Parent Advisory Councils (PACs)

For over two decades, parents of children with disabilities in Massachusetts have made significant contributions to improving the education of their children through PACs.  Since 1986, Massachusetts state law has required all public school districts to maintain a Parent Advisory Council open to all parents of students identified as eligible for special education, as well as other interested parties. 

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education provides guidance to PACs so that each and every PAC will have access to knowledge of what the law allows them to do.  The guidance document updated in March of 2010 provides:

• A clear, concise description of the basic requirements that apply to PACs;
• the key components to address in meeting those requirements;
• and some options for practices, activities, and resources that might assist a PAC in making positive contributions to special education in their community.

Interested persons may view and download a copy of the guidance document here.

Response to the Extended Day RFP

Harrington Extended Day is a great program and Rose Culkins a cherished program director, as all three of my children thrived in the program and have memorable experiences.

School facilities fall under the care of the School Committee and our stated goal is to support quality afterschool programs at an affordable cost to all families.  The extended day programs are leased at cost by LPS and not for a profit.  Because of the stability a multi-year lease provides, an RFP must be issued every three to five years to ensure our stated goals continue to be met.

I understand the anxiety the RFP process caused due to the two outside bids and the fact that parents were not permitted on the RFP Review Committee as it is a conflict of interest.  Two weeks before the RFP deadline, the School Committee received many emails from Board members and parents of extended day programs across Town; the emails expressed strong support for maintaining local control and urged not to go out of district for a provider.  After all extended day Board members were apprised that the Superintendent would be recommending that the contract go to Lextended Day, some Board members and parents continued to lobby for a separate program at Harrington, which wasn't possible under the provisions of the RFP.

With its majority vote Tuesday April 26, 2011, the School Committee instructed Dr. Ash to award a five-year contract to Lextended Day.  This action expands Lextended Day's program from Hastings, Estabrook, and Bridge Elementary Schools to Bowman, Fiske, and Harrington Schools.  

And now, we are in the time of transition.  

Lextended Day's transition plan is thoughtful and comprehensive, including many opportunities for parent and staff input, as well as in-service days to foster the care and conditions supporting as smooth a transition as possible.  I believe all afterschool programs will be strengthened as a result and that Harrington's program will continue to flourish.

An Ever-emerging Nation

On Patriots' Day, before marathoners take their marks on the road from Hopkinton to Boston, before pancake breakfasts are served and parades step off, re-enactors will stir in the morning haze as John Hancock's nimble-footed secretary protects a trunkload of Patriot-activist papers from British Regulars descending upon Lexington's Green.


When the Stamp Act crisis developed in 1765, signaling the revolutionary era, Patriot-activists were quick to respond. Patriot men referred to themselves as “sons of liberty” and Patriot women as “daughters of liberty”. Spurred by the revolutionary cause, all were drawn to political action.

Women re-enactors tell of their participation in boycotts on finer British textiles, dressing their parts in “homespun” linen, wool, or “linsey-woolsey”. The constant spinning, knitting, and sewing, they say, kept the hands busy and the mind free. In their sewing or spinning circles, conversation would naturally turn to political and economic matters.

In her book Founding Mothers, Cokie Roberts asserts that revolutionary women did what women do in remarkable circumstances: they accompanied soldiers to camp; served as spies; organized boycotts of British goods; and defended their homesteads alone. And all the while they bore and buried and reared children. Then, the Revolutionary War was over and there was a country to raise!

How indebted I am to our Founding Mothers and Daughters of Liberty -- indeed, to all women who have elevated and strengthened the level of political thought and civic engagement throughout our democratic history.
Even now, as rancorous and uncivil discourse in Congress over the size of government threatens to quash us, one thing is certain: government is what we agree to do together, whether we are talking about revenue, laws, highways, or public services.

This Patriot's Day, let's be more like our foremothers and forefathers and renew a spirit of revolutionary activism that draws us into political action. After all, government is all of us—sons and daughters of an ever-emerging nation.

Rally for School Funding

Government mandates.  Increased class sizes.  Shrinking budgets.  Curriculum cuts.  Public schools today are challenged to provide every child with opportunities to meet their educational needs ... budgets are tight but government requirements and children's needs are growing.

The state of Massachusetts and local communities, with the federal government as a critical third partner, have a shared responsibility for maintaining public schools and assuring that all children have equitable access to a high-quality public education.

Across Massachusetts, schools lack resources for critical programs they need to reduce the achievement gap and overcome barriers to learning that threaten the quality of education for every child, and leave our most vulnerable children behind.

To keep the promise of public education alive, we must renew our partnership with our policy makers and  promote a more fruitful collaboration on behalf of every child in every public school in every Massachusetts city and town.

The Parent Teacher Association is the oldest volunteer child advocacy organization in the country.  I am a  member of the Massachusetts PTA because we are dedicated to building community and statewide partnerships that work for our schools and our children.  Being a member of our national and state PTA accomplishes great things; as members of PTA we have a unified voice that tells our legislators what is important to us.

Yes, family engagement is about building community and partnering with our child's teachers, and yes, it is also about packing healthy lunches and monitoring screen time and supporting children's activities - - but that's not the whole picture.

We all need to work together - beyond the classroom and school - to help our schools get the resources they need to fulfill the promise that public education holds for every child. 

Albert Einstein is credited with saying, "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

Advocacy is like an ever-flowing river, one that you can step into at any place, at any time.  And whether you choose to dip your toe in at the edge of the calm shore, or wade all the way into the deep, your presence has already changed the course.

Now, we must make our voices heard for our children, all of our voices together, in one voice; one voice for children, one voice for children in schools, at town meetings and yes, even at the state house.

Our children deserve no less.

School Climate

It is useful to draw attention to the importance and excellence of our teachers, but it would be severely limiting to underestimate the importance of other aspects (i.e., energy efficient buildings and clean environments, budgets that reflect goals and priorities, effective building leaders, or anything else) that contribute to a positive school climate for teaching and learning.  

I believe it is easy for people to underestimate the level of thought and collaboration necessary for a high functioning educational enterprise.  Superintendent Dr. Ash and his administrative team are attuned to all of these aspects and more, keeping the School Committee, Selectmen, Appropriation and Capital Expenditures Committees, Town Manager and others apprised of emerging issues or developments across the district, especially as they relate to people, programs, and facilities.

 

Our students continue to be well served due to the high quality of instruction to students from our educators, the engagement of our students and families, and also to our nationally recognized high level of commitment to professional development and collaboration with the Lexington Education Association (LEA).  Because the community and district place such a high value on these attributes, our schools continue to improve.

Two years ago, the LEA surveyed all teachers on a full complement of issues; the administration has worked collaboratively with LEA President Phyllis Neufield and the LEA Board with regard to the data obtained from that survey.  Another such survey may be administered again in the near future.  I believe this process fosters greater educator satisfaction and stability, as well as a more comprehensive and unified instructional program, thereby engendering further trust and collaboration from all involved.

Our schools are thoughtfully, collaboratively, and financially well run.  The vast majority of teachers in Lexington are retained from year to year and are committed to the goals of continuous improvement across the district.

The School Committee has to focus on topics where we need to deliberate and take action.  We need to work hard to prioritize what we put on the agenda, whether it is with regard to special education, school technology, eliminating or reducing elementary instrumental music fees, improving professional learning communities, professional development, or many other goals already identified.

Education Opportunity & Equity - Washington DC

I attended PTA’s Annual Legislative Conference last week (March 7-10). Two others from Massachusetts’ State PTA Board joined me to meet with Massachusetts’ Senators John Kerry and Scott Brown, Congresswoman Nikki Tsongas, and Congressmen Ed Markey and Barney Frank.  We spoke with them about the importance of promoting family engagement standards in the reauthorization of Elementary and Secondary Education Act/No Child Left Behind and of providing opportunity and equity for all children so they can be prepared for the future.

Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, was keynote speaker at lunch Wednesday. As the country’s highest-ranking health official, Secretary Sebelius played a key role in the passage of the historic Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and is now leading its implementation.  The Secretary spoke about how effective family engagement, beginning with Head Start and during a child’s early years, lays a positive foundation for success during transitions and across a child’s lifespan.

Listening to her, I was struck anew by the powerful responsibility we all share to ensure people receive the health care they need and provide children, families, and seniors with the essential human services they depend upon.  Across Massachusetts schools lack resources for critical programs they need to reduce gaps and overcome barriers to learning that threaten the quality of education for every child and leave our most vulnerable children behind.

Our state and local governments, with the federal government as a critical third partner, also share responsibility for assuring all children have equitable access to high-quality public education and health care.  Budgets are tight but government requirements, and children's needs, are growing; this is most pronounced at the intersection of children's education and health care needs.  Engaging families on this issue is vital:  when children are healthy, school attendance improves and children learn better.

Here we are, already in the second decade of the 21st century.  as we navigate challenges before us, let us continue to look for opportunities.  Our public health infrastructure throughout the country must be a higher priority and we need to upgrade state and local health departments.  Secretary Sebelius has answered President Obama's call to break down walls in government to serve the American people more effectively.  For example, she has teamed up with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to raise the quality of early childhood education programs.

Founded in 1897, PTA is the oldest and largest volunteer child advocacy association in the country.  One of PTA's founding principles is its dedication to engaging parents in the education of their children.  Since its inception, PTA has provided workshops and resources on healthy child development to parent groups and community leaders.  From the outset, PTA championed the importance of equal opportunity for all children, regardless of socioeconomic background, and addressed  associated problems of child labor, childhood diseases, and the unfair and punitive treatment of children involved in the justice system.

PTA continues to advocate for all children to have the opportunity to grow and achieve through education.  In the context of PTA, advocacy is supporting and speaking up for children in schools, in communities, and before government bodies and other organizations that make decisions affecting children.  We educated members of Congress and their staff on PTA's priorities:  adequate funding for schools and an improved juvenile justice system that ensures all children are college and career ready.

Bullying

Bullying is a serious issue that for too long had gone unchallenged, with parents, who are often unaware of the bullying problem, neglecting to talk about it with their children; with students, feeling that adult intervention is infrequent and ineffective and will only bring more harassment from bullies; and with school personnel, viewing bullying as a harmless rite of passage that is best ignored.  

The Lexington School Committee and the LPS administration are committed to supporting policies and programs that address the prevention, intervention, and elimination of bullying.  The legislation that was swiftly enacted last year in Massachusetts was a good start.  However, we know we need a multi-pronged approach to change acculturated behaviors.  I believe thoughtful guidelines for parental notification along with resources so vital for training and prevention in schools and communities will go a long way to change that dynamic--and I sincerely hope it does.