Anonymous posters must be revealed in defamation cases

As an active participant in government affairs, I have seen my share of anonymous blogs and online reader comments under newspaper articles. At times, they can be quite unflattering to put it mildly. There is no question that many of the comments are robust and shed sunlight on issues of the day. But sometimes the comments cross the line and are defamatory. Back in July, I expressed concern about the increase in the use of these anonymous postings on newspaper and other blogs (click here to read that post). An Illinois court decision from last week urged me to explore this topic further.

On November 9, an Illinois judge issued an order to a newspaper compelling it to disclose an unknown individual using the pseudonym “Hip check 16″ who made a posting on the Daily Herald website which defamed a Buffalo Grove Village Trustee’s minor son. You can read the story of that case by clicking here. In the ruling, the court noted that the right to speak anonymously, on the internet or otherwise, is not absolute and does not protect speech that would otherwise be unprotected. The right to speak must be balanced against the right of an offended party to seek redress.

There is no doubt that speech on the internet receives First Amendment protection and that includes protection for anonymous speech. The United States Supreme Court reaffirmed that right in Buckley v. Am. Constitutional Law Found., 525 U.S. 182, 199 (1999). In that case, the Court also recognized the Internet as a valuable forum for robust exchange and debate. The opinion goes on to say that through the use of online devices “any person with a phone line can become a town crier with a voice that resonates farther than it could from any soapbox. Courts also recognize that anonymity is a particularly important component of Internet speech. Internet anonymity facilitates the rich, diverse, and far ranging exchange of ideas; the constitutional rights of Internet users, including the First Amendment right to speak anonymously, must be carefully safeguarded.”

At the same time, however, there is no right to freely defame others. As with most freedoms, we must heed to the words of Oliver Wendell Holmes who said: “The right to swing my fist ends where the other man’s nose begins.” And that’s what we must consider when balancing the rights of anonymous posters with the right of others to protect their good names.

Here is a look at some other cases which have cropped up around the country on this issue:

A Tennessee state court ruled in October Donald and Terry Keller Swartz are entitled to discover the identity of the anonymous blogger behind the Stop Swartz blog who published critical statements about them and encouraged readers to post information on their whereabouts and activities. In his decision, Judge Thomas W. Brothers adopted a legal standard highly protective of anonymous online speech, but found that the Swartzes had come forward with sufficient evidence in support of their claims of wrongdoing to outweigh the anonymous blogger’s right to anonymity. This video clip of the actual court hearing in that case gives you a firsthand look at the legal issues presented. Click here to view it.

In Doe I v. Individuals, 561 F. Supp. 2d 249, 254-56 (D. Conn. 2008), female students at Yale Law School sued unknown individuals using thirty-nine different pseudonymous names to post on a law school admissions website named AutoAdmit.com. A number of anonymous posts contained threatening and derogatory comments about minority groups, sexuality, and incitement of criminal activity. In that case, the court ordered the web provider to disclose the blogger’s identity and noted that the plaintiff had shown sufficient evidence supporting a prima facie case for libel, and thus the balancing test of the plaintiff’s interest in pursuing discovery in this case outweighed the defendant’s First Amendment right to speak anonymously.

For further reading, and to see how other courts have ruled on these issues (both for and against disclosure), click the links to the following decisions: Solers, Inc. v. Doe, 977 A.2d 941, 954-57 (D.C. 2009); Sinclair v. TubeSockTedD, 2009 WL 320408, at *2 (D.D.C. Feb. 10, 2009); Krinsky v. Doe 6, 159 Cal.App. 4th 1154 (Cal. Ct. App. 2008);); Quixtar Inc. v. Signature Mgmt. Team, LLC, 566 F. Supp.2d 1205, 1216 (D. Nev. 2008); Mobilisa v. Doe, 170 P.3d 712, 720-21 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2007); Greenbaum v. Google, 845 N.Y.S.2d 695, 698-99 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 2007); In re Does 1-10, ;”>242 S.W.3d 805, 822-23 (Tex. Ct. App. 2007); McMann v. Doe, 460 F. Supp.2d 259, 268 (D. Mass. 2006); Highfields Capital Mgmt. v. Doe, 385 F. Supp.2d 969, 975-76 (N.D. Cal. 2005);  Doe v. Cahill, 884 A.2d 451 (Del. 2005). Best Western Int’l v. Doe, 2006 WL 2091695, at * (D. Ariz. 2006); Reunion Indus. v. Doe, 2007 WL 1453491 (Penn. Ct. Comm. Pleas Mar. 5, 2007).

The bottom line is robust dialog is always welcome. But defamatory speech is not. It is good to see that the courts are willing to open the doors to the anonymous world when speech crosses the line. That should serve as notice to posters that they should consider the legal, moral and ethical components of their comments. And they should be careful with their facts. Because if they are not, the courts will offer assistance to those who seek redress.

Governor visits Franklin’s Jefferson School

It was both refreshing and energizing. Governor Deval Patrick traveled to Franklin yesterday to spend time with the students and staff at Jefferson Elementary School and enlivened the day.

The visit gave the Governor a firsthand account of education spending in action.

The visit was coordinated by Representative James Vallee. “I wanted to bring the governor here to show him just how much funding affects our district,” Vallee said. “Quite frankly, I’m concerned about the future and I want to show the governor and community that we are 100 percent committed to maintaining education funding.”

Complete newspaper coverage of the visit can be viewed by clicking here. As noted in the story, during his visit, Gov. Patrick stressed the importance of education funding through tough budget times. “We have protected funding for public schools,” Patrick said. “That is about the kids and the value we place on them.”

Also during the visit, the Governor participated in Mr. Goguen’s history class using SMARTBoard technology. “The purpose of this technology is to reinforce what I am teaching,” Goguen said.

Following the classroom visit, Gov. Patrick dined with elementary students in the cafeteria.

It was certainly encouraging to have the Governor see our schools and engage with our students. The education of our young is one of the great hallmarks of our community, and the visit highlighted the support we receive in this effort from our state officials in this effort.

Panther Pride night at FHS coming up

In a few days, parents of 8th grade students will receive a formal invitation in the mail to attend this year’s Panther Pride Night at Franklin High School on Wednesday, October 21, 2009. This is going to be an informative and exciting opportunity for parents and students to explore the scope and quality of the engaging educational and extracurricular programs and facilities that FHS offers to students. All 8th grade parents and students are invited to attend this informative event that will include multimedia presentations, walking tours, information about our graduates. The evening will also highlight the opportunities for learning, sports, clubs, and activities.

Join the FHS team on Oct. 21st in the Field House where Principal Peter Light will kick-off the evening’s activities, followed by an informational video about the opportunities and experiences that are available to incoming freshmen. After the video, parents and students will be escorted in small groups through the high school where they will have the opportunity to obtain more information about our academic programs and facilities, explore the newly organized Technology Center, sample the new Fitness Center, and view classroom resources at various stops throughout the school. A visit to the Art Gallery and DECA Store are also on the planned tour route. In addition, faculty, administrators, and students will be available in the Field House to provide more information and to answer any questions that you may have about the FHS community.

To allow sufficient time for all parents and students to participate in the Panther Pride experience, there will be two sessions offered based on a student’s last name. The first session will start at 5:30pm (for students with last names beginning with the letters A-K), and the second session will begin at 6:30pm (for students with last names L-Z). If you are an 8th grade parent or student, this year’s Panther Pride night is an event that is not to be missed. So mark your calendar now for Wednesday, October 21st.

First Annual Jenna Pasquino Memorial Foundation Golf Tournament

The Jenna Pasquino Memorial Foundation was started in 2009. The Foundation’s goal is to sponsor activities and programs such as scholarships to graduating seniors and charitable community organizations.

Jenna passed away this past April 30th in a motor vehicle accident in Bellingham MA and was taken from us at the young age of 20. Jenna was very involved in the community in Franklin where she lived, was a student in the Franklin Public Schools, and had many friends and family in town and also in the neighboring area.

Its first fundraiser is an annual golf tournament, with the proceeds going to a scholarship fund. This year it will be held on Saturday, October 17th at the Blissful Meadows Golf Club on Chockalog Rd in Uxbridge with tee off promptly at 8:00am. It will be 18 holes, followed by dinner, awards and a raffle. The cost is $125 per golfer. Any non-golfers are welcome to join the foundation for dinner at 1:00 pm, after the tournament at a cost of $30.

The Foundation is looking for tee and green sponsors, goodie bag items and/or gift certificates for services, meals, etc. or items that it can use for our raffle for the tournament.

The sponsor fee is $100 and your business name will appear on an individual sign at one of the holes for the entire tournament. It will also be publicized in the program given to each golfer, along with the list of all contributors. This is a great opportunity for you to get exposure for your business as well as supporting a very worthwhile cause.

We are included a sponsorship form/golfer’s registration form below for your convenience. If you would like to be a sponsor, and/or are interested in playing in the tournament, please fill out the enclosed forms and mail them back with your check to the Jenna Pasquino Memorial Foundation, c/o Erin Donahue, 30 Mill River St, Blackstone, MA 01504 . You can either create your own team or we will be putting together teams for individual registrants. Please respond ASAP so that you will be guaranteed a spot.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact one of the following organizers:

Erin Donahue at (508)641-5074

Andrew Spas at (401)330-6439

Dave Boyan at (508)579-2750

Kelley Byrnes-Benkart at (508)245-2336

View this document on Scribd

President’s address to students

At noon on Tuesday, September 8th, President Barack Obama will be welcoming America’s students back to school. The President has spoken often about the responsibility parents have for their children and their education, but in this message he’ll urge students to take personal responsibility for their own education, to set goals, and to not only stay in school but make the most of it.

To help make sure as many school districts, classrooms, and students are able to get this message the President has launched a resources page where you can find out almost anything you’d want to know. You can view the resources page by clicking here. There’s information on how you can watch it on TV or on the internet, classroom activities that teachers can engage their students in around the speech, even the satellite coordinates for school districts that want to access the feed.

The President’s address has certainly generated a lot of buzz in the nation and in Franklin. A number of calls and e-mails have been received relative to the President’s address over the last several days. Indeed, you may have read about the controversy in today’s Milford Daily News (click here). Here is how the matter is being handled in the Franklin Public Schools:

• Grades K-5 — Principals have told teachers they have discretion to view on computers. If teachers plan to use the speech in class, they need to inform parents and offer an opt out.
• Grades 6-8 — At this time they are all planning to use the speech as an opportunity to work with students to establish expectations and set goals. The Principals will inform parents thru Connect Ed and offer an opt out.
• Grades 9-12 — Teacher discretion and offer an opt out.

From a pure policy perspective guest speakers are governed by School Committee policy IJOB, which reads as follows: “Resource persons are those individuals or groups who are invited into the schools to present supplementary information and ideas to the classroom course of study. These experiences afford students the opportunity to benefit from community viewpoints. Care should be taken in selecting these speakers so that they are individuals who respect diversity in thinking and varying views and who are not attempting to inappropriately influence points of view.” Some of the other policies of interest to this discussion include the following (click on the link to view the full text of the policy):

• Academic freedom
• Teaching activities/presentations
• Teaching about controversial issues/controversial speakers

The process being followed in the Franklin Public Schools relative to the President’s speech on Tuesday is clearly in line with these policies.

This is not the first time that a President has directly addressed school students. You can view Ronald Reagan’s address to students from 1988 by clicking here. You can view the text of George H.W. Bush’s speech to students in 1991 by clicking here.

From a purely personal standpoint, I am delighted to see that the President is reaching out to students in such a meaningful way. While I am not generally in favor of too much federal involvement in local school districts (see my post on that topic by clicking here), I believe that giving students a meaningful opportunity to hear from a President who is great speaker and leader, is laudable. I can recall being inspired as a youth by a speech of President John F. Kennedy and his call for public service. It’s something I remember to this day, and it is my hope that President Obama will touch students in a similar fashion. It may even spark greater interest in government and public service, and re-stoke the flame of liberty. To that end, let’s encourage our youth to listen in on Tuesday, or during the replays which will no doubt be available on-line.

You can view an advance copy of the text of the speech by clicking here.

The feds are coming, the feds are coming

In an interesting twist, earlier this week, my son and I travelled the Battle Road on bikes from Lexington to Concord, the scene of Paul Revere’s famous ride. It was interesting to follow the steps that led to the first skirmish of the American Revolution which took place on April 19, 1775. And it’s interesting to reflect in the place where the flames of liberty were ignited, and concepts of federalism and the limited role of a central government were nurtured.

That ride brought to mind the President’s current push to rewrite education legislation and invoked a federal takeover of schools in this country (see Boston Globe report by clicking here and Newsweek piece by clicking here).

Education has historically been left in the hands of local communities. It’s part of the idea that the governance of education is best done at the local level, where the parents, teachers, administrators, and students are intimately more aware of the needs of their schools. Indeed since colonial times, Massachusetts required the towns to maintain a system of public schools. The statute of 1647 — which is the precursor to G. L. c. 71, Section 1 — required every town with fifty or more householders to appoint a schoolmaster in the town “to teach all such Children as shall resort to him to Write and Read,” and every town of one hundred or more householders or families to “set up a Grammar School, the Master thereof being able to Instruct Youth so far as they may be fitted for the University.”

The federal constitution purposefully says nothing about education. In Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U. S. 483 (1954), a unanimous Supreme Court recognized that “education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments.” And in 1973, the Supreme Court recognized that education is not among the rights afforded explicit protection under our Federal Constitution. San Antonio Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 1 (1973). In Wright v. Council of City of Emporia, 407 U.S. 451 (1972), the Court noted that “[d]irect control over decisions vitally affecting the education of one’s children is a need that is strongly felt in our society.” As one of the justices in that case observed:

Local control is not only vital to continued public support of the schools, but it is of overriding importance from an educational standpoint, as well. The success of any school system depends on a vast range of factors that lie beyond the competence and power of the courts. Curricular decisions, the structuring of grade levels, the planning of extracurricular activities, to mention a few, are matters lying solely within the province of school officials, who maintain a day-to-day supervision that a judge cannot.

Despite all of this, the President is making a push to impose national standards in education. Indeed, the federal government is offering funding — through a program called Race to the Top — which will reward school districts that adhere to national standards. But national standards, no matter how brilliantly designed, create uniformity and are harmful to creativity. Aside from that, they ignore the good work that is already being done in states such as Massachusetts. To those who still think American schools are bad and need standards, I suggest you review my last post by clicking here.

For a glimpse of some of the more detailed reasons to oppose national standards, consider the following:

• The best defense against national standards
• Feds In The Classroom: How Big Government Corrupts, Cripples, and Compromises American Education
• The case against national standards
• Against National Standards

If the federal government wants to help states and local governments, it can begin by funding the mandates already in place. For a list of those mandates already in place and which are not fully funded, click here. For now, the national standards push should be abandoned and we should revert of the federalist system composed at the end of the Revolutionary War.

American schools do a better job than some may think

To those who think that American schools are so bad, look at the book Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization by Yong Zhao. As the jacket materials note, this remarkable book will forever change the debate about what’s wrong and what’s right with American education and where it should be going.

Based on his own experience as a student in China and as a parent of children attending school in the United States, Zhao skewers conventional wisdom while setting straight the recent history and current state of US schools. To make his case, Zhao explains:

• Why the perceived weaknesses of American education are actually its strengths.
• How reform proponents, business executives, and politicians have misjudged American education.
• Why China and other nations in Asia are actually reforming their systems to be more like their American counterparts.
• What really matters for an education system and what really counts as educational excellence.

With an extraordinary command of facts and thought leadership, Zhao describes how schools have to keep pace with a world that is being dramatically transformed by globalization, the “death of distance,” and digital technology. Instead of falling in line with mandates for standardization, his prescription is for educators to

• Expand the definition of success beyond math and reading test scores.
• Personalize schooling so that every student has opportunity to learn.
• View schools as enterprises that embrace globalization and digital technology.

You can view the slideshow from Zhao’s presentation at the 2009 School Administrators of Iowa (SAI) by clicking here or one viewer’s notes by clicking here.

Former Justice urges more civic education

David H. Souter, retired as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, challenged American Bar Association (ABA) members at the Opening Assembly for the 2009 Annual Meeting to “take on the job of making American civic education real again.”  For video of Souter’s speech, click here. 

When more than two-thirds of Americans cannot even name the three branches of government, they cannot speak up for an independent judiciary, Souter said.  “This is something to worry about” and there is “a risk to constitutional government,” he warned.  Souter said he learned the statistic in a conference convened in 2006 by retired Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and Associate Justice Stephen Breyer.

He contrasted the lack of public understanding of the workings of government today with his own civic development as a child growing up in Weare, N.H.  He attended yearly town meetings with his parents, watching community leaders decide issues of local governance, differentiating between legislative and executive functions and between township responsibilities and those of the state.  A respected citizen who had been elected by township residents lead the meeting with fairness and recognition of all viewpoints, in a judicial capacity, he said.  When he reached the ninth grade, the formal civics class taught in school was easy to understand, and not one of his classmates would have failed to identify the branches of government, he added.

The reality that a “majority of the public is unaware of the structure of government,” and fails to understand the notion of separation of powers, is the “root problem we have to face about judicial independence,” Souter said. 

Civic education must be raised to a new power,” he concluded.  It is “the birthright of every American.”

Along these lines, retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, in cooperation with Georgetown University Law Center and has developed a Web site and interactive civics curriculum for 7th, 8th and 9th grade students called Our Courts. You can view that site by clicking here. At the ABA conference, Meryl J. Chertoff, Professor at Georgetown University Law School and Director of the Sandra Day O’Connor Project on the State of the Judiciary reported on new online learning tool. You can view that video by clicking here.

As part of my personal commitment to this effort, for the past two years, I have participated in the Constitution in the Classroom project at Franklin High School. Constitution in the Classroom is an effort by the American Constitution Society to bring its members into primary and secondary classrooms to raise awareness of fundamental constitutional principles. In 2009, the classroom discussion focused on the Redding student strip search case which was decided by the Supreme Court in June 2009. The conversations with students have been lively and bring into perspective the role of the courts in their lives.

As Thomas jefferson once observed: “An enlightened citizenry is indispensable for the proper functioning of a republic. Self-government is not possible unless the citizens are educated sufficiently to enable them to exercise oversight. It is therefore imperative that the nation see to it that a suitable education be provided for all its citizens.”   Those words are critical underpinnings to the need for greater civics instruction in schools.

The community benefits from education

Having strong and vital schools is important for every community. Because we appreciate that fact, we are constantly urging the community to support public education and keep us on the path of moving from good to great. The downturn in the economy has been troubling to these efforts, but we remain committed to the cause.

It is in this spirit that we introduce you to the Common Good Forecaster, a joint product of United Way and the American Human Development Project. They have developed a tool to forecast how things might change in our community if educational outcomes were better.

They have also prepared a companion report which you can view by clicking here. As they note in the introduction:

Those who advocate for greater investment in education often make the economic argument: more education leads to higher wages and is critical for financial stability and independence. They’re right. Robust evidence supports the view that higher levels of educational attainment are linked to higher incomes, less unemployment, less poverty, and less reliance on public assistance.

But education is about more than just better jobs and bigger paychecks, important though they are in making families and individuals more financially stable. More education is also linked to better physical and mental health, longer lives, fewer crimes, less incarceration, more voting, greater tolerance, and brighter prospects for the next generation. More education is good for individuals who stay in school to earn their high school degree or who enter and graduate college, but it is also good for all of us, paying big dividends in the form of increased civic engagement, greater neighborhood safety, and a healthy, vibrant democracy.

You can look at the statistics for Norfolk County by going to the forecaster, which you can view by clicking here. Once there you can view the data sets and see for yourself how education impacts our community. We have long been strong and passionate advocates for education in Franklin and believe that the site offers empirical evidence of the benefits of living in a community with a high performing school district. You are also urged to review the companion report for suggestions on ways that you can help and support the educational offerings in Franklin.

Franklin teacher on mission at space camp

Horace Mann Middle School science teacher James Schliefke is at space camp this week after earning a scholarship from Honeywell.

Schliefke, a resident of Franklin, was one of 288 teachers from 16 countries and 47 states chosen to take part in the Honeywell Educators @ Space Academy programs at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

He is sharing letters and photos from SpaceCamp on the County Gazette’s website which you can view by clicking here.

The Honeywell Educators @ Space Academy programs provide teachers with new and innovative techniques to educate their students about science and math.

The programs focus on space science and exploration in a variety of classroom, laboratory and real-life astronaut training, including: a high-performance jet simulation, scenario-based space missions, land and water survival training, and state-of-the-art flight dynamics programs.

Schliefke is the only teacher from Massachusetts chosen to attend.

Since the program’s inception in 2004, Honeywell and its employees have sponsored more than 1,100 scholarships for teachers from 36 countries and all 50 U.S. states, to participate in the Honeywell Educators @ Space Academy programs.

Honeywell Educators @ Space Academy is part of Honeywell Hometown Solutions, the company’s corporate citizenship initiative, which focuses on several areas of vital importance: Family Safety & Security; Housing & Shelter; Science & Math Education; Habitat & Conservation; and Humanitarian Relief. Together with leading public and non-profit institutions, Honeywell has developed powerful programs to address these needs in the communities it serves.

For more information on Honeywell Hometown Solutions, click here.

New FPS logo unveiled

A new logo for the Franklin Public Schools (shown at right) was unveiled last night at the School Committee meeting. The new logo was chosen from many participants in a contest that the Strategic Planning Committee organized to involve students in the strategic planning process.

Roseann Gosch, art teacher, created a flyer and encouraged students to help us design a logo for the Franklin Public School District. Students were encouraged to create a bold graphic image that represents all of our separate schools combined. After the drawings were submitted, they were brought to the Franklin High School Graphic Design class which incorporated them into a finished product.

Thirty students who participated in the design process were recognized and received certificates at last night’s School Committee meeting. Kristen Dumas was recognized for coming up with the winning logo.

Shining eyes amplified the performances

Over the last month, we have had the opportunity to see Franklin students perform on stage in various ensembles. We have seen bands, orchestras, choral groups, and for the past two weekends, we have had theatrical performances put on by the Footlighters (all three middle schools) and Franklin High School. Here’s a snapshot of what we has taken place in the last five weeks alone:

The Franklin High Jazz Band performed in four different Jazz Festivals all listed below:

• University of Massachusetts Jazz Festival At this festival three high school students were awarded scholarships to attend the UMass Summer Jazz Program
• Massachusetts Central District Jazz Festival The band was awarded a gold medal and was invited to perform at the state festival
• University of New Hampshire Jazz Festival All Jazz Band students also attended an improvisation clinic at this festival
• Massachusetts State Jazz Festival The band was awarded a silver medal at the state Jazz finals

The band also performed at the FEF Trivia Bee

Three of our high school students were accepted into the Massachusetts Music Educators All State Festival. These students performed in the Massachusetts All State concert at Symphony Hall.

On March 27^th & 28^th, the middle school students ppresented “Guys and Dolls” and on April 3^rd & 4^th, the FHS performed “South Pacific.”

On Saturday, April 4^th, the Middle School String Orchestra and the Middle School Select Chorus competed at the MICCA festival.  At the festival, the Combined Middle School Orchestra received a silver medal and the Middle School combined Select Chorus received a bronze medal.

These events give both participants and the audience a feel for what performance is all about. Students get to see how you translate technical musical skills into a performance. There is far more to music than simply knowing the piece and playing it. You have to make your performance appeal to the audience and you have to move them.

Along those lines, I ask you to indulge me for 20 minutes. Please view the 20 minute video below that explains the idea of “performance” very well. It’s a TED talk by Benjamin Zander. Since 1979, Zander has been the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic. He is known around the world as both a guest conductor and a speaker on leadership — and he’s been known to do both in a single performance. He uses music to help people open their minds and create joyful harmonies that bring out the best in themselves and their colleagues. Zander has two infectious passions: classical music, and helping us all realize our untapped love for it — and by extension, our untapped love for all new possibilities, new experiences, new connections. In this video, you’ll see him translate this passion into words, and hopefully make you appreciate what you see in the performances each night.

You can view the video by clicking here or on the image below.

And here is a clip from the Presentation blog that provides more perspective:

It is not enough to know a piece of music intellectually or to play it without any mistakes, you have to convey the true language of the music emotionally, says Zander. When musicians truly get into the music and play it with such heart and emotion that audiences are moved beyond words, Zander noticed that the music was flowing through the musicians, taking control of their bodies as they swayed from side to side. Zander, then, urges musicians to become “one-buttock players,” that is to let the music flow through their bodies, causing them to lean and to move from one buttock to the other. If you’re a musician, or making a performance of virtually any kind, and you are totally in the moment and connecting with the language of the music and the audience, there is no way you can be a “two-buttock player.” You’ve got to move, you’ve got to connect, and you must not hold back your passion but instead let the audience have a taste of the commitment, energy, and passion you have for the music (or the topic, the ideas, etc.). This quote below from Martha Graham captures the essence of the idea of giving way to passion (from page 116 of The Art of Possibility). I think you can apply these words to the art of performance or presentation, and frankly to life in general including leadership, entrepreneurship, etc.

“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.” — Martha Graham

You decide. You can hold back, aim not to make an error and play it perfectly “on two-buttocks,” or you can say “Screw it!—I’ll take a risk” and dare to lean into the music with intensity, color, humanity, and passion and quite possibly, in your own small way (and on only one buttock), change the world. Play it with total sincerity and with your entire body — heart and soul — and you will make a connection and change things. As Ben Zander said while encouraging one of his talented students to play it in the “one-buttock” style:

“If you play that way, they won’t be able to resist you. You will be a compelling force behind which everyone will be inspired to play their best.” — Ben Zander

Thank you to the Franklin middle and high school students who did such a great job over the past two weekends. You truly did have shining eyes.

Emerging young artists featured in exhibit

If you are looking for an event that will give you a glimpse into the creativity of some of our Franklin students, you are urged to attend to the gallery opening next week. Entitled, “Emerging Young Artists of Franklin,” the show features the work of 7 Franklin High School students who intend to pursue their art beyond high school.

The opening is April 7th from 5-7pm at the Woodshed Gallery, 1243 Pond Street. Artwork will be on display until April 28th.

TIMSS results place Massachusetts among world leaders in math and science

Massachusetts’ fourth and eighth graders outscored the nation, and most of their international peers, in math and science on the world’s largest study of student performance in those subjects. According to the results of the 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), Massachusetts 4th graders ranked second worldwide in science achievement and tied for third in mathematics; the state’s 8th graders tied for first in science and ranked sixth in mathematics.

TIMSS is an international math and science assessment administered every four years to a sampling of 4th and 8th grade students in participating nations around the world. The test was administered in April and May 2007 to 3,600 students attending 95 randomly selected schools in Massachusetts.

Other findings include:

• Massachusetts 8th graders made significant gains in math and science performance on TIMSS between 1999 and 2007. In math, the state’s 8th graders improved by 34 points, from 513 in 1999 to 547 in 2007. In science, 8th graders scored 23 points higher in 2007 (556) than in 1999 (533). There are no trend results for the state’s 4th graders.
• In grade 8 science, 20% of Massachusetts students met the Advanced Benchmark, behind Singapore (32%) and Chinese Taipei (25%). In math, 16% of the state’s 8th graders scored Advanced, behind Chinese Taipei (45%), the Republic of Korea (40%), Singapore (40%), Hong Kong SAR (31%), and Japan (26%).
• Boys outscored girls in Massachusetts on three of the four tests. At grade 4, boys outscored girls in math (578 to 567) and science (576 to 566). At grade 8, boys outscored girls in science (561 to 551), but the difference was not statistically significant in math (550 for boys, 544 for girls).

TIMSS was developed by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) in Amsterdam to measure trends in students’ math and science performance worldwide. In all, 59 countries and 425,000 students participated in the 2007 TIMSS administration. Massachusetts and Minnesota were the only two states to opt to participate as “nations.”

Additional information on TIMSS is available online at the National Center for Education Statistics’ website (nces.ed.gov/timss/) and the TIMSS and PIRLS International Study Center’s website at timss.bc.edu/.

Vallee appointed as majority leader

Congratulations are in order for Franklin’s State Representative James Vallee who was chosen to be a key player on the leadership team of House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo. Jim was selected as the Majority Leader. For the complete report from today’s Boston Globe, click here.

Jim has been a consistent and loyal friend of the Franklin public schools and we wish him well in his new position. Thanks to his continued leadership, Franklin has been a generous recipient of state aid to support our educational offerings. He is also a frequent visitor to and supporter of the Franklin schools.

Complements to the Franklin staff

There are those occasions when a refreshing letter comes across the desk. Today was one of them.

Assistant Superintendent Maureen Sabolinski shared a letter she received from one of our teachers at Remington Middle School. The letter speaks to the caliber of the staff in the Franklin Public Schools, their commitment to public education, and their dedication to the task at hand. The Paul and Shawn she is referring to are Principal Paul Peri and Assistant Principal Shawn Forton. It is with great pleasure that I share it with you here:

Dear Maureen,

I feel it necessary to email you my thoughts about Paul, Shawn, and Franklin in general. Let me back track a little bit. Before I got to Franklin, I thought I would be potentially entering my last year of being a teacher. The administration and politics at my previous school district burnt me out with their rigid rules on the make-up of the perfect teacher. It allowed me to forget why I went into teaching in the first place-the children. Everything seemed to overshadow my passion for teaching. I found myself saying that I was going to work every day, not school. I even questioned my effectiveness in the classroom.

When I arrived at my interview at RMS, I didn’t know that I would leave the building praying that I would be hired by Franklin. The professionalism of Tim, Paul, Jeff Chaffee, and Shawn during the interview shined. Their vision of finding the perfect fit for RMS was evident. I was offered two jobs before Paul had called me. I bravely asked these two schools to be patient as I was waiting to hear back from another school (RMS). When Paul called me with the offer, I was in Seventh Heaven! Suddenly, my enthusiasm for being a teacher came back! This has only rejuvenated itself working with Paul and Shawn.

Paul welcomed me to the RMS community by offering his assistance from everything from desks to school supplies. Little did I know at the time, that he was stepping into new shoes himself (Do you like that one?). He was dealing with his own transition, but that never got in the way of helping a new teacher find her way around RMS. He has always been very clear that he’s available anytime. I can go into his office anytime, and he’ll drop whatever it is to help/hear me. Paul says what he means, and means what he says. It’s always about the little things isn’t it? Before school started, I received a card from Paul welcoming me to RMS. Since then, I’ve received thank you cards for various occasions such as volunteering at the schools’ “Lock-In.” It’s these little gestures of appreciation that really go a long way. On our Wed Memos, Paul posts “Best Practices.” This spotlights what my colleagues are doing well in their classroom. This builds community and allows everyone to celebrate the top-notch staff. It brings us closer as the family that we are. Paul is a precious gem, a D-Flawless, if you will.

I was so excited to have Shawn as a teammie. Then, he was taken away and promoted to Assistant Principal. Good call!!! Shawn is junior in his position, but this never hindered his ability to make decisions regarding the students. Last year, I stopped sending students to the A.P. because there was no point. I knew that I could give them a better suited consequence. This year, there is never a hesitation. I know that when I send a student to Shawn, he is going to assess the situation and handle it in the best way possible. He’ll consult me either before or after meeting with the student to ensure that it is handled well. I appreciate the respect. Shawn commands respect and gets it. Furthermore, the students always know that Shawn will make a fair decision. One time, Shawn was walking down the hallway and my students had set up their Giver projects. They really wanted him to see them because they value his opinion. He took time out of his busy schedule and visited my classroom to pay his oohs and ahhs to the students’ hard work. They were so thrilled! Shawn is always friendly and approachable.

I wanted to let you know how thrilled I am to go to school, not work every day. Franklin has renewed my love for teaching. My administration, team, and colleagues are second to none. I take the CBJ class on Thurs and have gotten to know teachers working in the other middle schools. Franklin certainly only hires the cream of the crop.

Lastly, I wanted to congratulate you in your new role. May you have fabulous shoes on your first official day on the job!

Julie McManuis, M.Ed.

Remington Middle School

Grade 7: English/Language Arts

Facebook for educators

Here is a video for educators on how to use Facebook as an educational tool.  It includes creative uses of the news feed, wall, and applications specific for student-teacher communications.  As the author notes, Facebook can be a powerful tool to drive a sense of belonging in the classroom.  Click on the image below to view the video.

Light appointed principal at FHS

On Tuesday, January 13, 2009, Peter Light was appointed as the new Principal of Franklin High School. He will take over the reins on January 26, 2009.

Light has been a part of the Franklin community for the last 12 years, most recently as an Assistant Principal at Franklin High. The School Committee is delighted that Mr. Light will be staying in Franklin.

At the last school committee meeting, Mr. light took the opportunity to outline his vision, objectives, and leadership style. We have captured that segment of the meeting in three parts for viewing online. You can begin with part one by clicking on the image below. Parts two and three are included in the blog posts below.

Please join me in welcoming Mr. Light to his new position. For the Milford Daily News report on lights elevation to Principal, please click here.

Light outlines his vision and objectives for FHS

In this second part (of three videos), newly appointed FHS Principal Peter Light, continues to outline his vision and objectives for Franklin High School. He takes over the position beginning on January 26, 2009. You can view the video by clicking on the image below.

Light takes questions from the committee

In this segment of videos, Peter Light responds to questions concerning his new job as principal of Franklin High School. You can view the video by clicking on the image below.

Students give civics lesson to school board

In what may be the first attempt in California to unseat an entire school board, high school students and supporters who want to oust all five members of the Big Oak Flat-Groveland School Board fired collected enough signatures to put the issue before voters, the Tuolumne County clerk said Friday. The students organized the recall campaign as a civics project after the board voted to get rid of their popular math teacher Ryan Duton, a former professional football player.

The controversy began in September after Supt. Mari Brabbin and the school board removed Dutton from his job teaching math at Tioga High School over an allegation of plagiarism. He also lost his post coaching baseball. Dutton, 31, who was studying for his teaching credential at Cal State Fresno, was accused of copying another student’s homework in March. He denied the charge. The University says the allegations were unfounded but the school board refused to reconsider its decision, so the students organized a recall campaign and tossed out the entire school board.

The school board is scheduled to meet next week to receive formal notice that the recall has qualified. The board will have the option of calling the election itself and allowing a vote entirely by mail.

For the complete story as reported in the Los Angeles Times, click here.

Attracting and retaining the best and brightest teachers

Attracting and retaining the best and brightest teachers in the Franklin public school system has been one of the top priorities for the School Committee. Our last post on teachers can be viewed by clicking here. We continuously look for ways to improve the quality of our educational workforce. We have been extremely successful in coordinating this effort, but recent budget issues have placed a strain on our ability to maintain our high standards. We will continue to pursue these efforts nonetheless.

Today, the Boston Globe published an interesting op-ed piece which highlights the need for good teaching. In the piece, we are reminded that President-Elect Barack Obama has declared that “now is the time to finally meet our moral obligation – to provide every child a world-class education.” To do so, we need to focus on teachers in the classroom. As the article further notes:

The clearest result from decades of education research is the importance of teacher quality. My colleague Tom Kane finds that students who are lucky enough to get a teacher in the top quarter of the teacher-quality distribution jump 10 percentile points in the student achievement distribution relative to children who end up with less able teachers. Improving teacher quality has about twice the impact on student outcomes as radically reducing class size.

Just as the human capital of our citizens will determine the strength of our nation, the human capital of our teachers will determine the quality of our schools. The first step toward improving teacher quality is to attract more talented teachers. The second step is to improve teacher selection on the job, promoting the best and encouraging the worst to help society in some other way.

The piece was written by Edward L. Glaeser, a professor of economics at Harvard University. He is the director of the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston. To view the complete article, click here.

Retired teacher volunteering to help at FHS

For some it may be a golf course or beach which calls them out of retirement. But for one retired teacher, it’s the opportunity to get back into a classroom that is the lure.

For the past year, Don Roemer, a Franklin resident and retired teacher from the Wayland Public School system, has volunteered as a part-time teacher working alongside a few full-timers at Franklin High School, in a pilot program he proposed last October to Franklin Superintendent of Schools Wayne Ogden.

The Milford Daily News did a story on his public service and the pilot program. You can see the full story by clicking here. The story is accompanied by a video which can be viewed by clicking the image below or clicking here.

Our thanks and gratitude go out to Mr. Roemer. This is a classic win-win situation, giving our high school students an opportunity to get some extra guidance, and a retired teacher the opportunity to get back into the classroom.

Franklin schools update

As we begin the 2008-09 school year in Franklin, it is worth reviewing some objective facts about the state of your schools. The first section of the report below provides a summary of academic performance in Franklin as of today. A second section summarizes the financial performance of the school district based on the most recent data available.

The School Committee believes that this data demonstrates that, up to now, the Franklin Public Schools have been high performing academically and have used taxpayer resources in a highly efficient manner to produce those results. How long can it continue? That’s the big question. You be the judge.

Academic Performance   

The Franklin Public Schools received four commendations in 2007-08 from the Office of Educational Quality Assurance (EQA) that directly affect and speak to student performance: High MCAS scores, curricular alignment with state frameworks, the district professional development program, and the mentoring program. 

The district analysis of the 2007 MCAS data continues to identify the Franklin Public School System as a “high performance” district in all tests at all grade levels.

• All students continue to outperform the state averages on the same tests in English Language Arts (ELA), Mathematics, and Science/Technology Engineering (STE). 
  
• All 17 tests, including three Long Composition tests, given in Grades 4, 7, and 10 scored a “High” (80-89.9) or “Very High” (90-100) performance rating.
  
• MCAS 2007 included, for the first time, the addition of a science competency test at the high school.  Students in the class of 2010 must pass a STE test to graduate. The district identified Biology as the test of choice since Biology is a requirement for graduation.  The 2007 Grade 9 Biology CPI was 96.7 (Very High), outperforming the state by two performance ratings.
  
• All Special Education subgroups in Grades 3-10 achieved a higher proficiency index than state subgroups in each of the subject tests.
  
• All Low Income subgroups achieved higher proficiency indices (PI) than the state subgroups in each tested area with the exception of Grade 7 ELA, which scored equal to that of the state subgroup, and Grade 8 Math, which came in at 3 PI points below that of the state subgroup.
  
• When compared with 28 top-performing districts in the state by AYP grade levels (3-5, 6-8, 9-12), Franklin outperformed 14 districts in one or more of these AYP reporting categories.
  
• At the high school, 105 students were awarded the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship based on their Grade 10 MCAS performance.  Students qualified for this scholarship by scoring: (a) in the Advanced category in English Language Arts or Mathematics and Advanced or Proficient in the other subject area on the grade 10 MCAS assessments; and, (b) in the top 25% of the students in the district on these tests.
  

The complete MCAS report may be found on the Franklin Public Schools main web page by clicking here. 

In addition, the Franklin schools met the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) standard for 2007 in both ELA and Mathematics.  This is an important improvement indicator for Franklin and identifies the district as “No Status” for two years running.   From 2003-2005, the district did not meet AYP (subgroups only).  In 2006, the district made AYP and maintained this status for a second year (2007).  This two-year performance has officially removed the Franklin Public Schools from the “Identified for Improvement – subgroups” status.

District and school NCLB Report Cards may be viewed on the Franklin Public Schools website by clicking here. 

At Franklin High School, the graduation rate for the Class of 2008 was 98.7%. Of the graduates, 73.1% chose to attend a public or private four-year college, and 15.4% chose to attend a public or private two-year college. Graduates chose to attend a wide range of well-known colleges or universities, including Boston College, Boston University, Bates, Brandeis, Dean College, Harvard, Hofstra, Northeastern, Providence, Syracuse, University of Pennsylvania, and U-Mass.

School Financial Performance

According to April 2008 data from Massachusetts Department of Education, Franklin spent $9,586 per pupil. (This data is for the 2006-07 academic year, the most recent calculated by the state.)

Fifty-one (51) school districts spent less per pupil than Franklin, and 277 spent more per pupil than Franklin. In other words, 84% of the school districts in the state spent more per pupil than Franklin. The average per pupil expenditure among school districts in Massachusetts stood at $11,859, which was $2,273 more than Franklin’s.

• Franklin spent $201 per pupil on school administration. The state average was $401
  
• Franklin spent $480 per pupil on instructional leadership. The state average was $770.
  
• Franklin spent $4,718 per pupil on classroom and specialist teachers. The state average was $4,513.
  
• Franklin spent $90 per pupil on professional development. The state average was $222.
  
• Franklin spent $190 per pupil on instructional materials, equipment and technology. The state average was $356.
  
• Franklin spent $213 per pupil on guidance and counseling. The state average was $328.
  
• Franklin spent $862 per pupil on pupil services. The state average was $1,081.
  
• Franklin spent $923 per pupil on operations and maintenance. The state average was $1,041.
  
• Franklin spent $908 per pupil on insurance and retirement programs. The state average was $1,929.
  

The average teacher salary in Franklin stood at $56,366, according to the DOE data. Statewide, the average teacher salary was $58,257.

Franklin’s budget for fiscal year 2009 is approximately $88 million. The school budget for the current academic year is $49.9 million, approximately $3 million less than the amount required to maintain the same level of service as last year. The town budget is funded largely by two key revenue streams – property taxes, which provide $48.8 million or 55% of the total, and state and local aid, which provides $33.5 million or about 38% of the total.

Chapter 70 education aid accounts for the vast majority of the state aid distributed to Franklin and totals $28.7 million in the current fiscal year. Almost 58% of the budget of Franklin Public Schools is paid for through Chapter 70 funds.

The Franklin School Committee will do its best in the 2008-09 academic year to continue to deliver the best possible educational outcomes with the resources and support we receive from the state and local governments. We hope parents, staff, alumni and members of the community will continue to support this effort despite difficult economic times.

Franklin a website superstar

Franklin is one of only 24 communities in the state whose website has been designated a “superstar” by the Massachusetts Campaign for Open Government. The organization recognized municipal websites that make it easy for citizens to obtain access to key government records online. As noted by MCOG, this simple and inexpensive action opens local government to more people and greatly improves their ability to be responsible, informed citizens. With the growth of the internet, everyone should be able to obtain important information about their local government with the click of a mouse.

The communities selected and criteria can be viewed by clicking here. Franklin was designated a superstar because its site includes:

• an archive of governing board minutes and agendas
• zoning bylaws
• town or city charter
• community calendar
• school committee agenda and minutes, and
• agendas and minutes of one other town committee

The Massachusetts Campaign for Open Government’s goal is to make access to information about local and state government actions and decisions as easy as possible for every citizen, by raising public awareness about the Massachusetts Open Meeting law and the Massachusetts Public Records Law, by supporting changes to those laws to increase access, and by encouraging greater use of the internet by local and state governments as a mechanism for providing access.

Massachusetts Campaign For Open Government is a project of Common Cause Massachusetts, a citizens lobby for open and accountable government.