As we all know, there is but one question on the ballot, which concerns whether we should vote YES to approve $6.49 million in more property tax revenue for the town, which would override the standard annual tax increase limit of 2.5%.

The Avocado is nowhere near as familiar or adept with sorting out override elections as I am with competitive elections for local office.  For those who missed it, the Avocado did a very fine job calling the 2011 Annual Town Election!

However, there have been some who were asking us to look into the crystal ball and make a guess.

To the best of the Avocado’s ability, having taken many factors into account, it is ready to project the following results:
(14,129 voters)

7,353 YES    52%

6,778 NO    48%

I’m assuming there will be at least 14,000 voters showing up, because I’m counting on about double the number who turned out in the Annual Town Election.  The winning side will need to clear the 7,000 vote mark.   Though there are some who suggest that many who voted YES in 2005 might vote NO this time, I still predict more people voting YES this year.  I might even extend the upper limit of the YES vote to about 7,500, but for that to happen, I believe that the upper limit of the number of total voters turning out would also need to increase, perhaps closer to the 15,000 mark.  If the number of voters exceeds 15,000, then I could possibly see the YES totals in the 7,500 range.

It’s important not to under-estimate the NO votes.  The YES campaign has been far more visible, better organized, and better financed, but behind the scenes and under the radar, I suspect that there will be a strong push by the NO campaign to get out the vote as well.  Still, I think my 6,778 may be a bit generous.  If the turnout is less than 14,000, then I think the NO votes may even fall to the 6,500 range.

At the end of the day, I predict the YES vote will exceed its 2005 vote total and margin of victory.  However, the vote percentages will make it look a lot closer.

YES voters – it’s up to you though.  You’ve got to turn out and make this prediction a reality.

It is by now well known that I have endorsed the “Yes for Arlington” campaign.  I proudly wear my button around town and I have posted a few talking points about it on both the A-list and on the Avocado.  What’s that?  Oh yeah…it’s this blog that I haven’t updated in over a month.

It’s time I came clean though.   I’ve talked about preserving our school system.  I’ve talked about upholding our property values.  I’ve talked about maintaining the character of this town that I am so privileged to call home now.

Those are all minor reasons behind my “yes” vote.

The big reasons are as follows:

1. The women.

2. The beer.

and

3. The T-shirt

First, I have noticed that all the cute women are supporting the override.  I like to join causes where there are like minds…and if those with like minds happen to be cute and available, then that’s fine with me.  In fairness to anti-override women, many of them are cute, too.  But their politics become the deal-breaker.   If you know of any cute and single pro-override women I haven’t met yet, please send them my way.

Second, if the override vote passes, I can drink more beer in town.  Some of you catch me at my local, Not Your Average Joe’s.  A successful override means I will be proud to stay in town more often to grab a pint, as opposed to hopping the 77 to Cambridge or Boston, where I would otherwise drown my sorrows, reflecting on what a great and prosperous town Arlington used to be.

Third, I really want the T-shirt.  I want the 2011 “Yes for Arlington” Championship T-Shirt.  It’s premature to start printing them now, but I will proudly wear it around town this summer if we prevail.   I also want a 2011 Boston Bruins Stanley Cup Champions T-Shirt, but I am much more confident in passing the override than a Bruins championship.  * Note: My first love is the New York Rangers, but I am a hockey fan and I am proudly cheering for the Bruins.  Why does Tampa Bay have a hockey team?

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Arlington, MA – On the same day as a major public meeting that discussed the Massachusetts Avenue re-design project in East Arlington, federal and state officials announced an important change in the proposal.

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According to the new proposal, Massachusetts Avenue in East Arlington will be converted into a runway for commercial aircraft.

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Groups on both sides of the very contentious issue were equally outraged by this news.  In fact, most of these groups have now joined forces in an effort to oppose the proposed runway.

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“Look, we are not about to have a runway.  Arlington is not an airport.  I’ll gladly allow for some bike lanes or whatever – as long as we keep the planes off our streets,” said one former opponent of the Mass Ave. re-design project.

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Likewise, proponents of the re-design were just as passionate.  “Okay, so maybe we can just leave things the way they are – if that’s what it takes to prevent making Mass Ave. into an airstrip,” said the ex-president of a pro-redesign group.

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Just after he said that, a Virgin America flight used the pseudo-double lanes on either side of Mass Ave. to make an emergency landing.

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“Our flight plan after take off usually takes us right over Arlington…knowing that this section of Mass. Ave. will soon be a proper runway, we figured it was as good a place as any to touch down,” said the co-pilot.  “Soon, this stretch will be known as 22 R.  Our concern is not about the runway but about the taxi-way.  The side streets and parts of Broadway might be the best bets for a taxi-way.  Bravo-Delta-Charley-Sierra-Mike…”

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One commuter, coming back into Arlington after work was quite upset.  “As if the rush-hour traffic isn’t bad enough coming home from downtown Boston…getting stuck behind a jumbo jet is not my idea of fun,” he said.  Cyclists will have to share the road with the jets.  What is more, automobile traffic can no longer make two lanes out of one.  If any cars attempt to pass a passenger aircraft, chances are, the passenger aircraft is going to win.

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Cyclists and walkers were up in arms as automobile traffic forged a makeshift detour and diverted to the Minuteman Bike Path.

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“I’m passing to the left of a young couple with a dog on the trail and then almost collide head on with a Volvo…what’s going on around here?” the bewildered cyclist asked.  “On the plus side, at least the dog was on a leash.”

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Businesses along Mass Ave. are also protesting because of the impact the new plans and planes will have on them.

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“Yeah, the wingspan from that aircraft took out half of Za, Olivio, and the Capitol Theatre.  That could hurt business…just a little bit,” said one business owner.

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“I just want to know how much the lights for the landing strip will cost the town,” said one official.  “I did not see or hear anything about that at the public meeting.”

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Right now, the fire station in Arlington Center will serve as the control tower.  Despite tight budgets, there should be one active air traffic controller in the tower at all times, though not necessarily awake.  In addition, the Hardy and Thompson schools will fill in as temporary airport terminals.  There were some complaints by riders of the 77 bus, due to delays, but a quick study revealed that the delays caused by the aircraft ground traffic on Mass. Avenue does not contribute to making the 77 bus any more or less efficient a mode of transportation.  In fact, some aircraft arriving and departing Arlington have set up Charley card readers for those looking for an alternative to the T.

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Stephanie Lucarelli was nervous the whole night, even amid lots of re-assurance from me and others that things would shake out in her favor.  Sheri Baron, who had at one time taken out papers for Town Clerk, but then endorsed Stephanie, told Stephanie early on that she was ahead by 1,000 votes.  As each precinct came in, I could see the pattern.  This was all pointing to a Lucarelli victory.  Still, Stephanie, ever modest and humble, wasn’t taking anything for granted yet.  Finally, after the last precinct’s results had been read, it sank in.  Stephanie had officially won the Town Clerk’s position, by a wide margin.  The relief that swept over her was enormous.  I congratulated and proudly shook the hand of our new Town Clerk-elect.  Stephanie will leave behind the “Assistant” in her title, and instead take on the persona of Town Clerk Lucarelli.

After congratulating Stephanie, I had the chance to ask her a couple of questions.  After giving her TV interview she said she was feeling a bit more relieved.  I asked her a couple of questions:

“What will be your first act as Town Clerk?”

“The first big item on the agenda is Town Meeting…then we have to get ready for a probable special election in June.”

Needless to say, there is a lot of work ahead for our new Clerk.  Ms. Lucarelli also reminded me that outgoing Town Clerk Corinne Rainville, by law, must remain on the job for eight more days before the full hand-over can take place.
“What would you say is your favorite office supply?  Are you a paper clip or rubber band person?” the Avocado asked.

“I like sticky notes,” Lucarelli said.
“The classic yellow ones or the colorful tab thingies?”
“The classic ones…but I do also love those little ones, too.”
“And paper clips or rubber bands?”

Lucarelli seemed indifferent to either, but said, “Although rubber bands can be useful…they’re fun to fling around.”
Both Lucarelli and I agreed that binder clips were perhaps the best.  Those things don’t mess around.
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The Avocado also happened to catch up with James Dolan, the unsuccessful School Committee candidate.  For Dolan, the writing was on the wall early.  Though he came in ahead of Leba Heigham in a few precincts, the majority of the precincts placed him in a solid fourth place.  He was disappointed, but nonetheless resigned to the outcome.  He seemed even more disappointed that he did not get elected to Town Meeting either.  I couldn’t help think about his campaign mantra, “I’d rather lose this election than just disappoint you for three years.”  I suppose he can take comfort in the fact that he won’t have to disappoint us.  We have enough people on the School Committee who can do that pretty well.

It is well known that Jim Dolan is a member of the Arlington Republican Town Committee and I wondered how much his party enrollment may have negatively influenced some voters.

“Mr. Dolan, do you think if you had donned a brown leather jacket and drove a pickup truck, your chances would have been improved?” the Avocado asked.

Mr. Dolan asked if that was a serious question.  With a straight face, I said, “Of course…”

“Look, I’m proud of the race I ran.  I was my own man.  I was myself,” Dolan said.
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A bit later on, I saw Diane Mahon.  I hugged her and congratulated her on her big re-election win.  I then had a moment or two to chat with her.

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“So, Diane, now that you have been re-elected, there are some huge issues on the table…I wanted to get your views on a big one…should we or should we not invade Lexington?”

“Invade Lexington?  Actually, it’s funny you say that, because for years, Arlington has always been jealous of Lexington’s successful tourism industry and in turn, Lexington has always been jealous of Arlington’s restaurants,” she said.

Diane went on to say that along with new Board Chairwoman Clarissa Rowe, they have worked hard on the Scenic Byways issues, which are aimed at maximizing and highlighting the best both towns have to offer via some wonderful collaborative efforts.
I added that annexing Lexington would certainly help increase our tax base.

I also chatted with her about how much I appreciate the hard work she’s been doing on behalf of Arlington’s employees.
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I also saw Joe Curro and his family.  Joe was looking uncharacteristically casual this evening.  Dare I say he was even sporting the Joe Curran look, with the hooded maroon sweatshirt under a long-sleeve white t-shirt and a ball cap.

“So tell me Joe, are you glad you’re not chair anymore?”

In a word, Joe said, “Yes!”  Joe also said that Cindy Starks will be a great chair.

To this I replied, “Of course she will.  All she needs to do is learn from all your mistakes!”

Also at Town Hall was newly re-elected School Committee member, Leba Heigham.  I congratulated her but did not get much of a chance to interview her for the Avocado.

I would have asked her, “Ms. LaCourt, if we let x = the number of Arlington taxpayers and we divide that by 6,800,000 to determine an average tax levy, isn’t that a math problem?”

I don’t know how good Ms. LaCourt is at math, but my hunch is she’s pretty good and I know she knows her stuff.  Hey, as long as we pass the override, I’ll be happy.

For Mr. Dunn, I would have simply asked:
“Dude…PC or Mac?”
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(The Avocado’s Predicted Results in Parentheses/Bold)

Exciting election, eh?

For the record, all the candidates the Avocado publicly endorsed (Stephanie Lucarelli, Diane Mahon, and Dan Dunn…all won!)  It’s a very important thing if the Avocado likes you!

The following is a comparison of the election results as compared to the predictions I made about a week ago.  I don’t want to say I told you so, but…
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TOWN CLERK

Lucarelli           4,134      58% (4,462)  (54%)

Hurd                2,922      42% (3,694)  (46%)

Total Votes:  7,056 (7,386)

Comment:  I predicted a blowout for Lucarelli and it was even bigger than I expected.  Stephanie broke the 4,000 vote mark as I predicted, though Hurd did a bit better than I thought he would.
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3 YEAR SELECTMEN

Mahon           4,485       38% (4,342)   (40%)

Dunn             4,247       36% (3,516)   (32%)

Romano         3,085       26% (2,975)   (28%)

Total Votes: 11,817 (10,833)

Comment:  I predicted this exact order of finish.  Diane easily got well over the 4,000 mark as I suspected.  The percentages are close 38% vs. 40%.  For Dunn, he did better than I predicted, but he did fall below 40% and he was a solid 2nd place finisher as I foresaw.  It is almost scary how close I got with Romano.  I was only 2 percentage points off and as far as actual results, I was off by just 110 votes!  That might be the difference of just 1 out of 21 precincts or put another way, just slightly over 5 votes difference per precinct.
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1 YEAR SELECTMAN

LaCourt         3,856      55% (3,346)   (51%)

Curran           3,152      45% (3,178)   (49%)

Total Votes: 7,008 (6,524)

Comment:  I called this one for Annie.  I overestimated Joe’s strengths, as Annie pulled in almost 500 more votes than I forecast.  However, look how close I came with Curran’s results.  I was off by 4 percentage points but only off by a mere 26 votes!
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SCHOOL COMMITTEE

Curro               4,696      32% (3,681)  (32%)

Hayner            3,983      27% (3,225)  (29%)

Heigham        3,452      23% (2,942)  (26%)

Dolan             2,644      18% (1,386)   (12%)

Total Votes: 14,775 (11,234)

Comment:  I called all the winners correctly in the School Committee race as well.  As with the 3 Year Selectmen’s race, I got everyone in the right order of finish.  While Curro bested my predicted totals for him, he ends up with exactly the same percentage that I had anticipated.  Hayner also got more actual votes versus those predicted, but the percentages differ by only two percent.  I thought Heigham would finish third, and she did.  She received more votes than I predicted but scored a 3% lower percentage than I had anticipated.  As we can see, the actual results agree with my prediction that Jim Dolan would finish fourth.  However, Dolan bested my predicted vote total by close to 1,300 votes and my anticipated percentage by 6% – this clearly represents the numbers over which I was most askew.
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Bottom Line:

I called all the right winners and got all the orders of finish correct.   I also came frighteningly close on a few races and fairly spot on with the percentages for other candidates.  The winners, order of finish, and percentages are the most important factors.  The actual vote totals are harder to pin down when you can’t quite predict the turnout.  Overall however, given my predictions and pre-election analysis, it looks like things shook out more or less the way I had laid out – for perhaps many of the same reasons as I cited.  LaCourt and Dunn were a successful ticket, but they were unable to pull Hurd in with them.  Curro helped carry Heigham, but the difference between Hayner’s percentage versus Heigham was close to what I had expected (3 to 4%).  As I thought, Curran did better than Romano and vote-per-vote, Mahon did better than her colleague, LaCourt.

So I don’t want to say that I told you so…but…

I told you so.

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Board of Selectmen 1 Year Seat:
Annie LaCourt          3,346   (51%)
Joe Curran                 3,178    (49%)

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Board of Selectmen 3 Year Seats:
Diane Mahon          4,342     (40%)
Dan Dunn                 3,516     (32%)
Maria Romano       2,975     (28%)

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School Committee
Joe Curro               3,681      (32%)
William Hayner   3,225      (29%)
Leba Heigham     2,942      (26%)
James Dolan        1,386      (12%)
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In the Clerks’ race, Lucarelli edges out Hurd, but Hurd’s strength cannot be underestimated.  He gets close.  In the end, voters go with experience and decide not to change the guard, which as you see, will be the same pattern in the other races.
In the 1 year Selectman’s race, LaCourt’s base is able to carry her over the finish line, but not without a strong challenge from a lot of ardent Curran supporters.  In the end, LaCourt’s troops eke out the win by tirelessly outworking Curran’s campaign.
In the 3 year Selectman’s races, Mahon rides the wave of support that has been solidly behind her since she first ran.  She can count on at least 3,500 votes before the first vote is even cast.  She will get a lot of new people voting for her as well as cross-over support; which is to say that she’ll get people to vote for her who otherwise might not have voted for her, but would prefer her to Romano.  Dunn will ride Annie’s coattails into the seat, as they are a de facto ticket in essence.  Romano, who does better than she did last year, just won’t get over the finish line this cycle either given Mahon’s and Dunn’s strengths.
In the School Committee race, Joe Curro easily comes in first place, in spite of his 2nd place position on the ballot.  I don’t think he matches or bests his 2008 total though, as he has probably made just a few more enemies since then.  Bill Hayner puts up a lot stronger showing than some may expect, and should be enough to best Heigham’s margin.  Heigham is lucky there are three seats up this year, otherwise she could easily be the odd one out.  A stronger challenge from a candidate with more name recognition may have knocked Heigham from office.  Heigham also benefits from getting many of Curro’s votes.  Dolan, for being new to the political scene, puts up a decent showing.  His opposition to an override may be what ends up hurting his candidacy the most.
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Your New Boards and Committees:
Board of Selectmen:
Annie LaCourt
Dan Dunn * (new member)
Diane Mahon
Kevin Greeley
Clarissa Rowe
School Committee:
Joe Curro
Cindy Starks; Chair
Leba Heigham
Jeff Thielman
Jud Pierce
Kirsi Allison-Ampe
William Hayner * (new member)
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So by and large, except for a new addition on the Board of Selectmen and the one new addition on the School Committee, the Avocado predicts a status quo election.  Sorry, for those who were thinking this was a change election in Arlington, wait until next year.  Oh, wait…next year is not your year either.  Anyone who doubts that tons of money and connections influence these elections, they only need to look at the results of the election on Saturday.

The status quo wins because the forces of anti-incumbency were not quite organized enough to turn the tide.  It would have required more cross-over support from those who once supported the status quo candidates but have turned against them.  I just don’t see that.  That has not happened…at least not yet.  At least it doesn’t look like that’s the case this year.
I’d like to know how much money the candidates raised and spent this year…in fact, I’d like to see what they raised and spent over the past few election cycles.
Here’s a thought: If the money spent on these campaigns were instead donated to the schools, wouldn’t that be a better use of money?

An unnamed official of the Town of Arlington inadvertently disclosed the results of the Annual Town Election to be held on April 2nd.

“This was supposed to be kept under wraps until next Saturday”, he said.  “Evidently, there was a procedural breakdown somewhere that led to this unfortunate and untimely release of information.”  He stopped short of taking the blame or being honest about this oversight…or lack of appropriate oversight as it were.  He did say however, “Hey, people have been yearning for transparency…well here’s some transparency for you!  You want to know who wins next week?  It’s all right here for you to see!”

The Avocado got hold of the prematurely released results of the election, but has made the journalistic decision not to publish them.  “We saw what happened when the town’s top earners and their salaries were published.  The outcry over what was such a minor issue was pretty ridiculous.  So nobody is going to touch this one,” said the editor of the Avocado.  Maybe another news outlet or site will choose to publish these premature election results, but you won’t find it here.”

Some residents were outraged to learn that their vote won’t matter next week.  “I thought this was going to be a real chance to make a change.  To find out that regardless of what I do next week, this election is already decided — it’s just a little disappointing,” said one voter.

Other voters were not as angry.  “I’m still going to do my civic duty next week.  I never miss a vote, and even if I already know who is going to win, I want to at least pretend my vote in Arlington still matters.”

“All I want to know is whether or not I won,” said one of the candidates this year.  If I won, I can stop stressing out over this.  If I lost, then I don’t need to waste my time and money.”

Another candidate, up for re-election, who learned that she will emerge victorious, said, “I knew the result a year ago.  People don’t realize that it’s the Board of Selectmen that decides the election results and they assured me that I’d win this year.  Why do you think I’ve done so little campaigning?”

At present, the election is still going to be held as planned.  Town officials are encouraging all residents to vote on April 2nd, even if the results are a foregone conclusion.

In essence however, this was nothing more than a “State of the School Committee Address”.  The only thing missing was a Republican response…or perhaps more appropriately in this case, an AEA and/or taxpayer response.

What is more, this statement was nothing more than a thinly veiled campaign stump speech.   Indeed, much of what Mr. Curro spoke of in the speech seemed to have been copied and pasted from his introductory remarks during the televised ACMI/Advocate debate.  Coincidence?  I think not.   Well!!!  I haven’t seen such a shameless, self-aggrandizing political charade in a very…well, actually I saw a lot of it from Republicans in the last election.

Curro spoke of the various challenges the School Committee grappled with over the course of the year.  At first, as was the case during the debate, to hear him mention all those things, it seemed to make the clearest case against his re-election.  Eventually however, he put a more positive spin on it all by pointing to various accolades received by the individual schools, be it the Blue Ribbon at Stratton, the recognition received by the high school, etc.  It was as if to say, “in spite of all the ways we messed up, a couple of our schools are doing very well and that ain’t bad.”

Curro went on to speak of the relatively inexperienced School Committee.  With Joe Curran stepping down, that would leave Jeff Thielman as the lone member with over 5 years of experience.  Now, that’s scary!  Thielman is up for a possible 4th term next year.  The next most senior member would be Mr. Curro himself, with thus far only three years to his credit.  This again, is nothing more than a cleverly disguised campaign scheme.  Curro is clearly playing on fear by suggesting that the School Committee will be left in the very inexperienced hands of babes if you fail to re-elect him.  It’s as if to say, “sure things were bad…but you don’t know what bad is…kick me out of office and you might just find out!”

Mr. Curro is not to be underestimated.  In spite of all the negatives, I predict a huge victory by Curro, and his very long coattails will pull Leba Heigham back onto the Committee as well (my full election predictions will be posted next week).  Curro’s political machine is well oiled.  I have every confidence that both Joe and Leba will have no problem beating back any anti-incumbent tide this year.  Curro has a lot of pull, having helped to pull Kirsi and Jud on board last year.  On the Curro train, you either lead, follow, or get steamrolled in local elections.  If I ever decide to run again, I’m buying a first-class ticket on the Curro train.  Sure, I talked about being an independent voice and running an independent campaign and all that pie in the sky stuff, but in Arlington, I’ve learned you just can’t win an election that way.  So…realistically, you’ve got to line up behind the people that can deliver.   The thing I learned about politics is…yeah, it really does make a difference who you know.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Of course, I am not actually upset about what I saw the other night, but I’m sure my irony could be lost on some, who may truly have considerable issues over this.  They are entitled to those views, however.

So is what Joe did the other night wrong?  I know some will disagree with me, but no.  It’s not like he appointed himself to the Committee or something.  It’s not wrong.  It’s just quite funny.  Kudos to Joe for seeing the humor of his own actions and for showing a little self-humility.  He’s been through a lot in the last couple years and whatever we may think of the School Committee as an institution, Joe’s heart is in the right place and he’s doing the best he can.  So Joe…make all the political speeches you want.

But we can still laugh at the whole spectacle.  You gotta love it though because it was so comically and undeniably Arlington politics at its best!

Joseph Curro……………………………..School Committee Chair…$0.00
Leba Heigham……………………………School Committee………….$0.00
Cindy Starks………………………………School Committee………….$0.00
Jeff Thielman…………………………….School Committee…………..$0.00
Joe Curran………………………………..School Committee…………..$0.00
Jud Pierce………………………………..School Committee……………$0.00*
*Note: Jud actually owes me money or at least a beer.
Kirsi-Allison-Ampe……………………School Committee……………$0.00

Compared to some surrounding towns, the salaries of the above individuals in the same or similar positions are much, much lower.  Indeed, School Committee members in some other municipalities are compensated much more.  Somehow – as baffling as it is to me, according to one resident I spoke to, our School Committee members are still way overpaid.   I’m not suggesting the pay should be any different, but considering the differences between the public and private sector, here’s some food for thought: How often do you see someone’s boss (School Committee) making $160,000 less than the person they hired (superintendent)?

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Improve Teaching:

1. Eliminate tenure

The first step to improving teacher quality is to eliminate tenure and professional status.  The hardest thing to do is to get rid of bad teachers.  One only need to look at the infamous” rubber room” in New York City as an extreme example.   That is where all the really ineffective teachers hang out all day – with pay and benefits.  While they are unfit to teach kids, they cannot be “fired”.  That is a problem.  I have attained tenure in the past and while in theory it protected me from being “reduced”, it is no guarantee in the face of larger budget cuts.  What is more, tenure cannot prevent a teacher from being fired if they commit a truly egregious offense.  Unfortunately, the longer a teacher is in a system, as long as they mind their “p’s” and “q’s”, they can be plainly horrible at teaching, yet continue to earn automatic raises each year.  While I believe collective bargaining is critical for unions and I would not take away the right of unions to negotiate salary and benefits packages, for me, eliminating tenure is non-negotiable.  It is not the only thing that needs to be done, but it is a critically important first part of the solution.
2. More professional development and academic preparation; teachers teaching teachers; not consultants; more focus on theory into practice and models of effective instructional strategies.

We need more in the way of better professional development.  We need good, experienced teachers helping newer teachers discover the best practices for instruction.  We must stop relying on expensive consultants coming into districts to preach to our educators.  Often times, these consultants have spent all of a couple hours in front of kids in a classroom, if that.  Teachers need more peer support and need to learn from one another.  Teachers want to know how to deliver better instruction and they need the resources to do that.  Graduate educational programs should also focus more on current and research supported instructional strategies, not just on content area knowledge.
3. Make teacher certification easier; especially for career changers

We have a vast potential of great teachers out there.  They include doctors, business leaders, scientists, scholars, etc.  Unfortunately, when they look to make a career change into teaching, they often find tough barriers with respect to getting into or completing teacher preparation programs and in attaining certification.  The teacher preparation and certification process has become too prohibitive for its own good.   This discourages many who would otherwise love to help educate our kids.  Even the most stringent of programs or routes to certification will not guarantee that you will produce an excellent teacher.  Teachers only become good teachers with experience and it is their performance while teaching in a real educational setting that will determine their success or failure, not in how tough it was to get into an educational program or to meet certification requirements.  There are already teaching shortages and with the next wave of retirements, the shortage may grow if we do not have enough qualified and certified teachers ready to fill in all those vacancies.  The whole process must be streamlined.  This can be done without watering down standards or expectations when these teachers stand before a classroom.

4. More common planning time

Teachers need more time to meet and to discuss their curriculum and instructional practices.  In addition to individual departmental meetings, there should be more in the way of inter-disciplinary meetings where possible such that teachers can perhaps plan multi-disciplinary and collaborative projects that span two or more subject areas.  Teachers also need to be able to share concerns or information about certain students with one another so that they can better understand and determine how best to help that student.  Teachers can also help one another assess their curriculum.  In addition to each department reviewing its curriculum, math teachers can look at English curriculum, while English teachers can review the math curriculum.  Then they can offer constructive feedback in an inter-disciplinary manner.

5. Better Supervision and Mentoring:

Teachers need better mentoring and supervision.  In bigger schools, it does not make sense for the principal to do evaluations.  Teachers need and deserve a supervisor or mentor who understands their particular discipline.  They need someone who will support and promote their professional growth and not someone who will simply look for mistakes or look to find reasons to get rid of them.  They must do everything possible to help that teacher and only after all efforts are exhausted, if that teacher is still under-performing, there should be no choice but to dismiss that teacher with the promise of helping that individual discover a school, a district, or a field for which they may be better suited.

Improving Learning:

1. Move away from full-inclusion – make special education special again

This is going to require some comprehensive changes to federal IDEA legislation and to state guidelines.  However, I cannot stress enough the importance of re-thinking this.  It may sound counter-intuitive and for some, it may sound like it goes against the grain of so many years of progress.  However, we need to ask ourselves…has the push for full-inclusion truly been the best approach?  It has served to stretch teachers’ limits and to spread them too thin.  It’s not necessarily the best model for students.   I would also argue that it has not helped in reducing class sizes.  Limiting class sizes on one hand does require having enough teachers in front of students, but what is often forgotten is that classes fill up as more special needs kids, ESL kids, and gifted kids get thrown together into a class.  Subtract the kids, especially those in the upper grades who may prefer trade professions instead of pursuing college preparatory coursework, and then you suddenly reduce classes of 25 kids to 20 or perhaps in some cases, between 15-18.  For special education kids, especially for those with intensive needs for whom functional life skills are the main goal, if it is truly the least restrictive environment where a student can get a free and appropriate education, there is no shame in servicing those students outside the general education classroom – in a separate or sub-separate setting.  And that can still be an in-house program.  In the most extreme cases, out-of-district placements may still be necessary if the public school just can’t meet the needs.  Even if it costs more, it’s the right thing to do if certain kids needs can’t be met in-house.  Also, if some students truly need to improve their English skills more before being lost in an all-English classroom, then why are we forcing them into general education so quickly?  If talented and gifted kids are bored to tears in regular education classes, why are we not investing more in gifted education and providing them with the same type of specialized services that kids with disabilities are afforded?   Yes, in many ways this means that we would require just as many teachers to meet the needs.  However, think of how much easier it would be if more teachers could focus on the unique learning needs of a certain group of students.  Mainstream teachers could focus on educating the average to high average learner.  Special education teachers could focus more on helping kids with special needs.  Gifted education teachers could work more closely with talented and gifted kids.  That brings me to my next radical idea…

2. Bring Back Tracking

People often talk about tracking as if it’s a four-letter word.  In my view, it is not.  I’ve seen first-hand the benefits of tracking, both when I was in school and as an educator.  Sure, parents can often get upset at the notion that their kid is placed in a lower level.  However, educators need to be honest with respect to where a student is performing.  A good teacher knows which kids are the bright kids and frankly, which kids are falling behind or who are just plainly unmotivated to learn.  If a parent and/or student heartily disagrees with where he/she has been placed, then it is incumbent upon them to show that they are capable and deserving of a higher level placement.   I also believe in mixed-leveling.  In other words, if you are a student who is strong in English, you may be a good candidate for upper levels for English, History, some sciences, and many electives.  However, if you are having difficulties with math, a pull-out math support service and/or lower level math class should be offered to you.   That way you can pursue more challenging curriculum in the areas where you are strong and more support services for the areas in which you need greater help.  There should also be a track for students who are plainly disinterested in learning.  There are some students who just want to gain the basic skills necessary to graduate and to be a productive member of society.  Post-secondary education is not something they have an interest in.  For them, basic reading, writing, and math skills in classes geared for less motivated students should be offered.  Ensuring that they gain the basic skills to make them literate, thoughtful, and responsible citizens should be the goal.  It’s okay if they won’t be or don’t want to be the next great novelist, engineer, or even teacher.  They shouldn’t be forced into something they just have no interest in.  At the same time, we want to make sure they meet minimum requirements so they can become high school graduates and productive members of society regardless of which vocation they choose.  Also, it’s important to ensure that new teachers get broken into the field easily and are not stuck with the toughest kids.  If you are a veteran teacher, you should have the experience necessary to reach the toughest kids without burning out.  The demands on you as a teacher shouldn’t get less as you gain years of experience.  You shouldn’t be rewarded with easier classes or fewer students because you have that many more years of experience.  Finally, in fairness to teachers with experience, districts must be discouraged from simply finding excuses not to hire or keep experienced teachers that may be very good just so that they can save money by bringing in newer, less experienced teachers.

3. More magnet schools as options for public high school education

I grew up in the Greater New Haven area, where magnet high schools that focus on particular trades have become increasingly popular.  There are magnet schools for the arts, medical sciences, nursing, information technology, engineering, and even things like oceanography.  Giving public school kids more opportunities to attend specific career-preparatory high schools, especially in industries where there will be great demand in the future, is absolutely essential.

4. Invest much more in gifted education

While special education has traditionally focused on kids with disabilities, I believe special education must also be for those who are gifted.  Special education services should be on a continuum and to leave gifted/talented kids off the list of those who may require specialized instruction by law will only continue to set our country back.  If it were up to me, I would revamp the IDEA law such that it would make gifted/talented education a legally mandated service for those who are identified.  No more can gifted/talented education be an easy target and first on the chopping block when budget cuts need to be made.  If we do not truly value our gifted and talented students, the United States stands to fall further and further behind the rest of the world.

5. Hands on learning

This goes without saying, I think.  There should be more hands-on learning and learning by doing.

6. Art/Music

Again, like #5, art and music are essential to public education in my view.  These also should be preserved as much as possible.

7. De-emphasis on varsity sports

I’m not saying we need to cut all sports.  What I’m saying is that in tough budget times, if we need to raise athletics fees (and yes, raise drama and music fees too to be fair) to preserve teachers, then so be it.  Also, we can emphasize good physical and health education without necessarily putting too much emphasis on varsity sports teams.  When it comes to team sports, the more self-sufficient we can make them, the better.  Finally, it’s important that in team sports, all students on a team have an equal opportunity to play – regardless of ability.  Paying high fees to participate in a team sport just so that you can sit on the bench all season watching the “star” players on the field is not my idea of equality or fairness.

8. More resources for tutoring, academic support for non-special ed

There need to be more opportunities to help students who are struggling in school who don’t necessarily qualify for special education services.  Sometimes average students who try very hard still fall through the cracks.  We can’t afford to let that happen.  We don’t need to get them to reach maximum possible benefit, but we can help them meet adequate progress academically.  Therefore, we need to have more financial resources available to fund tutoring centers and academic supports for non-special ed students.

9. Streamline special ed process…make services both easier to access and easier to discontinue

The special education process can be very frustrating for many parents – in terms of accessing services.  It can also be frustrating for teachers who feel services are no longer necessary and that the student can fly on their own.  So there must be reforms in special education law that provide for a more streamlined process for accessing both early intervention and/or special education services and for making it easier to determine when a student has met exit criteria.

10. Focus on Critical Thinking

By using the 7E model, POGIL, and Bloom’s Taxonomy, we need to focus more on inquiry-based learning.  Making kids think about problems and then teaching them skills to tackle similar and new problems is a successful instructional strategy.  Giving them the resources to teach themselves the content is also useful.  We need to move away from watered down curriculum and towards a more challenging educational experience.

Improving Assessment

1. De-emphasis on testing…more emphasis on benchmarking and on assessing learning without tests.

Last, but certainly not least, we need to de-emphasize testing.  If it were up to me, I would not just reform standardized testing, but ditch it entirely.  Instead I would make sure that each content area for each grade level for every school district had a clearly outlined set of benchmarks that each student is expected to meet.  They may even be broken down into minimum, average, and advanced.  Students would have to at least meet the minimum number or minimum-level benchmarks in order to pass in that content area.  They would then need to meet at least the minimum criteria in so many content areas to be promoted to the next grade level.  The minimum benchmarks are those that they need to know in order to access the new material in advanced grades.  Testing would only occur in individual content areas given by classroom teachers to determine whether the student has demonstrated the knowledge necessary to meet the benchmarks.  Of course, in addition to tests, quizzes, reports, labs, projects, homework, class participation, and other various assignments can go into assessing whether the benchmarks are met.  By de-emphasizing standardized testing, teachers can focus again on teaching and can perhaps get really good at that – and students can focus on learning content-area material instead of learning how to take or pass a test.