Muffin Bottoms [not] Just another WordPress weblog

11/23/2014

The Boy Who Said, “Monk.”

Filed under: Academic,Mundane Or Sublime,Music and Stuff,Tech — admin @ 8:01 am

The Boy Who Said “Monk!”  record3

A Connecticut K-5 school. I’m on a three-day assignment in Special Ed. Several one-on-ones with students who have a schedule of tiered RTI pull-outs from their regular classes. A little pre-schooler I won’t name of course comes every day for a morning hour and an additional afternoon on Fridays. I have him Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. They’ve tagged him as nonverbal and on watch for mutism. I was asked to write down any grunt or giggle I might hear if possible. Even if it’s just positive response to something I’ve said or done and you almost hear a snortle or something.

First two mornings there was nothing, but he was very cheery and happy to comply with each and every change in structured play. Each day in between tasks I sang a capella to him or got my guitar and played him an instrumental flamenco piece. Each morning I read him a cardboard book entitled, “Five Little Monkeys” and he really seemed to like that.

So Friday morning I made up a song about the 5 little monkeys book before reading it to him and asked if he wanted us to read it together and he looked at me plain as day and said, “monk!” Yes, I nearly jumped out of my own skin.

I said, “Wait, did you just say “monkeys?” and he didn’t say another word, just grinned and puffed out his chest.
Then I read him the book and he smiled the whole time.

Then I had one more hour in the afternoon and it turned out it was after his class had a music special. He walked in, waved goodbye to his para professional and pointed at the boom box on the floor. So I turned it on and he sat on the floor repeating “wheels on the bus” and “heads shoulders knees and toes” over and over for most of the hour.

08/10/2014

JOURNAL POEM 24 – Poems For Roberta Blackgoat

Filed under: Academic,Food,Humor,Mundane Or Sublime,Music and Stuff,Poetics,Pop Culture — admin @ 7:49 am 
Cappuccino.
Monkey and Bull make meal of
Pomegranite, potatoes, pineapple & peppers.
LL Zamenhof worked Pepsi's graveyard
Shift til the day he died. Poetic.
Death not for lack of irony.
For growing calamity, asks Esperanza,
Does one need fertilizer?
Removes tongue from cheek.
1477. Chris visits Iceland inquiring
As a wannabe Portugese picking up
Waterfront gossip of "the NewFound Lands."
Looks like Lawnmower Man on valium.
Vacation - Grape Cod. Dwelling on payola,
Punkrock, and plasma in Adobe Abode.
Hystorically, a bladder bag full of bull.
Mother Earth, you are beaux, bela, belle,
Beautiful - Where's Dr. Esperanto
When you NEED him??

Peabody Coal purchases Cavenham
Forest for a copper penny.
Mrs. Farthing leaves a pie on her porch for
The plutonium miners. Make mine a strip so
Rare IT'S STILL IN THE GROUND.
Spineless as a Portugese Man O'War, now if
That ain't the scumm calling the scummsucker scummy.
Sage tea makes sore throat to merely a wet
Groggy flemmy thing; yet Dire Wolf offers
12-page thesis on Yak semen.
Can God hear you in a Hindu Ashram?
"Yes," yells Yayo. She's 12 and SMARTER than you.
Fiesta. Laguna March 19, 1992
They say you'll be led by children.

Haiku: Zuni Moisture Dance
 Mudhead Kachinas - Laura,
   Yayo, HasKey Tso.

Sweatlodge. Madrid, NM
2 FAS children flying a kite.
Filthy fake fony false hair follicles
Now fact thanks to Rogaine.
Or was that Reagan??
Nancy's war-on-drugs:
Rhymes with moron thugs.

Open Mike is playing at the Chez What Cafe.
Who IS this Open Mike?
Just some honest Joe?
Stench fries and fillet of potatoes at
The Full Spoon Cafe.

And Bo Diddley's cook wears wine-red
Dingos pouring sherry in Mrs. Farthing's Chowder.
Pampa, TX. Letting go of Police Brutality -
Release, relax, relief.
2:30 a.m. Katy reads poetry for tips at the
Omaha Greyhound.
Makes 2-bucks on "Bernalilo Blues."
Mytho-philosophical street poems.
How do they make coffee in Nowata?
Strong - same as Coffeeville.
Trivia question: who's face on $5
Foodstamp??

      Thomas Jefferson or Johnny Cash?

Movado watch with moon minute hand,
I straddle the corner of Florence
& Normandy contemplating cops.
A house full of cat-tails never falls;

And Medina pours Mecca a 20 oz. cup of
Mocha java.


Previously published in a $5 Chapbook entitled "I Slurp My Coffee." 

Currently released as an album at:
http://www.reverbnation.com/marcfruchtpoet
And you can get the whole album as a printable .zip file at:

http://www.frucht.org/Poems4RobertaBlackgoat.zip

07/04/2014

ANNOTATIONS: Marc Frucht’s American Songbag.

Filed under: Academic,Mundane Or Sublime,Music and Stuff,Pop Culture,Tech — admin @ 8:53 am

Here goes some “explication” about the two newest recordings I’ve mastered and edited up. Enjoy.
Recorded live from the soundboard at a Bonfire in Groton, CT.
I noticed while I was organizing these tunes that it kind of serves as the best kind of ethnomusicology lesson you could ever receive for free. Pro Bono, my gift to you. Call now, operators are standing by…

16th Century Greensleeves. (cover of a Ritchie Blackmore arrangement of a very old song)

Old Folksinger – by Merle Kessler, aka “Ian Shoales.”
Need a real audio of my studio version?
http://frucht.org/audioclips.html

Other Side – Orig. Someone I was very sweet on turned to me one night and said, “why don’t you write a song about turquoise and silver and a pebble and a ring.” So I did.

Johnny B. Goode – Standard (played very non-standard)

Oh Boy – written by Sonny West, Bill Tilghman and Norman Petty. Made most famous by Buddy Holly

Hey Mon – Orig.

One Tin Soldier – Coven. Made most famous by the movie “Billy Jack.”

Little Things – Orig.

Wicked Wicked World. – Medley arranged by Marc Frucht. “Wicked World”
by Black Sabbath’s Ozzie Osbourne, “When The Levee Breaks” collected
folk style by Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page. Last verse Original.

Happened Just That Way – Roger Miller

Seminole Wind – John Anderson
Want to hear just a cute cover of it by a little girl named Mary Elizabeth Kirkpatrick? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsN0zk7VojA Neat how sometimes a song can be kept immortal by lots of people giving it some love!

Mary Had a William Goat – I learned this parody from Carl Sandburg’s publication “American Songbag.”

Merry Minuet – I first heard the Kingston Trio version of this song from my mom and dad’s massive record collection. It was written by

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes – from the Movie of the same name.
I’ve actually been asked to sing it a capella at movie premieres and stuff.

Dream On Again – You notice how they sing, “sing with me” and it’s a song written in like Fm7 with a flatted 9th in the bass, and it’s a key that only Bessie Smith can sing but she’s gotta warm up all opera style before she even tries to sing it?

Evil Ways – Carlos Santana

Milli Vanilla – I wrote this as a parody to the Poison song “Every Rose Has Its Thorn”

FUN song – from Sponge Bob Square Pants. Just don’t ask me to sing the Campfire song or “I Ripped My Pants.”

Blister In The Sun – Violent Femmes. Done as a medley together with “American Music” and “Free.” Proof that the Bodeans stole liberally from the Violent Femmes. J/K they’re all friends with each other.

Oh Freedom – medley. My version of Pete Seeger’s version of Odetta’s version of several ancient spirituals

Do Wacka Do – more Roger Miller

FryBread – Orig.

* Recordings engineered in Groton, CT by Andrew Barnes

Listen to the entire thing in two parts at: http://soundcloud.com/atizine/marcofruchtsamericansongbag-part2

04/16/2014

Of How A Teacher Intervened And Got Me Into College – True Story

Filed under: Academic,Mundane Or Sublime,OpEd,Tech — admin @ 6:03 pm

I was getting straight A’s in Language Arts going into my Junior Year.

Yet my verbal SAT score was 150 points lower than my math/science! I wasn’t getting into UConn or other good schools with such low scores.

Crying, I asked my English teacher what could be wrong. He handed me a 1-page document similar to this one and told me, “It’s easy to explain. Your mother and father aren’t clergy, they’re not law and they’re not medical. You never heard latin prefixes and suffixes around the house; so you are at a disadvantage behind other students who are children of doctors, lawyers, ministers and rabbis.

I memorized all of these and the second time I took the SAT’s I increased my score by more than 100 points and got accepted to UConn.

I now hold UConn degrees in Literature and Native American Studies.  Thank you Mr. _____ at Fitch Senior High School! Thank you, thank you thank you.

 

 

OK, so here go some of the most common SAT prefixes:

 

pre – before (hence pre-fix is a word that comes before)

super – very or over (super-impose means to impose over)

dis – not (dismembered means not membered or not together)

uni – one (unicameral means one house)

a – not (atypical means not typical)

ex – out (exhale means breathe out)

in – in (inhale means breathe in)

neo – new (neoconservative means new conservative)

post – after (postmodernism means after modernism)

circum – around (circumvent the world means travel around the world)

ben – good (benevolent, beneficial, benefactor, etc. all carry positive charge)

mal – bad (malevolent, malnutrition, malice)

re – again (to review is to view again)

gen – birth (genealogy is study of family history)

chron – time (chronology is study of time sequence)

poly – many (polyunsaturated means many not saturated)

intra – within (intraspecies means within one species)

inter – between (interspecies means between different species)

ante – before (antebellum means before a war)

hypo – too little (hypothermia means too low of body temperature)

hyper – too much (hyperactive means too active)

 

some common SAT suffixes that you should be aware of as well:

– ble: able or capable (doable, corruptible, edible)

– ous: full of (porous means full of pores, or in other words, easily transpired through)

– ant: full of (elegant means full of elegance)

– ose: full of (grandiose means full of grandeur, grand-ness)

– fy: to make like the prefix (magnify means make larger, terrify means to make scared)

– ate: to make like the prefix (procrastinate means to make a longer time)

– ile: tending to (puerile means tending to childish-ness)

– ism: belief (racism, sexism, nationalism, etc.)

– tude: condition of (magnitude means the quantity of magnification)

 

Sincerely,

marco frucht

 

[ref]=[ http://www.proprofs.com/mwiki/index.php/Prefixes_and_Suffixes ]

04/15/2014

COMANCHE CODE TALKER SHARES PRIDE IN SERVICE SIGNAL-SOLDIER HISTORY REVISITED

Filed under: Academic,Mundane Or Sublime,News — admin @ 7:44 pm 
Story and Photos by Marc Frucht
  Published in Mountaineer Weekly July 20, 1990
  Comanche Code Talker Forrest Kassanavoid told
soldiers of 124th Sig BN to be proud of their lineage.
  "You have a special relationship with an Indian Tribe
in Oklahoma," he told them.
  Kassanavoid shared his World War II, 4th infantry div
experiences with the signal soldiers during a battalion
sponsored luncheon at Giuseppe's Depot Restaurant,
Tuesday afternoon.
  The military recruited Comanche, Navajo and Choctaw
Indians because their native language was harder to crack
than codes they came up with every day. The Germans and
Italians were never able to interpret any of the trans-
missions they'd intercepted which contained the Indian
languages.
  124th SIG BN boasts campaign history from WWII through
Vietnam including the Normandy invasion. Back then it was
called the 4th SIG CO, according to Kassanavoid. Organized
June 1, 1940 in the Harmony Church area of Fort Benning,
GA.; the 4th SIG worked under many commanding officers and
Kassanavoid remembers almost every single one.
  "Let's see," said the code talker, "first there was Capt.
Terrance Tulley. He was a West Point grad, 1920. Then we got
Capt. Arthur McCrarey, then 1st Lt. Seoul Christman. He became
the division signal officer until he was seriously wounded in
an air attack in Normandy. Then came Capt. Phillip Bragen, and
hmmmm, a Capt. Dunaway..." He then went on to share all of his
4th Infantry Division war stories with the signal soldiers.
  As a recruit, the code talker went from Fort Benning, GA.,
to Camp Gordon, now Fort Gordon and home of Army Signal School.
[Coincidently where Colonel Kaddaffy, Agosto Pinochet and Manuel
Noriega all took classes at one time or another.] From there he
went to Fort Dix, NJ; Camp Gordon Johnson for amphibious
training; Camp Jackson, SC and then Camp Joyce Kilmer, NJ
for his portcall.
  Destination?
  Liverpool, England, to regroup and train at Tibberton in
Devonshire, and then to invade Utah Beach.
  4th SIG was made up of five platoons, according to
Kassanavoid. HQ platoon contained the company clerks, mess
cooks, drivers, supply and maintainance soldiers. The Message
Center section was where the distribution came and went.
There was a radio section similar to what signal battalions
have today; and a "T-n-T" section. They handled all aspects
of telephone and telegraph, to include the division
switchboard. The wire people, Kassanavoid included, were
called the construction section.
  Street fighting was not fun from the construction section
point of view, according to Kassanavoid.
  "We had to lay all the wire along the streets. We'd tag 
the wires just like you still do today. But then the civilians
around town would take the tags as souvenirs."
  He said without tags, troubleshooting became "one hell of a
time."
  In wartime, light discipline didn't mean red lenses or quick
flicks of light that hopefully no one will notice. All wire 
construction was done in the dark.
  "You feel your way out there," he said. Out into the darkness
he went expecting a saboteur maybe, but hoping it was nothing
more than a short or a grounded wire. Most of the time he'd do
a quick fix, ring back to a switchboard and then dig in.
  Kassanavoid said that on D-Day, June 6, 4th SIG was right in
the middle of things. While the 7th Corps was bombarding Omaha
Beach, three battalions from the 4th Infantry Division invaded
at Utah. Paratroopers made a perfect landing at Utah Beach, but
the Navy dropped 4th SIG - along with their division - about a
half mile off because of choppy waters and changing tides.
  "Fortunate," said Kassanavoid. "It was pretty dry where we
landed. We didn't have to worry as much about water."
  They battled in what he termed 'hedgerow fighting.' He 
said farms were fenced off by nothing more than a series of 
hills pushed together and they had hedges on top. The signal 
soldiers were almost grounded to a halt by the hedges; until 
they called in for support. B-17s bombed every grid coordinate 
they hollered over their radios and they managed to break out.
  When they worked their way to Paris, he said all France had
was armored units, so 4th ID was asked to provide infantry
support. That made 4th SIG front line troops, as well as 
invasion forces.
  When the war ended, Kassanavoid was billeted in Amburg in
preparation for coming home. From there he went to Camp
Bruckner, N.C., where he was given 30 days furlough.
  Kassanavoid discussed how 4th ID has changed over the 
years as well as how it has stayed the same. Recruits didn't
come in right away as privates, according to the code talker.
His first four months he was called a "yardbird;" he was paid
$21 a month. After becoming a private, a soldier could take
in $30 a month. A "shackman" was someone married with
dependents. He said 4th ID had more shackmen than any other
division in the Army. He remarked at how many women there are
in today's signal corps. Back then they didn't see women 
working with radios or constructing wire.
  Back in Kassanavoid's time the signal soldier had generators
to power his equipment. Some were similar to the ones still in
use, but he said most of the time there was someone pushing a
hand-crank to generate a couple volts.
  He recognized the 5-gallon fuel cans being used in the 
signal battalion's motor pool and commented that we stole
that idea from the Germans after World War I. A couple cans
got into our hands somehow and we've been making them for use
on jeeps ever since.
  Kassanavoid said it was easy for a Comanche Indian to
adapt to military life because all of their early education
was at government boarding schools.
  "Basically we changed barracks rooms and uniforms," Said
Kassanavoid, "that's all."
  Army-run schools on the Indian reservations meant speaking
Comanche at home, and mostly English at school. His grasp of
both languages made him an easy recruit for the Code Talker
mission. Comanche language was used to relay some of the Army's
most important messages in WWII. The code talkers worked with
regiments in the field where they coded messages back to 4th ID
headquarters so another 4 SIG could receive and decode the
message.
  Kassanavoid lives in Indiahoma, OK., with his wife Marian
and three children - Larry who served in the Army infantry in
Vietnam; Marlon who served in a signal outfit in Europe; and
a daughter, Amaryllis.
  He now works for the school department in Indahoma as home-
school co ordinator under the Johnson - O'Malley Program passed
by Congress in 1934. His work is mostly youth-oriented, from
financial assistance for young Indians, morale and attendance
programs, as well as sports programs
  On Nov. 3, 1989, the French government awarded him the
Chevalier de l'Order National du Merite" medal on the steps
of Oklahoma's State Capitol. Two other surviving Comanche Code
Talkers received the medal. Charles Chibitty is from Tulsa,
and Dick Red Elk is from Lawton.
  "You soldiers can say with pride," Kassanavoid said, "that
you've been decorated by the French. Being singled out like
that is a great honor."
  He said the Comanche heritage is in a 124th SIG soldier's
lineage and in his roots.
  "Be proud," he said, "Be thankful."

      PFC Frucht was a MOUNTAINEER stringer for 
    124SIG at the time of this publishing. While 
    Kassanavoid was on Utah Beach, Frucht has a 
    great uncle who lived through Omaha beach as 
    a signal soldier, and an uncle who also saw 
    combat as a "radio man" in the marines. Frucht 
    learned of this long after signing up for the 
    army signal corps himself. Go figure.  

[ref]=[http://csmng.com/mountaineer]

Arkansas Mother Obliterates Common Core in 4 Minutes

Filed under: Academic,Mundane Or Sublime,News,OpEd,Tech — admin @ 11:37 am

Pat Richardson Video: Transcribed by Marco Frucht

Arkansas Mother Obliterates Common Core in 4 Minutes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZEGijN_8R0

I typed this in so that people can make direct quotes if they’d like. I sure would. 😉

I am here today not speaking just on behalf of myself; I’m here representing 1110 other parents, educators and taxpayers in our state who have some very serious reservations about the common core initiative.

We are not alone in this regard; 6 other states have pulled out of their agreement.

22 other states currently have legislation pending to either get out of common core or to make significant changes to it.

After listening to what was said this morning, I have come to the conclusion that this board is clearly as uninformed as the parents are or were, when these standards were adopted.

We were told the same thing that you were told, and that common core is a set of rigorous college ready internationally benchmarked standards that prepare our kids to compete in a global economy.

This is nothing more than an empty sales pitch for corporations and government agencies to profit from our kids and sell them down river in the name of saving education.

I’ve a math question for you, board members, are you ready? Get your pencils out. I’m not kidding. Are you smarter than a common core 4th grader.

Let’s find out. The problem is, Mr. Yamata’s class has 18 students. If the class counts around by a number and ends with 90, what number did they count by?

I’ll restate the problem, Mr. Yamata’s class has 18 students. If the class counts around by a number and ends with 90, what number did they count by?

Does anyone on the board have an answer? 5. And may I ask madam, how did you come up with that answer?

You know why? Because that’s what makes sense, right? That’s the way we were taught to do it on the 4th grade level.

This however, is what the common core standards expect our 4th graders to do. If they solve it in those two steps they get it marked wrong.

They are expected to draw 18 circles with 90 hash marks, solving this problem in exactly 108 steps.

Board members, this is not rigorous. This is not college ready. This is not preparing our children to compete in the global economy.

Skipping rote memorization of of multiplication tables is hindering their ability to master long division and fractions later on in the semester and now our children who were testing in the 80th or higher percentile in math last year are now coming home with C’s, D’s and F’s on their report cards.

Not because as Arne Duncan would put it that white suburban mothers think their children aren’t as brilliant as they thought they were but because… [cut off being over 3mins] Thank you

I encourage you to listen to us when we send you our emails, despite the comments that were made by our chairperson here today.

Our concerns are not based on hysteria or propaganda; they are based on fact and we are prepared to present those facts.

Can you see the trembling in my voice?

Parents have not had a voice here and you need to listen to our concerns. We are moving forward with our legislature to make some very serious changes to this; and all I ask is that you bend your ear and take us seriously.

We are college educated parents. I come to you with 12 years of college education and a former member of the national Honor Society, when I tell you this is not working and it’s not what they told you it would be.

We will save the privacy concerns and the testing concerns for our legislature; but when it comes to standards, that’s your ball court and we need you to help us with this; because this program is dumbing our children down.

Thank you.

12/16/2013

Free CD — Last year’s entire 18 song Christmas record!

Filed under: Academic,Mundane Or Sublime,Music and Stuff,News,Pop Culture — admin @ 3:00 pm

Hi all,
Last year I engineered and mastered a Christmas record that I was quite happy with. I printed my own jewelcases, and mass produced hundreds of copies and passed them out to everyone I knew personally the weeks leading up to Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa.

I thought of doing the same thing this year; but suddenly decided, “maybe instead I’ll just print up download cards.”

So I’ve placed the entire CD, 18 songs and color .PDF album cover as one big .zip file.

 

pixOfDLcardz

Here’s where you can get it for free:

http://www.frucht.org/christmas.zip

You simply download the file, unzip/unpack and burn to a blank cdr, print out the artwork and fold it into a holder for your CD. Then play the thing in your car, media center or stereo or right there on your laptop.

And of course these days if you don’t even feel like printing a CDR you can just make a playlist on your phone or ipod with the MP3’s themself.

Cheers,
marco

 

09/02/2013

A Parodic Poem based on Joseph Brodsky’s “Odysseus to Telemachus”

Filed under: Academic,Humor,Mundane Or Sublime,Poetics — admin @ 9:16 am

My dear Telemachus,
The Trojan War
is over now; I don’t recall who won it.
The Greeks, no doubt, for only they would leave
so many dead so far from their own homeland.
But still, my homeward way has proved too long.
While we were wasting time there, old Poseidon,
it almost seems, stretched and extended space.

I don’t know where I am or what this place
can be. It would appear some filthy island,
with bushes, clintons, and great grunting pigs.
A garden choked with weeds; some queen or other.
Grass and huge stones . . . Telemachus, my son!
To a wanderer the faces of all islands
resemble one another. And the mind
trips, numbering waves; eyes, sore from sea horizons,
run; and the flesh of water stuffs the ears.
I can’t remember how the war came out;
even how old you are–I can’t remember.

Grow up, then, my Telemachus, grow strong.
Only the gods know if we’ll see each other
again. You’ve long since ceased to be that babe
before whom I reined in the plowing bullocks.
Had it not been for Palamedes’ trick
we two would still be living in one household.
But maybe grampa was right; away from me
you are quite safe from all Oedipal passions,
and your dreams, my Telemachus, are blameless.
– See more at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15205#sthash.gvPZxcV2.dpuf

ANNOTATION:

Laertes is Richard Milhous Nixxon and through Odysseus he sends this message to Telemachus who is Barack Obama.

04/17/2013

Why Seek An Inventive Mind? YOU have one! Part 2

Filed under: Academic,Humor,Mundane Or Sublime,Pop Culture,Tech — admin @ 4:40 am

Who remembers that kick I was on to use less than-a-dollar  reinventing overpriced things such as the 29.99  ipod/cellfone charger wallsocket holder out of a piece of cereal box cardboard?

http://muffinbottoms.org/?p=223

Or the 16$ iPod sock made out of an actual used sock from just needle, thread and scissors!

 

ImaginationArtStudioCellFoneHolder

Well it’s refreshing to know someone else out there who I’ve never even met is thinking along the same lines.

 

 

 

🙂

 

 

I usually just link to an image someone else took so much trouble to make but I can only find it on facebook so I’ll download/upload here and give link back to THEIR facebook. I think you want to click /like/ on theirs for sure and see what ideas they come up with next, the really have it going on.

 

http://www.facebook.com/ImaginationF4U

 

03/01/2013

New London Board of Education meeting 28feb13 – rush transcript

Filed under: Academic,News,OpEd,Tech — admin @ 6:10 am
Rush Transcript – by Marco Frucht. Original Notetaking by Tambria Moore
New London Board of Education meeting at STMHS – Lecture Hall 7 p.m.
Thursday Night, 28feb13.
Each meeting airs live on Channel 22 Metrocast
Marco Frucht http://www.newlondon.org/Default.asp?PN=MeetingSchedule
Tambria Moore Board of education members include Ms. Margaret Mary (Peg) Curtin, Mrs. Delanna Muse, Mr. Jason L. Catala, Mrs. Elizabeth Garcia-Gonzalez, Mrs. Barbara Major, Mr. Bill Morse and Mrs. Sylvia Potter
mayor called on
mayor finizio recognizes boe
proclamation of Mayor designates March BOE month in city of NL
Says he won’t be there for the SOP initiative portion of the meeting as he has another meeting conflicting with this one on the Coast Guard museum
He believes the SOP proposal is good and pledges full support

Student recognition presentations
Isaiah Gomez – STMHS Student of the Month
Haley Brennan (STMHS) – Special Recognition for Exceptional Performance on the 2012 CAPT
Zakkiyya Griffin (STMHS) – Special Recognition for Exceptional Performance on the 2012 CAPT
Corinna Kraemer (STMHS) – Special Recognition for Exceptional Performance on the 2012 CAPT
http://images.pcmac.org/Uploads/NewLondon/NewLondon/Divisions/MeetingSchedule/AGENDA%20-February%2028%20%202013%20(Regular%20Meeting).pdf
deviating from the agenda, michael brown re program for competing for jobs in local economy
A Strategy to Prepare New London CT Students to Compete for Jobs in a Global Economy – Michael Brown..falls under the magnet school agenda item
talking about the foreign trade zone, and history of its formation and abandonment
leveraging of our location and access to global economy
there is an opportunity to grow nl into a center of trade
usa has about 20% of trade in global economy, how to get nl in the picture
port photo shows lumber from germany and other countries. yet not creating businesses around those products in nl
thailand uses our port, copper comes through our port, lumber etc.
we physically lie in the center of the global economy per a slide from Pfizer
highlighting a magnet school for international commerce
would develop skill sets around foreign languages fluency
talking about exportation of gas, coal and need to prepare students for those opportunities.
wanting to see fluency in a second language by middle school
transition nl high school, now perceived as substandard, create a school of international commerce to prepare nl to lead
core curriculum required by state could be enhanced with market place course work
he urges council and boe to seriously look at and consider this as way to create jobs and opportunities
speaks of 7th regiment which resides in nl, nationally ranked 5th in the world
7th regiment mission to prepare youth to maximize their skills and reach full potential
discusses the leadership of the program as degreed and highly specialized in the areas needed around music. it is a center of excellence with leadership – would work with the arts in nl to further nl goals
end of presentation
agenda reports and communications
letter from boe president to cga thanking for use of facilities for training session. for the record
letter from nlea, concerning contract article 24, institute continuing committee
is doing so, appointing herself and ms muse with dr fischer on that committee
report of committee
mrs muse chairs finance, reports as preparing budget 13/14 next tuesday, march 5 committee will meet re central serives 6 pm and march 6, re schools part, public hearing march 7 at this location and then discussion of budget of whole meeting in third flr conference room. budget to mayor by march 15
jason catala meets march 21 at 6 pm discussion of magnet school and academy
parent meeting march 14th at this location
dr fischer. principal of nlhs achieve 3000 program enabled success in improving cap scores
achieve 3000 presentation William Tommy Thompson
design of summer institute
the address the summer slide, reading dips with summer
widens achievement gap
set out to keep students in school longer, strategy to increase reading levels and teacher effectiveness. 100 9th grade entry students and existing as well as 10th grade recruited
goal to achieve one year of growth
also to increase teacher effectiveness
every less was recorded by video
team leaders sat with teachers post lesson to break down the process
pre assessments and post assessment. program company was reluctant to use preassessment and may not do their product justice in twenty day
program had bilingual support 1 to 20 ration
no ac during the summer facility was hot
had a uniform, shows t shirt
work hard be nice get better motto on the back
teachers ate with the student breakfast every morning and talk with them
computer based reading tool re non fiction ap articles of high interest with comprehension questions adapted to level of reader
everyone reads the same topic, at a level adapted to their reading level
goal read 40 articles in 18 days at 70 percent success rate
goal to double lexile growth. 94 percent attendance rate attributed to follow up to pressure kids and trip to ny
bbq and blue men group in ny
robert from achieve 3000 speaks
partner with the district to do one thing and do it well…increase student achievement
condensed one semester of work into 3.5 weeks
came to grade level and a half in that time. 74 lexile points
other cities 80 points, 91, 84 using the program in a year
touches on the prior presentation and the 1300 lexile level of college readiness
lexile levels for career paths available to set a goal
worked with dr fischers team in fall river with similar results
asked principal for feedback from students. one said it changed his life. tommy says he knew as a struggling reader the importance of reading better.
peg asks if students tracked over course of year. yes per tommy
trajectory is upward and plan on doing it again this summer
catala asks about the bilingual use of the program and thinks it would benefit esl students
tommy agrees it does, and any program is only as good as the administrators of it. the summer was a pilot to measure return on investment. return was phenomenal. will continue partnership. now 500 students, including all bilingual and special need students
they can read in article in their language and read the instructions in english, scafolding them into English
catala likes the video taping and coaching of the teachers
asking the student selection process of the 100
tommy looked at map scores, id of students below grade level reading. those are the students they aggressively sought for the program
teachers would come in teach 40 minute class, go to coaching with administrator or aspiring administrator for feedback
effective teaching such as turn and talk after the reading…how to get them to do so is a science, for effective talking
gave the teachers pointers on methods to prompt etc.
bill morse asks them to explain lexile
developed twenty years ago by metametrics to measure student progress in reading.
http://www.lexile.com/about-lexile/glossary/
they can benchmark their progress to take the guess work out of where they are as readers and where to adjust their skills customized to the student
connecticut is a common core state and this is the standard
they are having a student answer a poll question and vote yes or no, common score standards ask students to take a position with a text and then use critical thinking to state why, and summarize what they read
process developed around no child left behind
its about accessing information, do I agree with what I am reading, say in wikipedia.
tommy said students were accessing stuff at weird times on their own…middle of the night, after school…
from the program at home
peg asks if they take their new knowledge and assist their peers. tommy said they liked accessing information on their own, read at their level, set their own pace, etc. gaining confidence. students said they approach regular school year differently as a result
end of presentation
dr fischer no on extracurricular activity and gpa requirement of 1.7 this year and 2. next year
tommy has provided tables of data on impact re fall winter sports
dstrict policy exceeds ciac requirements
students determined ineligible, able to practice with team, received academic support, very few placed on academic probation as imposed by the school. team established an early warning system to id students in need of support, made rapid response team of coaches volunteers and teachers to change that trajectory. camels for whalers provided assistance
ct college
barbara major asks about whether money allocated to hire people was used
yes
dr fischers wife, marie gravel, etc have also helped daily
all area colleges were contacted per fischer. all helping.
businesses, etc as well
even though they offer to pay tutors, challenge to find people at that time of day
may have to move hours
concept to expand to any student below gpa, given the success of the program
students could practice as working to get above the 1.7
football had 6 below, identified during the course of the season
coaches looked at progress every five weeks
in addition to semester grades
if they were at that level and not attending class, looked at closer even
one coach required all such to attend study hall
asked if plan is written
no
they can go to their teacher to see what they need to do
team meetings would occur
catala asks about money allocated for people in place and what recruitment
positions posted, follow those guidelines
bill asks five weeks seems like a long period of time, would they consider three next year
a lot can happen in five weeks
staff at study hall in daily contact with teachers?
tommy said can look into timeline of monitoring, typically a unit exam is at four week mark
fischer says if you go in study hall volunteers walk around asking students about their work and class attendance
bill asks if staff is following up with teacher, and fischer says yes
also can check online, students missing assignments
all students are part of academic support program
bill asks if any remained benched, very few.
no student was benched throughout the sport season
sports and potentially clubs would come under this program
peg thought it had been not just for athletes. Barbara major thought it included clubs on vote. did not include band
barbara major had requested weekly progress report for her child to sign off on, would be helpful for the tutors to have that
ms major not that thrilled with it but glad to see they are getting the help they need. peg is glad she came around
catala concerned about confidentiality and volunteers
health school environment action learning
bdjms programs
ne science and sailing program and their forward thinking bussed to Stonington Borough
the grants are selective and so bdjms principal very proud
invites boe to basket bonanza
renzulli academy
one of three in the district grants is primarily about training staff
sustained funds will follow the student
will not result in school score going down, no…their score remains with their school
the school maintains the benefit of that students performance. looking at newer section of harbor
purpose to challenge gifted and talented based not just on cmt or ct mastery…also looks at non cognitive abilities, teacher recommendations
have a nl resident who put one of these schools together in hartford
second purpose is take what works and bring those activities to the students in other schools.
ms muse said idea at workshop was briefly talked about, she is shocked in reading hartford courant yesterday that it is set to be housed in harbor school. yet boe has not discussed it
extra budget expense, utilities, etc at harbor school cannot see why cant be at a particular school in separate classes like ap courses at high school
does the board vote on this, fischer says money follows the student, unclear how that occurs
audience applause
Peg thinks harbor school location up to city council
fischer says until released, it is school property
harbor school good sight to bring students from out of district
misperception legally where any school property stands
re edgerton school
glad through workshops or committees to discuss
dr adamowski
statute says technically school buildings and property are owned by municipality, under law when built as school and used as school, belongs to school for educational use. has to take specific action to turn it back to the city, formal action
point out much larger issue for nl schools. currently outsourcing 6.5 to educate special ed students. highest percentage in state
lowers per student expenditure by outsourcing
you will need every square inch you have to provide for students in your own district rather than bussing and outsourcing
has been hidden in past by the way these outsourced students were in the budget
lumps special ed, gifted and behavioral needs
major asks re annex building of harbor….fischer says can use as is
harbor school not handicapped accessible, could put special ed there, but not physically or multiply handicapped
some outsource charges include foster care, etc
number of districts have expressed great interest, increasing the dollars from them to us
major understands we outsource for special needs, can boe get idea re renzulli where every they go…couple of hours, all day… what happens
adamowski says small number of students would be all day, some shared time, some after school, some summer. it would be a gifted center
in connecticut gifted is part of special ed, would have a ppt to develop a program
potter asks if special ed would be placed in harbor school
fischer says other programs would be placed separate from renzulli, bringing them back from outsourcing.
outsourced students are all special ed
she says sounds like a plan to separate struggling students
adamowski says some, like autistic are bussed out, some distance. might have three or four class rooms for those students. might have classrooms for behavioral….basically multipurpose building
potter wants to look at this more
adamowsi says a very serious situation with number of outsourced students.
sense is it developed overtime and not managed well
skews tremendous amount of money out of district
potter understands that and believes in intermingling students of all kinds in an educational setting
adamowski says these students cannot mix with others, extreme and higher level needs
whether these students are located in district or out, in most cases they are in restrictive environments
adamowski thinks there may be some opportunities to have a restricted class in an operating school for an incremental period of time students could join a regular class
fisher says under individuals with dis act, required to take every step possible to make sure every option is looked at to have all students get prepared for success
proposes board to a workshop on special ed spectrum
some in full time residential programs, some get one hour of services
catala
suggests a field trip to a renzulli school
concerned about the 6.5 mill spent outsourcing
boe had been told in past doing a good job keeping as many students in city as possible, now hearing differently
muse asks about student starting at winthrop, then part of renzulli. asks what amount comes from winthrop. fischer says same as if student leaves the school district
as if the student moved to another town
for some this would be a percentage, for students spending a portion of the education at the renzulli school
fischer says need to talk about how this budget was developed and what it is meant to do
muse cannot understand why cannot accommodate at their particular school like the high school ap coursework
would not be eligible for this grant doing that says adamowski
a different model program is itinerant teachers who come to the school as she describes
over the last several years nl has cut that model dollars
adamowski says you could have a school based program if boe could fund by itself. cannot have magnet gifted and talented…as open to everyone by lottery
morse asks adamowski money connected with renzulli will only be forthcoming if separate program
Yes, it is for replication of the center program model
it could be within a school, yes
our classrooms
morse thinks academy for talented and gifted is a space issue, ties into curriculum k-12. does not like extractions. can look at each building, look at enrollment requirements and boe needs advised on current space use, current avail, and future next year needs
have to consider upgrade of spaces per their uses. not ready to make that decision without space use information and with the magnet vision etc
adamowski says have made decisions on Winthrop and Nathan Hale. to be made include bdjms and renovation of nlhs
adamowski asks, if you build a school, would you build it larger to accomodate.
adamowski says nl will need all space they have and perhaps more
morse says that is why they need a survey of what they are using, its condition, etc so they don’t operate 7 if you need 6. adamowski says the elementary schools are at capacity
liz asks how many are gifted and talents. fischer says envision about 50 students, cmt, noncognitive, recommendations and student work. in any population can be 1-2 percent. some students prefer not to identify as gifted and talented. some want full time some want part time
will bring recognition to district, may bring more funding. more funding can bring more programs. grant money breeds grant money. not intended to isolate kids, intention is to challenge
parents want their kids to have a greater challenge
says people are coming back to nl schools. this is about perception
there are requirements for starting a special ed program they are not necessarily cheap.
sks for submission of questions so they can respond
peg thinks some anxiety in teaching staff of changes that need to be answered
the grant is just for the training, used to train over time. train teachers who will be involved, and train trainers
miriam morales taylor suggested to come in with a workshop
muse asks if continual grants needed. no. once trained you continue to work with and train, even with teachers in other buildings
just as nl does with its math program
morse asks for space presentation prior to workshop
suspensions and expulsions
fischer directs attention to document
significant reduction of suspensions, expulsion not where they want to see it
were experiencing a lot of gang and pre gang stuff at hs
gangs in area have agreed to stop their activity in the hs, in cooperation with police, etc
intervention steps document
high school and middle school efforts to reduce suspensions in and out of school
have to have programs to reduce numbers due to issues and behaviors
trying to increase consistency in responses
consistent expectations
consistent adult presence in hallways
greeting and talking with students
increased communication
school culture to focus on problem solving rather than fighting
looking at programs with miriam morales taylor for in school programs
muse asks if boe can get breakdown of offense
adamowski recommends that be done annually
report policy not being followed per adamowski needs revisions
catala thinks list of interventions taken is a good list
fischer says the best prevention is students. they tell when problems build, they inform and ask for help.
magnet schools
letters from conl and nl harbour towers supporting magnet concept
jeff harris re third letter
opsail ct
part of the continuing presence of opsail would be educational. recommending maritime arts/industry magnet school with nl unique port and history
all three letters received for the record
ten minute break
public comment
mirna martinez
comment about budget 1.5 increase between schools and city only fulfills contractual and still could be cuts to busing. not able to bring back any service cuts.
setting nl up for no aspirations
renzulli – extremely concerned about setting this up in a city with already so many feelings between the haves and have nots
can do this in one setting instead of creating more disparity
the conversation of the 6.5 mill is actually special education services and gifted and talented etc confuses the topic
mongi
thanks parents for coming and teachers
gifted and talented separated into its own school is a bad idea. no business plan in place and considering funding another school
the special master and designation of the state, our priority is closing the achievement gap. we can do both, in the school
its a grant, a hook to buy into this program to establish this program funding it with resources we need to close achievement gaps
likes the achieve 3000. in school. ask the teachers what their problems are, listen to them about reading insufficiency
kathy
as parents they care for their own children, and others children
though of hanging on to harbor school without the finances to maintain them
does not like taking kids out of schools for the renzulli program. could be done inside existing schools
sees little things like the algebra class at benny dover
likes communication efforts, but recently cancelled last one
wants to be part of magnet school planning, renzulli caught parents by surprise
wants boe etc to encourage school governance the opportunity to review the budget as in the requirements
jason
appreciates boe asking questions about the renzulli charter school
says gifted and talented programs are good, but outside of the district as a charter school …a non profit private corp, with high admin overhead
not interested in taking the money out of the district
looks forward to the workshop
as for eligibility. extracurricular activities approve students as a whole. creating a barrier because they are struggling, make it available to everyone including those in sports.
support letters parroted adamowksi and fischer without informed opinion
may be a market interest in nl harbour towers letter writer
natasha
son at ct college childrens program
leery about sending her son to nl public school as her daughter there is not challenged enough. she has no incentive to do more than the norm
considering leaving, daughter has been moved from school to school and may not get into the school she desires due to the selection system of magnet schools
does not understand how we are at capacity in schools we build to attract more students
her daugher would not want to be separated because of her achievements
Tambria Moore society is not separated by how we learn and work differently
adjin
issue with money, administration board has 100k plus salaries, cut that and put it to the kdis
pockets getting fatter while kids are in poor buildings, bussed, nothing getting done
you get a raise from progress, not as matter of practice
william
son goes to nathan after st marys closed
attends pto meetings
son has progressed in math and reading
the magnet school system he has questions
hoping the website has the answers
asking goals, sufficient funds to be competitive in hiring and maintaining best and brightest teachers, guidance counselors for mid and high school. more teachers needed to reduce class size. does it allocate funds for repairs. boe and parents obligated to provide a quality program
regina
achieve 3000 program question 100 students with 16 teachers, class sizes need to be reduced
does not mean they need to be moved to separate school, just restructure to better serve students
comments that all have to set expectations of the students. tommy set expectations and did it.
kids in poverty can learn
set the expectation early and they will succeed
renzulli comment by fischer to train other teachers with same program within existing schools….why start with separate school.
capacity after magnet implementation or now?
gwen
community organizations with questions re magnet
when is the final decision, what magnets.
survey gone from web
who got to respond, what was the count, how long was it online
there will be a compilation and will be public information
cheryl
to morris, congrats on comment about harbor school and concerns
ill informed boe, you need to ask questions and expect answers.
job for network …is that a new position, why if so why with teacher cuts
if an old position with new description usually means more money
approval of minutes
approval of sop
morris asks if they have considered an international baccalaureate program
have to look at cost, time, resources, or make possible to go to regional existing program at fitch high school
district charter school development question
adamowski says misinformation floating around
says it is operated by the district and money stays here under reform
ufficient questions to take this strategy out and approve the rest
wonderful workshop topics to explore by the boe per adamowski
they need to commit to an improvement plan now
bill moves to strike 1.d from sop
morris
he agrees to a, b and c with three pathways to k-12
looks at redesign of curriculum and use of buildings. should and would rather have public hearings first
boe meeting cut off from cable
end of my blogging
sorry for any name spelling screw ups and of course my usual typos with my dysfunctional keyboard
Marco Frucht wow, about 45 minutes of meeting wasn’t included in the cable broadcast? After 1.d Mr Morse had lots of questions about lots of things and wanted many thing to go before the public for hearing and such. I don’t get the sense he felt very heard after they tried to get many up and down votes back to back and then adjourn the meeting anyhow. The two things I know for sure that passed were Network Administrator position getting filled and changing to a full magnet system, even though there’s no business plan and no timetable.
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