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News and information for staff members and the Madison community

Vol. II No. 9 - August 6, 2007

Board of Education Progress Report - September, 2007

by Arlene Silveira, President of Board of Education

September was another busy month across the District with the start of school. Below is a summary of the Board of Education activities for September. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me (asilveira@madison.k12.wi.us) or the full Board at (comments@madison.k12.wi.us).

Arlene Silveira

1. Superintendent Search: On September 19 and 20 our consultants (Hazard, Young and Attea) held input and information sessions with our community in order to collect feedback on what the community values in a new superintendent. The consultants will use this feedback to develop a Leadership Profile for the new superintendent. This profile will be shared with the Board and the community at the October 8 Board of Education meeting at 6:00pm at the Doyle Administration Building. Once the profile is approved, Hazard, Young and Attea will use this information to recruit superintendent candidates. Thank you to everyone who submitted a leadership profile assessment form and/or participated in the input sessions. The Board appreciates your time and input.
2. School Naming: The process for selecting a name for the new school on Madison's West side has re-opened. The deadline for submission of names for consideration is Monday, October 22, 2007. Information on how to submit names is available on the district web site at http://www.mmsd.org.
3. Superintendent's Goals: The Board approved 4 goals for the Superintendent for the 07/08 school year. Two goals are continuations of existing goals. Two goals are new goals:
   1. Identify specific targets and measures for each of the five areas of the strategic plan: Instructional Excellence (Improving student achievement and offering challenging, diverse and contemporary curriculum and instruction); Student Support; Staff Effectiveness; Home and Community Partnerships; Fiscal Responsibility. (new goal)
   2. Develop and implement a transition plan for the Superintendent and Senior Staff who will be leaving at the end of the 07-08 school year to ensure responsibilities and knowledge are transferred to incoming staff. (new goal)
   3. Initiate and complete a comprehensive, independent and neutral review and assessment of the District K-12 math curriculum. (continuation goal)
   4. Develop in collaboration with the Board and external advisors, a plan for the District to communicate to the community why parents or guardians should send their children to the MMSD schools. (continuation goal)
4. Expulsions: The Board received a presentation from the Administration on a "Baseline Expulsion Disposition Grid". This is a tool that will be used internally with the intent of ensuring that consequences in behavioral matters are consistent across the District. In addition we began discussions on how we as a Board review expulsion materials, again to ensure consistency in the process.
5. Performance and Achievement Committee: Committee members are Lawrie Kobza (chair), Johnny Winston Jr. and Maya Cole. This committee has a number of projects on-going. They began a discussion about the kindergarten readiness of our kindergartens students from 2004 through this year measured by the kindergarten screener which is administered in the spring. This discussion will continue as the district completes the PLAY evaluation. The committee also discussed the district's current K-ready program to help children identified by the screener get ready for kindergarten. The committee asked the administration to provide information about the effectiveness of the K-ready program. The administration also provided information about its preschool partnerships. The committee previously discussed the district's work in examining the possibility of instituting 4 year old kindergarten (4K) in the MMSD. The committee has moved this topic to the full board for a discussion on whether they would like to proceed with the evaluation of this 4K program.

The committee continued its discussion about using a growth model to measure student performance. Following a presentation last month from the UW on what value-added measurements are and why they are used, the committee had a presentation from the administration on how value-added or growth measurements could work in Madison. The committee will continue its discussion of the use of growth measurements as one measure of student achievement.

6. Finance and Operations Committee: Committee members are Lucy Mathiak (chair), Carol Carstensen and Maya Cole. The committee finalized the process of having monthly financial reports sent to the Board. This will give the Board a sense of where we are on the budget when we make financial decisions throughout the year. The Citizens' Budget has been finalized. The Citizens' Budget will now include revenues, expenses and a narrative. This budget will soon be available on the district's web site. The committee continues to review the MSCR programs and revenue streams.
7. Long Range Planning: Committee members are Carol Carstensen (chair), Lucy Mathiak and Beth Moss. At the last meeting the city planners from both Fitchburg and Madison gave detailed presentations on the growth expected in their respective cities. Coupled with the enrollment numbers and school capacities, this information is very useful for long term planning regarding use of our facilities.
8. Community Partnerships: Committee members are Maya Cole (chair), Johnny Winston Jr. and Lucy Mathiak. The committee had a great deal of discussion on the funding of the community partnerships with Fund 80. The committee recommended to the full Board that beginning with 2008-09, Community Partnerships Fund 80 funds be awarded through a competitive grant process. This will be discussed by the full Board in October.
9. Communications: Committee members are Beth Moss (chair), Carol Carstensen and Lawrie Kobza. Jim Wood of Wood Communications gave a presentation on the Wisconsin Way Initiative. Wisconsin Way is a grassroots project that pulls together the support and resources of a wide variety of interests to find ways to build a stronger Wisconsin economy that can better support public services, including education. Coalition partners include the Wisconsin Counties Association, the Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association and the Wisconsin Realtors Association. Wood said the Wisconsin Way initiative is designed to engage the public in discussions about how Wisconsin can change its tax structure to meet the needs of the 21st century. Wisconsin residents, he said, support the concept of adequately funding public schools to provide quality education but are feeling financially strapped, making it difficult for them to vote to tax themselves to maintain that goal. The Wisconsin Way will focus on a strategy of reaching consensus for both lowering property taxes and funding excellence in public education, as well as meeting the state's other needs.
10. Coming in October: Consultants reveal the Superintendent Leadership Profile; discussion on the use of TIF money from the city; discussion on school models; continued discussion on the expulsion process; continued discussion on district performance goals.

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