A Few More Thoughts For The Mother's Club

Summary paragraph: In which Menin takes advantage of being a blogmeister to clarify his remarks of last night, at the Forum.

First, let me say what I didn't say, and that is thank you very much for the opportunity to speak to all of you.

I didn't start off by describing myself and my background, for two reasons. The first is the gift and curse of incumbency; the second is that I wanted to get straight to some key points. So...

• Six years ago, I ran a campaign against the School Committee. I truly believed, and still do, that they were bright and committed people, with a wide array of skills. But they didn't know squatty-roo about what it takes to promote and sustain student achievement. They were builders, bricks and mortar folks, and there were none better. They promoted a Superintendent from within, 8 months before she would officially start, because they would not take the risk of the incoming majority finding a new Superintendent. They had issues with... let's say they had a familiarity with the use of control as path to getting what you want.
  

• I was the first teacher to sit on the School Committee in a long time. In addition to being licensed to teach K-8 and Special Needs in two states, I have also taken Montessori training in teaching 6-9 year olds, and 9-12 year olds. I also had experience running two non-profits over a period of 13 years, one I took over with a $5,000 debt (on a payday, which I made up out of my own pocket, until I could get the books straightened out). When I left the agency as part of a merger, the budget was $1,500,000 and we controlled about $2,000,000 worth of property; anyone driving down or up Route 1 near Topsfield can drive through it; Nike Village. The second non-profit was a startup national association of Consumer Attorneys; in four years, I took it from 15 members to 500. So I brought a very unique package to the table- familiarity with education and curriculum, financial management, and administrative experience; and an abiding faith in sunlight and transparency. Quite simply, I believe if you give people all the information relevant to the decision you are asking them to make, most of the time, they'll make a good decision.

• My first four years on the Committee were spent trying to push for process and document transparency, using new approaches to delivering curriculum, finding more ways to collaborate with groups on the community, and finding ways to engage the community in planning, assessment and the work of the schools and the School Committee. Those were difficult times; my strongest allegiance was with Dick Sullivan, with whom I had forged an agreement-- any motion he made, I'd second, any motion I made, he'd do the same. It forced the Committee to become more accountable and deal more publicly with yucky issues.

• Although I have "evolved", my fundamental concerns and beliefs as a member of the School Committee remain pretty rock solid. I believe in complete transparency of process. Every now and then, Dr. Lyons will mention some trend he's noticed over several years, and a few of us will chat in the parking lot after the meeting- the conversation will go something like this- "Did you know that?" "No, they never told me", "and we voted on that issue?" Information is the currency of power; and I've had the opportunity to work with some real hoarders in my time in Newburyport.

• I believe in fully engaging the community in every way possible. I introduced the idea of Public Conversation to the School Committee, extended Public Comment to two sessions each meeting; and have encouraged the use of suspending the rules to get feedback from the room before we vote on some issues. This has made the meetings a little more chaotic, more laborious; and while they could be run more tightly, I believe democracy is sloppy. I believe it is best to wear casual attire to events that celebrate the astonishing gift that the founders of this nation bequeathed us, because it can be pretty messy. Meetings lose focus. You can get overloaded with information. Believe me, it is far, far better for education to be overloaded with information, than asked to vote on issues with an underload of info.
  

• I believe in accountability. I have participated in four Superintendent evaluations, and in fact, lobbied for a change in the scoring system that originally proposed that went from poor to very good as options; and have been a strong advocate of reviewing the five-year plan developed during my first year on the Committee. I requested a review after 12 months, when there had been a dramatic change in our finances, I requested a review at 2.5 years, I requested a review a four years in. The Administration and the School Committee have never reviewed the five year plan. It is also my opinion that despite the herculean effort that went into the five year plan, the unexpected cut in state revenue by 20% should have immediately caused a review of the document and adjustment of goals to reflect the new dynamic. That didn't occur. I now believe we need a new five year plan that has a greater degree of organicity to it, and can respond to the volatile funding realities.
  

• I believe in collaboration. Although the NTA has chosen not to engage in collaborative bargaining for the last two contracts, I have always believed that the relationship between the union and the administration was frostier than it needed to be. Between changes at the Union, and changes in the Administration, there seems to be a mutual respect between the parties that I see as hopeful and promising.

• I believe in innovation, and best practices. I believe that we have teachers who teach the fur off any subject, and have lacked resources to stay up to date.
  

• I believe that the educational model we used for five years, which treated every child the same, was wrong. I was vocal about this for five years. I believe in Howard Gardener's ideas about multiple intelligences, that each of has ways we best process information and express ourselves; I believe now as I did then that we should be academically challenging kids who need to be challenged to stay engaged, and support those kids who need strategic support. With the change of Administrations we have moved away from the "one size fits all" approach. It will take several more years to fully implement a leveled approach to curriculum, but we will get there.

• I believe that we should be looking at innovative ways to generate revenue from the schools for the schools; that we should be making the school system more "user friendly" to groups that do not feel they have a stake in them through school-based or student/teacher community based interactions.

• As a member of the Task Force on School Revenue, I believe that we should and will have a long-term and short term plan for addressing revenue needs that will not be totally reliant on an Override. I believe that the forecasting tool developed by Committee members Dana Hooper and Gordy Bechtel will provide much needed direction and integrity to budget projections for the next 3 to 5 years, and will go a long way towards encouraging an informed, community-wide dialogue about how to address revenue shortfalls. I would support, unequivocally and strongly support an override, with specific abatements for seniors on fixed incomes who own property that would only be collectible once their home is sold, as part of a package of measures to address school revenue needs.
  

• After six years, five spent opposing cuts to programs that were not accomplishing the intent with which they were being made (leaving a skeletal framework so that programs could be restored when revenue was better). I believe that simple program restoration should not be the basis for moving forward; that student achievement, multi-curricular approaches and best practices, and multiple ways of assessing students learning to help us understand their needs, (and the how and what we need to do to tailor curriculum to meet their needs), is the direction to go.

• I believe that we should be talking about longer school days, re-framing the school year, and encouraging more community-based learning for the students.

• I believe that the schools are not simply a budget item to be argued over annually; I believe the schools are an ongoing discussion that touches the very heart of a community; it is about who we were, who we are, and who we want to be. It is about preservation and legacy, it is about preparing children for a future in which it will be up to them, literally, to undo the damage we have done to this fragile planet. I believe, literally again, that the future depends increasingly the education we are providing today. Schools are a public, civic, ongoing conversation, a give and take of ideas, a thoughtful, intentional movement towards informed citizenship.

• I believe, that this is a remarkable, painful and transitional time for our schools. As an educator and parent, I believe the silver lining to this dark cloud is that for the first time in generations, the old ways of doing things cannot be relied upon, mediocrity is not good enough any more. And within this new paradigm, with the support of the community and collaborating as partners with teachers, we have an unprecedented opportunity to completely reshape how we are educating children, to try pilot projects in areas like extended school hours, offering credit courses in the summer; there literally are no limits to our ability to reshape the basic package to get better value for the money we are paying, and identify new money based on innovation we seek. I am extraordinarily excited about this.
  

• I believe in apple pie, I believe in motherhood, and I don't think fatherhood is such a bad thing, either. I draw the line at the Yankees, though. Even as a New Yorker, born and bred, my revulsion for those arrogant SOB's began in the womb. In my entire life, I have refused to read a Yankee box score; and as an eight-year old kid, sharing the 'hood with Mary Carrier, I gave as good as I got in those inevitable "scuffles" that would occur about favorite baseball teams as part of growing up. And I will always remember this- it was never only one kid; Yankee fans would travel in groups of three- two to hold you while one pummeled you. Those bastards get the fans they deserve. Grrrrrrr.
  

It's late. Nose around the blog a little; you'll find that I'm more than happy to share my thinking on issues affecting the schools. Feel free to post your own comments, e-mail me with questions, or call me.

Thanks.