Ward 2 School Committee candidate Cyrus Vaghar has released this video to, he says, “answer the big question everyone has been asking me, which is ‘Why are you running for School Committee?'”
Cyrus Vaghar ‘Why I Am Running For Newton School Committee’
by Greg Reibman | Jul 25, 2015 | Newton | 53 comments
I guess it’s about as logical as any other political advertisements.
Hopefully Cyrus will eventually be able to identify areas of the Newton Public School experience that need improvement and articulate some solutions. I for one think that the school committee could benefit from the insight of a current or recent student.
I love this video. Thats because I chose to love this video.
Great video. Thanks Cyrus. While I support Margaret, I am glad you are running. We need you and many others your age to be involved in the political process. Stay involved. Bring your friends.
I applaud anyone willing to take the time and trouble to run for office, especially at the local level where so many offices are uncontested. I think Margaret Albright does an excellent job, and I support her, but having a contested race is just an all around Good Thing. My personal opinion is that for some reason, School Committee seems to be more of a closed system, less diversity of views, less open discussion and rough and tumble. Maybe that’s a function of the way the last few Superintendents have run things, I don’t know. My perception is that it’s a little ironic in that to my mind Margaret Albright tends to be one of the more independent voices, so having a challenger would to me be more productive in one of the other wards, but that’s just my opinion. In any case, no question that having a very recent graduate of the esteemed Newton School System should provide an interesting perspective.
HL Dewey, I have always felt that having the Superintendent sit at the head of the table at School Committee meetings sends the wrong vibe. I think the Superintendent and administrative staff should sit at the table facing the School Committee. It just looks too cozy to me.
Welcome Cyrus.
During my service on the school committee, I have worked to not just be an independent voice but to be a good listener. I do my best to be available, open to hearing ideas and hopefully helping Newton residents to understand the decisions the school committee makes. I also work to make sure we consider all our students and families in the decisions we make and not just those who are good at making their voices heard.
I bring a very broad perspective to my school committee service. Professionally, I work with a number of organizations that are involved in public education including a school improvement organization that is a Priority Partner of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and a high school science program that is affiliated with Harvard Medical School. This work gives me a unique perspective as I have the opportunity to work with individuals in other school districts – principals, teachers, superintendents, school committee members, researchers, professors of education and others. I have a chance to see how others solve problems and learn about ideas that work well and those that don’t. I’m also active in the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) which provides access to a lot of very experienced school committee members around the state as well as a great source for training and professional development for school committees.
@Ted, I’ve asked school committee members in other cities and towns about the seating arrangements and it’s a frequent question among new MASC members. Most have a seating arrangement similar to ours – with the superintendent seated next to the chair. Some seat members in order of seniority. Others seat them alphabetically. We are seated by ward with the chair, vice chair, superintendent and mayor in the middle. Our student representatives from both high schools sit at the table with us.
My website (www.margaretalbright.org) has much more information. I welcome questions and am happy to meet or talk. My door is always open.
Margaret brings up a point that Michael and HL Dewey either do not realize or choose to omit from their comments. There are two high school representatives that sit at the table with the SC. Their thoughts and opinions are included within many of the topical discussions.
I have long believed that although there are a couple of high school representatives on the school committee, their lack of voting power makes it so they cannot make much of an impact. I have also been told that the student representatives often end up listening far more than speaking up, which makes sense in an intimidating environment surrounded by adults. Some say that the students on the committee allow the voices of all students to be heard, but I doubt that they are able to solve much if any of the school issues that they feel are most important to them. I feel that electing Vaghar would erase this issue because he is essentially a fellow student, opening up a better dynamic among the committee.
I agree with those who support Margaret Albright as the best voice on the SC. I’m happy to see him running and wish he were running in a different Ward.
I agree with the point raised by Ted regarding the superintendent sitting right there. It is a small issue but an important one as it leads into how things are accomplished and whether those at the table feel they have the freedom to speak more freely.
It has always seemed a tad irregular to have an employee of the system sitting with elected representatives of the community. (Which is why having the Mayor sitting right there is fine – he too is elected).
It’s a working partnership, not a club house.
I think it’s great Cyrus is running, also wish he was in a different ward, but a new high school grad can’t help where his parents live.
And looks like he was an issue-oriented kid too:
Mark – The Superintendent sits with the SC in just about every community. When a department head presents to the BOA or the SC, they do so as part of a specific segment of the meeting that has a designated beginning and end. The Superintendent typically responds to questions in the discussion of most issues. David Fleishman does not engage in SC discussions unless his input is solicited or it’s apparent that clarification will move the discussion forward.
Jane,
Thank you for the information, I appreciate it.
Being available to answer questions is appropriate, helpful and fine. Sitting with elected officials who are your employers’ representatives still strikes me as…odd.
Though I guess it also depends on the dynamics of the personalities involved and the specific people working together. A previous head of the school committee was way too deferential to a previous superintendent, especially during the 2001-2003 period and it wasn’t conducive to lively and constructive debate.
On the topic at hand, it’s GREAT to have more people engaged and I look forward to checking out these videos and links.
I also think it’s great to have more people becoming part of the electoral process and welcome Cyrus into the Ward 2 SC race.
You’re very right that the cast of characters can change the conversation. I watch every SC meeting (so painful to admit that!) and I find that David does a good job of providing background information so that the committee can discuss issues at a higher level.
Jane,
You’re right, it’s painful to admit and sometimes just plain painful to watch 🙂 but I try to catch as many meetings as I can. I’m glad NewTV provides this service!
@Ted,Mark,Marti et al – I don’t care how you slice it, it’s still bologna. The Super is not an elected official, but an employee, and we taxpayers pay his bloody salary. If he cashes the check, and it’s a big one, then he can sit in the little chair in the corner as far as I’m concerned. Yeah, sure, the SC as well as the Alderpeople get a small stipend, but in the case of the Super, these are big bucks we’re talking about by any measurement. Let’s not even talk about the (ahem) issue that came up a few months ago, I would not presume to venture an opinion on the facts or the merits of the case on one side or the other, but I don’t see any reason for treating the whole thing any differently from any City employee violating basic rules and ethical standards. Again, no special treatment is justified, period, no how.
@Bennett – I agree, if I understand your point correctly. I think the student representatives should have voting status. Hmmm, would that take a Charter change? If they’re going to sit at the table, which I believe they should, then they should vote – perhaps having them be registered voters in Newton (age 18?) would take care of it. Certainly merits discussion in my mind. I have not checked, but if memory serves any registered voter can run for Charter Commission. I would encourage any/all of the folks currently set up as challengers for SC or BoA to take the extra effort (not really very much) to qualify for Charter Commission as well, especially the young folks (am I allowed to make such clearly biased statements sinceI am a certified OF?). Fill in the blanks.
@H.L. Dewey, the student representative is a non-voting, ex officio member of the school committee under Massachusetts law, but a member nonetheless. So, high school students already have a representative voice of their choosing on the school committee.
I think it is good that Cyrus Vaghar is running, period. The more people who are involved in local politics, the better it is for everyone. Welcome to Newton politics, Cyrus.
My comments do not relate to this particular Superintendent, as I have always felt that having an unelected official sit at the same table with elected officials during deliberations just is not right. Even if every other community does it (which not all do). The interactive dynamics of having someone who is supposed to take direction from the School Committee sitting next to the chair of the committee while those decisions are made cannot help but influence the decisionmaking process, if not the decisions themselves. Just think what the expression “having a seat at the table” means.
I still don’t know how this candidate would vote if elected to the school committee. I elect people who I think would make good decisions with issues. I can’t really vote for someone if I don’t know anything about his opinions. Great, he is running, but besides a later high school start time, how does he feel about:
1. a 16th elementary school;
2. Full Day Kindy
3. Fees being levied for families
4. Parking fees for high school students are either the same or LESS than bus fees!
5. What would he have done if the superintendent plagerized?
I can’t vote for someone that doesn’t put his views out there.
It would be good to have Cyrus engage in this thread as a way to explain to people why he is actually running. Have/Choose is OK but does not go to the issues.
We need to hear why Cyrus is running specifically. What are the burning issues in his mind? How has the current SC failed to address them etc.
Student opinion is currently represented in reasonable form by the student reps and they are very useful as they can interact with the other students and give current feedback on current issues.
Once one goes to college, that connection is lost.
Further, from my experience of the time involved including scheduled school visits etc., a student actively and fully engaged in a freshman college year should find it not so easy to be available enough to represent their community. There will certainly schedule conflicts. It also is problematic in summer where any college student should be taking full advantage of opportunities to travel and live in other parts of the country or in other countries.
Further, in my view, Margaret Albright, is by a good margin, the most independent, valuable and effective SC member.
It’s a pity that Cyrus has Ward 2 residency.
However, having Cyrus in the race will hopefully lead to a deep exploration of the issues important to students, yet unaddressed by the SC.
But my advocacy will always go 100% to Margaret.
It would be good for Cyrus to have coffee with Margaret to explore all of the issues.
Cyrus, can you tell us what issues are important to you?
Hi,
I guess I will step in now. I am planning on creating another video in about a week’s time expressing everything I would try to get done on the SC, but i’m not sure V14 will post that, so I can answer some of the questions here.
@Newton Mom
1. I’ll get back to you on that. I have been doing research into it and still am formulating my opinion.
2. Not a priority issue in my mind. No five and six year olds want to be in a classroom from 6 hours a day, I see it more as a logistics issue with parents. Not necessarily something I would not want to see happen, but candidates have been promising it for years and look how far it has gotten. I want to be honest, and saying i’m all for that and would try my hardest to get that done would be a lie.
3. I’m not sure which specific fees that this is referring too, let me know which ones and I will include it in my video when I release it.
4. Both are too high and clear example of why a VOTING Student Rep needs to be on the SC. Think about when the new NNHS was being built, if a student rep was there and could actually vote, then they could have tried to come up with a better solution for student parking, instead we have an absolute mess of students parking as far as a 1/2 mile away from the school on specific days. Some streets suspiciously don’t allow parking. At south I hear the system is a bit better as they have more lots.
5. Two quotes from David Fleishman in the Sep 2, 2014 Newtonite (NNHS student newspaper):
Question: “How does your plagiarism compare to student plagiarism?”
Answer: “If students plagiarize, it’s to get a better grade on their transcript. I had no advantage to plagiarizing; it was hasty and sloppy what I did.”
Question: “Do you think your punishment fit your crime? What message does it sends to students that your punishment was money?”
Answer “A dock of pay is a serious consequence for employees. It sends a message, because I actually work for the money, as opposed to a sports player who might go on vacation and still get paid.”
I think these quotes speak for themselves. Maybe Flieshman would have rather become a pro sports player.
Anyways, all thoughts aside, i’m not running to get anyone annoyed or bash any people in the system, but people may feel that way anyways, I just have an insight into the schools that I believe no one who has ever run before has had. It is the people’s choice who they elect. Click my name to go to my Twitter account, and even if you are not on Twitter, keep an eye on it because I express a lot of my views there.
Other issues I will discuss in the video off the top of my head: Janitors pay, Late Start Times, Drugs in the schools, Lack of transpareny in the schools and how we can erase that + more
Thanks for the answers!
1. Looking forward to the answer -another thing to ponder is that the UPPER Falls neighborhood has no dedicated school for them. Kids on the same street attend THREE different elementary schools. How do you feel that affects kids in the younger grades?
2. It isn’t just a logistics question – I had a kid who was so confused. . . . is today my long day or my short day. Some kids have been attending full day preschool, so to go backwards is hard. You did state your view – thank you.
3. Fees – Back before I had kids, elementary 4th grade music lessons were free. Now they are $150 a year. The same teacher teaches the kids. They didn’t CUT a music teacher. When my son was in third grade he had music once a week and recorder once a week. This year my third grade daughter had recorder once a week instead of music. Cut to the music program. Fifth grade band used to be free. Now it is $150 a year.
4. Parking Fees – I have to ask – why do kids feel the need to drive to school. I feel as a community we are very lucky to have the regular bus, the late bus, and the late late bus. My having kids drive, we are having kids use more fuels to get to the same place. To me it is a good time to make a choice. Many people work in Boston, but many take the train. We save the earth by using less fuel. Why is the parking fee less than the bus? We should be encouraging students to take the bus!
5. One week of Mr. Fleischman’s salary is NOTHING. I can’t even work out the small percentage it was. If a student plagerizes, the student basically fails for the semester. It was a serious violation, and as a parent the punishment was too lenient. Not showing the city that this error was serious.
Hi Cyrus – Could you explain why it is an “absolute mess” for students to park 1/2 mile from high school?
I think that Cyrus should do a bit more research on FDK.
It probably is the single most important change to implement in Newton for the greater benefit of the youngest kids in the system. Newton has been short changing its K kids for way too long.
Also, on parking fees: I looked at quite a bit when I served and they were very low.
As I recall about $180 per term (or year possibly).
That is a tiny fee compared to the cost of providing a car for a student and the very substantial insurance cost for young drivers.
It’s a tiny issue in the scheme of things.
Perhaps Cyrus might take up the much more important issue of NPS treating low income status as a disability.
The SPED classification rate of low income kids is twice that of other kids.
About 40% compared to 20%.
That means that 1 in 5 low income kids is being told they have a disability when they don’t.
That is a great disservice to those kids and their families and completely skews the way they are handled. It’s a very damaging practice.
In a city which seems focused on affordable housing above all other things, we owe it to those future low income families to get the educational part of the picture right.
This is a huge missing piece in NPS education.
Also, on the video, post it to YouTube as a public video and then just insert the link in the blog stream and people will be able to view it.
Great advice for all candidates! Post your position videos on YouTube. (And you can always remove the video when your embarrassed by a position you’ve taken. Sorry couldn’t resist. 🙂 )
Greggie’s back! Luvable as ever.
Cyrus, there are lots of things children need to do that they don’t want to. They shouldn’t have to go to the dentist or get shots or eat vegetables if you are using that as a barometer. It should go under your title of “have” not “choice” just like many other things. Full day kindergarten is already something they are doing, just not every day. It has been proven many times to be good for their education, minds, health, etc.
High school students driving, and needing parking, is not a civil right. Most teenagers of driving age have the same reasons to want to drive to school; that doesn’t mean they are able to, so they get there in other ways, such as walking, riding the bus, biking or being dropped off. Parking 1/2 mile away, or farther, isn’t a hardship; it’s something to be grateful for. The “have” to in this case is “being in school” not how you get there. Your reply completely missed the point of the question, which was that parking fees for students are lower than bus fees. Since parking is a privilege and riding the bus is the only way to get to school for many/most students, it seems it should be the other way around.
There are valid reasons streets have no parking that are not suspicious at all.
It is also unfortunate that you have attended NPS and come away with no knowledge of the many fees your parents have been paying for you. You haven’t included any background in either your video or your comments so I don’t what you have participated in.
Quotes may speak for themselves but don’t they don’t answer the question.
I’m disappointed to see you twice list “janitor’s salary” as an important issue to correct. (And not just because most people rightfully use the word “custodian” – for a good reason – not a PC one.)
That position, along with not knowing about fees and feeling deserving of better school parking highlight your thinking.
I am afraid these reasons and more are indicative of an 18 year old, high school graduate not being the best idea for an elected SC member but I think the process of running for the position is great experience for the future.
I was giving thought to the idea of student representatives at the SC meetings having a vote, but now I think a better solution to getting their input is for SC members to make sure they are consulted instead of waiting for them to just jump into the discussion and to create an environment such that they know their ideas are important in decision making.
@Marti, you make a good point about engaging student representatives on the SC. I have chaired many meetings in and out of work, frequently with a rotating set of volunteers, and have seen that “new” people often take some time before feeling comfortable sharing their views. Active engagement of new committee members is a great way to get people involved and generally does not take too many instances before they start to offer unsolicited comments, provided they believe that their input is valued by the rest of the group.
Cyrus, it fantastic that you’re running. Hopefully more younger people will take your lead.
On a side note, whenever I argue in favor of full day kindergarten I always receive the same question; How do you pay for it?? I always say to zero base the budget take a deeper look into the budget, take a look at sped and their qualifications.
Geoff qualifies what I have been told over the years when he says:”The SPED classification rate of low income kids is twice that of other kids.
About 40% compared to 20%.
That means that 1 in 5 low income kids is being told they have a disability when they don’t.”
Right there is the millions of dollars available to pay for FDK. What they have to do is to grandfather all the kids that are already in sped and reclassify the eligibility. This will make sure that sped kids deserve to be in sped insted of being in sped when all they have is a behavior problem. The money is there, the WILL seems not to be there. Someone has to lead in this issue.
@Tom, I’m not sure what you mean by “reclassify the eligibility” because one’s income level is not a basis for special education eligibility. The over classification of low income children is a finding that has been made when analyzing the referral of children for special education evaluations. After the child has been referred and evaluated, then the special education team makes a determination whether the child has a disability which prevents the child from making effective progress without modifications and accommodations. The team does not make findings regarding income level. However, low income children are referred for special education and found to need special education at stunningly higher rates than their peers, and they are frequently referred at a young age when rti could be highly effective (hint, hint – FULL DAY K).
I was just about a very similar comment to Lisap’s, so now I will just agree.
I don’t understand how Geoff and Tom look at the demographics of students qualifying for special ed and extrapolate that low income students are receiving accommodations just because they are low income. There is a very extensive evaluation process to determine what a student needs to learn. It doesn’t include income level of parents.
My understanding is that there are certain students who get into sped who don’t deserve to be in sped. Instead of having a learning disability they really have a behavioral disability and because their parents are influential for one reason or another they get their kid into the sped program. The advantage to the kid to get into the sped program was that there are more aides, etc. The income has nothing to do with it, one has to question why there is such a disparity…. tightem the qualificiations, make sure the kids that actually have learning disabiliies to get into sped and you will see significant cost savings.
Tom,
A child cannot be identified with a disability solely because their behavior violates the school’s disciplinary code. The team also has to find that the child has a serious emotional disturbance in order to qualify for special education services. I suspect that the information you have is coming from outside observers who only see the child’s behavior and label the child as a behavior problem, knowing nothing about the emotional piece of the disability. But, the bottom line is that the team, the school district is not supposed to find a child qualified for special education unless they find that the child has a qualifying disability AND then they must go a step further and find that the disability impacts the child’s ability to make adequate educational progress. As to low income children, these students are getting referred for special ed evaluations in many instances because of delays in their reading, because they are not meeting Kindergarten benchmarks. Hmmm. Could their failure to reach benchmarks have something to do with the fact that these children are only receiving part-time kindergarten?
@Tom, P.S. – this quote was taken directly from the Review of Special Education in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, commissioned by the Dept. of Special Ed in 2012:
“[W]e have repeatedly encountered a narrative that attributes the high rates of special education identification in Massachusetts to high-resource parents seeking to secure advantages (for example, untimed or otherwise accommodated standardized exams) for their children through gaining eligibility for special education. However, in our examination of district–level data, we find little evidence that this is the case.”
Tom, your entire first post was concerning “low income kids,” a very poor description of children, and their being in the SPED system even though they don’t have a disability causing millions of dollars in unnecessary spending for their education. After which there were replies that income is not taken into account.
You flipflop your message entirely in your next post and point to students whose parents are “influential” being able to “get their kids into the SPED system.”
I know you want to cut spending in the SPED program, but it doesn’t seem to matter why. Plus you only refer to “being told over the years” and “my understanding” for backup for your contradictory positions. Your posts show no understanding of how the SPED administrators, psychologists and educators do their jobs or confidence in the professionals who use their training and expertise to evaluate students and determine whether or not they qualify for the SPED program and if they do, to identify their disabilities and create an IEP with well defined accommodations, but yet you are sure millions of dollars are being wasted.
First, if someone is going to run, they should know the issues before throwing in their hat. I didn’t think I asked off the wall questions. I don’t feel bad for high school kids who can afford a car and park 1/2 mile away. I am concerned about the families that pay $300+ a year to get their kids to school – on a school bus. Many of the kids live miles away from the school.
How can he not know about fees.
And the last school committee meeting, there was a presentation about the custodians! Know what you are running for. I don’t have time to check my twitter feed to find out your views. I want to go to a website or look at a paper brochure and see the views.
Second, SPED. I don’t know how many people on this blog have first hand experience with the NPS SPED department. Getting your child evaluated is NOT easy and not only time consuming, but met with many brick walls. And parents have to be involved and consent. You can’t put a “low income” child in the SPED department without countless meetings and evaluations and both the school and the parents signing off on the IEP (individual education plan). NPS can not load up SPED with low income students without alot of time and effort. Kids who don’t attend preschool and aren’t exposed to literature at home, might be behind their Newton peers. Many Newton families are able to provide rich literature and all the pre-reading skills for their pre-K kids. Many of us surround our kids in reading and other educational based activities at a young age. If your parent is struggling to make ends meet, there is no budget for books and such. I am not surprised that there might be a higher SPED rate among lower income students but it is not NPS reclassifying the student without meetings and evaluations.
What lisap, Marti and NewtonMom said about SPED.
Marti, first off, the only mention to people’s income in my first post was a quote that Geoff Epstin has. Geoff was is an ex school committee member, I am sure he is quoting facts. I brought it up in my post because it confirmed what I thought.
Second, are you telling me that low income people can’t be influential? Low income people can’t have the ear of a politician due to going door to door for an elected officer or can’t be a next door neighbor of a politician, There’s lots of ways of having the attention of an elected official. Third, I don’t know where you get that I flip flopped anything. Fourth, I have nothing against SPED, but if there is waste in the program someone should have the guts to go in there and find it.
LisaP-I hope everything you say is true, but the fact that in the report there is a quote that specifically addresses what I heard, still gives me concern. It means I am not the only one that heard about the issue, enough people were concerned that someone addressed it in a report.
Lastly, I have nothing against SPED, if someone I trust got in there with the goal of saving money and they concluded that there was no place to save money, I’d accept that and move on.
One last thing, I understand this is an emotional topic, I understand why people want to keep the status quo. But this is the biggest area of the school budget and the area the grows the fastest (according to the CAG). It is unreasonable to think that in a $200 million budget like the school budget that there aren’t 3-4% cost savings. 3-4% means there is $6-8 million waiting for the city to find and use for FDK or any other program. I understand why you all are opposed to someone going in and making changes, but I went through this already.
In 2005 when I ran for Mayor I campaigned on zero based budgeting. All of Cohens supporters came up and said you CANT zero base budget a governmental budget, you CANT ____, you CANT ____, they just gave me a whole list of reasons why the city can’t do it. The Mayor came along and found $5 million in cost savings. If we found $5 million in the school side, can we have FDK? It’s the reason why I keep saying the money is there, someone has to have the guts to find it, thats all. Take care.
@Tom,
It’s not that I’m opposed to change; I just don’t know what sort of changes you are talking about. The district cannot unilaterally change or modify an agreed upon IEP. Once the services are memorialized and accepted in the IEP, the district is required to provide them. If they fail to provide the services as agreed, the district is liable to provide compensatory educational services to make up for the services that were not provided, and the district may also be liable for the parents’ attorneys fees if they win at a hearing. If you’re talking about trying to make sweeping changes, then another thing you should probably know about special education law is called the “stay put” provision. At the annual team IEP meeting if the district wants to change or withdraw services, the parents can require the district to keep the student in their current educational program until the dispute is resolved. As with any dispute, resolution can take months to years. And, at the end of the day if the parent wins, open the city wallet to pay the legal fees.
I’m not suggesting that there can’t be improvements; I think that the city has made headway with the co-taught classroom model. I think the city can continue to make headway by supporting programs such as the Language Based Classroom program at Oak Hill which is a great alternative to out-of-district placement. But to suggest that there is, to use the old slogan, “waste, fraud and abuse” – sorry I don’t agree.
Tom,
As a community NPS spends alot of money sending students out of district, because we don’t have the programming within NPS to educate students in the least restrictive setting. Many of these schools cost thousands of dollars per year, however we don’t have the ability to educate these students in Newton. You said “but if there is waste in the program someone should have the guts to go in there and find it.” First, you need someone qualified to find the waste . . . . you didn’t call out of district waste, however many people call that wasteful. However, it is because NPS has no in house program for these students. The “waste” that you view is very thoughtful programs for children who have complex learning issues. It is NOT waste.
The aides that work with the in house students are mostly wonderful and dedicated to the students. They go above and beyond. I was able to attend the 2015 SPED PAC Awards night and heard of the dedicated teachers, aides, administrators that go above and beyond every day to help students, so that they have a brighter future. I have heard many citizens tell me that aides are a waste of money. . . . . and that if a student can’t learn without an aide, so be it. I am horrified when I hear this. First, I am horrified that the lack of compassion for students with needs. Second, if we can educate students so that they have a brighter future, then spend the money now. It is much better spent having kids learn more now and able to support themselves when they are adults (or partly support themselves). I have never seen an IEP full of waste. Every item that goes into the plan helps the student meet his/her goals. I have never seen NPS offer a student more services than needed. But I only speak of my experience.
I would love to hear about the waste that you speak about in the SPED department, because of a parent of a student that has an IEP, I haven’t seen waste. I have seen services cut or not offered, or programs not available for students that have needs. And if NPS doesn’t have a program for a student, then the student needs an out of district placement.
Newton Mom,
This is where people like to misquote me. I feel that SPED is absolutely necessary. I am glad we have a solid program and I am proud that people from all over come to Newton for the service.
I am only taking this as an example because we talked about it: Conduct an outside evaluation to determine how well and how efficiently special education services are delivered (this analysis would address whether Newton Public Schools can deliver as good or better services with the same or fewer dollars); this type of evaluation is
needed on a periodic basis, perhaps every ten years…. (this is quoted from the CAG report from 2009).
LIKE the CAG, I beleive we do a good job, but can we do better or more efficiently.
NM, Last thing, I have never ever said that the program is a waste and we shopuld get rid of the program, I would never say such a thing. What I am saying is there is a small percentage of waste we should look at to get rid. The city should develop a small group of people, similar to the CAG, but with SPED/budget experience and their mission should be to find cost savings in the budget. The CAG admits they didn’t have the know-how to find what is needed in the program to preserve the quality or not.
Tom, I don’t want to misquote you. This is what you said above, “I am only taking this as an example because we talked about it: Conduct an outside evaluation to determine how well and how efficiently special education services are delivered (this analysis would address whether Newton Public Schools can deliver as good or better services with the same or fewer dollars); this type of evaluation is needed on a periodic basis, perhaps every ten years…. (this is quoted from the CAG report from 2009). LIKE the CAG, I beleive we do a good job, but can we do better or more efficiently.” and this, “What I am saying is there is a small percentage of waste we should look at to get rid.”
It amazes me that you are so very sure there is waste even though you know nothing about the program.
This was less than 10 years ago.
On 12/13/2011 this article was in the Newton Patch.
After an extensive review of the district’s special education program conducted by District and Community Partners, they report that Newton could create more effective programs and potentially save hundreds of thousands of dollars if it reassessed some if its special education services.
Dorsey Yearly, executive director of the Education Collaborative of Greater Boston, Inc. (EDCO), offered her thoughts to the committee last night as an expert in student services. Yearly worked for years as the director of special education services in Wellesly Public Schools.
“You really need to engage parents in the process,” Yearly said. “You have to make sure that in any efforts you’re considering that you’ve talked to parents and you understand the issues parents are worried about. But the cost of the programs should not be the driving factor. “What’s best for kids should come first,” she said.
“When you start with asking, ‘how can we cut 10 percent of the special education budget’, it’s a recipe for disaster,” she said.
Yearly recommended bringing together a group of parents and teachers involved with the special education program, and starting a discussion.
On June 11, 2012 it was followed with this:
The elementary level will save more than $278,000 by cutting the full time equivalent of five special education aid staff, two behavior therapists and two interns.
The middle school level will cut the full time equivalent of 1.5 special education teachers, 3.3 special education aid staff as well as 0.6 specialist in behavior therapy at a savings of more than $263,000.
The high school level will cut the full time equivalent of 4.2 special education teachers and 3.8 special education aids with savings of more than $420,000.
Cutting the intern program, which currently uses four interns, will save the district $52,500, according to the proposed budget. Reducing staff in speech and language therapy will save a little over $42,000.
NM,
I don’t understand what the Patch article has anything to do with it accept it proves my point that there is cost savings. I’m not sure if thats the direction I would take the consultants, but that was one way to go. If it were proven to me that the quality of service was adversely affected then I would oppose it.
The Mayor cut $5,000,000 recently, can you tell me that we have worse services or not? Let me rephrase the question…Can you tell me that the $5,000,000 that the Mayor cut adversely affected city services. I am not including people that he has fired and hasn’t replaced yet, ie Doris Hamilton and many others. The $5,000,000 I am referring to was cut way before the personal issues.
NM, let me ask you this: Lets say that SPED cost $4o mil. Would you rather keep the system exactly how it is and spend the $40 mil exactly the same OR Give the same exact quality of service for $37 mil and you can either use the extra $3 mil on either FDK or improving SPED (the schools choice)?
Marti, also the reason why I am sure there is cost savings is the same reason I correctly knew the city side had cost savings. The schools have done everything the same way for 30 years. When I ran for Mayor and asked administrators on the phone why we are doing it this way, she’d say we have done it like this for 20 years and there’s no reason to change now. For the most part, progress is good. Twenty years ago, we didn’t have technology and other cost saving measures. One thing you should know is that I feel this way about the entire school system, not just SPED. I will continue to feel this way until the next mayor who has the guts to critically examine the school budget proves me wrong.
Tom,
Schools HAVE NOT done the same thing for 30 years! Have you been in the schools? Have you talked to teachers?
SPED – things that have changed? 30 years ago many SPED students were in separate classrooms, and only integrated for lunch and music. Now, students that are able to, are in the classroom with their peers. That is change.
Language Arts – back in the day, 30 years ago, we focused on phonics based learning, and then we introduced whole language into the curriculum. Teachers have real books in the classroom. Elementary school teachers don’t have “reading groups” using a large, large collection of boring five page stories. Kids choose just right books, read them and write reports and do other types of projects.
Brown Middle School – instituted Advisory. Kids meet first thing with the same teacher for 20 minutes for three years. Not to do paperwork but to build relationships with kids and the teacher. Hopefully that teacher becomes a trusted adult . . .. a trusted adult that they can come to when they feel overwhelmed.
Flex Grouping – assessing the students on a math topic, and then grouping the students by how they did on that topic. Teach for 4-6 weeks. That way kids who need more support get the support they need for that topic. Kids who understand it right away can learn more advanced things about that topic. Then they get tested again. Then the kids report back to the original groups after the flex group is over. What I love about this program is that if a student isn’t a math whiz all the time, but understands fractions really well, can get his/her time in a top group, but then when geometry rolls around and he/she isn’t as strong, then he/she can get extra help.
That is what I can think of right now. There have been changes in 30 years. Kids aren’t sitting in rows listening to a teacher lecture.
Maybe I should have asked, what do you mean schools haven’t changed in 30 years? Because while there can always be better ways to do things, I believe there have been changes.
Have things changed that I haven’t liked? YES. Less recess, less music, crumbling elementary schools that are over crowded. Please tell me what you would have changed in NPS.
Tom – I was there 30 years ago and there’s virtually nothing that’s the same. We do have classrooms, teachers, and students. The classrooms are used differently, the teachers teach differently, and a full range of students learn in different ways.
I’ve talked formally with groups of kids in Newton’s elementary schools that have learning disabilities because I have some of them, too. I can’t begin to describe how much better it is for them than it was for me back in the late 40’s and early 50’s, and how fantastic and enriching the Newton School program is.
I said:
“The schools have done everything the same way for 30 years. When I ran for Mayor and asked administrators on the phone why we are doing it this way, she’d say we have done it like this for 20 years and there’s no reason to change now..”
What I meant by this is that there are ways to save money….changing paper towels (the city recently saved $200,000 for changing paper towels, etc.) There are thing like that. I am not talking about things in the classroom, I know better. I am talking behind the scenes where the bills get paid and the cost savings occur.
There are many reasons for the increase in the number of students who receive SPED, and the corresponding increase in the budget. But special thanks to Bob Burke for pointing out the drastic improvement in education for students with special needs since the seminal state law, Chapter 766, and the federal laws for students and adults with disabilities were adopted a generation ago.
An irony of living in a more affluent community is that many more children born prematurely, often with profound medical challenges, are surviving to adulthood because of (costly) advances in postnatal care. Because of underdeveloped organ systems at birth, however, many of these same children are faced with some equally profound developmental disabilities and challenges when they reach school age. Lower birth weights and disparities in prenatal care may also account for differences based on household income (including whether parents and their families are covered by health insurance).
“Student behavior” alone is not a reason students receive an IEP, and may often indicate other issues and challenges that constitute special needs. That is a myth often perpetuated by those who do not have all the information about a particular student’s actual needs, which are confidential information available only to the student, family and educators.
I do not doubt that there is also a certain “soft bigotry of low expectations” for minority and lower income students that, perhaps, makes it more likely that children who have fallen behind are sometimes identified as having special needs. But I would also strongly suggest that there are many other factors and that correlation is not causation.
I have worked at some of the best and worst institutions and other programs for adults with developmental delays and disabilities. The cost of warehousing such persons for life greatly exceeds the cost of supportive services and early intervention and appropriate individualized education programs for students with special needs.
I agree with everything that Ted said.