Introduction
This FAQ is being provided as an on-going source of information for the Sudbury community about the Sudbury schools and district. We are aware that parents and community members often have questions about some aspect of how the district works, who makes decisions, how resources are allocated, why certain decisions were made, or what some of the education jargon means. We want this to be a reliable, accurate reference source for those type of questions and others that may arise.
This feature will be on-going and we will add to it as questions come to us or we identify an issue that needs further clarification. Please check back often to get the most recent updates.
To submit a question for this FAQ, please submit it to school_committee@sudbury.k12.ma.us or john_brackett@sudbury.k12.ma.us
Questions
Q1. How does the amount we spend per pupil in SPS compare to other districts?
Q3. Who are Curriculum Specialists and what do they do? Do we really need them?
Q4. Why do we need assistant principals or housemasters at our schools?
Answers
Q1. How does the amount we spend per pupil in SPS compare to other districts?
The Sudbury Public Schools delivers a public education to approximately 3,250 students in pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade at five different schools. We educate many of the students who go on to Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School which was recently ranked by Boston Magazine as the 2nd Best Public High School academically in the State while being the 10th most efficient. The SPS are similarly efficient. Indeed, according to information from the Mass. Dept. of Education [DOE] (see http://finance1.doe.mass.edu/schfin/statistics/function07.xls), in 2007 the SPS spent less per student per year -- $10,395, including costs for insurance and retirement benefits -- than, among others:
| Lincoln | $17,253 | Weston: | $16,463 | Concord: | $15,514 |
| Brookline: | $15,098 | Dover: | $14,615 | Framingham: | $14,169 |
| Lexington: | $13,574 | Hull: | $13,419 | Wayland: | $13,214 |
| Carlisle: | $13,122 | Wellesley: | $12,776 | Fall River: | $12,686 |
| Marlborough: | $12,388 | Sherborne: | $12,250 | Lynn: | $12,221 |
| Sharon: | $12,203 | Chelsea: | $12,198 | Lawrence: | $12,039 |
| Maynard: | $12,004 | State Average: | $11,859 | New Bedford: | $11,843 |
| Malden: | $11,611 | Fitchburg: | $11,351 | Southborough: | $11,291 |
| Harvard: | $11,187 | Chicopee: | $10,856 | Northborough: | $10,709 |
| Belmont: | $10,764 | Randolph: | $10,640 |
In the same year, SPS continued to be one of the top performing districts in the state on MCAS test results at each grade (3-8) and in each content area (ELA, math, science/technology.)
Q2. With the cuts that were required to balance a non-override budget this year, what was the impact on class size in the district?
Class size guidelines were set by the School Committee several years ago in an effort to establish guidelines to aid in budgeting, establish consistency across the district's schools, and reflect a reasonable class size given surrounding districts and the newer instructional practices. After a study of class size research and data, the School Committee set the guidelines at 20 in K; 22 in 1st and 2nd grade; and 24 in grades 3-8.
Dr. Brackett advises that most of the research around the effect of class size has been on achievement (test scores). That research indicates that until you get to very low levels (e.g. 15), student achievement, as measured by standardized test scores, is not significantly affected. Educators (and parents of children in crowded classrooms) know, however, that "long-term exposure to small classes in the early grades generates substantial advantages for students, and those extra gains are greater the longer students are exposed to those classes." "The extra gains are greater when class size is reduced to less than 20." We also know that smaller classes improve the quality and number of interactions between the teacher and individual students. Because our classes have such a wide variety of learning styles and abilities, smaller classes allow for more differentiation of instruction designed to challenge all students in the class. Smaller classes also reduce the distractions in the classroom, allow for more time for the teacher to spend correcting written homework, spending time communicating with parents and spending less time on management. There are higher levels of student participation, more time spent on instruction and more positive relations among students when class size is smaller.
Finally, the current best instructional practices and the type of teaching we expect to see in every classroom is one where there is an active engagement of students, groups of students working and learning together, and learning occurring in a variety of ways throughout the classroom. The days of straight rows of inactive students are gone. These best practices require space and the physical dimension of our classrooms limit the size of the classes if good instruction is to take place.
A recent survey of average kindergarten class size found that of the 72 districts responding, the range of class size was 14 to 24 with an average of 19.4. Another recent study completed by Lincoln Public Schools looked at 18 communities in the region. The median class size guideline for these communities (including SPS) is:
K = 20
1 = 22
2 = 22
3 = 23
4 = 24
5 = 24
6 = 24+
7 = 25
So where is the SPS in all of this? In the wake of the failure of last year's override requests, the SPS cut just under 22 full-time positions. At the same time, enrollment in the K-5 schools increased by 40 more students than last year. The result of these cuts is that:
- 39% (40 of 98) of our elementary school classrooms are at or over class size guidelines;
- 92% (13 of 14) of our 3rd grade classrooms serve 24 or more students;
- in the Curtis Middle School, 44% (25 of 56) of 6th grade class rooms, 36% (23 of 64) of 7th grade classrooms, and 70% (39 of 56) of 8th grade classrooms serve 24 or more students with 8th grade math and ELA classes ranging as high as 32 and 31 students respectively.
In the event that SPS faces significant cuts next year, class sizes - as a function of inexorable math - will jump at some grade levels from the mid 20s to the mid 30s. How can this happen? If you have, for example, a certain grade level at any of the schools with 100 students and 4 teachers, your current class size is about 25. Cut one teacher at that grade level, and the class size will jump into the mid-30s. In our view, such as state of affairs would be unacceptable.
Q3. Who are Curriculum Specialists and what do they do? Do we really need them?
Yes, we believe we need curriculum specialists [CITs] and the ones that were cut to balance the budget in FY09 are a significant loss to the system. These people are teachers who, instead of teaching 25 or so children, teach 150 or so teachers how to effectively teach various areas of our curriculum. They bear primary responsibility for many of our curriculum initiatives in areas like math and literacy. These positions are particularly important since they are one of the few means we have to ensure that there is instructional consistency from school-to-school and classroom-to-classroom.
We want the best possible teachers in front of our children using consistent best instructional practices. Curriculum Specialists are key to making that happen. Without these positions it would be extremely difficult to accomplish our goal of ensuring that quality is not left to chance, or determined by where someone lives or which teacher a student has.
CITs are teachers, not administrators. They cannot evaluate teachers, nor do they supervise them. They are coaches, models, and leaders of teachers to ensure curriculum is being taught and that the best instructional methods we have available in the system are being used. With the new curriculum evolving continually, and best practices being identified, it is impossible for each individual teacher to embrace, learn and use these in their classrooms. CITs are the catalyst for that. CITs develop and lead professional development, lead sessions on ILAP days, analyze MCAS and other assessment results and model lessons for teachers. They also order shared materials on a district wide basis, thus saving money. They work with teachers to extend lessons and provide materials for the talented students. Over the years, we reduced the number of Curriculum Specialists in the district. Again in FY09, we reduced the role of the social studies and Wellness specialists. We currently have CITs in ELA (English Language Arts), math, science, social studies (0.2 FTE), technology instruction, and Wellness (0.5 FTE.)
Q4. Why do we need assistant principals or housemasters at our schools?
Assistant Principals (elementary schools) and House Administrators (middle school) are part of the administrative team in our schools and assist the principal in ensuring the safety of students, managing the school, supervising and evaluating teachers and other staff, and working to improve teaching and learning. We have one assistant principal at Loring, one at Noyes and, we currently have a half-time assistant principal at Nixon who is a recent retiree working on a part-time contract basis. We also employ one House Administrator for each grade level at the middle school.
Loring School, for example, has an enrollment of 606 students this year. Without an Assistant Principal, the Principal would be the sole administrator and would have approximately 80 direct reports. A similar ratio would exist at Noyes and Nixon as well. Without House Administrators at Curtis Middle School, the ratio would be even greater. Compare this to the more typical ratio of 6-10 direct reports that exists in most businesses and for-profit organizations.
Our supervision and evaluation process is very extensive and time consuming. We believe this is vital to ensuring high quality teaching and learning in the classroom. Our evaluation process requires at least 3 formal observations for each non-professional status teacher (of which approximately 26% of our staff fall into this category). Each observation requires a pre-conference to discuss the lesson, observing the full lesson, and a post-conference to discuss the lesson and recommendations. These all have to be written up and documented. It is estimated that the evaluation of one, non-professional status teacher requires approximately 9.5 hours each year. When this is multiplied by the number of teachers being evaluated, you see the time that is dedicated to only this aspect of the position.
A.P.s and House Administrators also are responsible, or assist, with discipline (both staff and students), interfacing with parents, and a host of other administrative responsibilities. At the Middle School level, students in this age group generally need more supervision and support than they may when in elementary school. The House Administrators are integral to this effort. They are the administrator that students and parents are most involved with in the students' academic and social development. This configuration of administration (one principal with a House Administrator for each grade level) allows us to have a true "middle school." That is, where the separate grades are quasi-independent, focused on the specific developmental issues of that age of adolescent, and provide a feeling and benefits of a smaller school.
The assistant administrators at each level are also responsible for coordination of staff within the building, scheduling, student activities, and various programs and mandates (e.g. MCAS administration and security, Title 1, METCO, Bridges, DARE, anti-bullying programs, facility use, cleaning and upkeep, bus safety, and the list goes on.....)
We always appreciate any feedback you may have about our responses or other matters.