August 19, 2014 Board Meeting

HCS, under new management, looks (reassuringly?) unchanged at the just-uploaded BOE Meeting 8 19 14 - YouTube; mostly-familiar names being appointed or reappointed at the beginning, a ten-minute presentation on possibly-somewhat-improved standardized test scores 20 minutes in (but it's hard to judge with so many opt-outs; it does seem that we opted-out much more than most schools) and concluding remarks by Ferdinand about the 35-minute mark; it was only a 37-minute meeting. (And then switched to executive session, of course.) Looks good...

Opt-Out Update; (BoE Candidate) Larson Letter

At the end of last month, I described HamiltonCentralOptions: The Opt-Out Option; Parental Protests Against Over-Testing. As Radio Free Hamilton said after the tests, Large Number of HCS Students Opt Out of Test

Almost one quarter of the HCS students in grades 3-8 who were supposed to take Tuesday's state mandated English Language Arts standardized test did not....
Opting out of the exams has become a sizeable movement in New York State, often linked to dissatisfaction with how the state has introduced the Common Core curriculum.

A comment on the RFH post deserves some attention, in part because the author, Dr. Ellen Larson, is one of the candidates in our BoE race; this copy restores the formatting lost in the RFH comment box:

 It appears to me from what I can find through google this may very well represent one of the highest ratios of opting out reported.

To be clear- I am not saying that I support these tests or this testing chapter and verse.
I have not found or seen evidence that these tests have been validated.

I do see value in the common core standards.
I do NOT see value in the common core modular curriculum.
I do see some role for validated standardized tests.
I value our school and our teachers and our administration at HCS for having the foresight to see what we can do with the common core standards by avoiding the modular curriculum.
I also believe that every school's approach to this is a work in progress and everyone - administrators, teachers, kids and parents have a lot to learn through the process and as it evolves.
I do believe in "civil disobedience"- but I did not see that opting out of the test was going to be an effective message - my concern being that kids opting out of testing was really punishing the teacher and the school district not the governor or his educational commissioner.


So I have to ask the questions:
Of the 1/4 of families that opted out of state testing in the Hamilton school district:
How many of those families have ever attended a school board meeting?
How many of those families have attended a school board meeting regularly?
How many of those families have any idea what an APPR is?
How many of those families have any idea what the consequences of opting out of testing may be for the  school or the teacher?
How many of those families have any idea what the common core standards are?
How many of those families have any idea what the difference is between the common core curriculum and the common core standards?
How many of those families have any idea what the Hamilton School District has or has not done to achieve the common core standards?
How many of those families understand what a modular curriculum Is?
How many of those families know what Hamilton's curriculum is ?
How many of those families have ever written a letter, sent an email, or called their Governor, congressman, assemblyman, or State Education Commissioner about this or any other issue?
How many of these families have attended a school budget meeting or discussion?
How many of those children understand why they didn't take the test?

My hope for the outcome of this is that if this many families within the Hamilton School District feel this strongly about their children's education that they will start to participate in these things and start putting voices and signatures and votes out where they make a difference. 

"Helfant for BoE" flyer

I don't yet feel that I know enough about some of the candidates for vacant BoE spots; here's a flyer for Astrid Helfant (PTO President), along with an open letter she recently sent to the current Board, and I'll be happy to post information about any others.

And the open letter she sent to the Board was

Hello -

Thank you for the work that all of you do to keep our school running smoothly. I have a few questions regarding the HCS Budget. I would very much appreciate all of your input. I plan on attending the two budget meetings held this week at HCS and would be happy to receive answers then.

Based on the information I've gathered from all the HCS meetings I've attended the last couple of months, I understand that the following are being (re)considered so as to balance the HCS budget:

- reducing the string program by eliminating 2nd and 3rd grade strings
- reducing the art positions at the elementary and high school to roughly 1.67 FTE
- continuing the cut of Junior Varsity Sports
- changing the pre-K program from two mornings to one morning and one afternoon

Please correct me if I'm wrong about any of these statements.

I was wondering if we could avoid all of these cuts / reductions by hiring an interim HCS Superintendent at 0.75 FTE instead and by eliminating the safety officer as well.

Could such changes enable HCS to reinstate the full string program, not reduce but instead increase the art program to 2 FTE, keep the pre-K to two morning sessions at least for the fall semester and reinstate Junior Varsity Sports?

If these items (or at least some of them) are still on the cutting board, would the BoE consider inquiring whether going beyond the 2% tax levy is a feasible option in our town.

Thank you for considering my suggestions. I look forward to the upcoming budget meetings and hope that these items could be addressed. Though I will confess, Molly, that I'm not sure the extent at which board members will be present during these two meetings.

Thank you again for your time,

Astrid