Here's the bullet point version of Budget Meeting 8, which was Thursday April 15 at 5pm.
- Revision of Curriculum and Instruction reorg: eliminate Executive Director of Pupil Personnel Services position, and add a Director of Pupil Personnel Services. [yes]
- Reduce 4 Elementary Guidance Counselor positions. These were the newly proposed positions. [yes]
- Keep an Adminstrator/Hearing Officer position at Renwick. [no, may be considered further]
- Cut Cultural Academic Specialist position at MH. (This decision didn't seem terribly well thought out.) [yes]
- Athletics, proposed to require a 2.5% cut (of approx 1m budget) [tie, may be considered further]
- Restore K-2 summer school program. [yes]
- Add 3 Elementary Guidance Counselors. [no]
Another meeting is scheduled for Monday April 19th at 6pm. The Board intends to approve a budget at the workshop meeting on Tuesday April 20.
Summer school?
The board voted for K-2 summer school? If you are elementary and can't do work you should not get 25 days and move up a grade! Does that mean summer school everyone else? Does that mean seniors don't get a recovery program to graduate but we provide daycare for K-2?
Is summer school or daycare?
Where is the evidence that 25 additional days will justify spending more tax dollars? Is summer school a normal school day or simply a couple of hours a "day?" Would the "problem' be better served by having these students experience a more productive school year from Sept-June while in school?
Would these students benefit if parents were more responsible and paid attention to encouraging and helping their child to read, write and do simple math day after day throughout the summer; 60+ days at home vs 25 summer school days? If parents are not capable of such then social services should intevene to see if they are indeed fit parents.
Summer school is a debatable investment
is it enabling families to ignore their role and responsibility to contribute to their child's growth and education?
is it enabling students to sleep through the Sept-June year and invest a few shorten days to get a passing grade to graduate?
is it a means to address the problem of teachers doing a poor job of making the most of the regular school year getting through to their students?
is it a means to address the problem of administrators not properly supervising and holding accountable both students and teachers to their responsiblities?
The BOE should not be spending additional tax funds on anything simply to CYA. There should be clear objectives and rules of accountability during the regular school year. Where students fail, those responsible from families, students to staff should be called upon to be accountable. If summer school is found to be necessary then -
Families and students should be charged the full cost of summer school.
Summer school should be for a full day (3-4 hrs per course) for 40 days as to discourage students attending to get the idea that they are getting a shortened ride to credit.
Staff including administartors and teachers who had these students from Sept to June should be reviewed as to their capability to continue with their future employment.
doesn't make sense
Students fail because teachers hold them accountable. I think it is extremely rare for a student to fail if they are putting forth the appropriate effort. I remember from my school days that I was one of the only ones out of my friends who didn't go to summer school, and that was because I was one of the only ones who took school seriously. Besides, if teachers were to get in trouble when their students fail, any teacher with common sense would just pass every single student, whether they deserve it or not. I know that's what I would do if I was a teacher. Why should a teacher get in trouble just because their students refuse to show any effort?
It does make sense to focus on summer school for the younger kids because they are the ones that demonstrate the most progress. Younger kids are typically in summer school because they are struggling (especially English language learners and students with a learning disabilities). A large percentage of students in summer school at the secondary level are there just because they messed around all year.
But what is defined as staff accountability?
The need to spend more time with children w/ disabilities and limited English ability does make sense. The post is addressing those general ed students.
Anytime the topic of teacher/administrator accountabiltity comes up the discussion quickly turns onto the parent, family and student. Your comments support this observation. Somehow we expect to hold accountants, doctors, nurses, trades people, etc. accountable for the outcomes in exchange for the salary they are paid, but teachers/administrators typically turn the discussion back onto others, as in your own words...."it is extremely rare [the use of rare is very debatable - as measured by the NYS report card] for a student to fail if they are putting forth the appropriate effort......Why should a teacher get in trouble just because their students refuse to show any effort?"
Are all students who fail, as reported in the NYS Report Card figures, failing due to lack of effort? Are you sure that all 40-50% of students failing the Regents Exams and the 8thgrade assessments because they did not put in the needed effort? What effect / role does a teacher with poor skills or who puts little effort inspiring the class and individual students, or who produces numerous failing students year after year (as in the Math Dept - see the NYS Report Card), or lack of subject knowledge (as in teaching out of or w/o certification), or is repeatedly absent, or is using the same tired plans year after year.
Shouldn't administrators be held accountable to their job, their primary job, weeding these ineffectibve teachers out and getting them to leave the profession? Shouldn't all effective teachers demand oversight so as to allow them to focus more on progress then failure?
NSD hires 1600 staff people and accepts 100s of millions in state and federal aid over all of these years and propertry taxes to educate all students. Year after year staff tell the public they are "working on this or that," they are investing in long term "solutions" and promising staff development, but results are show there are still 40-50% failing students overalll and one of the worse graduation rates in the region. The fact that you get all of these millions to hire staff demands that everyone is held accountable for better results.
...are teachers/administrators paid to be professionals; held to a measurable standard or should they be paid differently as speakers/lecturers who simply present the information and leave it to the student to, "put in the appropriate effort" Somewhere btwn the two points of view there needs to be a workable, more successful solution. The ideas presented for summer school in the original post do address some ways of holding the students and families accountable; what changes and improvements can the taxpayer expect from all staff to improve learning and reduce the need for summer school?
Too many variables
For you to make the statement, "Somehow we expect to hold accountants, doctors, nurses, trades people, etc. accountable for the outcomes in exchange for the salary they are paid, but teachers/administrators typically turn the discussion back onto others", you are missing the fundamental difference between teaching and the other professions mentioned. Some may measure the success or failure on regents tests or graduation rates, and that would be fine if there were not so many things that are out of the schools reach and control.
For example, a doctor diagnosing strep throat or a broken leg relies on his training and experience as a doctor. He relies on his staff who he trains and trusts. He relies on the medical equiptment in his office that he selected and purchased for specific purposes and has complete control what labs are used for tests and on an on. If part of the support system becomes weak, it can be remedied quickly and efficiently.
In contrast, a teacher has to simultaneously deal with students who all learn in different ways, and a different rates. They have students who all have different types of prior knowledge and experiences (essential for reading comprehension), but they are all expected to do the same thing. Some parents might tell them to do their homework every night, while others might never ask if they even have homework. The parent component is really the single biggest factor that can make or break a student sucess and it is completely out of the teachers control.
Teachers are frequently asked to use books and materials that they know are not suitable for their students. They often have to teach in rooms not suited for students that are too small or poorly ventilated or noisy. Accountants never deal with this. Doctors don't either. You can have the greatest teacher on Gods green earth in a classroom full of students who might watch ten hours of TV per day, or eat nothing potato chips for dinner. But you still try your best, and you try to make the most progress as possible with the children. But despite you best efforts, and application of your training and experience, you come up short on the standardized tests, etc. Then all you efforts are branded "failure" by the public. Never mind that you might have brought a 5th grader who could not read at all up to a third grade level. Never mind that a student who has a single parent who may drink and you might have finally stopped that student from being mad at the world. NO these successes are just failures in the eyes of the public.
Summer school or daycare?
While you may have some valid points the last line is very debatable. How can you blame a teacher if a student fails? You are required to call parents and make contact when a student is failing, guidance sends out notices in February if a student is failing for the year, parent teacher conferences held for those at risk in February what else should be done? When should the parent or student begin to take responsibility? You get a five week notice and a report card five weeks later. You know and whether you choose to step up and have conference whether initiated by the school or by the parent doesn't matter. There are no secrets expect for the parents who say "have report cards gone out?" It's December you should have known something was wrong when a five week notice and or report card didn't show up. This happened one time in my house. I immediately called the school and had it faxed to my house.. Never happened again.
But is it working! Simply
But is it working! Simply doing "something" isn't enough if the outcome isn't what you are working for; holding parents accountable and getting students to learn.
So what is Plan B? Professionals, teachers and administartors are paid to get results...to graduate a population of students based on the mission statement all school boards, administrators and staff hold up as reasons for all of us to pay ever rising property taxes and state/federal funding. Are all teachers making a daily effort to contact parents? What would be the effect if all teachers were making phone calls home everyday or is this politically incorrect or just too much effort? What if administrators also got on the phone and talked "turkey" with these parents more than they do now?
If calling parents is not working, then what is PlanB? What can be done differently? How do you get the parents attention to do their job - to see to it that their children are ready for school and make the needed effort to succeed? What effective measures can be taken to get students to follow through with doing the homework, studying for the exams and improving their behavior. How about these principals getting out to the many ministries and community meetings to "educate" families and students of their responsibilities and the consequences of failure month after month? What about using the legal system to hold parents accountable for their responsibilities, such as truancy and behavior issues?
NSD has its challanges, but simply spending money on this or that program is not working to improve academic scores or outcomes. This is not a situation unique to this district. Many areas and cities with social and economic disadvantages have schools functioning better than NSD. What can NSD learn from these schools? Instead of hiring local and within (nepotism and political favors), why isn't the BOE looking for leaders and staff skilled in turning around failing schools? When has the BOE excerted its reponsibility to hold the current administration and staff accountable for better results; otherwise showing them the door? This maybe too much to ask given that the BOE members are part of the same political and nepotism problems ( two retired NSD teachers and parents with personal agendas). By the way, how many BOE members have attended the many governance training wrkshps, how many have sought assistance from NYSSBA to address the failings of their programs?
It maybe that NSD has been the major contributor to its own academic problems. With too much local hiring, internal allegiences and community/political pressures there is no room for developing and implementing real effective solutions. What is left is more of the same - with no effective PlanB so that we do not step on anyone's toes including the students and parents!
We need a Plan B, but what is Plan A?
What's wrong with local hiring if they are qualified? Isn't that part of turn-around schools and professional learning communities? Also, there are a few administrators and teachers who go the extra mile in contacting parents, and coordinating and volunteering for parent events. Are they recognized by the district or community. Comparing the statistiics to other similar school districts, we are not that bad, but we could do a lot better. It is a complex problem that we all share and all need to help solve.
statistics?
I would be interested in seeing the statistics from some school districts with similar economic and social circumstances as Newburgh to see how they compare. I found a good website to do the research. The only local school with similar circumstances is Poughkeepsie. Middletown is somewhat similar, but definitely has less severe social issues than Newburgh. Outside of that, I guess you have to look to some schools in Yonkers, NYC, etc... to find schools with similar conditions. Anyway, here is how NFA stacks up to Poughkeepsie High.
http://www.schoolmatters.com/schools.aspx/q/page=sc/scid=98722,98807/pid...
Thank You for keeping the community up to date
I wish the BOE would post more information on their website. You would think that this would be a no brainer - to keep the public informed of the information needed to be informed and to make comments. Sitting at a workshop to just watch and listen is useless if you can't ask or comment about the areas discussed and one public comment opportunity a month is hardly enough. Do the principals and teachers see these documents and how much input do they have? Shouldn't the public have the same opportunity throughout this process?
I would like to see the superintendent's proposed line-by-line budget posted and changes made as the bugetary process takes place. That should be posted on line today. This is a public document, isn't it?
I would like to see a more detailed breakdown of where the money is going to before the BOE votes on the budget April 20 - otherwise how is any member of the public to comment on it before the BOE vote.
Your Welcome
Thank you for your thoughtful comment. Nearby school districts have offered some forms of input to the public through surveys or meetings at which the public may particpate. The Newburgh School district has not. An invitation was extended to the public to speak at the public comment time of a regular board of ed meeting; unfortunately this was just before the extraordinarily well attended meeting in support of the Social Workers and Principal Jackson. The twenty or so speakers were focused on those two topics.
The principals were clearly asked for input before the very first budget meeting on Jan 21. As for providing input since then, who knows?
The required public hearing on the budget is scheduled for May 4. According to the SED deadlines the Board's budget is to be available "No later than 7 days beore budget hearing", which would be April 27.