There was an article in today's St. Cloud Times that talks about replacing Tech in the future. A 90+ year old building is obviously going to need repairs and updates, and therefore, I was asked what our expenditures have been over the years on this facility. To keep this short, the last five years expenditures look like the following:
2004-05 = $339,626
2005-06 = $436,105
2006-07 = $860,824
2007-08 = $1,112,331
2008-09 = $1,652,339
5 year total = $4,401,225
The projects have been for roofs, ceilings, lighting, accessibility upgrades, asbestos, mold, science labs, indoor air quality, boilers, the pool, plumbing, H & S, and etc.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Thursday, April 2, 2009
NCLB IS PUNITIVE
Punitive elements of NCLB need to be redirected into a more positive and helpful approach. Minnesota is more punishing of schools than most other states in the country. If we use a math grad test as a requirement for graduation we will see only about 75% of our students in Minnesota passing the test (even with a lot of remediation). If 25% of students attaining grade 12 do not pass the Math GRAD Test, this will mean 4000-5000 Minnesota students that will be denied graduation for this reason alone. These students will suffer from lost opportunities to enter colleges, the military and other types of vocational training.
If some type of a waiver, or appeals, process is allowed for students not passing the test, here will be the following effects:
a. An appeal/waiver process will place a significant burden on HS Principals and School Boards to determine which students can graduate, or not graduate, via the appeals/waiver process.
b. Students, and their parents, denied diplomas, may use litigation to change these decisions.
c. Some schools would grant waivers to all students, making a mockery of the whole process and negating the movement toward higher proficiency.
Let’s move away from the punitive approach. Instead, we should be providing a math endorsement for all students passing the Math GRAD test to be placed on transcripts and diplomas. We could even include an even higher endorsement level to indicate proficiency and ‘college’ readiness. Plus, we could consider additional ideas to encourage students to strive to show math proficiency. Even so, with all of this said, growth is still a more important indicator of a school's success than proficiency.
We know that math competency must be increased, but Minnesota needs three (3) elements to be present to increase math competency:
1. Students and parents must be willing to demand and attain high proficiency.
2. We must be prepared to deliver world class results in math.
3. Progressive state and district policies that will help attain success.
Duncan has said he supports the law's mission of accountability, though more flexibility may be required. Some have criticized Duncan for what they call a heavy-handed approach to accountability in Chicago.
Obama says that the status quo is not working for America's kids. “We cannot continue on like this,” Obama said. We need a new vision for a 21st century education system – one where we are spurring innovation; where we are demanding more reform; where parents take responsibility for their children’s success; where we’re recruiting, retaining, and rewarding an army of new teachers; where we hold our schools, teachers and government accountable for results; and where we expect all our children not only to graduate high school, but to graduate college and get a good paying job.”
If some type of a waiver, or appeals, process is allowed for students not passing the test, here will be the following effects:
a. An appeal/waiver process will place a significant burden on HS Principals and School Boards to determine which students can graduate, or not graduate, via the appeals/waiver process.
b. Students, and their parents, denied diplomas, may use litigation to change these decisions.
c. Some schools would grant waivers to all students, making a mockery of the whole process and negating the movement toward higher proficiency.
Let’s move away from the punitive approach. Instead, we should be providing a math endorsement for all students passing the Math GRAD test to be placed on transcripts and diplomas. We could even include an even higher endorsement level to indicate proficiency and ‘college’ readiness. Plus, we could consider additional ideas to encourage students to strive to show math proficiency. Even so, with all of this said, growth is still a more important indicator of a school's success than proficiency.
We know that math competency must be increased, but Minnesota needs three (3) elements to be present to increase math competency:
1. Students and parents must be willing to demand and attain high proficiency.
2. We must be prepared to deliver world class results in math.
3. Progressive state and district policies that will help attain success.
Duncan has said he supports the law's mission of accountability, though more flexibility may be required. Some have criticized Duncan for what they call a heavy-handed approach to accountability in Chicago.
Obama says that the status quo is not working for America's kids. “We cannot continue on like this,” Obama said. We need a new vision for a 21st century education system – one where we are spurring innovation; where we are demanding more reform; where parents take responsibility for their children’s success; where we’re recruiting, retaining, and rewarding an army of new teachers; where we hold our schools, teachers and government accountable for results; and where we expect all our children not only to graduate high school, but to graduate college and get a good paying job.”
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Weather-related Decisions
I have been asked recently about the process I go through to make weather-related school late starts, early dismissals and cancellations. I make weather-related decisions based on the recommendations of our transportation services, other area school district superintendents, road conditions, and forecasts from the media, and various weather-related internet sites. The process starts the evening prior to doing this, and must be decided by 6 AM for a late starts or a day-long cancellation. Once school is in session, we continue to keep our eyes/ears on reports in case of the need to call for an early dismissal. The safety of the children is our first concern, and with parents going to work at a regular time, too many children are left at home without supervision with school dismissals. Therefore, I will always do my best to keep school in session.
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