The power of one

TIME magazine has introduced a new section covering people and organizations making a difference in the lives of others. Called The Power of One, the first story for this section was written by Caroline Kennedy and discusses a dedicated and compassionate New York City school principal and graduate of the NYC Leadership Academy. It’s a tribute to public education and it is a story worth viewing. You can view it by clicking here.

When Verone Kennedy was in 11th grade, an art teacher, told him he had an aptitude for sketching and painting. He began spending time in her classroom, working on his portfolio. By the end of the year, he began to believe for the first time that he was good at something. He went to college, worked as an urban park ranger, and then became a teacher. He advanced to become a Principal in a school in one of the poorest and most isolated areas of Crown Heights, New York. He instituted many programs and because of his leadership, the school is safe, attendance is high, and a sense of community is growing. That seed grew because someone expressed an interest in Verone when he was young. That teacher made a difference in his life and has affected many others.

As the TIME article noted, Kennedy credits his team of veteran educators, young teachers, Teach for America recruits and a parent coordinator. “No one can work in isolation,” he says. “My job is to get voices from the community and to keep the team motivated. I see our work like a chessboard. Each child is our king. We have to work to protect him and checkmate the forces of failure. This world is so harsh to children. I see myself as the keeper of the dream that is in every child, and I know we can succeed. That is my blessed hope.”

Seeing this piece reminded me of John F. Kennedy’s inaugural speech, and how it is viewed as a turning point for many Americans to whom the torch has been passed. The political career of JFK inspired a generation of Americans to believe in the power of government and to share the conviction that government can truly be a noble profession. In that vein, it reminds us that there is nothing more important than how we raise and educate our children.

It also serves as a reminder that for all its ills, government remains a place where we can truly and uniquely make a difference. JFK believed in the power of words to lead, inspire, and bring about change in the world. Many of us who participate in public service may play only a small part, but one must never doubt that a small group of thoughtful and committed citizens can change the world. It’s the only thing that ever has.

The article also included some online resources for those who would like to lend a hand in the public school system. You can view them by clicking here.

FY08 Budget Update

As was mentioned in our previous blog, the School Committee met with Superintendent Ogden and the entire administrative team in a 4 hour workshop on January 6th, 2007. During this meeting, we reviewed a budget that outlined what financial resources we would need to take our district from good to great. Even though we have had to deal with the reality of limited financial resources during the past few years, we feel that it is crucial to identify and strive for those financial targets. Even though we may not achieve these targets in one year, they can serve as long range financial goals.

Our next step in the FY08 budget process will be to further discuss the budget at our next School Committee meeting scheduled for Tuesday, February 13th. The discussion will be centered around the budget figure that will be brought forward to the public hearing. The public hearing, which is scheduled for Tuesday, February 27th, is an open meeting for the public to provide the School Committee comments and opinions relative to the budget. The budget will then be adopted at this meeting or at a future School Committee meeting. We have tentatively scheduled a special School Committee meeting on March 6th, if necessary.  Once the school budget is adopted, it will be brought before the Finance Committee and Town Council. This will probably take place sometime in the Spring. Prior to this, we will more than likely know the amount of state aid the district will receive.

We hope that you will stay engaged in the budget process. This is an incredibly important process for our school district and most importantly for our students.  We hope that you will be able to attend the public hearing on February 27th and provide us with your thoughts. This meeting will be an opportunity for the public’s voice to be heard. Please feel free to email any of the members of the School Committee if you should have any questions relative to the budget.

Seat belts on school buses

Having received a number of inquires about the use of seat belts on school buses, I thought it would be a good idea to update folks on the latest information available on that issue. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) establishes Federal motor vehicle safety standards to reduce the number of fatalities and injuries from motor vehicle crashes, including crashes involving school buses. In May, 2006, NHTSA issued a report on seat belt use that is of interest. The bottom line is that NHTSA does not recommend seat belts on large school buses.

As noted in the report, there is no question that seat belts play an important role in keeping occupants safe in vehicles, however school buses are different by design and use a different kind of safety restraint system that works extremely well. Large school buses are heavier and distribute crash forces differently than do passenger cars and light trucks. Because of these differences, the crash forces experienced by occupants of buses are much less than that experienced by occupants of passenger cars, light trucks or vans. NHTSA decided that the best way to provide crash protection to passengers of large school buses is through a concept called “compartmentalization.” This requires that the interior of large buses provide occupant protection such that children are protected without the need to buckle-up. Through compartmentalization, occupant crash protection is provided by a protective envelope consisting of strong, closely-spaced seats that have energy-absorbing seat backs.

School bus crash data show that compartmentalization has been effective at protecting school bus passengers. NHTSA’s 2002 Report to Congress found that the addition of lap belts did not improve occupant protection for the severe frontal impacts that were studied for that report.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) have come to similar conclusions. The NTSB concluded in a 1987 study of school bus crashes that most fatalities and injuries occurred because the occupant seating positions were in direct line with the crash forces. NTSB stated that seat belts would not have prevented most of the serious injuries and fatalities from occurring in school bus crashes. In 1989, the NAS completed a study of ways to improve school bus safety and concluded that the overall potential benefits of requiring seat belts on large school buses were insufficient to justify a Federal mandate for installation. NAS also stated that the funds used to purchase and maintain seat belts might be better spent on other school bus safety programs and devices that could save more lives and reduce more injuries.

 

FY08 budget process under way

When the School Committee hired Wayne Ogden as the Superintendent in July 2006, we asked him to help us move the Franklin school system to the next level. In that, we asked him to provide us with a framework for moving the system from good to great. In formulating the budget for the next fiscal year, he and his leadership team have made a number of recommendations that will help us achieve that goal.

In his budget message to the School Committee, Superintendent Ogden indicated that the budget was prepared by the leadership team with the intent of starting us back on the path to making Franklin one of the top tier school districts in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He noted that for a decade or so, arguably longer, the high quality of the schools and Franklin have been a big reason why businesses, employees and customers have decided to move to our community. School quality attracts businesses and parents to Franklin. The continued high quality of our schools is necessary to ensure that their companies and families will stay in our community. Said another way, the value of a residential real estate is tied to the quality of the educational programs offered by the Franklin public schools.

On Saturday, January 6, 2007, the School Committee met with the entire administrative team in a four hour workshop where we went through in detail each of the budget requests and raised questions as to how we will proceed with our presentation to the town. Each school principal and administrator spoke to the needs of their respective facilities and programs, and detailed how their requests were aligned to our goal of moving from good to great. It was a positive work session and showed us that we do, indeed, have ways to go. However, we do have an understanding of what it will take to get there, and by the end of the budget process, we will be able to present a number of choices to the community.

The School Committee will have a follow-up budget discussion on Tuesday, January 9, 2007 at our regular meeting. On January 23, 2007, we will conduct a public hearing on the budget. On February 13, 2007, we will continue budget discussions, and then vote on an appropriation request. Our budget will be presented to the Town Council and Town Administrator on February 15, 2007.

Over the next several weeks, the School Committee and Administrative Team will be meeting to try and figure out ways to implement the goals of this budget over the next several years. You can see our meeting schedule and calendar by clicking here.  While some may conclude that our financial and educational goals are unrealistic at this time, we believe it is important for the citizens of this community to know what we believe is necessary to put us among the best.

In that respect, please join us over the next several weeks and months in considering the school budget requests, and in making your wishes known to town leaders about the direction for the school district.

Extended field trip policy on January 9 agenda

The School Committee will be discussing the extended field trip policy at the January 9, 2007 meeting. Since the extended field trip policy was put into effect in 2005, the School Committee has received much feedback on the policy as it relates to school sponsorship of private trips. Currently, the policy does not support sponsorship of these trips. In some of the feedback, we were told that such a policy might hinder future trips, which we felt may adversely affect students who may wish to participate. The policy subcommittee has met with a number of people in the school system to address these concerns. In December, they reported to the full committee that they needed some direction on how a sponsorship provision in the policy would be received.

Accordingly, they have asked the full committee to discuss this aspect at the next meeting to provide some guidance. We are seeking community input on this aspect of the policy and would appreciate hearing from you. You can do so by attending and speaking at the January 9 meeting. If you are unable to attend, but would like to provide input, please do so via e-mail, telephone, or letter. You can get contact info for the School Committee by clicking here.

We look forward to hearing from you.