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First Day of School: August 29, 2012

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February 16, 2012

Entry Report

Introduction:

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the many people who gave so generously of their time to share with me their extensive knowledge and thoughtful opinions about the Waltham Public Schools. Their insights have enabled me to learn a great deal about the district and community in a few short months. What is most clear is the pride people take in their city and its schools and, at the same time, they have ideas for how to make the schools even better.

In the following paragraphs, I will outline the process I used for gathering input and information, my preliminary findings based on what I have learned so far, and the next steps for laying out a plan that will help all of our students achieve at higher levels.

Entry Process:

Soon after my arrival in July 2011, I laid out a comprehensive entry plan that included numerous face-to-face interviews, analyses of various data, review of documents, school/classroom visits, and more. I held over ninety interviews with individuals and groups including school staff, high school students, parents, business and community stakeholders, members of the school committee, city and state officials, and representatives from non-profit organizations. I also looked at financial, employee, and student data; reviewed numerous documents, such as collective bargaining agreements, the policy manual, school and district improvement plans, etc.; and visited classrooms in all district schools. All of this data collection is serving as the basis for the ultimate development of short- and long-term goals to make the Waltham Public Schools (WPS) as good as they can be.

Objectives of the Entry Plan:

To learn about the district and the community;
To gain a comprehensive understanding of the current conditions of the school district;
To determine the key issues at the building, central office, school committee, and community levels;
To build trust and confidence through open and honest communication;
To identify areas for further study that will result in the development of strategies for improving student achievement; and
To enable the staff and community to get to know me.

My Core Values:

Although I shared my core values throughout the interview process prior to being appointed superintendent, the entry process provided me additional opportunities to further articulate and demonstrate my strong beliefs about educational leadership which are as follows:

Collaboration
Civility
Equity
Communication
High academic expectations for all students
Respect for human differences
Building trusting relationships with people

My Role:

My role throughout the entry process has been to listen, observe, and learn; in other words, to collect and analyze data that I could "hear, count, and see" in order to form a comprehensive picture of the district. I asked individuals and groups the following four questions (responses are being kept confidential):

What has gone well in the school system? (What are the strengths of the school system?)
What does the school system need to work on?
What do you think must be maintained at all costs?
What do you want to tell me about yourself?

Data Reviewed:

Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) results
Advanced Placement (AP) test results
Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) results
Comparative school performance data, including Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirements under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law
Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) results
Student demographic data

Documents Reviewed:

I did a thorough review of district documents including the following:

School Committee Policy Handbook
Organizational chart
Arbitrations and grievances
Budgets, proposed and final
District Improvement Plan
School Improvement Plans
Annual School Reports
Collective Bargaining Agreements
DESE and EQA audits
Student handbooks
Program of Studies
Teacher and administrator evaluations
Entitlement and competitive grants including Race to the Top (RTTT)
Program evaluations
Curriculum guides
Capital Improvement Plans
NEASC Accreditation Report
School Committee minutes

Schools Visited:

I visited classrooms throughout the district and spent several hours with each principal in his or her school.

Other:

I attended two City Council meetings, met with both state representatives, members of the School Councils, and attended educational and athletic activities as well as business collaboratives.

Preliminary Findings

Strengths, Challenges, Needs

The Entry Plan has enabled me to meet a broad range of stakeholders in a short amount of time and to develop an understanding and appreciation of the strengths, challenges, and needs of the Waltham Public Schools. Outlined below are my preliminary findings, which represent what I was able to hear (interviews, meetings), count (data), and see (documents, classroom observations, school activities). The listed items will require further study prior to establishing short- and long-term strategic goals.

First, there is widespread agreement that the students and staff in the district are its greatest strength. People also noted that the student population has changed considerably over the past ten years as the charts below (Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Massachusetts Schools and District Profiles, Enrollment Data, Selected Populations) indicate.

Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity 2000-2001 9.60%7.10% 18.30% 0.10% 64.90% African American Asian Hispanic Native American White (see graph in Adobe pdf document at top)

Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity 2010-2011 10%6.20% 29.20% 0.20% 52%0.30% 2.30% African American Asian Hispanic Native American White NaHawaiian.PacIsl MultiRace, NonHispanic (see graph in Adobe pdf document at top)

Further, my interviews and review of documents identified diversity as a strength, with many people indicating that the district and community’s responses to the challenges and opportunities of a diverse population have contributed to a stronger school culture. This will continue to require our unified attention so that we can ensure that all of our students are achieving at high levels.

In addition to a diverse student body, the district also has many of the "high risk" categories cited in achievement gap studies. This, too, will require our continued attention and resources as we strive to meet state, federal, and local guidelines for student achievement. At present, our district is not meeting these requirements, particularly as they relate to the following populations: special education, minority, Limited English Proficiency (LEP), and low income.

Second, a major strength of WPS is its strong commitment to the music, art, and drama programs in the district and in the community. These programs have received national, state, and local recognition, and have been used as models by other school districts. Without question, music, art, and drama have been identified as examples of what is working well in the district, and what must be maintained.

Third, another major strength is the city's considerable financial support, which helps ensure educationally sound programs and quality facilities for educating our students, all of whom have benefited in many ways. A major by-product of the city's level of financial support for the district is the lack of user fees of any kind, which means students are able to ride buses and participate in any school activity and athletic program without cost. The lack of fees has been identified as something to be very proud of and a "must" to be maintained. As a matter of fact, many people indicated that the sense of community in our schools is due in large part to the high percentage of students engaged in co-curricular activities, athletics, and the fine and performing arts.

A fourth finding is that over the years, decentralization, which not only has had its advantages but also its shortcomings, has resulted in our nine schools operating more or less independently of one another. This has led to inconsistency in program and curricular offerings, inequity in staffing, uneven distribution of technological infrastructure and equipment, and less collaboration than would be optimum. One reason for this may be the high turnover of superintendents, special education directors, and principals. A majority of people interviewed indicated the need to stabilize leadership in the district and support a superintendent who can work well with the School Committee and the Mayor.

Further, the turnover at the leadership level, along with the resulting decentralization and little collaboration contributed to the development of the following issues, which were cited as challenges worth addressing (not listed in rank order):

Supervision and evaluation, teacher recruitment, and the hiring process need district attention. While some progress has been made in the areas of supervision and evaluation and will continue through the implementation of the State's new educator evaluation system, little progress has been made in teacher recruitment and the hiring process. Additionally, the district’s organizational chart and job descriptions are outdated.
Use of instructional time at the elementary level is inconsistent. For example, some elementary schools have longer literacy and math blocks based on their data analysis. Social studies and science have been integrated into the literacy block, and the substantial purchase of non-fiction books has contributed to this integration. At two of these schools, students in the aggregate and in all subgroups made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in 2011. In one school, this is the first time in seven years that AYP has been achieved.
Greater collaboration between and among principals and directors would help build greater consistency and efficiency in areas such as, but not limited to, supervision/evaluation, personnel practices such as hiring, district-wide delivery of curriculum and instruction, professional development, financial management, etc.
There is no targeted reading instruction at the Middle School except for special education students. Additionally, the reading/ELA service delivery has changed three times over the past three years.
Special education programs in the district are strong, particularly for those students with social and emotional challenges and children with autism spectrum disorder. All students with disabilities would benefit from additional attention focused on how general and special education services complement and support each other.
Significant by its absence is the fact that only two people interviewed mentioned that Waltham is a Level 3 district, as designated by the State. (There are 4 levels, with 4 being the least successful relative to student performance.) As noted above, two of our elementary schools have been identified as Level 3 schools. Every school in the district has not met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), either in the aggregate or by subgroups (special needs, minority, ELL), or both. Ironically, no one mentioned Waltham has two elementary schools that made AYP in the aggregate and in all subgroups, and for one of these schools, this is the first time the school made AYP in 7 years.
School department employees expressed concern about a range of different learning needs in their classrooms, including the following: availability and use of technology, class size, and the significant number of initiatives underway in the district, many of which are not tied to specific improvements in student achievement. With regard to district/school initiatives, not only are there too many (more than 80), the lack of follow-through was identified as problematic. Better use of data can provide evidence for what works and what doesn't.
Structures for collaboration that enable teachers to have regular, frequent department and/or grade-level common planning and meeting time used to improve curriculum and instructional practices are inconsistent across the district.
The English Language Learner (ELL) Program in the district has had 3 overhauls in the past 3 years. These students need stability, so continuous change does not benefit them. Additionally, the district has not been current relative to State-mandated training for staff, which prepares them with the skills necessary to teach these children in the regular classroom. 7
A common understanding of what constitutes high-quality, evidenced-based instruction needs to be developed in order to provide a consistent system for identifying and supporting sound, effective instruction.
There are inconsistent practices as well as different opinions among staff regarding student transitions from Pre-K to K, grades 5 to 6, and grades 8 to 9. Development of district-wide protocols would result in more uniform procedures for placement, information sharing, and supports for students.
Employee raises (cost of living or otherwise), sick leave allowance, vacation allowance, longevity, etc. have not been consistently applied across the district.
Communication at all levels in the district can be improved.

Fifth, the professional development program could benefit from review and redesign. There has been a long-standing district practice of scheduling professional development during the school day. A review of Central Office records indicates a substantial number of K-12 teachers are out of their classrooms each year for professional development. In 2010-11 alone, the equivalent of 898.5 teacher days was dedicated to such activities. While professional development certainly is important, the accompanying loss of instructional time is not beneficial to students and may well be contributing to their lower achievement level. As capable as substitute teachers may be, they cannot deliver the kind of instruction that our grade level and subject matter teachers can. It also was reported that PDRT days and the Directors’ one hour curriculum meetings could be improved by better scheduling and that collaboration could result in the inclusion and participation of special education and ELL staff. Additionally, expanding professional development to include support staff and the specialists is warranted.

Sixth, there are eight relatively new school buildings which are an obvious source of pride to the district and the city. Along with this pride is the acknowledgement that aging technology in these buildings is presenting a significant financial challenge. Although the high school has not yet benefited from Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) funding, "Statements of Interest" have been reviewed, signed, and submitted for the past several years. With 441,000 square feet encompassing a truly comprehensive high school, it is highly unlikely that funding will be made available by the State to rebuild a school of such magnitude. The High School is in need of new science labs, as noted in the last New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) report in 2005. Additionally, the High School would benefit from wireless technology and additional classroom space, particularly for our PDD Programs as our students transition from middle to high school.

Seventh, data, numeracy, literacy, and leadership teams are in place in most schools. All administrators and some data teams received professional development in the use of data for improvement. Mastery Manager is being implemented this year to collect assessments at all levels in the district. While data analysis is being done in most schools, the use of data has the potential for greater impact if applied consistently district-wide. It would provide a systematic approach to inform instruction, re-teach material as needed, target at-risk students for support, and determine individual remedial and enrichment opportunities.

Eighth, K-5 lacks a comprehensive Balanced Literacy model that would promote student success in reading and writing. Currently, we do not have a district wide phonics/spelling, grammar, or handwriting program (K only has Lively Letters). We have completed initial professional development in the writing process, and with the adoption of the Common Core standards in writing, we must continue to focus on teaching writing across many genres.

Ninth, over the past few years, attempts have been made to offer an alternative school program at Waltham High School for struggling students. The district would benefit from a "big picture" view of the needs of all PreK students through adult learning. There are several programs currently in place in Waltham (Waltham Family School, Power Program, and the Evening School) which have been partly funded through the school department, fees, and/or grants. All of these disparate programs including the possibility of an alternative school would benefit from a comprehensive review that could ultimately result in consolidation and significant grant funding.

Tenth, parents and staff expressed concern about the need for increased rigor and high expectations for all students. There is a pervading sense that the district has become complacent about student achievement and that meeting, or slightly exceeding state averages on student assessments has become "acceptable." Student achievement as measured on a variety of assessments was identified as an issue.

Next Steps

Sorting, studying/investigating underlying causes for issues to be addressed, prioritizing, and goal-setting are the next steps in my entry process. Working with stakeholders appropriate to the various issues/tasks will lead to the identification of two to four broad strategic goals linked to improving student achievement, as well as the associated strategic objectives/initiatives to achieve these goals. The staff and I will present these strategic goals/objectives to the School Committee and community in late Spring. Then we will use the rest of the school year and summer fleshing out the plan to begin implementation in the fall.

Final Thoughts

Finally, there is a lot to be proud of in the district and community, not the least of which is a committed Mayor and School Committee, a dedicated faculty and staff, supportive parents and community at large, and a city rich in diversity and resources, including a vibrant business, non-profit, and higher education sector. And of course, there are our students, who make what we do so important and so rewarding. There are challenges ahead to improve our services to these children. As your new superintendent, I am excited at the prospect of collaborating with our many stakeholders to make the Waltham Public Schools as good as they can be in the best interests of our children.

Susan M. Nicholson

Superintendent, Waltham Public Schools

February 2012