a long time ago and far away I have to say that the social pressures that would make some students not want to be seen reading are not at all foreign to the here and now. Indeed this may be the single greatest challenge facing education in america.

Raising a scientifically literate child

Speaking at a Q&A session of the Portland Science Pub Neil Degrasse Tyson comments on the subject of raising scientifically literate children. His answer should be of interest to anyone with small children.

The section of interest starts about 4:15 in to the podcast, I've linked it here:


or you can go to the PBS website if the embedded player doesn't work for you.

Homecoming cancelled

Doug Wood takes on the district for cancelling homecoming this year.

After the problems of last year's homecoming Principal Brost made a recommendation that Homecoming be canceled because of the escalation of destructive behaviors that he felt were becoming disruptive to the educational mission of the high school. After several years of unsuccessful attempts to improve the situation Paul indicated that in his judgment it was time to hit the reset button by cancelling events for a period of time and then starting over.

The Herald-Independent covered this issue last November, you can follow the link, but I have reproduced the relevant reporting below.

I, for one, support this move. Although we took no formal action my impression was that the board was generally supportive at the time. Principal Brost and Superintendent Gerlach are the ones with experience, expertise and knowledge of the situation to make this difficult call.

I also think Doug misses the point: I'm sure many people view the action as a punishment for past misdeeds, but it is not. It is an attempt to create an enviroment in the high school that is more conducive to learning by changing the in-school activities.

From the HI:

Homecoming Cancelled?

Monona Grove High School Principal Paul Brost told the school board that he is recommending that the school no longer feature a "formal Homecoming week" starting next fall, due to poor behavior by students, particularly involving vandalism.

Brost filed a detailed report outlining various behavior problems related to homecoming, and sought feedback from the board on how to best clean up the event.

"This goes back before my five years at the high school," said Brost. We have made gains in school and in the community, added Brost, saying he was frustrated that "we have reached a standstill in progress."

It is very difficult to control behavior outside the school environment, he said, which is where most of the problems occur.

"This to me is a very big deal, and a decision that has not been taken lightly," said Brost. "I am disappointed that I've been unable to turn this (problem) around."

Brost's report outlined issues that arose during Homecoming 2008, as well as major issues and recurrent themes that have caused problems during the last decade.

"Homecoming continues to be a negative experience in school and in the community and my recommendation is to consider discontinuing Homecoming," wrote Brost in his report. He recommended substituting the week-long event with a formal dance held between the fall and winter sports seasons, sometime in November.

According to the report, major problems past and present include:

• Because the senior class could not have their own shirt this year, they ordered over 100 shirts outside of school that read ".09 Pushing it to the Limit." This is a reference to pushing rules and blood alcohol levels, said Brost. The shirts were deemed inappropriate, of course, and after talking with the parent who had helped place the order, the order was cancelled.

• Seniors taunting younger students at assembly events, particularly junior class members. Seniors boast about how many junior homes they have vandalized.

• Vandalization includes toilet papering of homes and dumping garbage on yards, but also more permanent methods like bleaching yards and vehicles, dumping cooking oil on driveways, spray painting driveways, and vehicles being egged. A parade float trailer was pushed in Lake Monona and a dog was shot with a paintball gun. Students were also removed from cars at gunpoint by Madison police after officers saw a paintball gun. A student was "saran wrapped to a tree" with his pants pulled down.

• Students drive in excessive speeds through neighborhoods.

Brost said that some parents are concerned about this vandalism while others say it is not a big deal, just kids having fun.

Brost outlined numerous tactics he has employed to try and thwart this negative behavior, including working closely with class advisors and officers to "give students more ownership" of homecoming activities. They have also reduced the number of assemblies to help reduce taunting and animosity between grades. Brost said that like most years, in-school Homecoming activities were largely ignored outside of the dance.

Board President John Kitslaar said that this was an administrative decision and that the board would not vote on the matter. District Superintendent Craig Gerlach said he was hesitant to cancel the event outright, but that he respected the recommendation. He said they will continue to discuss this decision leading into next fall.

Open Enrollment article

Phil McDade sent along a link to an interesting article on the driving factors behind open enrollment in Wisconsin. Monona Grove is a significant beneficiary of open enrollment revenue, so it is worth understanding this phenomenon:

One of the most striking findings in the recent study was that students were more likely to transfer from districts with higher property values and lower tax rates to districts that spend more per pupil. For every $100 difference in spending per student, a higher-spending district could expect about 1.7% more incoming transfers.

Such behavior suggests that families avoid higher taxes while benefiting from higher spending on education, the researchers noted.

"If you had two districts, and they had the same test scores, same population density, same minorities, but if one spent a little bit more, they would get transfers in," Welsch said. "I guess parents actually believe that spending leads to better educational outcomes."

In addition, all things being equal, for every 1 percentage point gain in students who score in the advanced category on state tests, a district could expect incoming transfers to increase by 2%, according to the research results. School districts with more extracurricular activities and a smaller percentage of minorities also attracted more transfers, although Welsch said data indicated parents were still interested in sending their children to racially diverse school districts.

It is not a suprise that OE tips students and resources toward districts with higher test scores. The fact that it does the same towards higher spending districts is, in restrospect, also not a suprise. Open enrollment provides parents with a way to enjoy the benefits of higher spending districts while avoiding the higher taxes that living in the district would entail, something that could prove disruptive.

Annual Meeting Next Monday

The annual budget of the school district requires approval each year at a meeting of the electorate. This year's meeting will be Monday October 5th at 7p.m. at Glacial Drumlin school. Note that this is not a meeting of the School Board, but a meeting of the electors (eligible voter's) of the district.

The 2009-10 budget publication can be found here. In the past this has been sent out as a flier to all residences in the district, this year we chose not to send it out as a way to save a little money. A more detailed budget publication will be available at the meeting and district offices.

In Brief (all numbers are as budgeted, actual expenditures will vary):
Total general fund expenditures will increase about $1.5M to $33,947,100, about 4.4%. 71% of the district budget goes to salaries and benefits, so they are the main driver of increasing expenditures. Health insurance premiums alone will increase 9% this year. Total expenditures (including debt service, special ed., food service, capital projects & etc.) will be $49.26M

Much of the increased expense will be offset by increased state revenue, with the state's share increasing $2.2M, largely as a result of the 4-K program enrollment. Under the state's revenue limit formula the impact on the total levy will be small, an increase in total of $100,000 (0.48%) to $23,249,000. The remaining difference between revenue and expenses will be met by taking about $600,000 out of the fund balance.

Reduction of the fund balance to pay operating expenses is of particular concern. Although we can afford it this year, continued deficit operation is unsustainable - reducing the fund balance further will increase our borrowing expenses.

The state also shows a 2% increase in the total equalized value of the district ($1.915B) - the result is mill rate of 12.14- essentially unchanged from last year.

One week to Pie!

Saturday, Oct. 3rd! Come hungry!

The end of the University as we know it...

This article from Slate caught my eye. It argues that the Internet will do to Universities and Colleges what it has done to the Cap Times and the rest of the newspaper business:

It is hard to predict the precise pace of change—but it’s possible that within 15 years most college credits will come from classes taken online. In 2007, nearly 4 million students took at least one online course, and the numbers are growing. Within a generation, college will be a mostly virtual experience for the average student. The Ivies will be much less affected than the mid-tier and local schools. But colleges that depend on tuition, and have no special brand, will be hit hard. The recession will accelerate this trend, as students become warier of taking on loans, and state schools experiment after fund cuts. This doesn’t just mean a different way of learning: The funding of academic research, the culture of the academy, and the institution of tenure are all threatened.

It is clear that the access to content that the Internet allows will revolutionize all the information based segments of the economy. I think the future will see the same effect in K-12 education as well- we now live in a world where there is the potential for every student to have access to the best content on any subject produced anywhere in the world. How this will play out I don't know, but it would be a mistake not to embrace the technology where ever it allows us to be more effective and focus on student outcomes.

Aligned by next Tuesday...

Next Wednesday's board meeting will be held on Tuesday 9/22 and will feature a presentation of the "Aligned by Design" Curriculum Model by Dr. Charles Venengoni of John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, IL.

"Aligned by Design" seeks to align the high school core curriculum with college readiness standards to improve student outcomes. The program has been brought forward by Bill Breisch and the administration who have been working on it for several months and are proposing implementation in the MG schools. It fits in well with the assesment model we have been developing in our district.

You can read more about Aligned by Design here, I'll post more references when I can.
http://www.act.org/activity/spring2005/standards.html

Some business...

The board had an important meeting Wednesday, although the meeting went past eleven we heard detailed reviews of the district's RtI (Response to Intervention) program, our disproportionally data, and a review of our standardized test results (A district "report card" if you will). The data was put together and presented by John Faust, Ed O'Connor, Bill Breisch and Charlie Ellis. These gentlemen did an excellent job putting together thorough and clear presentations for the board.

RTI is a system to service students with special needs, it relies on assessment of the effectiveness (the response) to enhanced instruction provided (the intervention) to these students. The emphasis is on results, not identification. RTI is a response to the problem that student achievement tends to stagnate once students are identified as having special needs in traditional special ed systems. Our district is still in the process of implementing this system, but we do have a leadership role in Wisconsin. Some of our data already shows apparent success of this approach in MG schools at the elementary level.

“Disproportionally” refers is the difference in achievement between our minority and white students, it is manifest in academic achievement data as well is the ratio of students identified with special needs or challenges, these ratios are often 3 times greater for minority students. This is a significant problem state wide, and our district is no different.

Overall our district's academic data is not as encouraging. While both growth and achievement are well above average, results are stagnant and not improving as much as I would like to see. It’s the reason the board needs to focus on achievement and not the issues of buildings, buses and fields that have been such a distraction over these last several years.

On the subject of the budget, a succession of little things over the summer has added up to increase our projected budget deficit for the current year. From an estimated $250,000 it is up to about $600,000- but we won't know precisely until the 3rd Friday count is in next week. This will take our fund balance down to the minimum acceptable or below. Bad news, and unfortunately the state budget means that next year will be significantly worse - we will probably be needing to find $1M in the next budget.

One more thing: This year we moved the annual meeting a few weeks earlier to make it easier to meet the state deadlines at the end of October. We didn't know at the time that the date we picked, Monday October 5th, was going to conflict with the Packers vs. Vikings game. Sorry 'bout that!

I feel a need to respond to something:

As a board member I have my shortcomings, but a lack of sincerity is not among them. Every action I have taken has been out of sincere consideration of the best education and financial interests of the district. At a recent school board meeting, school board President Susan Fox made a baseless accusation that I believe was directed at me, charging that board members are acting out of a desire to be obstructive or play games. I don't want to be accused of misrepresenting these comments, so here is the clip, the rest of the meeting can be found at mononatv.com apologies for the echoing audio):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OXJOJC4Rsc

Here is the background:

At a board meeting in July, we updated school board policy 151, which governs board procedures for adopting and amending policies. This was necessary because policy changes normally come through the recently abolished Policy Committee. During the discussion I suggested we also add language requiring a 2/3rds vote for revisions or deletions of 100 series policies. This is standard language lifted directly from Robert’s Rules of Order relating to bylaws of an organization (our 100 series policies cover board governance, and so function as bylaws. Had our governance policies been titled “Bylaws," then this rule would already have been in place as part of our adherence to Robert’s.)

I offered the amendment to bring us into compliance with Robert’s Rules because it is important that the rules under which we operate have a higher standard of stability and acceptance so that there will be a consensus of buy-in to the results of decisions. A constituent might not agree with a decision, but will be more willing to accept it if the process is stable and sound -- in short, that we've followed board governance policies. I offered the amendment on that particular night because the relevant policy was on the table, so I had been scrutinizing it while keeping in mind the express desire of the board to more closely adhere to Robert’s Rules. In the past such amendments would have been made in the Policy Committee and hashed out there, but as I noted, we no longer have a Policy Committee.
In any event, the amendment passed on a 4-3 vote, and then the revised policy was approved 7-0. At the August 26th meeting, Ms. Fox placed an item to rescind the policy change on the agenda, prompting the discussion referenced above. The motion to rescind failed on a 3-4 vote.

Ms. Fox is entitled to her own opinion, but in my view she is not entitled to use the public platform entrusted to her by the voters to make spurious accusations against members of the board (or anyone else for that matter). Her suggestion that the board members supporting the amendment were acting out of a desire to be obstructive or play games is as offensive as it is false, and the fact that she knows no better than to base such accusations on out of context overheard comments is disappointing.

Do I joke with my colleagues on the board after meetings? You bet; it is my way to try and maintain relationships with people I have to work with in difficult circumstances. Did I express surprise the motion passed? Yes. But does that mean I hought it was in anything but the best interests of the district? Absolutely not.

I don’t ask for or expect an apology from Ms. Fox, but these kinds of inflammatory comments do a disservice for two reasons: they undermine the public trust in the institution and they create animosity that interferes with the functioning of the board. So if any apology is owed, it is to the community.

End of the WKCE

In a potentially important move, State Superintendent of School Tony Evers today announced plans to scrap the flawed WKCE exam. I say "potentially" because we have yet to see what form the replacement will take, however the state has been studying this issue for a couple of years and has solid set of recommendations from a task force appointed last year. The task force report can be found here.

The WSJ article on the subject can be found here.

ACT scores

Wednesday the board will hear a report about the district's ACT scores. As you may be aware our district now requires all juniors to take the ACT as we believe that the ACT is a more useful measure of academic progress than the state mandated WKCE. In the past the MG district has had ACT voluntary participation rates of about 60-70%, this compares to results for 92% of students reported for 2008-9 under the new policy. No other district in Dane county or CESA 2 reports participation rates higher than 75%. Without mandatory participation there is a significant selection bias in the reported results.

With the higher participation rate last year's data shows a drop in our average scores (Composite is 21.7 v. 22.5 in 2007-8), but we don't have a good basis for comparison with other district that use mandatory ACT testing.

Personally I think comparison with other districts is not important. What is important is how well prepared our students are for life, and how well we are improving on that mission. Toward those ends the ACT rates students to a "college readiness benchmark" in 4 content areas: English, Algebra, Social Science, and Biology. Students meeting the benchmark have a 50% chance of obtaining a B or higher in corresponding college course work. How do we stack up? The results, which I find disturbing are:

% of MG students meeting benchmark:
English Composition 68%
Algebra 49%
Social Science 52%
Biology 35%
All 4 28%

When only 30% of our students are prepared for college in all area it is clear we have significant work to do, but with the EPAS testing program in place we now have a better framework to understand our strengths and weaknesses and on which to build improvements.

A history of MG students post graduate plans can be found by clicking here.

Gigs again

Jack Henrich comments in last week's H-I on the issue of Gigs. Jack quotes an email that went around a few months ago expressing parent concerns around small guided instruction groups (GIG's) in the middle school.

GIG's are 25 minute weekly lessons held in addition to the regular music classes. They are usually conducted with a few students at a time, all with the same instrument. In order to accommodate these lessons students may be pulled out of other classes once a week for each instrument they study. According to Band Instructor Pat Dorn's presentation to the board last spring, the GIG schedule is arranged to ensure that students only miss time in classes in which they are doing well, that they may be excused from GIG's if there is an important topic/discussion or a test/quiz in their class, and that GIG's are not scheduled during math classes.

I'm a strong believer in the importance of arts education in our schools and I really don't think anyone I have heard from on this issue would disagree with that. However the email Jack mentions stems from concern some have about the amount of time missed from core classes due to the GIG's and the lack of information or opportunities for input available to parents.

I would be interested in hearing from parents on this issue.

This and that-

For the most part minor business was before the board last night. Although the district goals came up we only had limited discussion about them.

A proposed policy to establish a fund balance goal was tabled to give board members time to think about my proposal to add a few teeth to it. The district fund balance has been running between 15 and 20%. We are advised that keeping it above 15% or so reduces our short term borrowing needs and our cost of borrowing, however there is always a temptation to raid the fund balance in a financial pinch.

We did approve a transportation agreement with Kid's Safari where the district will provide afternoon bus service and charge actual costs (~$6300) back to Kid's Safari. I think this is a reasonable solution that leverages the district's ability to provide lower cost transportation in the public interest. I suggested this solution several month ago when the issue first came up.

The board also approved Paul Brost's proposed language for the student handbook concerning an after school tutoring program in the high school. His plan would be to make staff available after school for 2 hours twice a week. This would be available to all students, but some students could be assigned to the program based on academic factors. I like the individual attention this program would provide to students in need, unfortunately this program is not funded at this time.

Tentative goals...

The board met 7/22 to discuss district goals for the coming year. The tentative goals, which we will be discussing at Wednesday's board meeting are currently:

1) Achieve measureable increase in student achievement in core academic areas using these assessments: DIBELS, MAP , WKCE, EXPLORE, PLAN and ACT.

2) Develop measures ot assess student achievement in Encore areas and electives.

3) Align curriculum, instruction and assessment wiht standards/skill in core academic areas as defined by DIBELS, MAP , WKCE, EXPLORE, PLAN and ACT.

4) Close the achievement gaps with attention to race, ethnicity and socio economic status, using measureable assessments provide DIBELS, MAP , WKCE, EXPLORE, PLAN and ACT and reduce disproportionality with regard to placement of minority students in special edcuation.

5) Improve education environment, discipline, and school completion for all students, with special attention to race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status and disability.

6)Select and implement a continuous improvement process that includes development of a strategic plan.

7) Identify and implement outreach strategies with the goal of communicationg more effectively with our constituents.

8) Continue to provide excellent education services to students in a fiscally responsible mannter than continues to monitor the current budget, utilizing a forecasting model that enables anticipating and planning within a responsible budget process.

Pie Party III

This baker's kits for this year's pie party fundraiser are ready to go (and stacked in piles 20 high in my living room.) So if you need one for your entry its not too soon. I'm already contemplating my entry. Contact information can be found at www.bestpieparty.com.

Doyle's plans for reform

I've been mulling over Governor Doyle's announcement of reform plans that appeared in last Sunday's paper. In brief this is what the Governor is proposing:

1) Track student performance from kindergarten through college.

Well implemented I think this could be a real boon to improving educational outcomes, it is something I have advocated for at every opportunity. Test results can be useful if well designed, but the real measure of the success of our schools is in how well prepared our students are for post-secondary education (and for life.) A really comprehensive evaluation of our student's performance in state colleges could be of immense value in improving our programs.

2) Require 3 years of Math and Science to graduate from high school.

MG would have to increase its graduation requirements as we currently require only 2 years of each. And while I do think this is a good idea this falls under the category of incremental change and not comprehensive reform.

3) To quote the WSJ article: "Revamp school finance and teacher pay. Doyle wants to let districts get out from under state revenue caps, imposed since 1993, if they work together on union contract negotiations, make employees use the state health plan unless they already use a cheaper plan, and revamp teacher pay, among other things"

Yes we need comprehensive school finance reform, but this is too vague a statement to evaluate.

One other thing in the article is an apparent commitment to change the law that prevents standardized test results to be considered in teacher evaluations. I understand the concerns teachers might have about standardized tests, particularly with the limitations of the WKCE. Given what I know about it and my conversations with the DPI, I wouldn't consider using it for evaluating teachers. However I have discussed some of our own assessment tools (like the MAP test) with our administration and done significant statistical analysis on my own. Based on that work I believe that carefully designed growth measures can be developed that give a fair and accurate assessment of the effectiveness of teaching in at least some of our content and age areas over time. Carefully designed and administered outcome based evaluations may prove a useful tool in improving academic achievement. The best teachers are already using the information available to improve their effectiveness.

Football Re-alignment?

The WIAA is proposing a realignment of state football play, eliminating conferences and grouping schools by size in 7 divisions of 64. Each division would have 8 districts of 8 teams. The proposal would place MG in Division 2, District D with Baraboo (1,018); DeForest (1,043); Monona Grove (934); Oregon (1,231); Reedsburg (889); Sauk Prairie (879); Stoughton (1,091); Waunakee (1,121). Only current Badger South conference opponents Oregon and Stoughton would be in the new district.

If approved the new system would take effect in the fall of 2010.

Hello again- just back from a week's vacation camping in the Adirondacks. We had a lovely time, thank you.

One of the first things to great me was the WSJ headline in the stack of newspapers and mail:

"Wide Racial Gap In State Schools\ Disparity In Students' Reading, Math Scores Exceeds National Average Gap"

Results from the 2007 NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) show that Wisconsin has the largest gap in performance between minority and white students. Wisconsin's large achievement gap isn't news, we have been aware of this issue for some time. But the NAEP results frame this result in national terms and will hopefully spur some statewide discussion and action. While other states have been making significant progress on this issue, Wisconsin seems to be falling behind.


The decision to eliminate the board committees has generated some discussion here, on Doug Wood's Blog and in the Herald-Independent. It's been repeated that committees contribute to "factionalism" but my experience on this board has been that the board does its best work on committees - issues are more thoroughly examined and have wider support when they have been through the committee process and don't come directly to the board.

BTW, the H-I's website has been significantly updated. Adam and the staff are doing a good job making it a much more current and interactive resource for the community. Check it out!

Thanks but no thanks...

Sorry about the light posting lately, I've been busy, but also not much has been going on at the board or committee level.

The July board meeting (which took place tonight) is usually when the board appoints citizen members to the standing committees. This year 14 people applied for the various openings- (My thanks and appreciation to those of you that applied for your willingness to help out the board and the district.) But after some discussion the board voted to abolish the standing committees (Curriculum, Policy and Business Services) and instead move to two meetings of the entire board each month. Concerns were mostly expressed about the inefficient use of staff time under the current system.

My feeling is that we risk distancing ourselves from the community and will have diminished working relationships with the administrators. My observation has been that the board's best work gets done at the committee level as items well vetted in committee tend to be broadly supported by the board. I am worried about the efficiency of trying to work out the details on issues with the larger group, this issue already came up tonight when it was suggested we would need a special policy committee to work through several pending policy issues.

On other matters we did make progress on the Kids Safari busing issue, by adding a "2nd Run" bus route we can provide service for these kids to after school daycare for about $8000 - the board consensus is that a reasonable approach would be to offer to provide this service at cost.

The board also approved a request from the Superintendent for a 1/2 time HR director for the district. Adding a position at this time may seem counter to the budget tightening times we live in, but this has been an identified need for several years. Craig believes that the position can be filled with little increase in overall costs to the district thanks to changes in the office staff and potential savings in legal fees if some of the contract negotiation duties are shifted to the HR director from legal counsel.

Pie Party III

You may have been totally square and missed last year's Monona Pie Party, but by now you've heard what a great time it was and you won't make the same mistake again. So mark your calendars and pull out your best recipes because this year's date is Saturday October 3rd- from 1-5 pm in the Monona Community Center.

This time the party will be a fundraiser to provide Early Childhood Literacy Materials for the Monona Public Library Children's Department. Stay tuned for more info-

Budget update

The legislature reached a deal friday on the 2009-2011 bienniel budget. Governor Doyle is expected to sign it into law on the 30th. Considering the difficulty of the state's current finances and the recent history of contentious and much delayed budgets it is a bit surprising to me that we have a budget on-time. The deal reached doesn't have any additional school finance surprises, but it does repeal the state's QEO (Qualified Economic Offer).

The QEO law dates to school finance reform legislation passed in 1993, it provides that school districts can avoid arbitration in negotiations with the teacher's unions by providing a contract with at least a 3.8% "total package" increase in salaries and benefits. The QEO was considered part of a 3 part formula for reforming public school finance, the other parts being the revenue cap and 2/3rds funding from state sources. It tend to think that repealing one of these 3 parts will necessitate reform of the rest of the system in the coming years.

Ad Hoc report

First things first: a big "thank you" to all the hard working committee members who helped sort through these difficult issues!

Now that the committee has reported to the board and placed the issues in our court I feel it is appropriate (and indeed my responsibility) to let you in on my thoughts relative to the issues. Here are the committee's recommendations:

1. Add modular units to Cottage Grove Elementary Schools to accommodate enrollment
growth, as a temporary solution to a potential long-term problem.
2. Research 4K-8 programming in both communities. Report findings at a School Board
Meeting by the end of the 2009-2010 school year.
3. Research sixth grade programming/curriculum. Report findings at a School Board
Meeting by the end of the 2009-2010 school year. Temporarily keep sixth grade Monona
students at Winnequah.
4. Research 4K-4 grade schools at Taylor Prairie and Cottage Grove Elementary. Report
findings at a School Board Meeting by the end of the 2010-2011 school year.
5. Maintain Winnequah and Maywood Schools until 4K-8 program in each community is
determined, or until it is fiscally not feasible to operate both buildings.
6. Research real estate options district wide.

And my thoughts:
1) First of all I agree with the committee that there aren’t any facilities issues that can’t be successfully managed for now in the existing facilities with the addition of modular units if necessary. The modular units are inexpensive and flexible. Things aren’t ideal (are they ever?), but I think they are manageable within reasonable norms.

2) As far as K-8 in both communities goes, I supported the 2005 referendum that would have established K-8 facilities in both communities, that referendum failed with criticism including concerns about its capital and operating expense, facility and program equity and the idea that the middle school children would be better educated together. Although I’m sympathetic to the K-8 idea, I think all of these concerns are still valid. Glacial Drumlin really does have great facilities and the cost of reproducing them in Monona would be expensive to build and to operate. The alternative would be to deny one segment of the students access to facilities I think are important to support programming. Not that I’m suggesting we don’t investigate the K-8 options, I just think the expense factor will be a difficulty.

Speaking as a parent, I see that as my kids reach middle school age the interests of their classmates diverge and that they do need a larger group of peers from which to draw compatible friends. My daughter is looking forward to next year at GD because she already has some friends among next years Cottage Grove 7th graders. I have had other parents of older children in the district make similar comments. To be fair I also have heard from parents concerned about the larger middle school environment. Of course every child is different, a fact exacerbated by the developmental differences at this age, and there is no one solution that is a best fit for all.

3) Re-arranging the 6th grade programming has the potential to make the logistics of operating this district significantly easier and less expensive, but that’s not a great reason to do it. We should be looking at what is best educationally and working from that. Again, from taking to parents and staff, it seems that the views on the effectiveness of 6th grade programming varies dramatically with the child, some thrive while some falter in the increasingly complex social and educational environment that is middle school. I'm all for a thorough examination of the programming here- there is always room for improvement!

4) 4k-4 has certain advantages, the biggest perhaps being the reduction of transitions for the elementary students. But dividing the classes among two 4K-4 schools limits operational flexibility and presents some operational difficulties, (not to mention the annual adjustment of the boundary line)! But I don't have strong feelings about this one.

5) Maywood: Although I understand what the committee intends, I’m worried that the “fiscally feasible” criteria leaves too much room for debate. No one would like to see Maywood close, but I think we would all agree that below a certain number of students it no longer makes financial or educational sense to keep it open- in my mind any disagreement we have is just over what that minimum number is, IMHO the board should give some guidance on this. Regardless of the disposition, I think this building should be kept by the district in reserve for future increases in student populations.

6) It is important to start planning for the future, there are a number of real estate issues to be addressed: space for future elementary students in CG, the District property on Cold Springs, Nichols? (Here’s my wild idea: the Nichols site should be turned into a small business/technology incubator!)

About last night...

State Senator Miller kicked off the evening with a discussion of the state budget issues and its impact on school funding. Among concerns that school boards have with the new budget are provisions eliminating the QEO in 2010 and the mandatory arbitration provisions this July. I asked Senator Miller about my concern that the QEO is an integral part of WI education funding formula, and eliminating one part of this system without comprehensive reform of the entire system could create significant difficulties. Senator Miller agreed with the need to examine the entire system, but that comprehensive reform usually has to wait for favorable fiscal times.

The Board received the recommendations of the Ad Hoc Grade configuration committee but didn't discuss it much. I'll put up a separate post with my view of the recommendations when I have time.

The Board also discussed our transportation policy as it relates to day care providers. Recently there has been a stir over a decision not to continue to provide transportation from Cottage Grove Elementary to Kids Safari day care in Cottage Grove. Our current policy allows students to be dropped at a day care facility instead of their homes if location is on a route and there is room on the bus, essentially the policy is designed to provide this service to the public if it can be done at no additional cost to the district. Because of the large number of KS students an additional bus run is needed to provide this service. Currently we do this run using our reserve bus, but this practice is not sustainable because the reserve bus is needed if there is a breakdown anywhere in the fleet.

Some are concerned about equity issues because we do service other providers, such as Learning Ladder - but we can do that because there is room on a bus that goes right past the Learning Ladder location anyway.

The board forwarded the policy for review by the policy committee. My two cents is that the policy should be amended to allow the district to provide this service to the day care providers, but to charge our actual costs. This allows us to leverage our capabilities and cost structure to the benefit of the district's residents, but continues with a principle of no net cost to the district. It also provides us with a way to fairly accommodate any other requests. I would certainly support efforts to try and minimize or eliminate these costs through re-arrangement of our service when possible.

In other significant news we were pleasantly surprised by the preliminary new budget estimates from PMA. They showed that the additional reductions in state aids (~215,000) will be offset by new, more accurate (and more positive) open enrollment projects. We are now conservatively estimating about 65 new OE students in.

More important than any of the above was the presentation about the New Teacher Mentor Program in the district. This is a key program that help build the skills of teachers new to the district as a way to strengthen student learning (which is, after all, our core mission.) Studies show that this kind of classrom mentoring is one of the most effective ways of improving student achievement!

Board Meeting tomorrow:

Should have got this up earlier, but tomorrow's board meeting has a few items of note:

V Legislative Update - Senator Mark Miller: Senator Miller will provide us with an update concerning the state budget and other issues before the legislature.

XI. New Business
A. Discuss Daycare Transportation Policy - We have received inquiries and comments about proposed changes to the transportation of students to daycare facilities after school, so we will discuss the current policy.

XII. Old Business
A. Report from the Ad Hoc Committee to Study Grade Configuration 4K-8 Update - The Ad Hoc Committee's recommendations will be presented to the board.

XII. New Business
C. Discussion and Possible Approval of Revised 2009-2010 Budget Projections - We will hear PMA's projections of the impact of the current legislative budget proposal on next year's budget - it doesn't look like it will be too bad.

Congratulations to the class of 2009!

Good luck and best wishes to each of you!

One of the privileges granted a board member is to assist in handing out diplomas to the young men and women of the graduating class. Each year this event serves to remind me of the seriousness of the trust the public places in each board member. Placing diplomas in these eager hands makes me ask myself "Did I do my best by this student?". The answer, of course, is no. They always deserve better than we do by them.

MG Alternative High School Graduation...

Is tonight at 7pm in the Monona Community Center. As a graduation requirement each student gives a brief speech at the commencement ceremony. I have found the introspection, responsibility and determination displayed by the graduates at this event impressive and inspiring. I always encourage people to attend, as I have found it one of the most significant events of the school year.

Budget update

Not so bad...

At tonight's Business Services committee meeting Superintendent Gerlach noted that current budget bill before the legislature will reduce district funding for next year by about $215,000 - it could have been much worse. We also anticipate that open enrollment will be better than budgeted and will significantly offset this loss.

Open Enrollment

Today's WSJ fronts a story on the increasing trends in open enrollment in local schools.

A year ago Madison changed the rules and allowed more students to open enroll out of the district. Monona Grove saw a significant increase in open enrollment applications, a trend that has continued for the upcoming school year. This year we have a net increase of 94 students through open enrollment, for next year we have accepted 174 incoming students while 54 MG residents have been approved to leave. Recent history shows that a significant percentage of the those approved change their minds before school starts so we don't know what the final numbers will be.

On a percentage basis McFarland and Marshall are the biggest gainers, but MG has the highest number of accepted OE students for next year. Our proximity to Madison is certainly a factor, but given the variety of options these numbers indicate that many parents have a positive view of our district.

How does open enrollment impact the district finances? 94 net OE students bring with them about $600,000 in funding. For the most part OE students are accomodated with existing facilities and staff, adding a few students to existing classes. We use the class size goals outlined in policy to determine the maximum number of OE students to accept (State law generally requires us to accept these students provided we have room.) The differential increased cost due to these OE students is small. Next year is a bit of an exception: we received enough kindergarten applicants to more than fill an additional section. The board accepted these students on the calculation that the OE funds would more than pay for the additional cost of an added section (primarily the cost of an additional teacher.)

Ad Hoc report

The report from the Ad Hoc Grade Configuration committee is now available on line.

The report makes 6 recommendations:

1. Add modular units to Cottage Grove Elementary Schools to accommodate enrollment
growth, as a temporary solution to a potential long-term problem.
2. Research 4K-8 programming in both communities. Report findings at a School Board
Meeting by the end of the 2009-2010 school year.
3. Research sixth grade programming/curriculum. Report findings at a School Board
Meeting by the end of the 2009-2010 school year. Temporarily keep sixth grade Monona
students at Winnequah.
4. Research 4K-4 grade schools at Taylor Prairie and Cottage Grove Elementary. Report
findings at a School Board Meeting by the end of the 2010-2011 school year.
5. Maintain Winnequah and Maywood Schools until 4K-8 program in each community is
determined, or until it is fiscally not feasible to operate both buildings.
6. Research real estate options district wide.

I want to thank those that served on the committee for their long hours and dedicated work. It was not an easy task and it touched on many difficult issues.

As I review the current situation I don't see any capacity issues that aren't readily manageable for the present. We did have a significant (and unexpected) increase in enrollment last year, and our CG buildings are full, however these buildings are still functioning even though they may need additional space in modular units.

The phrase "Temporarily keep sixth grade Monona students at Winnequah." doesn't mean there have plans to move them in the future, this is just indicating an intention not to make changes before completion of a 6th grade curriculum review.

The latest state budget bill...

A summary of school finance portion of the budget approved by the legislature's joint finance committee can be found here. In a nutshell the budget reduce state aid to school districts by 3.1% and reduces the annual increase in the revenue cap to $200 per student (down from $275) for the next two years.

We don't know the precise impact on the district yet (check back here next week), but it will probably result in at least several hundred thousand dollars in reduced revenue. With the contract dates past we will have limited options for reducing spending to compensate.

The budget bill also includes a provision to eliminate the QEO (qualified economic offer) law next summer. The QEO allows schools to impose a teacher's contract if it provides a minimum 3.8% total economic package increase. I'm not a big fan of the QEO law, but it is an integral part of the system by which we fund education in this state. Repealing the QEO in the absence of systematic school finance reform will create significant problems for school districts.

Ad Hoc responses

I've received 28 emails in the last two weeks related to the option presented by the "Ad Hoc Grade Configuration" Committee. I apologize for not responding individually to each missive, I do read all emails I receive and do appreciate the input in all cases. So thanks to everyone who has weighed in.

I would summarize the correspondence I have received thusly: Most of the respondents oppose busing elementary students out of their communities due to factors of cost, bus time, and the desire to keep the younger kids closer to home. Most feel that managing the population and CG and TP through the addition of modular units is the most practical option. Many (although a smaller number) expressed an interest in the cost savings associated with consolidating Maywood and Winnequah. A few people expressed support for the option of keeping K-8 in their home communities or moving all 6th graders to GDS. Two people expressed a desire to use this as an opportunity to reduce class sizes in the lowest grades. I would say this breakdown reasonably reflects most of the comments we heard at the public meeting held last Sunday.


Not being a member of the committee I have avoided commenting on these topics here out of a desire to be respectful of the committee's work and the process. I will have my turn to comment and consider the recommendations next month when the committee reports to the board.

Listening Session

Don't forget the "Ad Hoc Grade Configuration Committee" listening session to be held at 6pm tonight at Glacial Drumlin school. The committee wishes to gather input on its work and the various proposed options, which can be found summarized in the powerpoint presentation available on the district website.

Budget outlook

A few days ago I said I'd give an update on the budget, the problem with that is that the picture changes from day to day based on the information we are getting from the state related to changes in state revenue projections and proposals for budget balancing cuts to state education aids.

BEFORE last week's announcement of a larger state deficit this was the budget picture:

Using a "Cast Forward" model from the previous year (essentially projecting all programming forward on an equal basis) we were facing a ~$750,000 budget deficit for next year. This was calculated including the maximum increase allowed by the state under the revenue cap for next year, a total of about $800,000.

After making expected program adjustments (such as adding and subtracting staff based on enrollment), budget cuts and including federal money that can be used to replace existing funding we have reduced the budget deficit to ~$250,000. Close enough to "balanced" given the various uncertanties (such as the exact number of students that will show up in September).

Then last week Governor Doyle announced that the state deficit would be $1.6 billion more than expected. This news was accompanied by a proposal for a 5% cut in state aid to districts. 5% of our state aid is approximatly $800,000. What we don't know is whether or not any of that aid shortfall could be offset with local property taxes. On top of that 5% cut there is talk of another 3-5% cut for the following years and ideas such as a wage freeze and a property tax freeze have been floated.

But none of this will be known for sure until the state passes a budget- and if history is our guide we are likely to see significant change along the way. So its difficult to talk about the budget specifics at this time. It seems likely we will have significant adjustments to make, I just can't say what it will be.

You are Here!

The Winnequah artist-in-residence program culminated yesterday in the unveiling of the new tile mural (pictured above) in the cafeteria. The artwork, a collaborative student project, was greeted by enthusiastic cheers and applause as drape was taken down. The student's response was touching and gratifying- it was great to watch each student look for the tiles they had helped create. A large crowd was on hand later in the evening to see the mural and take in the student art fair.

Many thanks to the hardworking volunteers who who really made this happen, you have created a legacy that will grace our school for a long time to come.

Doug reports substantial success in the "War on Garlic Mustard" in Woodland Park. Doug and the other volunteers who helped restore the native flora and fauna deserve much thanks and praise.

There is good news on other fronts in the war: The woods in Maywood Park is virtually free of its infestation; in Fireman's park there are just 2 small patches compared to the bags and bags that we pulled out last year; Frost Woods Beach is significantly improved with just a few scattered plants and will be virtually free next year. The bad news is that Frost Woods Park wasn't completely pulled two years ago and now is badly infested, however this can be remedied with a several hours work over each of the next few years.

You can also help by pulling this invasive species from the edges of your own yard, this will reduce the availability of the seeds and help limit its spread. Be sure to dispose of it in trash bags put out for garbage collection (they should be labelled "Garlic Mustard").

Garlic Mustard is an invasive species that crowds out native plants in shady areas and it poisonous to many insects including butterfly caterpillars. Because it has no native predators it takes over large areas. It undermines the base of the ecosystem that supports our native plants, animals and birds.

Oh... and wash your hands.

We have 2 confirmed cases of H1N1 influenza (A.k.a Swine flu) reported in the district, one at the high school and the other at Glacial Drumlin, more cases are likely. Parent's will receive the following letter concerning the situation.

5/11/09
Dear Parents,
Public Health – Madison and Dane County has notified us that a student or staff person at (MGHS/GDS) has been diagnosed with H1N1 Influenza (swine flu). This person will be staying home until they are well and can no longer spread the infection. However, this influenza might have spread before the person felt ill, so more cases in the school are likely.

It now appears that this influenza is not as dangerous as it was feared at first. It is not a cause for undo alarm. Still, people with H1N1 are often uncomfortably sick. Also, people with other health problems may get sicker with this influenza, just as they would with the annual, seasonal influenza.

The school will remain open as usual. After-school activities will go on as scheduled. Initially in this outbreak, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended that when H1N1 influenza was diagnosed in a child or school staff, that the school be closed. We now know that closing schools does not prevent spread of the disease and that school closure is very disruptive to students and families.

Here’s what you can do to help prevent further spread of this disease:
• Wash your hands and make sure your children are washing their hands even more frequently than usual.
• If you are coughing, cover your mouth with a tissue or by coughing into your sleeve.
• If anyone in your family develops symptoms of influenza, they should stay home and not have visitors. Call your doctor. If you do not have health insurance, call Public Health – Madison and Dane County at 266-4821. The sick person should stay home for 7 days or until 24 hours after their symptoms have disappeared, whichever is longest.
• If your child has symptoms of influenza, avoid using aspirin or medications with aspirin, since it could cause Reye’s syndrome, a serious illness.
• If someone in your family becomes severely ill with this influenza or develops influenza symptoms and is at higher risk for complications, you should call your health care provider for possible treatment. Those at higher risk for problems with influenza include children younger than 5 years, people 65 years of age and older, pregnant women, and people with some chronic illnesses,
Symptoms of H1N1 Influenza are fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue.
The best sources of information about H1N1 influenza are these websites:
www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu and www.publichealthmdc.com
If you have further questions about H1N1 influenza, call your health care provider, 211, or Public Health – Madison and Dane County at 266-4821

Sincerely,
Lynn Hanson, RN, MGSD nurse
Glacial Drumlin School 839-8460
Monona Grove High School 221-7666 ext. 2013

Fortunatly H1N1 is not as dangerous as once feared, however it does illustrate our interconnected society's vulnerability to the rapid spread of disease despite containment efforts.

Wishing those effected a speedy recovery... and don't forget to wash your hands!