Vote Medford 2007

Kulik: (Q1) Transparency of Decision-Making

In general, the district needs to communicate better to the parents and public. Although the school committee agendas are posted to the Medford School District web site, they do not arrive until late on Friday, and the information is too scant to understand the nature of the issue to be addressed.

Major issues need to be brought before the community well in advance of the scheduled school committee meeting, so that parents and other interested parties have a chance to research the issue, discuss it within the PTO and school communities, and provide input to school committee members. Currently, only those who have contacts amongst school district personnel learn of major decisions prior to the school committee meeting.

If elected, I will propose a motion that superintendent and the school committee provide ample time to inform the community about upcoming major decisions and solicit feedback before discussing and voting at a formal meeting. Naturally, an exception would be made for those urgent decisions for which time is truly of the essence.

Regarding hiring, the district needs to be more proactive and less reactive. Many cities and towns run advertisements in early spring advertising interviews in anticipation of upcoming openings. Although Medford occasionally runs ads in the metropolitan papers, they seem to be only when a specific position is difficult to fill. Medford waits until an opening has occurred before beginning the search process, by which time prime candidates have already accepted positions in other districts.

Second, a school team should be maintained to review applicants and monitor the process by which both teachers and major staff are hired. The team should consist of parents, teachers, and administrators, similar to the teams which were put together recently for the hiring of the Andrews Middle School principal.

Finally, the individual schools should keep parents informed in a timely manner about pending staff changes, including when teachers have left the system, when new positions have become available, and when teachers have been reassigned or positions filled or eliminated.

Kulik: (Q2) Individualized Education for Above-Grade-Level Students

A formal IEP for more talented students would likely not get the support of the commonwealth. Although individualized attention is needed for advanced students, some of the same issues would exist that currently face the special education community, such as when parents disagree with the district's assessment. Because there would be no oversight beyond the district, appeals would be difficult.

Instead teachers should be trained and instructed in ways to teach more advanced students, and to keep them involved. One way would be to specifically measure teacher performance for all students, including demonstrating how they are dealing with students that are either above or below the norm. Additionally, they could be encouraged to allow independent study for advanced students, including working faster than the rest of the class, and researching advanced topics of interest on their own. Another thought would be to have special classes at each school one day per week through the use of a roving tutor that would help the advanced students continue beyond their grade level. Finally, we could tap parent volunteers who may have expertise in a particular subject to act as mentors for groups of more advanced students.

Kulik: (Q3) School Choice with Uniform Quality in Elementary Schools

I have opted to answer this question in combination with Question 11, as they are related.

There is certainly a perception that certain elementary schools are more favorable than others with regard to parental involvement, PTO financing, specific teaching styles, and other factors. Conversation with parents bears this out, with stories about discouragement form principals and few PTO members.

The perception that parents have of a school is determined by several factors, including neighborhood and family demographics, particular teachers at the school, the individual principal, and any special programs that the school may have. This has resulted in some schools being overpopulated, while others are under populated. Districts have been redrawn is a way that borders on defying common sense.

One way to make the schools more equitable would be to offer attractive programs at all the schools. One example would be the use of a Montessori-like or developmental education option within the school. Another might be to expand the linkage with Tufts to all schools.

There are also several ways that schools can be differentiated while providing equitable education to all students. This is only possible with a true choice program that allows parents to choose amongst the four schools on an even basis.

This could be accomplished by narrowing the districts to proximity zones, eliminating districting altogether, or reserving a substantial percentage of out of district seats.

Another approach to make sure that each school is equitable is to monitor differences in test results and to seek out, listen to, and act upon anecdotal information from parents, students and staff about what is perceived to be good or bad at each of the schools.

The district should also stress city-wide fund raising and earmark outside grants to those schools with a less affluent parent group.

Finally an interesting approach would be to require teachers to spend one year out of every five or six years at another school to learn different approaches, and to bring fresh insights to the a school.

Kulik: (Q4) Overcoming Financial Constraints

Currently local resources are not sufficient to provide and adequate educational experience. A high quality educational experience includes programs beyond teachers and classrooms. We must include music, arts, sports, and extra curricular activities as part of the overall growing and learning process.

Our classrooms must have up-to-date facilities. Currently our K-8 buildings fit into this category, but I have already seen issues related to simple maintenance of property, textbooks, other learning materials, particularly at the older middle schools. Keeping up with maintenance, and providing extra programs are often overlooked in the budget process.

One approach is the use of innovative fund raising and cost cutting. A few models to look at are the Friends of the Medford Family Network, which raises additional funding for MFN programs that are not paid for directly by the district. Another is the approach taken by the "Field of Dreams" committee to link cell tower revenue to debt service on a new soccer field. This model could also be used to help fund additional programs beyond those required by state curriculum standards.

Energy cost savings and be achieved with additional innovation such as the wind turbine planned for the Andrews - McGlynn campus, with additional solar power like city hall. The district should use electronic distribution of paper materials where feasible, avoiding not only the cost of the paper and processing, but also all of the environmental waste associated with excessive paper use.

We should continue to foster our relationship with Tufts University to see if they can provide extra facilities, such as special classes, on-site labs, and mentoring programs. Private corporations can be asked to donate second-hand computers and printers. This is currently being done at the Andrews School, and should be expanded throughout the district. We can continue to look into affinity programs such as shopping or credit card bonuses. Finally, we should take more advantage of parental resources for both fund raising and in-building help.

Kulik: (Q5) Expansion of After-School Programs for All Students

If elected, I would present a resolution to encourage principals to allow PTOs at the elementary level to create after school programs with volunteer and paid staff scholarships such those that currently exists at some schools. I would push for expanded late bus service for both the elementary and middle schools.

We should help exiting local after school programs publicize their programs. We can set up a program to facilitate ride sharing in a manner similar to the MFN babysitting exchange. We could consolidate less attended programs at one school and provide transportation coordinated with regular and late bus service.

We need to insure that all programs are accessible to disabled students, and provide accommodations as required by IEP and 504 plans for after school activities including aides if required. This is particularly important for programs run by parent volunteers who might not have the training or expertise to handle a particular situation.

Kulik: (Q6) Arts Education: Funding, Staffing, Quality, Diversity

Currently the arts programs in Medford are not sufficiently funded or administered. I give credit to the current staff for doing as much as we can with what we have. Still, we need better funding of art supplies, more frequent music classes, including full instrument instruction, not just violin, in grades 4 & 5. We should explore elementary bands and chorus at individual schools. We also must make sure that students have time in their schedules to participate in these activities.

We should explore linkage to Berklee or Longy music schools and to metropolitan programs like Handel & Hayden Kids Chorus, The Revels, and Springstep so that students can attend programs there, or performers can come here.

Similarly we should like to metropolitan art colleges and area museums which could bring programs to the schools. We could also tap members of Medford artist community to teach kids in seminars or after school classes.

Kulik: (Q7) Fostering a Hate-Free, Supportive Environment

The best way to foster a community of tolerance and acceptance is to lead by example. Our children need to learn to accept that people have different opinions and practices, and come from different religious, ethnic, family and financial background.

We should encourage PTOs to provide scholarships for economically disadvantaged families to offset the cost of field trips and after school programs at the schools. We should Encourage programs that deliberately mix children from different settings. We need to recognize that diverse families exist within Medford and avoid any ostracizing of them.

We should train teachers to refrain from any judgmental comments regarding race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and academic or financial status. They should also be trained to deal with students engaging in such behavior.

PTO's should be encouraged to hold diversity meetings in which controversial topics are presented and discussed amongst parents. We can train guidance councilors and school psychologists to keep an ear out for issues that may be surfacing at a particular school. We should also make it a point to use curriculum materials which shows diversity.

Kulik: (Q8) Leadership to Improve Quality of Education

There are always lessons to be learned from people who are in situations that are not like yours! We should seek out and listen to why people choose not to send their child to Medford Public Schools. In some cases it is for religious reasons. Others may not be able to reconcile some of the diversity issues mentioned in Question 7 with their religious beliefs, and feel they must send their child to a private school. Others simply feel that the quality of education is better at a private school or in another community. Those are the people we must reach to determine what we are doing that has scared them away. We will not always be able to address their concerns, but in many cases we can.

We need to explore what are we measuring? Test scores are not enough alone.We need anecdotal information. We have succeeded when almost all say "Why wouldn't I send my kids to Medford Public Schools" rather than "Should I send them". This commitment to Educational Excellence must start with the school committee, and be transmitted down to administration and staff. The culture must be changed from "good enough" to "excellent". We need school committee members who will do that.

We also must be willing to recognize where we fall short. Currently the Medford school committee and administration take a defensive stand toward criticism of the school. Instead of constantly presenting everything in the best light possible, we must recognize when we are not doing the best we can, and set aggressive goals toward betterment.

Kulik: (Q9) Green Initiatives

Currently the school district would have you believe that paper is recycled regularly, but it is not. The official policy which was passed by the school committee is not being properly monitored to assure compliance.

Recycling must become a part of our culture, and it should be actively taught at the school. This can be done by insuring that our disposal service will handle school recycling as part of the normal trash pickup. Then we must make sure to provide receptacles for each material at the appropriate locations when disposal normally occurs. Most importantly, we must monitor the behavior of individuals at the disposal sites to insure compliance.

We need to educate and remind the staff and students on a regular basis that recycling is a way of life. Augment this with lessons about recycling in social studies, science, math, and health classes. We should encourage a parent to be the "compliance officer" to make sure that the recycling policies are being carried out.

Foamed polystyrene #6 (Styrofoam) is not currently being recycled in Medford, and to my knowledge is not cost effective or energy efficient to recycle. Alternatives such as coated paper present financial issues. It is not clear why washable trays would not be better, but it is possible that the cost of washing and the energy used would be worse than the economic and environmental cost of foamed polystyrene.

The new elementary buildings were built with modern HVAC plants, and are energy efficient. We can still encourage turning off lights where not needed, such as bathrooms, or hallways, gyms, and cafeterias where natural light is sufficient.

We should consider rooftop solar electrical and hot water panels. These have educational value as well. With the right safety installations we could have such installations as rooftop gardens to take advantage of unobstructed sunlight. There are several companies with web sites that will install and maintain panels. Although current electrical rates show questionable financial viability, most models do not take into account the potential astronomical rise in the price of fuel over the next 20 years as China and India and other developing areas of the world increase the demand, while the supply will continue to decrease.

We should also consider encouraging walk and ride to school initiatives that reduce the number of individual car trips. Unfortunately many families couple the drop at school with leaving for a commute to a job, so the incentive to reduce the trip is much less. We should also encourage conservation at home. CFL lights, fewer car trips, car pooling, bicycling, and walking are ways that we all can save energy.

Kulik: (Q10) Nutrition and Activity Against Obesity

We could require mandatory cooking classes as part of science or health classes to learn more about what goes into the food we eat. We can provide curriculums that teach calorie and fat awareness.

We should add cal as part of gym, encourage more strenuous recess activity at elementary and middle schools as well as to make walking a part of health or gym class. We can form before or after school walking clubs.

In addition, we could require some sort of after school physical activity (if not already part of an organized group such as baseball, football, soccer, etc.) We could also help to raise awareness of individual competition such as bike or road races or triathlons. In general the schools should become more proactive to in encouraging better eating and physical activity.