It was good to see so many turn out for last night's School Committee meeting, but I agree with Mayor Driscoll who said that we started this discussion the wrong way. We were led by Drs. Walsh and Crane into this polarizing debate with an unexpected amendment at the May 7 meeting. It is interesting that they both voted against the resolution presented by Mr. Fleming last night. I hope we can maintain Saltonstall's current calendar even after we extend academic solutions for the other schools. It is a program that balances the year by not only offering more learning time, but also by closing the long gap in learning over the traditional summer break in a thoughtful way that does not simply add 10 days to the end of a traditional school year. With any luck our good work in the turnaround effort will raise academic achievement for all without disrupting the existing programs that keep students and families engaged in our schools.

Increases would come from adding assistant principals at the elementary schools. What does this mean ? Are they going to appoint an already existing employee to act as principle or are they creating a new job?

We are creating new assistant principal positions.

Create more administration and to the hell with the taxpayers. How does more overhead help in the academic growth in the students? IT DOESN'T!!!

I'll admit to having thought as Gene did that more administrators were a waste. Until I read the DESE report last year which was very clear in telling us that lack of oversight and management was one of the major issues here in the school system, and one of the root causes behind Salem's falling so far behind.

It's not just in-school instruction, even though that's the single most important thing. You need to manage the school as a whole, and teachers need administration to help with that and to properly evaluate the teachers' ability.

We have some really good teachers in the Salem schools, at Saltonstall and at the other schools, too. We also have some very strong principals and some lousy ones. We need the oversight to find and reward the good ones and clear out the bad ones. There's a lot of rebuilding to do.

Saltonstall does not offer an after school program or summer enrichment. What we offer is a balanced schedule. We spread out the traditional calendar year to reduce retention loss over long summer breaks--something that happens with a traditional agricultural-based calendar. If the school committee is going to extend our program among other schools, I sincerely hope they replicate our model instead of offering a lackluster imitation. In the future, I hope Crane and Walsh follow meeting protocol and refrain from pitting one school against another, duping people like Manning into believing she needs to target her anger at Salts to improve Collins. This behavior is unacceptable from school administrators. It’s time Salem stops running mediocre schools. Salts and the Charter school are attractive options to engaged parents for a reason. Business as usual got us into this mess. It will not get us out.

While assistant principals are "nice" I believe the school department needs more cirriculum administrators who develop evidence based, effective programming across all the schools and have the authority and leverage to hold the schools/teachers accountable for implementation and follow through. Having assistant principals at each school again leaves the school to interpret the cirriculum and do what they "think works best" for their school. These administrators should be outside the union umbrella and have the responsibility to evaluate how effective teachers are at teaching the approved cirriculum.

There was some good news shared last night. The Destination ImagiNation team from Horace Mann will be competing in the global finals in TN.

http://hmls2012di.com/

I don't see why these things can't be discussed, the Mayor is playing pure politics and trying to stifle debate by calling it 'divisive'.

As for conflict of interest, I don't care what the Mayors lawyers said, she should have either not participated in the debate, or not participated in the vote. I guess as Queen she can have her cake and eat it.

Regarding the extra $100,000 a year that it costs to run the Saltonstall, where did that figure come from? Back in 2007 the Supt said it cost $251,000 extra for salaries alone:

http://www.salemnews.com/local/x1446648447/First-eighth-graders-move-on-at-Saltonstall

Yawn!

We need MORE Saltonstalls, not less.
Emulate your successful school.

The bottom line is comparing Salts and Witchcraft to other schools in the district is comparing apples to oranges. The student populations are vastly different. For all those saying that the Saltonstall program is effective I challenge you to get the same results from the student population at the Bowditch. Then and only then can you state with certainty that your program is better for the children of Salem. Once the schools are socioeconomically balanced and Saltonstall is still a well performing school then by all means advocate to keep your program. On the same token once the schools are balanced if Saltonstall performance declines then be open to other options which benefit all the children of Salem.

I just think Saltonstall is fun to say

Right and those who fill out the paperwork, do everything they are supposed to and don't get in because the school only takes 100 kids and you happen to be 101 how is that fair??? It doesn't mean those parents are any less engaged and invested in their child's education. The demand should be filled for all not some. My child's education should not be based on the luck of the draw.

Cindy and Patti. This is the first article, and comment string, I've read regarding education in Salem. I do think the SPED issue is worth looking into, but not for the reasons you mention. The national average is 13.1% (higher in MA, probably due to availability of testing). I have no idea why Salem would be in the 20-23% range...

I hope the new assistant principals will not be offered sabbaticals and 3/4 of their salary so they can go get their doctorates on our dime like the others. Salem was just a career stepping stone for them.

As usual,the mayor uses her own frustration to try and get what she wants.She is the one that was thanking Cameron for the great work he did before leaving so her frustration is obviously due to her poor decisions on Salem schools that have led us to where we are today.She is not the voice of reason on schools.

My child has been at Saltonstall for all her K-8 years and I would like to say thank you for the opportunity. The extended day/year has worked wonderfully for us. We have had wonderful teachers over those years. Parent involvment is a key to any schools success. I have spent time in the classroom, time on extra activites, fund raising, beautification projects, chaperoned and tutored. I have helped with buying supplies, financially supporting programs/trips and offered transportation. The school can only be as good as what you put into it, how much support you provide and a personal committment to ensure that your child is learning. Even with an extended day/year we dont just shut of learning in the home. We have carried class lessons into weekend, on vacations and spend several hours each night completing homework. Even if all the schools follow suit with the calender of Salts, it will take parental/caregiver/community support to make sure the children succeed.

The longer school year or the extra $100k is not why the students do better, The parents who want something better for their children and show interest in there school is why they do better, After all the salts really doesn't have that much of a longer school year when you factor in the all the Play day Fridays and extra vacation the Salts students get. I tell you this I wish we had more Principals like Mary Manning.

I heard an idea about taking over Saint Joes and reopening the school and calling it the point school. Turning the Church into the an Auditorium.

i am so glad i took my daughter out of public school and put her in the charter at least i dont have to worry about this stuff

jOSH WRITES We have some really good teachers in the Salem schools, at Saltonstall and at the other schools, too. We also have some very strong principals and some lousy ones. We need the oversight to find and reward the good ones and clear out the bad ones. There's a lot of rebuilding to do.
By your own admission we have identified some lousey ones but we still need to clear them out, WE CAN"T and you know the excuses they have a contract or they are protected by the union... We don't need assistant priciples to identify this the childrens test scores tell us this...

Congratulations to Dr. Walsh, Dr. Crane and Principal Manning for their courage advocating for equality in public education for all Salem students. Public schools have a fiduciary responsibility, duty and mandate to do what is in the best interest of all students, not the chosen few. These educational leaders have demonstrated tenacious fortitude and dogged determination in the wake of extreme pressure from an active, vocal special interest group to articulate their positions. Thank you!

As a parent who has 2 kids on the waiting list for the Salts, I would gladly pay the difference to have my kids get the extra time and education at school. Divide up the $100K per student and bill the parents. I wouldn't want to see a good school / program be gone over $30/month per student (or whatever the figure). Give the parents the option... I'm in!

The Saltonstall Program is no longer an experiment. It has been in existence for well over a decade. It either works or it doesn’t. If it works (test scores etc.) and there is a demand (waiting list etc.), the program should be replicated for all Salem students.

I think that it is more the motivation of the parents at Salts that make the true difference. I believe my daughter would strive in any school in Salem because of my active parenting. I read to her every night, take time on the weekends to seek educational opportunities, etc. I choose Salts because I went to the Magnet Program (another innovative school which is now the Pheonix School) in Salem and Salts aligned with that method of teaching and because it was in my district. My older daughter goes to the high school and is top of her class because I always make sure that she does her work and goes to school. I am switching her to a private school because Salem High is just not challenging enough for her. So, I will now spend $32,000/yr. Now, that is quality education! So parents, spend time with your kids, get involved and you too can have a smart kid! Learning starts at home. We cannot rely on teachers to solely teach our children. Children need reinforcement to what the teacher teaches in the classroom. Find out what is being taught and do the work at home too. And yes, I work full-time and have many other responsibilities but none as important as helping to educate my child!
And if you don't like the school that your child is currently in let the officials know. Come out to elections and vote for your school committee. There is a lot more you could be doing, don't deny it.

The Salts is successful because of so much more than extended day/extended year. I mean we are really fighting over 10 days!! What about their educational philosophy, dedicated parents and teachers, multi-age classrooms, etc. Trust me, you could take away the 10 days and the school would still out-perform the others. Then what would people have to say? This is just an excuse by the school board to side track us from the real issues. If the Salts and Charter school are working why don't we incorporate all the other things they do that don't cost money and see what happens. I bet there would be an increase in scores all around. But lets just focus on the $100,000 so that we don't have to do all the other REAL work that is involved in turning the schools around.

I'm new to this topic and conversation so this may be a silly question; is it possible to have assistant principles be a shared resource across the schools? In addition to saving money, maybe this could inspire the sharing of ideas, successes, and more of a team environment across the schools.

We have a child in Salts K which happens to be in Bently this year. From my non-academic perspective, I believe the kids at Bently would benefit from a longer school day. Much to some board members' chagrin, a recent Ford Foundation study reports longer school days improve children's academic performance. We decided that the short school day is not enough learning time for our daughter, so we have a tutor work with our child twice a week. When she is not working with her, she works with us on math and reading. Since we started this in November, it has proven very effective in increasing her reading ability and math skills. As I wrote earlier, I think the kids at Bently would be better prepared if they spent more time in the classroom.
I see the two board members attempts to achieve fairness (whatever that means) as more of an attempt to bring down a program that work and is the choice of most involved parents (what other school as a waiting list?). Maybe if another school mirrored a school that worked (Salts) we'd see more progress. If there was a shortage of students for Salts, I would say change it. But clearly the public wants this or there would not be a waiting list.

As a taxpayer and parent, my request to this and future administrations is this, please fund ONE model. Salem is having this divisive conversation because we are not discussing ONE model. We are discussing many different ideas that may or may not work through out the district. Testing results, whether you like them or not, do NOT show Salts as the model to emulate. There is a model that is working, Witchcraft. The school with the highest test of late comes at a smaller price tag. ANY additional money spent, be it per pupil or per school, is not fiscally responsible. That being said, there are programs at every school that are working without additional cost. All I ask is simple, find what is working and put it in play across the board. Unfortunately there is a school who is out performing Salts without the additional price tag. They are doing a lot of things better without the 10 extra days and extra hour a day. This is not divisive, it is fact. Take what is working and spread only ONE model across the district. Please stop being fiscally irresponsible with much needed education money.