Governance Team Training: An Investment in Student Achievement

The Springfield Public Schools governance team is comprised of the superintendent of schools and the school committee. With four new school committee members (out of a seven-member committee) taking office this past January, it seems prudent that we would look for opportunities to build capacity and strengthen the effectiveness of our governance team in Springfield.

Thanks in part to the generosity of the Springfield Business Leaders for Education, this past weekend members of the school committee and I spent considerable time training on team building and collaboration with Don McAdams from the Center for Reform of School Systems (CRSS). The mission of CRSS is to teach school board members and superintendents how to transform their districts to deliver high student achievement through governance.

The training was conducted Friday evening through Sunday afternoon and held off-site at Cranwell Resort in Lenox, MA. While the setting was certainly tranquil and relaxing, it was also conducive to working on the tough issues of governance. We spent considerable time going deep in our understanding of governance solutions to high performance through team building, collaboration, core beliefs and commitments. More importantly, the training was action oriented in that each module ended with critical discussions and the beginnings of a work plan to make actionable the implementation of promising practices of governance policies, reform leadership, and acknowledgement of the school effect as a lever to school achievement.

This was the first installment of nine sessions to be completed over the next 18 – 24 months. As we move forward with our reform work of Springfield Public Schools, I’m confident that our work with CRSS will serve to accelerate performance, improve student achievement and help to close the achievement gap.

SPS partners with District Attorney for Bullying Prevention Seminar

I am pleased to partner with District Attorney William Bennett to host a Bullying Prevention Seminar that we think will help school administrators throughout Hampden County better understand the proposed anti-bullying legislation, which the Massachusetts Senate voted to approve on Thursday, March 12. If approved by the state House of Representatives, the bill will require public, private and charter schools to develop plans to prevent bullying by December.

Springfield Public Schools and the Office of the District Attorney will feature Dr. Robin D’Antona, a renowned expert and author on bullying, at the upcoming seminar. School districts throughout Hampden County have been invited. In addition to the legislative topic, Dr. D’Antona will speak about the many other facets of bullying, including prevention and intervention.

Springfield Public Schools is pleased to forge this community partnership with the Office of the District Attorney to address a topic that will help school districts maintain nurturing and safe environments for our children.

SPS raises more than $13,600 to help Haiti

I was overjoyed by the large sum of money raised by SPS students, faculty and staff recently to help efforts for Haiti Relief. Indeed, $13,649.35 is a figure that we should all be proud of! In fact, Richard Lee, the executive director of the American Red Cross Pioneer Valley Chapter, said it was the largest school fundraiser he’d ever seen.

Our efforts as a school district are made even more relevant and significant by the fact that children under the age of 18 make up nearly 50 percent of the 10 million population of Haiti.

Our students dug into their pockets and piggy banks to help children whom they will never see or get to know. Checks from faculty and staff members flowed in. We have demonstrated a powerful act of kindness and humanity and the best part is that we did it together, as a team!

Level 4 means working together for kids

The recent identification of 10 schools in SPS (and 35 statewide) as likely Level 4 schools by the State's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, is an opportunity to move forward smartly while honoring the reform work of the past in alignment with new accountability measures and the best interests of students at the forefront of all our decisions.

The “level 4” designation provides districts with new tools, including the flexibility to change staffing and work conditions. While some unknowns regarding this legislation still remain, one thing is certain for Springfield Public Schools: we will continue to work closely with SEA to ensure that any staffing changes are transparent, equitable and with the least disruption to our system. Springfield Public Schools has no interest in following the drastic Rhode Island model of a blanket discharge of teachers and other educators.

We will take this opportunity to provide additional resources to our most needy schools and we will work to ensure we make effective changes that will have the most positive impact on our students in way that accelerates their improvement. We will work hard and we and we will sustain a rapid pace because when it comes to our kids, every minute counts.