Peter, I think that comment was actually directed at my rattling off of things at the end of one of my emails. And just to clarify, I wasn't advocating for any of those things, I was just pointing out different directions the school could go in if they so choose.
Jennifer, thanks for the insight on special services. I thought it was interesting, also didn't know that those aides and paraprofessionals also drive down the student-to-staff ratio. - Andy On Wed, Feb 1, 2023 at 8:53 PM Peter Buchthal <[email protected]> wrote: > Jennifer, > I never mentioned decreasing "services." I tried to say that we have lost > 20 % of our student body over the last 10 years and our school expenditures > has gone up 25% during that > time (not counting inflation). Maybe we should start to look at optimizing > the things we do to be able to offer more, not less to our students. If > there's money left, we can use it to defray > next year's budget override, as I doubt that the teachers union will > accept the 1% salary increase predicted in next year's Budget. I am all > for paying the teachers and staff well, maybe just > a fewer number of them. > > Special Education is super important for so many reasons, so don't worry. > > Peter > > On Tue, Jan 31, 2023 at 9:46 PM Jennifer Saffran < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> You mentioned decreasing “special” services. If you mean special >> education, understand that there are complex state and federal laws and >> regulations that govern these. >> >> The good news is that the additional staff that is demanded, particularly >> in-classroom aides and paraprofessionals lower the student to staff ratios. >> Also, funding for special education is a combination of local, state, and >> federal dollars. The LEA (local school district) is not responsible for >> paying for all of it. >> >> >> >> On Jan 31, 2023, at 9:18 PM, Andy Wang <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> Peter, >> >> I was just keying off of something you said "The recently approved FY24 >> Budget contradicts the chart as it funds 4 classroom teachers per each 6, 7 >> and 8 grade. " What are you keying off of in the budget? How are you >> counting teachers where there are ones that teach sections across grades >> and specialists? I was just pointing out that while there were 4 >> homeroom teachers in 6th, but there are only 3 sections for the kids. >> Those teachers don't 'just have homeroom duties', like my kid's homeroom >> teacher is also his ELA teacher. >> >> Parents can certainly voice concerns. Gifted children want extra >> attention, and parents of gifted kids advocate for that. Struggling >> students want extra attention, and those parents advocate for them. It IS >> complicated in the sense that you need to optimize across a wide range of >> students and abilities, and philosophical stance on what it means to be a >> student at Lincoln Public Schools and there are trades that need to be >> made. I mean, do you KNOW that the administration hasn't looked at ways of >> optimizing things? >> >> When it comes down to it, I'm happy to wax philosophical on Lincoln Talk >> all day long (clearly), but my parting point was just that the school >> committee is elected and folks should be electing people who they think >> represent their views. There are many ways to focus the school. We could >> teach more to the MCAS and increase that ranking, we could make larger >> classes, remove special programs, decrease special services, increase >> gifted programs, decrease spending. All of those things come with >> trade-offs and those decisions are not going to be made here. And only >> foot stomping this stronger now cause deadline to pull papers is tomorrow. >> >> - Andy >> >> >> >> On Tue, Jan 31, 2023 at 8:53 PM Peter Buchthal <[email protected]> >> wrote: >> >>> Andy, >>> >>> I don't see your distinction between listed teachers who have classrooms >>> for core subjects and other teachers who apparently just host homeroom >>> students and have other classroom duties. Our school population has >>> decreased by 20 % in the last 10 years and apparently the administration >>> and school committee can't even consider *optimizing* the staff to >>> offer additional academic services the students and parents want while >>> lowering the ongoing costs of running the school. Every year, without much >>> debate, the School Committee asks and gets the maximum 2.5% raise over the >>> previous year and that is considered success even though our school >>> population keeps going down. Our student teacher ratio is significantly >>> lower than almost everyone (37% more teachers than the state average), Our >>> MCAS scores are middle of the pack, our cost per student is 6K higher than >>> almost every other school except for Weston and the School says basically, >>> "we can't cut a thing, you don't understand, it's complicated." >>> >>> <Screenshot 2023-01-31 at 7.42.59 PM.png> >>> ReplyForward >>> >>> >>> On Tue, Jan 31, 2023 at 6:14 PM Andy Wang <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> Peter, >>>> >>>> Not to jump in on a conversation between you and John, but since you >>>> posted publicly, I figure it would be okay. >>>> >>>> I wanted to point out, that in the middle school, there is a >>>> distinction between the listed teachers (from the enrollment report) and >>>> sections that are on John's chart. I have a son who is in 6th grade (60 in >>>> his class). In the enrollment report you linked to (the 2022 Enrollment >>>> Report), it indicates that there are 4 groups, what I'll call 'homerooms' >>>> each led by a teacher (4 listed there). But when they go to class, he says >>>> they only have 3 sections, of about 20 in each section. This seems to >>>> match the chart that John included in his email, which specifies sections. >>>> I think in the middle school, the teacher ratio gets a little more >>>> confusing since some subject teachers teach one grade, some multiple, and >>>> also specialists (who could teach multiple grades) as opposed to in the >>>> elementary school where the 'homeroom' teachers, for the most part, teach >>>> all subjects to their class (but also some specials here too). While I >>>> understand your argument, I don't think it's quite as simple as just >>>> cutting a section. >>>> >>>> As a staffing side note, the town probably also doesn't want to get >>>> into a situation where, say you decide to cut a section of a grade and then >>>> have a teacher who teaches across the middle school grades with a < 1 FTE >>>> load. To which I think the natural tendency for those teachers would be to >>>> go look for other employment when they can get a full time position. So >>>> there is a balance there as well. Just some food for thought. >>>> >>>> To a large extent, while public Lincoln Talk discussions are >>>> entertaining, real change happens in the committee, which is an elected >>>> position. I'll go back to the statement that if folks are unhappy with the >>>> direction of the school and want some impact, the more productive course of >>>> action is to run for a seat, state your opinions and views, and see if >>>> there is a large enough group of folks who share that view. That's the >>>> real mandate for change, otherwise, the committee really has no idea if >>>> this is like 1/2 the town feels this way or it is just a select vocal >>>> minority. >>>> >>>> - Andy >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >>> To post, send mail to [email protected]. >>> Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/. >>> Browse the archives at >>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. >>> Change your subscription settings at >>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >>> >>> -- >> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >> To post, send mail to [email protected]. >> Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/. >> Browse the archives at >> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. >> Change your subscription settings at >> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >> >> >> -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to [email protected]. > Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/ > . > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. > >
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