Statewide 3% of Public School Students Received an Out-Of School Suspension in 2018-19

According the the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's School Discipline report, 3% of students statewide received an out of school suspension during the 2018-19 school year. Of note 5,400 Massachusetts students were suspended for a physical fight, 5.126 for illegal substances, 941 for bullying and 71 for sexual assault. Suspensions for sexual assault in particular were up from 60 during the previous school year. 

At the district level, the Phoenix Academy Charter School in Chelsea had the highest out of school suspension rate at 16.8%. Students with disabilities at Phoenix had a 34.5% out of school suspension rate and African American/Black students 27.6%. 

In terms of days of school missed due to discipline, both Phoenix Academy in Chelsea and Phoenix Academy in Springfield saw 4.4% of students miss more than 10 days of school. Overall, most students in the state who were disciplined missed 1 - 3 days of school. 

Some districts also employ the use of in-school suspensions. For example, Four Rivers Charter School had a 38.1% in-school suspension rate last year. 

Just 9 districts reported data related to student expulsions: 

• Sizer School: 0.8%
• Community Charter School of Cambridge: 0.6%
• Atlantis Charter: 0.4%
• New Heights Charter School of Brockton: 0.2%
• Brooke Charter School: 0.1%
• Foxborough Charter School: 0.1%
• Hampden-Willbraham: 0.1%
• KIPP Academy Lynn Charter: 0.1%
• Maynard: 0.1%

Further another seven districts reported at least one student who was removed to an alternate setting. 

Statewide, the percentage of students receiving either in-school suspension or an out-of-school suspension remained largely the same from 2017-18 to 2018-19.

Source: www.doe.mass.edu

Lynn Voter Turnout 20% in Yesterday's Election

Yesterday, Lynn held it municipal election for both City Council and School Committee. Overall, turnout in the city was approximately 20% (19.99% according to the unofficial results to be precise). Voter turnout did vary depending on ward with Ward 1 posting the highest turnout at just over 30% and Ward 4 with the lowest turnout at 12.21%. 

For the full election results, see here. 

Turnout in this year's municipal election was the lowest it has been in city elections during the past decade. 

When comparing turnout just in elections where there is no mayoral race like the election this year, turnout was also lower overall. 

In 2020, voters in the city will have the opportunity to cast their vote for President, US Senate, Congress, State Senate and State Representative. Voter turnout in Lynn during the last presidential election (2016) was 65%. 

Source: City Elections and Voting Webpage

2019 Lynn School Committee Q & A: Jared Nicholson

Incumbent Lynn School Committee member Jared Nicholson is running for a third term in this year's municipal election. Below are Nicholson's responses to some pressing education-related questions. 

You’re currently running for your third term on the Lynn School Committee. What is motivating you to run again this year?

I am motivated to run for reelection because I am passionate about public education and its importance to my family and to our community.

First, I’m excited to share that my wife and I are expecting our first child any day now. Especially as public school graduates ourselves, we want to send our kids to great public schools.

Second, as a law professor at Northeastern University I work with and study small businesses, in support of community growth. I know how important having great schools is to our community’s hopes for growth. For Lynn to reach our sky-high potential, we have to help our kids reach theirs. We do that in the public schools.

Finally, this year particularly, the District faces challenges from shifting external circumstances, particularly on funding. I believe I can continue to help the District navigate those challenges as a member of the Committee and as an attorney with a business background.

The Lynn Public School District has faced a number of challenges in recent years, most notably funding issues. What is your assessment of where the district is at this point? What is one major challenge that LPS will need to confront in the next year?

Overall, the district is doing well. That’s a testament to the hard work and dedication our wonderful teachers and other education professionals and the great students and families we have in our schools. But there is a lot of work to do.

Last year, for the first time in several years, the Lynn Public Schools was fully funded by the city in the eyes of the state. It’s so important that the city meets its commitment under state law to do that. This is something that my colleagues and I on the School Committee have advocated for and something we will continue to expect.

One major challenge that LPS needs to confront is overcrowding and the physical state of our schools. This continues to be our most pressing issue. We have amazing teachers, but rising class sizes make it harder for teachers to teach and students to learn. On the School Committee, we rely on the state, the city and outside organizations for funding. While we can’t allocate funds, we can advocate and innovate.

We are advocating that the state overhaul its school funding formula and for help from the Massachusetts School Building Authority. We are innovating by adding a new 8th grade option at Lynn Tech and looking to outside partners to find more pre-K classrooms. We need to build on this advocacy and innovation to meet our pressing space needs.

Last year, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) introduced a new accountability and assistance system that no longer classified schools in Levels 1 - 5. What is your opinion of the additional metrics which are now being considered along with MCAS scores (high school completion rates, chronic absenteeism, advanced coursework completion, etc.)?

I am definitely glad that DESE has expanded its thinking and its methodology for how to measure good schools. I still have concerns about the focus on test scores though, and the damage that focus has done over time even after the changes. When people like magazine editors use MCAS scores to “rank” schools, they fail to capture the amazing learning that happens in the Lynn Public Schools.

One encouraging sign from the additional metrics is that LPS has made progress on some of these new indicators. We have had a successful new attendance initiative, called Every Student Every Day. We are also offering more advanced courses.

How much do you as a School Committee member interact with parents, students and community members? Do you think that the School Committee in general could do more to engage and involve residents in the LPS decision making process?

I interact with parents, students and community members a lot, both when people reach out to me directly and when I’m out spending time in the community. It has been a privilege to listen many parents, students and community members about problems they had and work to help find solutions and connect them with resources. I feel like I have been able to be a resource particularly for our community members who speak Spanish because of my Spanish language skills.

One of the solutions I’ve worked on was helping organize a college fair for Spanish-speaking parents with the MARIAs Center. The MARIAs volunteers invited colleges to bring and share materials in Spanish about the college application process and financial aid.

I have also loved getting student input and feedback, both informally when I meet them and formally from our student representative on the Committee. A few years ago, I pushed for us to add a student representative to our meetings and have been thrilled to experience these wonderful students doing a great job with us.

Yes, I think we could do more to engage and involve residents. We can work on giving parents, students and community members the tools and confidence they need to help them get involved and above all to make them feel welcome and included in our city’s public education.

One example of progress on this issue can be found in our approach to grant funding. We get a lot of interest in the district's pursuit of grants. Outside grants are an important way to bring much needed resources into the district. To support our effort and offer more opportunities to collaborate on grants, I suggested that we try a new tool. LPS will now be creating a page on its website that will track all the grants that we apply for and receive.

Why should Lynn residents cast their vote for you on Tuesday, November 5th?

First, I believe that people should vote for me because I have established a record of leadership and achieving results. For example, I am working with my colleagues on an overhaul of the entire suite of policies of the Lynn Public Schools after discovering that we were still governed by a set of policies that were outdated, some by several decades.

Second, I continue to bring a fresh perspective and new ideas to the committee. For example, one of the issues I have been most focused on is building more pathways for students to college and jobs. A couple of years ago we started the Technical Afterschool Program, a program for students around the district to learn job skills at Lynn Tech. I had read a report by Commonwealth Magazine on the gap between seats at vocational-technical schools and the number of interested students. I asked the team at Lynn Tech if we could offer any programs to students at the other high schools who might be interested in vocational training. Lynn Tech Guidance Counselor Brian O’Connell designed and launched a program that exceeded my expectations

Finally, as a Spanish-speaker who is accessible and responsive, I believe that I have a lot to offer all members of our community in listening to their concerns and helping to find solutions.  

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For more information: 

• 2019 Candidate Profiles: Lynn School Committee - Jared Nicholson
• Website (jarednicholson.org)
• 2017 Lynn School Committee Q & A
• 2015 Lynn School Committee Q & A
• @JaredCNicholson (Twitter)

Lynn School Committee Candidates Share their Thoughts School Funding, State of LPS School Buildings During LTU Education Forum

This evening, the Lynn Teachers Union hosted an education forum at Breed Middle School featuring seven of the eight candidates on the ballot for Lynn School Committee this fall. Incumbents Brian Castellanos, Donna Coppola, John Ford, Lorraine Gately, Jared Nicholson and Michael Satterwhite along with challenger Tiffany Magnolia were in attendance for tonight's forum; Sandra Lopez is on the November ballot, but was not present tonight. 

After a brief introduction by LTU President, Sheila O'Neill, the moderator started the forum with the first question regarding what each candidate saw as their responsibility as a potential School Committee member. Castellanos referenced his background as a low income, first generation student in answering the question saying that this was his "passion" and that he saw his responsibility as advocating for resources and "sticking up for educators." Coppola talked about both educating students and parents as to what is being asked them while also communicating to community members without children in the school system why good public schools are beneficial while Ford focused more the policy-making aspects of being a Committee Member along with supporting the superintendent and administration. Gately said that being a SC member involved "a lot of listening" and bringing issues of importance to the district administration. Challenger Magnolia saw being on the SC as an opportunity to bridge the gap between policy and real life application, amplify parent voices and provide a bigger voice for unions. 

Next, the candidates were asked what fully funding education means to them. Ford mentioned his background working on this issue since 2010 when he worked for former State Senator Steve Walsh and said that ultimately the city is aiming to provide between 100% and 105% of net school spending, "the best the city will do." Nicholson, however, noted that the current Chapter 70 funding formula (developed in 1993) has been identified as "broken," therefore funding allocations based on that formula are also broken. He went on to say that the current formula is undervaluing the cost of educating certain populations (English Language Learners and special education for example) and that the funding formula needs to be reformed. Satterwhite stated that he saw fully funding education as "providing all necessary services so all students receive the best education." Magnolia was of the mind that the city should start with what the students need resource-wise and work backward to advocate for certain funding allocations; specifically, she believes that Lynn's per pupil spending should be closer $15,000 per students similar to communities like Peabody (up from ~$13,000 per student). Gately was in favor of advocating for additional funding for teachers and previously attended an event in Malden earlier this year to advocate for increased state funding. 

The candidates were then asked about a particular situation that occurred this summer in which the city received an additional $18 million in state funding for education with $7.3 million going to the city budget side in terms of how that money was spent. There was mostly consensus among the current members of the School Committee on this topic with the members noting that the money was largely spent on school building maintenance and utilities, health care costs and funding the teachers' contract. Coppola did say during this portion of the forum that there have been several major emergencies that have resulted in necessary major repairs which has been a drain on resources and that she would like to see the funds spent on these major repairs being allocated toward educationally beneficial after-school programs run by teachers.

The topic of building maintenance segued into a question regarding the state of Lynn's learning environments and its effect on student learning. Gately said she would be a strong advocate for new schools as she has been concerned about Pickering Middle School's classroom space since she was a teacher there before her retirement. Castellanos was similarly concerned saying that he was "appalled" by the state of the schools and thought it was important to mobilize members of the community around this issue now even if Lynn is currently not in the pipeline for a new school. Satterwhite, however, noted some of the difficulties on this saying that some residents without children in LPS might not see the value in new schools, so the challenge was getting buy-in from the larger community; Nicholson agreed saying that communicating the need for new schools was a "top priority." Gately noted that in the last campaign for a new school in 2017 there was "misinformation" that was hard to fight against, but that, if given the opportunity, she would hold neighborhood meetings and meet with senior citizens and other constituents around this issue. Overall, Magnolia thought there was lack of uniformity in communication during that campaign for a new Pickering Middle School and that a communication structure needs to be in place with information potentially flowing out from school councils and parent-teacher organizations out to the community. While Ford was in agreement that Lynn needs new schools, he also said that the city currently cannot build them fast enough to accommodate the city's growing school population given that Lynn English as one example is on track to enroll 2,000 students next year; last week, the idea of portable classrooms was introduced at a School Committee meeting as an at least temporary solution to the city's overcrowding issue. Ford mentioned that there were ~460 new high school students in Lynn this year alone. 

Finally, the candidates were asked about the disrespect some educators may feel in today's educational climate. Magnolia did not feel comfortable saying how educators felt but did say there should be some sort of the 'State of the Teachers/Staff' type update at School Committee meetings to get a better sense of how teachers are feeling and that educators should be included more in the decision-making process. Satterwhite said that educators probably feel overworked and underappreciated, noting that respect has to come from and start at the top (meaning school leadership). Castellanos agreed saying that recognition is nice but that teachers are underpaid and that has implications for equity for Lynn students. Gately thought it was important to listen more to teachers in the form of surveys and other mechanisms as a way of showing respect; Coppola said she hoped that Lynn teachers "feel the love" in Lynn but recognized it can be difficult when they are being asked to provide a 21st century education with 30 - 40 students in a classroom. 

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The Lynn General Election will be held on Tuesday, November 5th. For sample ballots or to check your voter registration status, see here. 

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For Lynn Community Television 2019 School Candidate profiles (YouTube), here. 

Lynn Public School District Classified as Making Substantial Progress Toward State Targets

Last year, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) revised its accountability and assistance system to consider additional metrics aside from standardized test scores.

Source: Once Page Overview of Accountability Indicators


As previously noted, schools are no longer classified in Levels 1 through 5 and are instead classified according to the categories below:

Source: One Page Summary of Massachusetts' Accountability System

In 2018, Lynn as a district was classified as 'Not Requiring Assistance or Intervention' and the same was true in 2019. Further, the reason for this year's classification was 'Substantial Progress Towards Targets.' The percentage assigned to Lynn  in 2019 associated with this classification based on the 0 to 100 scale was 64%. When weighted along with last year's percentage, the cumulative target percentage was 56%. 

Source: 2019 Official Accountability Report - Lynn

In looking at the 'points' received for the indicators above, Lynn received 71% of possible points for non-high school grades (78% for the lowest performing students at this grade level) and 47% for high school grades (50% for the lowest performing students). At the high school level, Lynn received 4 out of 4 points for the chronic absenteeism indicator but 0 out of 4 points for the advanced coursework completion indicator.

At the individual school level, three-quarters of the schools in Lynn were considered as either making 'substantial progress toward targets' or 'meeting or exceeding targets.' Three schools were classified as 'Requiring Assistance or Intervention:' Lynn Classical High School, Thurgood Marshall Middle School and Washington Elementary School. 

Lynn Ward 5 Candidate Q & A: Marven Hyppolite

Marven Hyppolite, currently a district aide and caseworker for Congressman Seth Moulton, is currently running for Ward 5 City Councilor against incumbent City Councilor Diana Chakoutis. Hyppolite previously ran for Ward Councilor losing the 2017 election by 105 votes. Here we asked Marven a few questions about his candidacy for City Council. 

You have previously run for Ward 5 City Councilor. What is motivating
you to run for City Council again in this year’s municipal election?

I’m running because I fear that If I don't speak up, my family and friends will no longer be able to live in the city we call home. The overwhelming majority of ward 5 is not being represented. Our councilors can ignore us because we do not vote, for them there is no incentive to reach out to us. I think that's wrong and dangerous, it's getting more expensive for renters and homeowners to get by, we need a councilor that is going to address our day to day struggles and do the work necessary to involve ALL OF US in what's happening in our city.

Thinking about your background and past experiences, what perspective
would you bring to the Lynn City Council, if elected?

During the day, I work as a caseworker for Congressman Seth Moulton. I would bring improved constituent services to Ward 5, I plan on creating a ward 5 team to help advocate for ALL OF US.  I also speak 3 languages and have been the only candidate in ward 5 to do outreach to all our immigrant communities. I also know how to engage the youth, we are the future of this city and it is time we had a seat at the table too.

Much of the focus on Lynn’s development has been on downtown, an area the Ward 5 Councilor represents. In what ways do you think the city has been successful in its efforts in regard to downtown Lynn? What do you think could be better, either in terms of planning or action?

The city in my opinion has not been successful in that regard. First, we are the largest city in the North Shore and we do not have a planning department or a city planner. Second, we hand out tax breaks with nothing in return for the city. We need to be leveraging our proximity to Boston to the benefit of the people already living here.

Our development strategies are impulsive and short sighted. Look at the vault building downtown; there are 27 vacancies in the building!  We need to be more strategic about how and where we build, and we need to be giving residents a say as to what they want to see built in Lynn.

We need to find a way to revitalize Lynn without displacing the people already living here. We do not want what happened to Cambridge and Somerville to happen to us. 

In the last city election without a mayoral race (2015), voter turnout in Lynn was approximately 22%. Do you think believe there to be a general apathy or disinterest in the city’s government? More specifically, how would assess the city’s inclusion of voices or perspectives of younger Lynners (those aged 29 or younger) in the decision-making and planning process?

Sadly, I think there will be more apathy, a lot of Lynners are completely done with politics, and they’ve been burned too much by false promises. Funny enough a lot folks mention things like the city is run by the mafia and that I am wasting my time trying to get in. I will not give up though, I really believe more and more people are waking up, so I will remain hopeful.

As far as the youth in the city are concerned, we are always told to get in line and wait our turn. Our voices are not really valued, however I think the responsibility falls on us to get organized and vote, if we don't then we can't complain. 

If you could spearhead one major project or initiative in Lynn, what would it be and why?

The creation of ward teams for every ward, when you call most elected officials they have staff to help take calls and do outreach. City council should be no different, we have a lot of seniors with experience and great ideas, we also have a lot of youth looking for experience and the energy to do outreach. We could easily fund staff made up of youth and seniors to get everyone more involved in the process. It would be a total game changer for our city. 

Finally, why should Ward 5 residents vote for you in this fall’s election?

You should vote for me because I have been the only candidate to knock every part of ward 5. I have the experience and the energy to make sure ALL OF US no matter where we live, will have a seat at the table. When I become councilor, you become councilor too.

For More Information: 

• 2019 Candidate Profile: Marven Hyppolite (LCTV)

Election 2020: Interview with Lindsey Boylan (D), Candidate in New York's 10th Congressional District Race

Originally posted on Wellesley Underground:

Wellesley in Politics: Interview with Lindsey Boylan '06, Candidate for NY's 10th Congressional District

Lynn's 2018 4-Year Graduation Rate Up Slightly from 2017

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) released the 2018 four year graduation rates for the state's schools. Overall, the 4-year graduation rate statewide among those expected to graduate in 2018 was 87.9%, down from 88.3% in 2017. In Lynn, 74.3% of a cohort of 1,237 graduated in 2018.

Graduation rates in Lynn among the subgroups varied as typically reported. Among English Learners, the graduation rate was 49% while 63.9% of Students with Disabilities graduated within four years; the graduation rate for female students was 80.5% compared to 69.4% among male students.

At the individual high school level, graduation rates overall also varied:

Citywide, graduation rates are up slightly from last year:

Looking elsewhere, the majority of the state's Commissioner's Districts had graduation rate percentages in the 70-range with New Bedford lower at 58.6% and Worcester the highest at 83.5%.

Source: www.doe.mass.edu