School Committee Candidates Talk About Framingham Middle Schools and Loss of Students To Charter School

On Tuesday, April 7, Framingham voters will decide which of three candidates will be elected to the 7-member Framingham School Committee.

There are two 3-year terms available this year, as incumbent Andy Limeri chose not to seek re-election. On the ballot are incumbent Beverly Hugo, Jim Kelly, and Scott Wadland.

Patch asked each of the candidates a series of questions. The answers to those questions are being published this week. One question will run through Saturday, March 28.

Today’s report focuses on the loss of students from the Framingham Public School district  to the McAuliffe Charter School in Framingham.

Candidates were asked: There is a group of families in town that love their elementary school and are impressed with the high school, but worry about the education provided at the middle school. For that reason, the McAuliffe Charter School has attracted students from the SAGE program, PTO leaders’ children, and even Framingham School staff’s children in the past couple of years. What can the School Committee do to keep these students in the district?

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Wadland: ”Figuring out why we’re losing middle school students to the McAuliffe Charter School begins as simply as talking to parents who have made that choice to understand their reasons and perspective. This can be a very delicate subject and if the person asking the question doesn’t have very strong interpersonal skills it can come across as a threatening or accusatory line of questioning. However, if done right this can yield a great deal of feedback regarding such things as school size, class size, teacher involvement in defining the curriculum, parent engagement and other important topics.

From there, I would take the various points raised and group them into three broad categories:

- Inherent differences - Because of the structure and statutes that govern charter schools, there are some things that can be done differently than they are in the Framingham Public Schools. Not much energy or focus should be spent on these as they are largely beyond our control.

- Lack of Information - In some cases there are fantastic things going on in the three middle schools that folks don’t have a lot of visibility into unless they are directly involved - yet another symptom of the district-wide communication challenges we face.

- Opportunities for Improvement - Items that fall into this category should draw the most energy and focus, as they are within our power to control.

Beyond this outreach to families that have chosen to leave the district for middle school, I would also challenge the school administration to look inwards for opportunities to improve the middle school experience. For example, are there resources from Framingham High School that can be leveraged? Are there opportunities to take advantage of given that we have three middle schools and over 1500 kids in grades 6-9? My two kids are in the middle school drama program, and this year the three middle school drama companies collaborated more closely and also drew upon resources from our award-winning high school drama program. In the end, these changes contributed to a phenomenal experience for everyone involved. Beyond just the performing arts, we should be looking for opportunities like this everywhere.”

Hugo: ”As we see some of our most gifted and talented students graduate from elementary school and leave our system to seek out charter school education, we must ask ourselves, “What is it that has so many sensible and caring parents seek alternatives to this level of our system?”

Over the past few days, I sought out several parents whom I know, trust and respect to learn why they took this action. What I learned was of vital importance to the way we administer our middle schools and I now have a better understanding of what motivated these families. I am convinced that there is a problem that needs to be addressed.

My first impression is that we have made changes in recent years that short change our students. While we can easily blame the economy, there is more to it than that. We have cut programs that we should have been bolstering. While we still are able to motivate those students who are in need of academic challenge, there is much room for improvement. We have cut advanced math programs including Algebra 1 and the online Stanford math program. We have diminished the role of the SAGE program for students who require those services. We have taken away too much opportunity for inquisitive exploration and have allowed our facilities to run down to the point of being not just unattractive, but not as functional as they could be.

There are ways to stem this tide, however, and it is time for us to take the first steps. Several years ago the School Committee conducted a survey; it failed to identify any anomaly in the public school system. I strongly suspect that an updated more self-critical survey, looking to uncover the real issues, would have a different result today.

With the advent of social media and the proliferation of modern technology, we need to rethink our communications strategy, not just on the middle school level, but we know the charter school does a better job of communicating than the rest of our system.

We need to address the deficiencies in our curriculum, bringing back more challenging options to those in need. We need to give the term “educating the whole child,” more than mere lip service. While we offer high energy student-run experiences, we are nowhere near as consistent with this as the charter school is. We do not hold our students to as high a level of personal accountability as the McAuliffe, where they have daily crew meetings to discuss their goals and challenges. Our middle schools do not encourage students to go beyond the assignment to develop a passion for a subject. At McAuliffe, it is not uncommon for a student to hand in a project in October and continue that project through the remaining school year with a community mentor. We need to encourage such depth and real-world connections.

In order to stem this flow of students, the School Committee should use its budget and policy arms to increase consistency, community and communication in the way the McAuliffe Charter School does.”

Kelly: ”Our oldest son attends Cameron middle school and is a former SAGE student from Potter Road. We and our son are extremely pleased with the quality of education he is experiencing at Cameron. While I cannot speak for specific individuals, I do feel as though I can speak in general for parents of middle school aged children. As a parent, we look for opportunities that we feel will best meet the needs of our child whether it be academically, socially or both. For some, that may come in the form of a smaller student body and class size. For others, it may be the special education services that their child needs. No matter which way we determine what that setting is, we are acting on our best instinct to foster a solid experience for our student who is at an impressionable age.

For several years and in various settings that involve town sports, school sponsored fine art programs and so on, I have talked with parents of middle school students in Framingham and have found that they are pleased with the education and experiences their children are having at Cameron, McCauliffe Charter, Fuller and Walsh middle schools. Can we guarantee one-hundred percent of the time that one-hundred percent of students will have the same experience at each of these schools? No. A student’s experience is not solely set by the district or school. It takes a shared commitment and involvement on the part of the student and family to ensure that the student is taking advantage of the opportunities the school offers them. The School Committee can continue to support a variety of programs such as SAGE, special education, and fine arts initiatives in the FPS.

Every child learns in different ways and responds in various ways to different situations. I support parents in their decision guide their child as they see fit, especially through the middle school years. I do encourage individuals to make an educated decision based on what they feel is best for their child and not because it seems like “the thing to do” or is currently trending. I support parents who identify how their children process information and what they need to be successful learners.”

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Monday’s question: What do you see as the major strength of the Framingham Public Schools? The district’s major weakness? How as a School Committee member would you address the weakness? Click here to read those answers.

Tuesday’s question: Framingham School Committee sets policy for the district. What policy would you like to revise or create for the district? Why? Click here to read those answers.

Wednesday’s question: School staff and district parents in a recent survey complained about the lack of communication and transparency by the district’s administration, specifically the Superintendent. How can the School Committee - and what would you do specifically - to fix the issue the two major stakeholders in the district have? Click here to read those answers.

Thursday’s question: The state in its review of the district cited an achievement gap. Some schools perform better than others. Some students perform better than others. Name 3 things, you would do as Committee member, to help the district close that gap and provide a high-quality education for every Framingham student, regardless of which elementary or middle school they attend. Click here to read those answers.

Friday’s question: What role can the School Committee play in helping the district to maintain and attract high-quality administrators and principals in the district? Click here to read those answers.