Once upon a time, there was a little girl who was very smart and very good at sports and just all around very good. When she grew up, she decided to be a teacher, even though she could have done something else that would have earned her a lot more money. Teaching children was her calling, and she followed that call.
The young teacher quickly became a superstar and sought out increased responsibility and showed skills in management and administration. She married another gifted educator and the two of them chose to work in the town where she grew up even though they could have made more money elsewhere: community and family were very important to the teacher and her husband.
The teacher and her husband worked hard. She worked so hard that she was given an opportunity to be the principal at a school. And she went to the school and continued to work really hard and the teachers at the school and the students loved her. The parents of the students were so pleased that their students had a principal who was so committed and who was so very perfect for the job.
At first, the teacher, who was now a principal, and her husband didn't live in the town where they taught and where she had grown up. Eventually, they found a home in the town and moved there with their two wonderful children, a little girl and a little boy. The principal's parents still lived in the town and so did one of her three sisters.
Everything was good.
Sadly, the principal needed to work with an Evil Superintendent. The Evil Superintendent didn't live in the town or anywhere near the town where the school was located. She never attended any community events. And she didn't like the principal. The principal knew this and did her best knowing it.
At the principal's school, there was a bad teacher. The teacher was very, very bad and the badness was documented. The principal had to fire the bad teacher and the bad teacher did not take it well. In fact, the bad teacher said that she had been assaulted by a student and that the principal had done nothing to protect her. So, the lawyers came, and a sum of money was given to the bad teacher to make her go away. And the Evil Superintendent smiled because now she had a way to get rid of the principal whom she did not like.
Why didn't the Superintendent like the principal? Maybe she felt threatened. Maybe she doesn't like nice people who work hard. Maybe she resents people who are happy. Who knows?
Finally, it came to pass that the Evil Superintendent was to resign from her position. And all believed that she would go quietly into the hereafter. But that was not to be. First, she decided to implement redistricting. And then she decided to get rid of the Principal. Because she could.
Is this vindictiveness something that she learned on the trip to China that the good people of the town paid for her to have?
Who could come to the aid of the Principal? Was there a Prince?
Remember: the Principal is happily married.
If there is to be a hero in this story, it could be the School Committee. The School Committee can give a vote of "no confidence" in the Evil Superintendent and give her an extra two months off before her retirement in July. This would show bravery and resolve and would prevent the ES from any additional parting shots that she may want to lob at the good townspeople.
We, the townspeople, are counting on the School Committee to offer a no-confidence vote at the School Committee meeting on 6 May 2015.
Please, members of the School Committee, help us achieve a happy ending.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Saturday, April 11, 2015
How Not to Solve a Problem: the PTO Mom is NOT Happy
What are you doing next Wednesday? Are you heading to the High School to attend the 'public hearing' about redistricting?
Sadly, I will be on a plane heading to a work conference, which is good for anyone else who does attend the hearing because, if I were able to attend, my head would surely explode. It might anyway.
At the Fitzgerald PTO meeting this week, I had to excuse myself when our wonderful principal had to update us on the redistricting plans. I apologized to her on behalf of the parents, taxpayers, and voters, that she needs to deal with this and then I left before I said things that I would surely regret. So, instead of saying them in the relatively safe environs of a PTO meeting on a Tuesday night, I'll blog about them here for all to read.
First, let me say that there is not an 'overcrowding' problem in the Waltham elementary schools. There is an inequity problem with the use of resources and there is a decision-making problem and there are politics at play, however, the district has enough room for all of our elementary students.
There IS an overcrowding problem at the Fitzgerald School. How did that happen? Allow me to give a brief history:
Once upon a time in a magical land, there were six enchanted schools where the good townspeople sent their young children to learn. Then things started to go wrong: the principal at one of the schools, the Fitz, 'retired' amid allegations that she had not done anything about an alleged bullying incident. The superintendent of the school district, it was said, had run afoul of the mayor, and he, too, resigned. A friend of the mayor's came in as acting superintendent until another superintendent was hired. At the Fitz, an interim principal came in, ostensibly to guide the well-liked assistant principal, who likely saw a track to become the school's principal. That did not happen, and the assistant principal left, along with the interim principal, and a new assistant principal and principal were hired. During his first year at the Fitz, the new principal was told by the new superintendent that an additional program would be coming to the Fitz. The new principal protested: there was already a special program meeting in the library because there was not enough classroom space. The Fitz had the highest enrollment in the district. Surely there was another place where the students in this program could be better served. Alas, it was not to be, in part, I believe, because a School Committee member had a student in that program and lived close to the Fitz and lobbied strongly for the program to be relocated to the Fitz. Also, I believe, it was easier for a new superintendent to tell a new principal that he had to do something than it would have been to tell a tenured and well-respected principal that she had to do something. In other words, I wouldn't be surprised if principals at other schools in the district told the superintendent "No effing way, bee-yotch."
And so it came to pass that the program was moved to the Fitz. And the new principal resigned. And the Fitz had another interim who had to deal with where to put 500+ kids. And so the Fitz gave up its Science room (because who needs science anyway? It's not like it's important or anything.) and its Drama room and its teacher workroom (because it's ok to teach kids in a former closet with a window). And the parents of the students at the Fitz were told to stop whining and stop being so entitled. And then they ripped up the bridge on Beaver Street just to show those parents west of the school (I am making that up, but it is a strange coincidence.) And now our new, forever principal has to sit at a PTO meeting and tell us about redistricting. And so I apologized to her and to the teachers and to the staff.
Why is any of that important? If that program had not been moved to the Fitz, the enrollment there would be on par with the enrollment at the other elementary schools. That is, that bad decision, made for reasons that are murky, was indeed the straw that broke the district's back.
So, cue the CONSULTANTS and the HAND WRINGING and a TWELVE YEAR plan for redistricting! Bring on the modular buildings and redrawn lines and the dismantling of computer labs and the purchase of laptop carts! Call the Public Hearings! Can you say "obfuscation"?
Here's the deal: NO PARENT anywhere ever is going to be in favor of redistricting that makes his or her kid move to a different school. That's because it's all about the network every parent begins building when her kid goes off to kindergarten: I know who I can call when I'm running late or who I can text when my forgetful 5th grader forgets his homework again or who I can carpool with to the birthday party. It takes a LONG time to build these bonds; no one willingly wants them to be broken. So stop asking the parents if they want it to happen: we don't.
And, to make it more painless, come up with ONE plan that makes the most sense. This isn't about being democratic: it's about making a decision. The democracy part comes in November when we vote. Work out the differences between the plans and then implement. Because here's the thing: populations are dynamic, not static. So the longer a decision is delayed, the less impact it's going to have. The use of the FITCH school was STILL being debated until last fall! For reals?
In my humble opinion, the School Committee needs to deliver ONE plan and then implement it. The Superintendent is, with all due respect, a lame duck, so she can afford to put on the big girl pants and make a decision. The mayor, however, is running for reelection, so there may be some caution with stepping up and being decisive because the longer the decision is delayed, the better for reelection hopes.
I am so very weary of hearing about the conundrum. I know more about the number of students at each elementary school than I ever wanted to, and more about modular buildings and blueprints and laptop carts than I ever needed to.
I'm still waiting for someone to step up and make a decision.
Sadly, I will be on a plane heading to a work conference, which is good for anyone else who does attend the hearing because, if I were able to attend, my head would surely explode. It might anyway.
At the Fitzgerald PTO meeting this week, I had to excuse myself when our wonderful principal had to update us on the redistricting plans. I apologized to her on behalf of the parents, taxpayers, and voters, that she needs to deal with this and then I left before I said things that I would surely regret. So, instead of saying them in the relatively safe environs of a PTO meeting on a Tuesday night, I'll blog about them here for all to read.
First, let me say that there is not an 'overcrowding' problem in the Waltham elementary schools. There is an inequity problem with the use of resources and there is a decision-making problem and there are politics at play, however, the district has enough room for all of our elementary students.
There IS an overcrowding problem at the Fitzgerald School. How did that happen? Allow me to give a brief history:
Once upon a time in a magical land, there were six enchanted schools where the good townspeople sent their young children to learn. Then things started to go wrong: the principal at one of the schools, the Fitz, 'retired' amid allegations that she had not done anything about an alleged bullying incident. The superintendent of the school district, it was said, had run afoul of the mayor, and he, too, resigned. A friend of the mayor's came in as acting superintendent until another superintendent was hired. At the Fitz, an interim principal came in, ostensibly to guide the well-liked assistant principal, who likely saw a track to become the school's principal. That did not happen, and the assistant principal left, along with the interim principal, and a new assistant principal and principal were hired. During his first year at the Fitz, the new principal was told by the new superintendent that an additional program would be coming to the Fitz. The new principal protested: there was already a special program meeting in the library because there was not enough classroom space. The Fitz had the highest enrollment in the district. Surely there was another place where the students in this program could be better served. Alas, it was not to be, in part, I believe, because a School Committee member had a student in that program and lived close to the Fitz and lobbied strongly for the program to be relocated to the Fitz. Also, I believe, it was easier for a new superintendent to tell a new principal that he had to do something than it would have been to tell a tenured and well-respected principal that she had to do something. In other words, I wouldn't be surprised if principals at other schools in the district told the superintendent "No effing way, bee-yotch."
And so it came to pass that the program was moved to the Fitz. And the new principal resigned. And the Fitz had another interim who had to deal with where to put 500+ kids. And so the Fitz gave up its Science room (because who needs science anyway? It's not like it's important or anything.) and its Drama room and its teacher workroom (because it's ok to teach kids in a former closet with a window). And the parents of the students at the Fitz were told to stop whining and stop being so entitled. And then they ripped up the bridge on Beaver Street just to show those parents west of the school (I am making that up, but it is a strange coincidence.) And now our new, forever principal has to sit at a PTO meeting and tell us about redistricting. And so I apologized to her and to the teachers and to the staff.
Why is any of that important? If that program had not been moved to the Fitz, the enrollment there would be on par with the enrollment at the other elementary schools. That is, that bad decision, made for reasons that are murky, was indeed the straw that broke the district's back.
So, cue the CONSULTANTS and the HAND WRINGING and a TWELVE YEAR plan for redistricting! Bring on the modular buildings and redrawn lines and the dismantling of computer labs and the purchase of laptop carts! Call the Public Hearings! Can you say "obfuscation"?
Here's the deal: NO PARENT anywhere ever is going to be in favor of redistricting that makes his or her kid move to a different school. That's because it's all about the network every parent begins building when her kid goes off to kindergarten: I know who I can call when I'm running late or who I can text when my forgetful 5th grader forgets his homework again or who I can carpool with to the birthday party. It takes a LONG time to build these bonds; no one willingly wants them to be broken. So stop asking the parents if they want it to happen: we don't.
And, to make it more painless, come up with ONE plan that makes the most sense. This isn't about being democratic: it's about making a decision. The democracy part comes in November when we vote. Work out the differences between the plans and then implement. Because here's the thing: populations are dynamic, not static. So the longer a decision is delayed, the less impact it's going to have. The use of the FITCH school was STILL being debated until last fall! For reals?
In my humble opinion, the School Committee needs to deliver ONE plan and then implement it. The Superintendent is, with all due respect, a lame duck, so she can afford to put on the big girl pants and make a decision. The mayor, however, is running for reelection, so there may be some caution with stepping up and being decisive because the longer the decision is delayed, the better for reelection hopes.
I am so very weary of hearing about the conundrum. I know more about the number of students at each elementary school than I ever wanted to, and more about modular buildings and blueprints and laptop carts than I ever needed to.
I'm still waiting for someone to step up and make a decision.
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Super Duper
The PTO mom confesses that she has not been paying as much attention to her blog as she ought to. There are things like a JOB and the demands of CHILDREN and HOLIDAY preparation and whatnot that have taken precedence.
I have, however, been paying attention to the search for a replacement for Superintendent Nicholson. The search committee did a fantastic job of reducing the field to four candidates and the School Committee pared that down to a final three. You can read a bit about the finalists here.
Here's my take:
Mr. DeMeo has been the principal of WHS for 4 years, which doesn't seem like a very long time to me. His background with high school age students and with vocational technical education are both, I would think, very strong reasons to keep him where he is, as Waltham is looking to expand the Career Technology Institute and to build a new high school. His strong suit is, of course, that he is a Waltham native and has been working in the district for many years. A criticism of recent Waltham Superintendents is that they have come up short in their knowledge of Waltham. Personally, I don't think that that is as much of a factor as native Walthamians think it is: all school districts are full of local politics and crazy parents and second-guessed School Committees and changing standards dictated by the state. If I were Queen for a Day, I would keep Mr. DeMeo right where he is so that we have grounded leadership to get the science labs at the high school accredited and to break ground on a new high school and to increase the offerings of the Career Technology Institute, all of which are in line with what the School Committee has been working toward.
Ms. Price is the current principal at Newton North HS and is liked by her students, their parents, and her staff. She came to Newton North after the new high school was built and her teaching experience is also entirely with high school aged kids. She brought chocolate chip cookies to her interview, which makes me like her even more, and she wrote a lovely letter to the Newton North community to inform them that she was interviewing for superintendent positions. Ms. Price has a doctorate from Harvard's GSE Urban Superintendent Program, which means she probably learned a thing or two about managing a large urban school district. She is also a finalist for the Winchester Superintendent position. Ms. Price lives in West Newton, which is a heck of a lot closer to Waltham than, say, Methuen.
Mr. Echelson lives in Cambridge, also closer to Waltham than Methuen, though not as close as actually being in Waltham. He works for the Boston Public Schools as a Network Superintendent for area F, which includes Dorchester, Mattapan, and Roxbury. As such, he is the only candidate under consideration who has administrative experience at the superintendent level; he has additional experience as an intern to the superintendent of the Seattle schools. He also has the same doctorate from Harvard GSE that Ms. Price has and he has experience in helping to create programs that better serve students in Special Education and in moving programs to spaces where capacity issues (both over- and under-crowding) are addressed. His teaching and administrative background are primarily at the K-8 level, singling him out from the other two candidates and our current superintendent. Since I have kids who are in grades 2 and 5, I don't care about any other grades than those and so of course his elementary experience is a plus for me.
So, as Queen, I have Mr. DeMeo continuing to do a good job at WHS and working to get things sorted out there. Then what do I do? That's a hard call, however, as Queen, I need to make decisions that are completely non-binding and to which no one ever has to adhere. So, I appoint Mr. Echelson as the new Superintendent of the WPS and I stay in close touch with Ms. Price. Because the Queen always wants good people in her court.
I have, however, been paying attention to the search for a replacement for Superintendent Nicholson. The search committee did a fantastic job of reducing the field to four candidates and the School Committee pared that down to a final three. You can read a bit about the finalists here.
Here's my take:
Mr. DeMeo has been the principal of WHS for 4 years, which doesn't seem like a very long time to me. His background with high school age students and with vocational technical education are both, I would think, very strong reasons to keep him where he is, as Waltham is looking to expand the Career Technology Institute and to build a new high school. His strong suit is, of course, that he is a Waltham native and has been working in the district for many years. A criticism of recent Waltham Superintendents is that they have come up short in their knowledge of Waltham. Personally, I don't think that that is as much of a factor as native Walthamians think it is: all school districts are full of local politics and crazy parents and second-guessed School Committees and changing standards dictated by the state. If I were Queen for a Day, I would keep Mr. DeMeo right where he is so that we have grounded leadership to get the science labs at the high school accredited and to break ground on a new high school and to increase the offerings of the Career Technology Institute, all of which are in line with what the School Committee has been working toward.
Ms. Price is the current principal at Newton North HS and is liked by her students, their parents, and her staff. She came to Newton North after the new high school was built and her teaching experience is also entirely with high school aged kids. She brought chocolate chip cookies to her interview, which makes me like her even more, and she wrote a lovely letter to the Newton North community to inform them that she was interviewing for superintendent positions. Ms. Price has a doctorate from Harvard's GSE Urban Superintendent Program, which means she probably learned a thing or two about managing a large urban school district. She is also a finalist for the Winchester Superintendent position. Ms. Price lives in West Newton, which is a heck of a lot closer to Waltham than, say, Methuen.
Mr. Echelson lives in Cambridge, also closer to Waltham than Methuen, though not as close as actually being in Waltham. He works for the Boston Public Schools as a Network Superintendent for area F, which includes Dorchester, Mattapan, and Roxbury. As such, he is the only candidate under consideration who has administrative experience at the superintendent level; he has additional experience as an intern to the superintendent of the Seattle schools. He also has the same doctorate from Harvard GSE that Ms. Price has and he has experience in helping to create programs that better serve students in Special Education and in moving programs to spaces where capacity issues (both over- and under-crowding) are addressed. His teaching and administrative background are primarily at the K-8 level, singling him out from the other two candidates and our current superintendent. Since I have kids who are in grades 2 and 5, I don't care about any other grades than those and so of course his elementary experience is a plus for me.
So, as Queen, I have Mr. DeMeo continuing to do a good job at WHS and working to get things sorted out there. Then what do I do? That's a hard call, however, as Queen, I need to make decisions that are completely non-binding and to which no one ever has to adhere. So, I appoint Mr. Echelson as the new Superintendent of the WPS and I stay in close touch with Ms. Price. Because the Queen always wants good people in her court.
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Sour Grapes
Sometimes it happens: worlds collide. So, when I blogged, ostensibly about Mean Girls and how cliques should be left in high school where they belong over here, it ended up being more about the Fitzgerald PTO than I had intended, so I'll follow up here, as the PTO Mom.
@WalthamMom commented on the post at The Raving Review to let me know what Fitzgerald parents REALLY think about the parents who volunteer at the school. "Tongues are wagging," she wrote. And said that it's "telling" that the "leader of the pack" (and I think that she meant me) doesn't know that there's a clique. And then: other parents refer to me and "my girls" as the "Mamma Mafia."
That's rich. I probably should spend my time and energy working out a way to extort the good residents of the Fitzgerald community and to see about getting anyone who doesn't agree with me whacked. Kind of like this mom. Or this lovely couple. Now THAT's a Mafia! Clearly, I'm not measuring up to expectations.
In the next paragraph, @WalthamMom admonished me, saying it's "ALL ABOUT THE KIDS." Right. Because I put so much effort into things like Field Day, and the Halloween Party, and Holiday Shopping, and Talent Show, and the Musical, and the 501c3 status, and Movie Nights, and all the rest for my damn self.
Are @WalthamMom and her friends entitled to their own opinions? Of course they are. It was great to find out now, though, after volunteering at the Fitz for six years (and this year taking on the 5th Grade end-of-year activities) that there are people who feel this way. And some of these parents consider themselves 'friendly' enough with me to connect with me on Facebook. Of course, @WalthamMom feels strongly enough to comment and to call me names (and then to pay me a compliment at the end of her comment), and not strongly enough to use her real name or to respond to my questions to her when I ask how, exactly, I've excluded any parents.
I left cliques and purposeful exclusion behind long ago because I know how hurtful they can be and because they don't accomplish anything. I look forward to letting my kids know that, once they make it through the mean years of Middle and High School, that they won't have to worry about cliques anymore, either. It's very disheartening to learn that that's not true. Thanks, @WalthamMom and your posse, for that lesson.
@WalthamMom commented on the post at The Raving Review to let me know what Fitzgerald parents REALLY think about the parents who volunteer at the school. "Tongues are wagging," she wrote. And said that it's "telling" that the "leader of the pack" (and I think that she meant me) doesn't know that there's a clique. And then: other parents refer to me and "my girls" as the "Mamma Mafia."
That's rich. I probably should spend my time and energy working out a way to extort the good residents of the Fitzgerald community and to see about getting anyone who doesn't agree with me whacked. Kind of like this mom. Or this lovely couple. Now THAT's a Mafia! Clearly, I'm not measuring up to expectations.
In the next paragraph, @WalthamMom admonished me, saying it's "ALL ABOUT THE KIDS." Right. Because I put so much effort into things like Field Day, and the Halloween Party, and Holiday Shopping, and Talent Show, and the Musical, and the 501c3 status, and Movie Nights, and all the rest for my damn self.
Are @WalthamMom and her friends entitled to their own opinions? Of course they are. It was great to find out now, though, after volunteering at the Fitz for six years (and this year taking on the 5th Grade end-of-year activities) that there are people who feel this way. And some of these parents consider themselves 'friendly' enough with me to connect with me on Facebook. Of course, @WalthamMom feels strongly enough to comment and to call me names (and then to pay me a compliment at the end of her comment), and not strongly enough to use her real name or to respond to my questions to her when I ask how, exactly, I've excluded any parents.
I left cliques and purposeful exclusion behind long ago because I know how hurtful they can be and because they don't accomplish anything. I look forward to letting my kids know that, once they make it through the mean years of Middle and High School, that they won't have to worry about cliques anymore, either. It's very disheartening to learn that that's not true. Thanks, @WalthamMom and your posse, for that lesson.
Monday, November 10, 2014
Making the Jump
I attended the School Committee Special Meeting last week and then watched the Regular Meeting at home on the teevee while drinking wine and folding laundry. Why wine and laundry? The wine is to calm me down and the laundry folding makes me feel that I have actually accomplished something. Also, why not?
My notes from the Special Meeting reflect that there are lots of options and not a lot of agreement on which options to take or even which are a priority. The mayor stated that the High School is the number one priority because we are in danger of losing accreditation. Later, during the regular meeting, we were assured that the capacity issues at the elementary school level are the number one priority. Sigh.
With regards to the High School, the School Committee is waiting to hear if WPS will get money from a SOI Statement of Interest submitted to the MA School Building Authority. This is the third time that a SOI has been submitted for the High School, and, after we were assured that the second SOI was the Bomb and would not be denied, we are now awaiting news on the third submission. Apparently, WPS has been invited to the MSBA for an interview, which hasn't happened before, so that's a good sign. And we are all about good signs and positive attitudes and keeping our collective chins up. Sigh.
There are options for the site of a new High School. These include the existing site and build a new building right next to the old one. Another is, of course, the Fernald site, where there are 50 acres available, excluding the wetlands. There was a motion to study the benefits of each. A study, you say? Yes, that's right. A study.
Moving onto the elementary schools, the mayor recommended that the Fitch be removed from consideration, even though there has been no final report on the cost to rehab the building. Hmmm. Might some developer be interested in the Art Deco facade for another use? The Committee Members asked to wait until final price tag for rehab of Fitch is in before tabling its use as a school building.
The mayor's recommendation was to build an addition onto the MacArthur, because that school has the best site for an addition and also has the lowest population. Mr. Frassica stated that there is also room to build at Stanley. There was a spirited discussion of what constitutes the actual South Side of Waltham -- whether the division is the river or some other line. Then there was a motion for a feasibility study of building and addition at the MacArthur vs. the Stanley. Ah. A feasibility study!
At that point, something rather remarkable happened. Mr. Tarallo, long a favorite of the PTO Mom, actually used math and existing real data to figure the way out of the muddle. In summary, if each of the elementary schools was built to house 550 students, then we need to look at more equal distribution of the kids. Further, doing the math, insure that 24 appropriately-sized regular ed classrooms exist at each school and then look for space for special education. All I could do was think back to the glaringly bad decision to move the Language Based Resource Room students to the Fitz two years ago. Had an assessment like this been performed, those students would now be enjoying actual classroom space, instead of shared space. And the ELL students at the Fitz might even have a classroom instead of the large closet with a window that serves as their classroom now. Coulda shoulda woulda.
Sigh.
There was discussion again of *reclaiming* the computer labs as classroom space. The $40,000 laptop carts, it turns out, hold 30 laptop computers and include the price of the laptops. So, folks, that's a quarter million if we get one cart per elementary school. I had in my notes that Ms. Donnelly moved to go forward with this dollar request, however, I can't be sure that that actually happened or if I just wanted to think that it had.
Oh! And the pre-K program! My older son is a graduate of the program at the Northeast. I loved the opportunity to have him in a pre-school where the kids with IEP were matched with kids who didn't have an IEP: what a wonderful, diverse learning culture. How wonderful it would be to expand the pre-school to everyone in Waltham, without a waiting list or a lottery to get in. The pre-K options discussed include: housing the program at the *new* high school and including vocational experience for students looking to work in early childhood ed; housing the entire pre-K at the (expanded) MacArthur and avoiding redistricting; housing the pre-K program at South Junior High, where there is space available. I don't have in my notes which is the best option. Sigh.
I have to say that this year's meetings are nowhere nearly as fun to watch as last year's, since the committee members appear to be earnestly trying to make the best decisions using the best processes and the best information that they have. All of the members are professional and no one calls anyone else names. That makes it a little harder to pay attention, but it's worth it.
In summary:
My notes from the Special Meeting reflect that there are lots of options and not a lot of agreement on which options to take or even which are a priority. The mayor stated that the High School is the number one priority because we are in danger of losing accreditation. Later, during the regular meeting, we were assured that the capacity issues at the elementary school level are the number one priority. Sigh.
With regards to the High School, the School Committee is waiting to hear if WPS will get money from a SOI Statement of Interest submitted to the MA School Building Authority. This is the third time that a SOI has been submitted for the High School, and, after we were assured that the second SOI was the Bomb and would not be denied, we are now awaiting news on the third submission. Apparently, WPS has been invited to the MSBA for an interview, which hasn't happened before, so that's a good sign. And we are all about good signs and positive attitudes and keeping our collective chins up. Sigh.
There are options for the site of a new High School. These include the existing site and build a new building right next to the old one. Another is, of course, the Fernald site, where there are 50 acres available, excluding the wetlands. There was a motion to study the benefits of each. A study, you say? Yes, that's right. A study.
Moving onto the elementary schools, the mayor recommended that the Fitch be removed from consideration, even though there has been no final report on the cost to rehab the building. Hmmm. Might some developer be interested in the Art Deco facade for another use? The Committee Members asked to wait until final price tag for rehab of Fitch is in before tabling its use as a school building.
The mayor's recommendation was to build an addition onto the MacArthur, because that school has the best site for an addition and also has the lowest population. Mr. Frassica stated that there is also room to build at Stanley. There was a spirited discussion of what constitutes the actual South Side of Waltham -- whether the division is the river or some other line. Then there was a motion for a feasibility study of building and addition at the MacArthur vs. the Stanley. Ah. A feasibility study!
At that point, something rather remarkable happened. Mr. Tarallo, long a favorite of the PTO Mom, actually used math and existing real data to figure the way out of the muddle. In summary, if each of the elementary schools was built to house 550 students, then we need to look at more equal distribution of the kids. Further, doing the math, insure that 24 appropriately-sized regular ed classrooms exist at each school and then look for space for special education. All I could do was think back to the glaringly bad decision to move the Language Based Resource Room students to the Fitz two years ago. Had an assessment like this been performed, those students would now be enjoying actual classroom space, instead of shared space. And the ELL students at the Fitz might even have a classroom instead of the large closet with a window that serves as their classroom now. Coulda shoulda woulda.
Sigh.
There was discussion again of *reclaiming* the computer labs as classroom space. The $40,000 laptop carts, it turns out, hold 30 laptop computers and include the price of the laptops. So, folks, that's a quarter million if we get one cart per elementary school. I had in my notes that Ms. Donnelly moved to go forward with this dollar request, however, I can't be sure that that actually happened or if I just wanted to think that it had.
Oh! And the pre-K program! My older son is a graduate of the program at the Northeast. I loved the opportunity to have him in a pre-school where the kids with IEP were matched with kids who didn't have an IEP: what a wonderful, diverse learning culture. How wonderful it would be to expand the pre-school to everyone in Waltham, without a waiting list or a lottery to get in. The pre-K options discussed include: housing the program at the *new* high school and including vocational experience for students looking to work in early childhood ed; housing the entire pre-K at the (expanded) MacArthur and avoiding redistricting; housing the pre-K program at South Junior High, where there is space available. I don't have in my notes which is the best option. Sigh.
I have to say that this year's meetings are nowhere nearly as fun to watch as last year's, since the committee members appear to be earnestly trying to make the best decisions using the best processes and the best information that they have. All of the members are professional and no one calls anyone else names. That makes it a little harder to pay attention, but it's worth it.
In summary:
- I've been hearing crazy rumors being bandied about regarding redistricting: if you're worried about redistricting, you need to watch the School Committee meetings or read the minutes. Once you've done that, you can start spreading rumors. The *R* word is on the table, however, so is everything else.
- There's a search for a new Superintendent. Anything that doesn't get done BY JUNE 30TH will likely result in plan changes when the new Super takes over.
- There is a mayoral election in 2015. I don't believe that Mayor McCarthy has made an official announcement, however, there are indications that she is running for reelection. City Councillor and State Representative Tom Stanley has announced that he will run. So, anything that doesn't get done by election season, beginning in September, may change if there is a change in mayor and during the campaigns.
- Regarding the Fitzgerald: this is a school performing at Level 1. It was a Commendation School last year. The Fitz has accomplished this EVEN THOUGH there have been five principals in six years and WHILE the Fitz welcomed the LBRR program from the Whittemore, pushing the student population over 500. The educators and staff at the Fitz are accomplishing great things with limited resources and in a space that is overflowing. What does this mean to you? How's your property value looking? The Fitz is a system under stress and the stress needs to be relieved.
- Whatever happens is gonna cost a lot of money.
Saturday, November 1, 2014
NIMBYism
If the number of citizens who turned out to hear about the process for the search for a new Superintendent of Waltham Public Schools is any indication of concern about the person who is hired, then we citizens are a pretty unconcerned bunch. It's probably easier to let the search committee get on with it and then, when the new Super is in place, and has to contend with underperforming elementary schools, capacity issues, a High School that may lose accreditation, complain that the Superintendent is clearly not the right person for the job.
Sigh.
On the other hand, if the number of citizens who are concerned about scheduled work by National Grid in the neighborhood near the intersection of Trapelo and Waverley Oaks Roads is an indication of how invested people are in complaining about the traffic, then the level of concern rivals that of Ebola hysteria.
The good people who live on Upton and Shirley and surrounding streets came out to hear from National Grid about the plans to abandon the gas main under the Beaver Street Culvert (which I wrote about here) and redirect the gas flow to mains near their homes. I, of course, attended the meeting because I am OBSESSED with the Beaver Street Clusterflub. In fact, I arrived a few minutes before the meeting began and met Mr. Steve Casazza, the City Engineer. He is, it turns out, a decent guy and quite intelligent and well-prepared and soft-spoken. So, I started out feeling like an asshat for throwing him under the bus (or into the culvert.) It's so hard to be angry with people when you actually meet them. For me, anyway. Read on to see how that's not the case for everyone.
In addition to Mr. Casazza, Waltham Police Chief MacPherson was there, along with Mike Chiasson, Public Works Director; Mike Garvin, the Traffic Engineer; Susan Scarcella from National Grid; and Ward 4 Councillor, John McLaughlin. So, anybody who knew anything about anything to do with gas and roads and traffic and whatnot was there. There were detailed maps! There was a detailed plan for the replacement of the culvert! I was beside myself: my obsession was being fueled!
I learned that the existing culvert had been placed in 1920! Aging infrastructure! The new culvert will only take a "long weekend" to put in after the gas main is abandoned! The plant life will be replaced to prevent erosion! I was on the edge of my seat.
The questions at the beginning of the meeting were thoughtful and were being asked to get more information. How long was this going to take? Two months. What roads would be affected? Upton, Brookfield, Shirley. What would be done to divert traffic? Signage and communication to the office park and businesses on Waverley Oaks Road. Would National Grid repair the road after their work was done? Yes.
Then, somewhere, it started to spin out of control. I was reminded of a book that a long-ago boyfriend had given me:
Yes, the madness of Crowds. Mob Mentality. Here it was.
Why are the roads bumpy? Why is there construction on Trapelo Road? Why do people ignore the signs and cut through Upton Road? Are the pipes going to my house new pipes or old pipes? Are the pipes going to explode? What day will you be at my house? What is Ms. Scarcella's cell phone number so that I can call it whenever the traffic is bad or I smell gas? Why am I being inconvenienced? What happens if it snows?
And THEN! The absolute BEST question of the night: What about the rare species of fish that lives in Beaver Brook? Would the presence of this fish cause environmentalists to stop the construction?
The competent and intelligent and professional group of presenters was stumped. I was stumped. I've walked and run and cross-country skied and ridden bikes all along the course of Beaver Brook for 13 years. I have never seen a fish, especially not a rare one. I remember when my (now deceased) dog, Sydney, found a frog and played with it in the creek, but never a fish. Happily, there was a member of the Conservation Committee on hand.
The loud, red-faced guy who was concerned about the rare fish and was backed up by two women in the audience was met with a refute from Jerry, the Conservation Committee Member, equally loud and red-faced, who told the loud guy (and everyone else) to come to a meeting next Thursday at Government Center. One of the supportive women read from a paper about the involvement of the DCR. Jerry insisted that the Cons Com has authority of all of the water in Waltham! Not the DCR! It's HIS water!
I thought that it may come to fisticuffs. My money would have been on Jerry.
Then, the other woman who had been encouraging the loud guy, had questions of her own. Of course, she had arrived 45 minutes late, and most of her questions had been answered before. Ms. Scarcella offered to review all of the information with the woman at the end of the meeting. None of this deterred her from asking questions. And what was Ms. Scarcella going to DO about it? Ms. Scarcella must be responsible for many projects, so how would she be able to stand on Upton Road to personally escort the woman from her driveway? Ms. Scarcella responded "What is your specific concern? I am very responsive and I get the job done." I wanted to applaud. Instead, I Tweeted about it. It was awesome.
It was now nearly 8:30. The Mayor arrived and apologized for being late. I wish that I had had the fortitude to stay and hear her response to the rare fish issue and the personal escorts from the driveways, however, I had to leave. I went home, my obsession fueled.
Sigh.
On the other hand, if the number of citizens who are concerned about scheduled work by National Grid in the neighborhood near the intersection of Trapelo and Waverley Oaks Roads is an indication of how invested people are in complaining about the traffic, then the level of concern rivals that of Ebola hysteria.
The good people who live on Upton and Shirley and surrounding streets came out to hear from National Grid about the plans to abandon the gas main under the Beaver Street Culvert (which I wrote about here) and redirect the gas flow to mains near their homes. I, of course, attended the meeting because I am OBSESSED with the Beaver Street Clusterflub. In fact, I arrived a few minutes before the meeting began and met Mr. Steve Casazza, the City Engineer. He is, it turns out, a decent guy and quite intelligent and well-prepared and soft-spoken. So, I started out feeling like an asshat for throwing him under the bus (or into the culvert.) It's so hard to be angry with people when you actually meet them. For me, anyway. Read on to see how that's not the case for everyone.
In addition to Mr. Casazza, Waltham Police Chief MacPherson was there, along with Mike Chiasson, Public Works Director; Mike Garvin, the Traffic Engineer; Susan Scarcella from National Grid; and Ward 4 Councillor, John McLaughlin. So, anybody who knew anything about anything to do with gas and roads and traffic and whatnot was there. There were detailed maps! There was a detailed plan for the replacement of the culvert! I was beside myself: my obsession was being fueled!
I learned that the existing culvert had been placed in 1920! Aging infrastructure! The new culvert will only take a "long weekend" to put in after the gas main is abandoned! The plant life will be replaced to prevent erosion! I was on the edge of my seat.
The questions at the beginning of the meeting were thoughtful and were being asked to get more information. How long was this going to take? Two months. What roads would be affected? Upton, Brookfield, Shirley. What would be done to divert traffic? Signage and communication to the office park and businesses on Waverley Oaks Road. Would National Grid repair the road after their work was done? Yes.
Then, somewhere, it started to spin out of control. I was reminded of a book that a long-ago boyfriend had given me:
Yes, the madness of Crowds. Mob Mentality. Here it was.
Why are the roads bumpy? Why is there construction on Trapelo Road? Why do people ignore the signs and cut through Upton Road? Are the pipes going to my house new pipes or old pipes? Are the pipes going to explode? What day will you be at my house? What is Ms. Scarcella's cell phone number so that I can call it whenever the traffic is bad or I smell gas? Why am I being inconvenienced? What happens if it snows?
And THEN! The absolute BEST question of the night: What about the rare species of fish that lives in Beaver Brook? Would the presence of this fish cause environmentalists to stop the construction?
The competent and intelligent and professional group of presenters was stumped. I was stumped. I've walked and run and cross-country skied and ridden bikes all along the course of Beaver Brook for 13 years. I have never seen a fish, especially not a rare one. I remember when my (now deceased) dog, Sydney, found a frog and played with it in the creek, but never a fish. Happily, there was a member of the Conservation Committee on hand.
The loud, red-faced guy who was concerned about the rare fish and was backed up by two women in the audience was met with a refute from Jerry, the Conservation Committee Member, equally loud and red-faced, who told the loud guy (and everyone else) to come to a meeting next Thursday at Government Center. One of the supportive women read from a paper about the involvement of the DCR. Jerry insisted that the Cons Com has authority of all of the water in Waltham! Not the DCR! It's HIS water!
I thought that it may come to fisticuffs. My money would have been on Jerry.
Then, the other woman who had been encouraging the loud guy, had questions of her own. Of course, she had arrived 45 minutes late, and most of her questions had been answered before. Ms. Scarcella offered to review all of the information with the woman at the end of the meeting. None of this deterred her from asking questions. And what was Ms. Scarcella going to DO about it? Ms. Scarcella must be responsible for many projects, so how would she be able to stand on Upton Road to personally escort the woman from her driveway? Ms. Scarcella responded "What is your specific concern? I am very responsive and I get the job done." I wanted to applaud. Instead, I Tweeted about it. It was awesome.
It was now nearly 8:30. The Mayor arrived and apologized for being late. I wish that I had had the fortitude to stay and hear her response to the rare fish issue and the personal escorts from the driveways, however, I had to leave. I went home, my obsession fueled.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Feeling Guilty
Last night, for the first time in three years or more, I did not attend our PTO meeting at the Fitzgerald. As the immediate past-president, I felt a little like I did when I left my kids at a party for the first time: my dear friends on the Board -- people I recruited! -- would have to make it through a meeting without me.
I know that they did just fine because, after the meeting, they sent some text-abuse from John Brewer's, our traditional post-PTO gathering spot.
I didn't go last night because I have some work-related stuff going on that has been giving me agita and because ALICE was on the agenda. Again. And I am still all ALICEd-out from last year.
In case you don't remember, ALICE is the response system to an armed intruder that Waltham is implementing. I wrote about it in the Patch last year. So, this was a follow-up meeting to the implementation. After the Citywide PTO meeting last year, the Safety Resource Officers (Hooray! SRO's!) came to a PTO meeting at EVERY school in Waltham and parents participated in a mock drill. Even some of our crossing guards attended the meeting at the Fitz. We sat in a Kindergarten classroom in those little chairs and then acted out what we would do if an armed intruder came to the door.
Thinking about it right now, I think that I may throw up.
I also remember that several Waltham gun owners posted comments -- thoughtful comments -- on the Patch, and gave an overview of what is necessary to get a licensed firearm in the Commonwealth. It was enlightening: it's hard to get an actual licensed gun here.
The problem is that it's too easy to get an unlicensed gun. The Waltham PD recently had a gun buy-back program and 50 guns were turned in. Also, two guys showed up holding a sign that said "Will buy guns and ammo." They were sent on their way, and yet, I am guessing that they can buy guns and ammo at other venues. And then re-sell them to gangbangers and drug dealers who can use them to kill teenagers in a Waltham neighborhood.
Anyway, I'm getting off track. After the ALICE meetings last year, a parent said to me, "We prepare our kids for a fire at the school with a fire drill, even though the school will probably never catch on fire. So we should prepare them for this, too." And that's good logic, if a bit flawed. Because it seems much more likely that someone will show up with a gun at school than that the school will burst into flames. (gas main explosions notwithstanding.)
Sending kids to school shouldn't require an act of faith.
I know that they did just fine because, after the meeting, they sent some text-abuse from John Brewer's, our traditional post-PTO gathering spot.
I didn't go last night because I have some work-related stuff going on that has been giving me agita and because ALICE was on the agenda. Again. And I am still all ALICEd-out from last year.
In case you don't remember, ALICE is the response system to an armed intruder that Waltham is implementing. I wrote about it in the Patch last year. So, this was a follow-up meeting to the implementation. After the Citywide PTO meeting last year, the Safety Resource Officers (Hooray! SRO's!) came to a PTO meeting at EVERY school in Waltham and parents participated in a mock drill. Even some of our crossing guards attended the meeting at the Fitz. We sat in a Kindergarten classroom in those little chairs and then acted out what we would do if an armed intruder came to the door.
Thinking about it right now, I think that I may throw up.
I also remember that several Waltham gun owners posted comments -- thoughtful comments -- on the Patch, and gave an overview of what is necessary to get a licensed firearm in the Commonwealth. It was enlightening: it's hard to get an actual licensed gun here.
The problem is that it's too easy to get an unlicensed gun. The Waltham PD recently had a gun buy-back program and 50 guns were turned in. Also, two guys showed up holding a sign that said "Will buy guns and ammo." They were sent on their way, and yet, I am guessing that they can buy guns and ammo at other venues. And then re-sell them to gangbangers and drug dealers who can use them to kill teenagers in a Waltham neighborhood.
Anyway, I'm getting off track. After the ALICE meetings last year, a parent said to me, "We prepare our kids for a fire at the school with a fire drill, even though the school will probably never catch on fire. So we should prepare them for this, too." And that's good logic, if a bit flawed. Because it seems much more likely that someone will show up with a gun at school than that the school will burst into flames. (gas main explosions notwithstanding.)
Sending kids to school shouldn't require an act of faith.
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