This Day in History: February 13

-Spain recognizes Portugal as an independent nation, 1668

-New Delhi becomes the capital of India, 1931

-Stockard Channing, American actress, is born, 1944

-The last original "Peanuts" comic strip appears in newspapers one day after Charles M. Schulz dies, 2000

-Holiday: World Radio Day

Will the Increasing Divide Between the Lynn School Committee and Lynn Parents = A Push for More Charters?

In light of the Lynn School Committee's vote to renew Superintendent Latham's contract for another three years despite parent protest, I thought it would be apt to repost a piece written in December 2011 regarding the disconnect between Lynn school officials and parents/citizens.

Thinking about School Choice in the Context of the Lynn Public School System

Will parents continue to fight to be heard within the existing system or will increasing frustration related to the Lynn school administration's perceived unresponsiveness to parent concerns/criticisms result in a demand for more charter schools in the city? 

Urban District Dropout Rates 2010-11

On February 10, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education reported the annual dropout rates for the Massachusetts as well as the individual districts and schools for the 2010-11 school year. Below are the dropout and graduation rates for the urban districts in the state.

	Dropout Rate	Graduation Rate
Massachusetts	2.7%	83.4%
Boston	6.4%	64.4%
Brockton	6.0%	69.4%
Fall River	4.7%	71.0%
Holyoke	9.8%	49.5%
Lawrence	8.6%	52.3%
Lowell	8.1%	69.6%
Lynn	4.6%	68.6%
New Bedford	7.1%	56.4%
Springfield	11.7%	52.1%
Worcester	3.7%	72.0%

Statewide the dropout rate decreased from 2.9 to 2.7% while the graduation rate increased from 82.1% to 83.4%. Lynn's dropout rate in 2010-11 was 4.6% which is a decrease of 0.8% from 2009-10; the graduation rate increased by 0.1% from the previous year. Lynn's total high school enrollment in 2010-11 was 4,003 so a 4.6% dropout rate means that 184 students dropped out. In terms of the individual high schools, both Lynn English and Lynn Classical had a 3.9% dropout rate while Lynn Tech had a 4.6% dropout rate (down from 7.1%). Among the urban districts, Lynn ranked second in the dropout category behind Worcester and fifth in the graduation rate category.

*For last year's figures, see here.

*All Data Taken From: www.doe.mass.edu

How Much of Lynn's Academic Performance Should be Attributed to the Superintendent?

On February 7, the Daily Item published an article regarding the topic of renewing Lynn Superintendent Catherine Latham's contract versus posting the job opening. Latham's contract expires on June 30, 2012 and school committee members must inform her by May 1 whether it plans to renew the contract for another three years. If the Lynn SC decides to post the position, Latham would not be precluded from re-applying for her position and could be re-hired if she is deemed to be the best candidate for the position among other potential candidates. While many of the comments in the discussion section of the related to this issue supported either opening the position to the public while still considering Latham or looking for a new super all together, one commenter raised an interesting point. LadyJane04 remarked: 

Latham may not be doing the best job and many great points have been made, but let's look at what she has to work with and what the real issue is.  We live in a city with a high percentage of minorities and many who do not even speak English then we expect that they are going to take MCA's [sic] and pass?  What about the amount of SPED students in comparison to other districts and the social/emotional issues of our students that come along with a city like Lynn.  Not all students are brought up in a stable home....gangs, drugs, abuse....it is all here and effects our children every day!  It is no surprise that MCA's [sic] scores are low especially in schools like Harrington and Connery.  There is not one school, teacher, principal, superintendent, etc. to blame.  It is a combination of factors that need to be addressed at the district and state levels.

This remark raises the important question "How much of the district's failure (or success) should be attributed to the superintendent?"  If one were to simply look at the city's MCAS scores and the fact that Lynn has two Level 4 schools, it would appear that the city is not doing well. But what about those contextual factors that LadyJane04 mentioned? According to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 82.4% of Lynn students are low income and nearly 20% of students are Limited English Proficiency  (LEP) while 53.6% speak English as a second language. The LEP populations at some individual schools are even greater; Connery is 43.6% LEP while Harrington is 32.9% LEP. Additionally, 16.5% of the students in Lynn are special education; many of the special education students may also fall into the LEP and/or low income category adding yet another layer to this already complicated picture. There are also other bio-psychosocial issues to consider such as parental involvement, the number of student absences, teen pregnancy, drug use, (sometimes untreated) mental/physical health disorders, homelessness, domestic violence and the list goes on and on. The negative effects of poverty on children have also been well established. While some may compare Lynn's test scores to surrounding communities, it is debatable whether this is an appropriate comparison because there is a considerable population difference between Lynn and  Beverly or Swampscott, for example; Lynn SC members have noted that among urban districts with similar populations, Lynn performs the best academically. While Lynn certainly needs to improve in many areas, what level of responsibility  should be assigned to a single figure (the superintendent) within a large and complex school system?

Lynn School Committee Meeting 2/9/12

The next Lynn School Committee meeting  is scheduled for Thursday February 9, 2012 at 7pm. SC meetings take place at 90 Commercial Street.

Items on the agenda for the next meeting include: 

-Superintendent's Contract

-Opening the Washington School/Redistricting

-Ratification of Votes Taken in Personnel Sub-Committee - Posting Superintendent's Position

*For the full agenda, see: http://www.lynnschools.org/documents/district/school_committee/2012_notices/3rd%20Regular%20SC%20meeting%20-%202-9-12.pdf 

This Day in History: February 3

-The Illinois Territory is created, 1809

-The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified guaranteeing voting rights to citizens regardless of race, 1870

-The Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, authorizing the federal government to impose and collect an income tax, 1913

-Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States, dies, 1924

-The first day of the seven-day Iran blizzard which would later kill 4,000 people making it the deadliest snowstorm in history, 1972

-A military coup overthrows Alfredo Stroessner dictator since 1954, 1989

-Holidays: Heroes' Day (Mozambique); Veteran's Day (Thailand)

School Enrollment Surging in Some Urban MA Districts; Overcrowding an Issue

Based on the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's 2011-12 enrollment report, it appears as though a number of urban districts are experiencing a huge growth in their public school populations. Worcester, for example, grew from 24,192 students in 2010-11 to 24,411 in 2011-12 while Brockton went from 15,828 students to 16,162. Unanticipated student enrollment growth has left some of these districts to figure out how to accommodate all of their new students while keeping class sizes as low as possible. Additionally, for some schools increases in student enrollment has occurred simultaneously with increases in their limited English proficiency  population as many of the new students that urban school districts are welcoming are immigrants who speak English as a second language. This leaves some financially strapped school districts to not only have to find space for a large group of new students, but also address the added challenge of educating students with limited English language proficiency.

Overcrowding and concerns about space has been a particularly salient issue in Lynn, which has also seen a large influx of new students. The Lynn Public School District increased from 13,547 students in 2010-11 to 13,731 in 2011-12. This has resulted in a proposal for the opening an innovation school  at the elementary level (Washington) to help lower class sizes at a few of the most populated schools which are mostly those that house the lower grades. Focusing on the lower grades (K-5) at this point is important as this is where much of the dramatic increases in student enrollment in Lynn are currently concentrated. Below is a table detailing student enrollment by grade from 2007-08 to 2011-2012 for the Lynn Public School District. Only enrollment numbers for pre-kindergarten through 3rd grade are shown here as, again, this is a particular area of concern. 

	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12
PK	199	242	245	233	266
K	989	1036	1120	1102	1235
1	1128	1109	1156	1217	1228
2	1100	1051	1075	1123	1182
3	1006	1068	1017	1051	1063

Here we see that the pre-kindergarten and kindergarten populations are exploding; the enrollment for these grades has increased by 34% and 25%, respectively, from 2007-08. Worcester and New Bedford saw a similar trend. In Worcester, pre-kindergarten enrollment increased from 1,554 students in 2010-11 to 1,624 students in 2011-12 while kindergarten enrollment went from 2,068 to 2,145. New Bedford had 108 more pre-kindergarten students enter its school district in 2011-12 when compared to the previous year.

Not all schools within each district are seeing an increase in their enrollment. Some schools in Lynn are relatively stable in their enrollment numbers; Brickett's enrollment increased by only two students from 2010-11 to 2011-12 while Callahan has eight fewer students this school year than it did last year. There seems to be just a few schools that are experiencing a substantial growth in their numbers.

	2010-11	2011-12
Cobbet	645	682
Connery	583	606
Ford	547	605*
Harrington	563	639
Ingalls	609	639
Breed	1168	1257

*[Editor's Note 2/7/12]: According to the Massachusetts DESE report, Ford School has 598 students; Ford's principal, Dr. Claire Crane, however confirmed on 2/6/12 that enrollment is actually 605.

From 2010-11 to 2011-12, Ford School grew by 51 students while Harrington welcomed 76 students. Cobbet currently has five 1st grades classrooms and six 2nd grade classrooms because there is a total of 269 students in these two grades combined.  I alluded to English language proficiency previously as this is serious concern for the schools growing at a rapid rate. Ford, for example, is 37.1% limited English proficiency (LEP) and 65.1% 'first language not English;' Ingalls is 34.6% LEP and 66% 'first language not English.'  Large class size is of particular concern for students with limited English skills who may require more personal instruction in order to learn adequately and become proficient in English. For this reason (among others), focusing on and seriously addressing the issue of overcrowding should be a top priority for the city of Lynn and other districts who are experiencing similar increases in student population growth.