December 2015

It is amazing that we are coming to the close of 2015! This post will feature an update on our strategic planning initiative, the Fiscal Year 2017 (2016-2017 school year) budget, a draft of the 2016-2017 school calendar, winter weather procedures and other items of interest. I would like to wish everyone all of the best in 2016!

Strategic Planning Project Enters Phase II

A huge thank you to everyone that participated in one of our nine focus groups last month. The focus groups were able to identify areas of strength, as well as challenges that the district will face over the next five years. Many themes emerged from the focus group data and these themes will now be the basis of a brief survey during mid January. After we compile the survey data, we will begin the process of developing goals for the next five years. Our target completion date for the entire plan is still on track for June, 2016. Special thanks to School Committee members Anna Mae O'Shea Brooke and Tim Bonfatti for being a part of the Strategic Plan Leadership Team. 

FY 2017 Initial  Budget

Although it is not even January, we are currently working on the budget for the next school year. The town charter requires the School Committee to adopt a budget by January 31st. The initial budget presentation requests an increase of 5.73% over the previous year's budget. The budget development process is far from over. Our budget subcommittee of Chris Morrison, Eileen DeSisto, Director of Finance and Operations Micheal La Francesca and I continue will continue to work with town officials throughout the next few months leading up to Town Meeting in April. The School Committee will hold a public hearing on the budget on January 25th at 7:30 PM at Medfield High School. 

For more information please visit:

FY17 Initial Budget Presentation

Watch for more budget materials as they become available.

2016-2017 School Calendar

We have been working on revising the school calendar for next year with the goal trying to limit the amount of days in June.  As with any change there has to be some level of sacrifice and next year's calendar is no different. The most notable changes replace two historic "no school days" with  "release days". The Friday before Labor Day and the Wednesday before Thanksgiving are scheduled as release days instead of a full day off. These changes along with only one full professional development day would allow us to end the school year three days earlier. This could mean a dismissal on June 15th instead of June 20th (with no snow days). The draft of next year's calendar can be found at  Draft 2016-2017 Calendar  The School Committee will approve a final version of the calendar in January.

Winter Weather Procedures

We were fortunate enough to make it through December without a snow day, but the next three months are often the most problematic in New England. We will once again utilize the Blackboard-Connect System to notify parents if school is closed, delayed, or dismissed early. The phone call will be sent to each household and parent cell phone number that is currently on file with the district.

In addition to the phone call, the announcement will appear on:

• Twitter @JeffreyJMarsden (I actually do this first...so follow me!)
• Television Stations: FOX  25, WBZ 4, WCVB 5, and WHDH 7
• Our district website: www.medfield.net

Please remember that there will be times when school is not cancelled, delayed, or dismissed early and the weather is still inclement. Those days will feature slower travel for buses and cars, but will not necessarily require a change in the normal schedule. Please remember if you feel it is unsafe for travel, you always have the option to keep your child home.

Other Items of Interest.....

• Our Field Study is almost finalized and we will have a recommendation at Town Meeting in April. Stay Tuned!
• The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education recently published an article written by High School teacher Madeline Chamberlain, Wheelock Teacher Joan Dion, and me that highlights the work our school committee, union and administration completed through Interest Based Bargaining. A special thanks to the teacher negotiation team and School Committee members Chris Morrison and Maryanne Sullivan for all being key components to this important process.  The article can be retrieved at Implementation Spotlight: Interest Based Bargaining in Medfield: Communication, Collaboration and Focus on Improvement
• Our elementary math night was very well attended and was a huge success. Thanks to Kim Cave, Missy Bilsborough, Donna Olson and Steve Grenham for putting together an informative evening of mathematics. Thank you to Julie Colantoni, Marie Pendergast, Erin Watson, Marissa Foley, Kelly Bertschmann, Laurie McNeil, and Debby Fromen for volunteering that night.

October 2015

The 2015-2016 school year is off and running! The Medfield Public Schools opened it's doors to 2688 students this year. This blog entry highlights our recent rankings in Newsweek and Boston Magazine, as well as our district initiatives for 2015-2016. Thank you for your support of our schools.

Please follow me on Twitter @jeffreyjmarsden for weekly updates.

Recent Magazine Articles Have Medfield Climbing In The Rankings

Over the past two months major rankings have been released highlighting the top school districts and high schools in Massachusetts and across the United States. After being unranked (not in the top 500) in 2012, ranked #262 in 2013, ranked #164 in 2014, we are proud that Newsweek  has ranked Medfield High School # 52 in the United States and #2 in Massachusetts. Medfield High School continues to provide our students with a rigorous educational experience by building on the solid foundation from our middle and elementary schools.  Locally, the school district was ranked 11th in Massachusetts by Boston Magazine after being ranked 37th in 2013. This ranking represents student achievement improvements made across the district; especially at the elementary and middle school levels.

 Many factors go into these rankings, but clearly these upward trajectories represent the hard work, focus, and dedication of our students, teachers, administrators, parents and community members. Medfield is truly a special community where everyone works together for student success. Even though we are pleased with the way our schools are trending, our teachers and administrators remain committed to continuous improvement for the benefit of our students. 

District Initiatives For 2015-2016

The Medfield School Committee has voted the following goals for the 2015-2016 school year:

• Develop and complete a 3-5 year PreK-12 strategic plan -We have partnered with the New England School Development Council (NESDEC) to develop a strategic plan for the district. We hope that you will be able to participate in one of  our focus groups in November. Look for information in a future "Thursday Packet".
• Bring forward a recommendation to align the elementary school starting and ending times and/or extend the school day -The Elementary School Day Committee has been hard at work looking at ways to improve the structure of our elementary school schedules. We plan to make a recommendation in the next few months.
• Implement Envision 2.0 Mathematics in grades K-5- This comprehensive math program is aligned with the Massachusetts Mathematics Frameworks and will bring consistency to math instruction among classrooms and buildings. The district will hold a math night for parents in the next several weeks. Please watch for that announcement.
• Expand and refine our technology and 1 to 1 learning- At the beginning of the year every senior at MHS received a Chromebook computer. This expands our 1 to 1 from Grades 6-12. We have also deployed Chromebooks and iPads throughout our elementary schools. We will continue to gather feedback as we assess the 1 to 1 learning in Grades 6-12.
• Establish a World Language Steering/Study group-This group will be comprised of teachers, parents and administrators as we review the World Language program in our elementary schools. Please email FKelly@email.medfield.net if you are interested in serving on this committee. We plan to start meeting in December or January.
• Complete district/ town wide field study- We have partnered with Pare Corporation to study the condition and adequacy of our school and town fields. Pare will issue a report to us with recommendations for field replacement or construction. 
• Implement Educator Evaluation Standards III and IV-We will be implementing the last two standards involved in the new evaluation model. These standards are  Family and Community Engagement and Professional Culture.
• Utilize Metro West Health Survey data to support Social/Emotional Learning- The district will continue to use data to help our students' wellness. We plan to post the most recent survey data on our website.
• Submit a Statement of Interest (SOI) for a new Dale St School-We will take the first step in the process of a replacement for the Dale St. School. Acceptance of the SOI will get us on the long list of potential school projects in Massachusetts. 
• Complete Wheelock Boiler Project-This project is going out to bid in January and is scheduled to begin as soon as the students leave in June. Medfield will receive $187,000 in reimbursements for this project.

Some of these items will be multi year initiatives and will become part of our strategic plan. There will be periodic status reports made to the School Committee during the 2015-2016 school year.

Did You Know?

• The Class of 2016 has 7 Commended Scholars in the National Merit Scholarship Program
• Over 100 teachers spent time during the summer working on research and development projects to improve the teaching and learning in Medfield.
• Blake Principal Nat Vaughn was selected as one of nine school leaders in Metro West to participate in a "Blended Learning Summit" at North Carolina State.
• Our turf field (Calvin Fisher Field) had a useful life at installation of 10 years. This is the 12th season of use!
• In only it's second year, our Full Day Kindergarten (FDK) has 149 students enrolled.
• Teachers Julie Lowerre, Randie Groden, Neal Sonnenberg, and Diane Horvath will be leading technology workshops at the MassCUE Conference at Gillette Stadium on October 21st and 22nd.

June Post

It is hard to imagine the school year is almost over. We have gone from beautiful autumn days, to a long winter of blizzards, to a well deserved spring and now... we are on to summer!  It has been another positive year in Medfield and I thank you for your continued support of the Medfield Public Schools. This entry will highlight our FY16 budget, the district wide survey, two completed teacher contracts, a summary of the Elementary Day Committee and the release of the Dale St. Music Pilot study. 


A special thank you to the School Committee, teachers, administrators, and staff of the Medfield Public Schools for their dedication to the children of Medfield. Thanks for all that you do!

FY16 Budget is Approved at Town Meeting

Thank you to the residents of Medfield for approving our operating budget of $30,362,385 for next year. This 4.4% increase allows us to maintain programs, expand technology, and purchase a K-5 Mathematics program for the district. In addition to our operating budget, the town meeting supported some of our capital budget requests including: Wheelock boiler replacement (with a 39% reimbursement to Medfield), security upgrades, and a town wide athletic field study. The School Committee and I value the positive working relationships we have with town officials and the Warrant Committee. We truly appreciate Medfield's ongoing commitment to education.

FY16 Budget documents can be found at the following link:

http://www.medfield.net/district-offices/superintendent/budget-information.html

District Survey Deadline-July 3, 2015

You should have received an email earlier this week asking you to participate in our survey. We partnered with Panorama Education to develop, manage, and analyze the survey. Please take some time over the next two weeks to participate in this important survey. The survey will provide data for us to target areas of improvement, as well as data for our strategic plan initiative next year.

Two Successor Contracts Completed with Medfield Teachers'Association

The School Committee and I are pleased to report that two agreements were reached with the Medfield Teachers' Association. The following is the joint press release:

The Medfield School Committee and Medfield Teachers’ Association have announced an agreement of two successor contracts; one for 2014-2015 and another for 2015-2018. The parties reached the agreements on May 1st without the assistance of a third party mediator. The contracts have been ratified by both School Committee and the Association.

“As a committee, we entered this process with two major goals: to recognize,encourage, and preserve the amazing work our teachers do every day and to reach a long-term financial deal that Medfield can afford.  This contract accomplishes both objectives. It was not always an easy process, but the end result--a contract that works for both sides--was worth it.” commented School Committee Chair, Chris Morrison.

"Association members are very pleased with the outcome and believe the agreement with School Committee to be fair. While the process was challenging at times for everyone involved, it is encouraging to see both sides moving forward and establishing future relations in a positive manner.” said Brendan Hughes, Negotiations Chair.  

“I am proud of the Medfield teachers; many of whom, for the first time, stepped-up in solidarity to become an integral part of the collective-bargaining process. Their resolve positively impacted the outcome." said Joan Dion, President of the Association.

“ All parties worked diligently over the course of many months to reach a favorable contract for all stakeholders. We are confident that the results of the process are very positive for all involved.” added School Committee Negotiator Maryanne Sullivan.

“I am very pleased with the results. The many important language changes are focused

on improvements that will ultimately benefit our students”, added Superintendent Jeffrey Marsden.

The details of the first contract include a 1.5% increase in the current school year, along with numerous language changes that focus on increased meeting time for teachers, increased communication, equity and more efficient procedures.

The second contract features an increase of 1.5% in 2015-2016, 1.5%  and increased longevity amounts in 2016-2017, and a 2% increase for all teachers and an additional .5% increase for top step teachers only for the 2017-2018 school year.

Elementary School Day Committee

The Elementary School Day Committee spent the past year working toward the possibility of extending the school day in our PreK-5 schools. We identified our current instructional needs, examined models and schedules from other school districts, and then developed and administered a survey to all elementary teachers. Next year we will continue to explore the feasibility of a longer school day and adjusted start and end times for all three schools. We also hope to bring the Wheelock start/end times more in line with the other two elementary schools. Our goal is to have a recommendation in place to implement for September of 2016. A special thanks to committee members for volunteering countless hours to this project: Parents-Sarah Waters,Tania Manuel, Jessica Reilly, Claire Shield, Chris Potts, Kim Price, Kristen Careau, and Jessica Kemp. School Committee- Anna Mae O'Shea Brooke and Tim Bonfatti. Teachers-Ryan Dexter, Susan Cowell, Kelli Mahoney, Julie Colantoni, Julie Lowerre, Leanne DiPesa, Emily Callahan, Sarah Murphy, and Joan Dion. Principals- Missy Bilsborough, Donna Olson, and Kim Cave.

Dale St Pilot Study Released

In September we made a schedule change and moved the ensembles outside of the student school day. As with any pilot, the before school model was used to gain more information prior to a more permanent decision. In the end, inconsistent attendance and lower participation prevents the before school model from being a permanent change. Special thanks to the parents and teachers that participated in this study.

The details and report can be found at the following link:

http://www.medfield.net/district-offices/superintendent/elem-music-pilot-evaluation-report.html

In 2015-2016 watch for....

• PreK-12 Strategic Plan Initiative
• Envision 2.0 -K-5 Mathematics implementation
• Elementary World Language Committee
• HS/Town Field Project  

March Update

After a long and challenging winter I think we are all ready for some milder spring weather. I hope this blog post finds you well as we move into spring.  Although communicated in emails to parents, Tweets, and through the local press it certainly needs repeating.  I can't thank the Medfield DPW and the MPS staff enough for their hard work over the past two months. We were able to have school when other districts could not because of the dedication of these individuals!

I would also like to thank the Medfield School Committee for voting to go against their longstanding policy of starting school after Labor Day when the holiday falls before September 3rd. Without that vote, our last day of school would be on June 29th instead of June 23rd. We all benefited from their willingness to reexamine this traditional practice.

This post will feature budget information for the 2015-2016 school year, an Elementary Day Committee update, the 2015 Goldin Award for Educational Excellence is given to Medfield educator, education evaluator training, the Dale St. Principal Search, and details about the Dale St. Music Pilot Study.

**Please follow me on Twitter @JeffreyJMarsden for information several times a week.**


School Year 2015-2016 Budget

At their February 3rd meeting, the Medfield School Committee voted to approve a Fiscal
Year 2016 budget that represents an increase of 5.4%. This budget maintains the same programs and staff for our students. This budget also provides funding for additional technology and math programming for our elementary schools.

Please click on the links below to find more information. The first link shows a video of the budget public hearing and the second link is to the presentation slides from that hearing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3F_k6IVqls

http://www.medfield.net/district-offices/superintendent/budget-information.html

The School Committee and I are currently working with the Warrant Committee to arrive at a budget number that fits into the overall budget for the Town of Medfield. Since the meeting on February 3rd, we have agreed to reduce our approved budget by $300,000. These reductions will be a combination of personnel and non-personnel budget items. The Warrant Committee is currently deciding on whether they will recommend an additional $100,000 reduction. Please remember that our budget is not approved until Town Meeting on April 27, 2015.


Elementary School Day Committee

This committee has been hard at work for the past few months reviewing other elementary school day models and discussing the needs of Medfield. Our conversations have centered around expanding the school day by 30 minutes. We have developed a survey for teachers to gauge their interest and determine the instructional impact. In addition, we will have survey questions that address the elementary school day included in our district-wide survey. The district-wide survey will be distributed to all parents by the end of April. Please take this opportunity to share your feedback on the current structure of our elementary school day. The estimated timeline for the district-wide survey will be mid-April.


The Harriet Goldin Award for Educational Excellence

Our own Doug Olsen is a 2015 recipient of the Goldin Award for Educational Excellence. Mr. Olsen is the third Medfield educator in the past two years to receive this distinction. Last year the award went to Nat Vaughn and Melinda Lohan. Mr. Olsen has been the backbone and driving force behind our music program for more than 20 years. He is an accomplished musician, an outstanding teacher, and a talented band director/leader, who clearly deserves this overdue recognition. An award presentation is scheduled for April 13th at Norwood High School. Congratulations Doug!

See http://www.goldinfoundation.org/ for more information.


Educator Evaluation Professional Development

Over the past few months, the entire leadership team, content specialists, and the teachers' union president have been involved in an initiative that will improve our teacher evaluation process. These trainings have fostered meaningful conversations related to instruction and learning. A highlight of this training used the "Instructional Rounds" model to visit classrooms in teams of 4 or 5. After the observations we debriefed and discussed feedback. I'm really proud of the growth this group has made with evaluation this year.

Dale St. Principal Search

We have begun the exciting process of choosing a new leader for the Dale St. School. A committee comprised of 6 parents, 4 teachers, 3 principals, 2 school committee members and our police chief have been reviewing credentials, choosing candidates and preparing for interviews. We will be interviewing, conducting site visits, and background checks in the next few weeks. We plan to make an announcement prior to April 17th.

Dale St. Music Pilot

As promised, we will be conducting a comprehensive study of the Dale St. Music Pilot. There will be opportunities for both parents and staff to provide feedback to the consultants conducting the study. The project should be completed by mid-May and the results will be distributed and placed on our website. The recommendations will be used for scheduling purposes for the 2015-2016 school year.

Happy 2015!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season. As we go through our hectic lives with the many obligations to our children and work, it is always nice to reconnect with family and friends before we get back to our normal schedule. I wish you all of the best in 2015 as we continue our journey to be the best school district in Massachusetts!

The beginning of a new year is also a great time to reflect on the many people, both professionally and personally, that we have a "responsibility to" and a "responsibility for". My former professor at Boston College, Robert Starratt, wrote an outstanding book entitled  Ethical Leadership that highlighted the "Virtues of Responsibility, Authenticity, and Presence". Dr. Starratt's work always puts in perspective the enormous responsibility educators have "to" our students, while emphasizing the importance to continuously refine and improve the work we do "for" our students. The age old response, "This is the way we have always done it" is no longer acceptable in education. I find it helpful to use his book a few times a year to reflect and reexamine priorities.

This blog update will provide you with a reminder about our winter weather procedures, information on our budget for next year, and some important survey information.

Winter Weather Procedures
We were lucky enough to make it through December without a snow day, but the next three months are often the most problematic in New England. We will once again utilize the Blackboard-Connect System to notify parents if school is closed, delayed, or dismissed early. The phone call will be sent to each household and parent cell phone number that is currently on file with the district.

In addition to the phone call, the announcement will appear on:

• Twitter @JeffreyJMarsden (I actually do this first...so follow me!)
• Television Stations: FOX  25, WBZ 4, WCVB 5, and WHDH 7
• Our district website: www.medfield.net
• Cable 8

Please remember that there will be times when school is not cancelled, delayed, or dismissed early and the weather is still inclement. Those days will feature slower travel for buses and cars, but will not necessarily require a change in the normal schedule. Please remember if you feel it is unsafe for travel, you always have the option to keep your child home.

Budget for the 2015-2016 School Year
Although its only the beginning of January, we are currently working on the budget for the next school year. The town charter requires the School Committee to adopt a budget by January 31st. The initial budget presentation requests an increase of 5.4% over the previous year's budget. The Warrant Committee has requested  all town departments increase their budget no more than  2.5%  and the Town Administrator has the school department projected for a 3% increase. The initial FY16 budget presentation can be found on www.medfield.net. The School Committee will hold a public hearing on the budget on January 26th  at 7:30 PM at Medfield High School.

Survey Information
We are pleased to announce a partnership with Panorama Education (https://www.panoramaed.com/) to develop and administer a feedback survey for parents. As some of you know, I spent considerable time last year meeting with teachers, staff, parents, town officials and community members to learn about the culture and values of the district. Those 100-plus interviews gave me an incredible amount of useful information. This year we will broaden the scope of feedback with a district-wide survey that will target specific issues along with general feedback about the district. Our timeline for the survey distribution is in late February/early March. The results will be shared with parents and used along with my entry plan data to begin a strategic planning initiative for the district. Stay tuned!