September 19, 2016

Dear Parents/Guardians of Students in Grades K-6,

We are conducting a brief (five question) survey to research the possibility of providing a “cost share” transportation plan to transport your child to and/or from school.  The survey link will be available until the end of the day on September 26, 2016. Your participation in this survey is greatly appreciated.

Please visit the following link to complete the survey:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSckSTNXXuVHsGPy7LGXqiN5ZCbsGFBFJQea9MO1pUz-uBLWkg/viewform?c=0&w=1

Please note that a cost-share program does not exist at this time, however we are collecting information to inform our planning. If you have any questions specific to the survey please contact Dr. Grandson at cgrandson@maldenps.org. 

Thank you, 

Dr. Charles Grandson

Superintendent of Schools 

Dear Parent/Guardian,

This message is a reminder that if your child received transportation in grades K-6 last year, transportation will not be provided this year per the school committee decision this past spring. If your child receives special education services and has transportation within their IEP, this change will not affect your child. Malden Public Schools has sent letters home to impacted families, sent out a district wide ConnectEd phone call and will continue to call the homes of impacted families. We are working to help families with this change in transportation policy by providing the following options:

1) Priority transfer to a closer school
2) or access to a free MBTA bus pass for the remainder of the year
3) and in the coming weeks – recommendations on carpooling options

If you have any further questions or concerns, please call our office at 781-397-6100.

Thank you,
Dr. Charles Grandson, Superintendent of Schools

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Caros Pais e Responsáveis,

Esta mensagem é um lembrete para avisar que se o seu filho/filha recebia serviços de transporte nas séries K-6 no ano passado, esses serviços não mais serão fornecidos este ano devido a uma decisão do comitê escolar. Se seu filho/filha recebe serviços de educação especial e possui o serviço de transporte dentro de seu IEP, essa mudança não irá afetá-lo (a). A Malden Public Schools enviou cartas às famílias que serão afetadas pela decisão, além de ter realizado contato telefônico (ConnectEd). A escola continuará a entrar em contato com essas famílias. Devido à decisão, nós estamos trabalhando para ajudar as famílias afetadas pela mudança na política de transporte ao fornecermos as seguintes opções:
1) Prioridade para transferência a uma escola mais próxima da residência;
2) Acesso gratuito ao MBTA Bus Pass até o término do ano;
3) Nas próximas semanas, recomendações para caronas solidárias.
Se você possuir quaisquer dúvidas ou preocupações, por gentileza, contate-nos em 781-397-6100.
Grato, Dr. Charles Grandson, Superintendente.

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Estimado Padre/Tutor,

Este mensaje es un recordatorio de que si su hijo recibió servicios de transporte en los grados K-6 el año pasado, no se le proporcionará transporte de este año, según decisión del comité de la escuela en la primavera pasada. Si su hijo recibe servicios de educación especial y tiene el transporte incluido en su PEI (Programa de Educación Individualizado), este cambio no lo afectará. Malden Public Schools ha enviado cartas a las familias afectadas, ha hecho una llamada telefónica masiva por ConnectEd y continuará llamando a los hogares de las familias afectadas. Estamos trabajando para ayudar a las familias con este cambio en la política de transporte, proporcionándole las siguientes opciones:
1) Prioridad de transferencia a una escuela más cercana a su residencia
2) o acceso a un pase de bus gratuito MBTA por el resto del año
3) y en las próximas semanas – recomendaciones sobre las opciones pendientes
Si usted tiene alguna pregunta o inquietud, por favor llame a nuestra oficina al 781-397-6100.
Gracias,
Dr. Charles Grandson, Superintendente de Escuelas

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尊敬的家长/监护人，
如果您的子女在去年是K-6年级并接受交通安排，此信息是提醒您，根据今年春季校委会的决定，今年将不会提供任何的交通安排。如果您的子女是接受特殊教育服务，并在他们的IEP内有交通安排，此变动将不会影响你的子女。Malden Public Schools马尔登公立学校已致函给受影响的家庭、发出广泛区域的ConnectEd电话，并将继续致电给受影响的家庭。通过提供以下选项，我们正致力帮助因此变动而受影响的家庭:
1) 优先将你的子女转到接近你居住的学校
2) 或在今年剩下时间，免费获得MBTA公交月票
3) 并在未来几周内 – 建议合用汽车方案
如果您有任何问题或疑虑，请致电781-397-6100与我们办公室联系。
谢谢!
此致
Charles Grandson 博士 – 学校总监

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Gửi Cha mẹ/ Người bảo hộ,
Thông báo này là để nhắc rằng nếu con của quý vị được đưa đón trong các lớp K-6 năm ngoái, việc đưa đón sẽ không được cung cấp trong năm nay theo quyết định ủy ban trường học trong mùa xuân này. Nếu con của quý vị nhận được các dịch vụ giáo dục đặc biệt và được đưa đón trong IEP, sự thay đổi này sẽ không ảnh hưởng đến con của quý vị. Trường Công Malden đã gửi thư về cho các gia đình bị ảnh hưởng, đã gửi đi một cuộc gọi ConnectEd của quận trên diện rộng và sẽ tiếp tục gọi tới nhà các gia đình bị ảnh hưởng. Chúng tôi đang làm việc để giúp đỡ gia đình với sự thay đổi trong chính sách đưa đón bằng cách cung cấp các tùy chọn sau:
1) Ưu tiên chuyến tới một trường học gần nơi cư trú của quý vị
2) hoặc sử dụng một tuyến xe buýt MBTA miễn phí trong phần còn lại của năm
3) và trong vài tuần tới – khuyến nghị về các lựa chọn đi xe chung
Nếu quý vị có bất kỳ câu hỏi hoặc quan tâm nào, xin hãy gọi văn phòng của chúng tôi tại 781-397-6100.
Cảm ơn,
Dr. Charles Grandson, Quản trị trường học.

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Cher parent / Responsable,
Ce message est un rappel que si votre enfant a reçu les services de transport dans les classes K-6 l’an dernier, le transport ne sera pas fourni cette année par la décision du comité de l’école au cours du printemps dernier. Si votre enfant reçoit des services d’éducation spéciale et contient le transport dans leur IEP, ce changement n’aura pas d’effet sur votre enfant. Malden Public Schools a envoyé des lettres à la maison des familles touchées par cette decision, et a fait des appels téléphonique et continuera à appeler les maisons des familles touchées par cette decision. Nous travaillons pour aider les familles avec ce changement de règles de transport en fournissant les options suivantes:
1) Le transfert de priorité à une école plus proche de votre résidence
2) Ou l’accès à un bus gratuit MBTA pour le reste de l’année
3) Et dans les prochaines semaines – recommandations sur les options de co-voiturage
Si vous avez d’autres questions ou des inquiétudes, s’il vous plaît appelez notre bureau au 781-397-6100.
Je vous remercie,
Dr. Charles Grandson, surintendant des écoles

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Chè paran/Responsab,
Mesaj sa se pou nou raple ou ke si pitit ou a te resevwa sèvis transpòtasyon nan klas k-6 ane pase a, yo pap founi transpòtasyon pou li ane sa daprè desizyon komite lekòl la nan sezon prentan an. Si pitit ou a resevwa sèvis edikasyon espesyal, epi si li gen transpòtasyon ki la pou li nan sèvis IEP li yo, chanjman sa pap gen okenn efè sou pitit ou a. Malden Public Schools voye lèt kay tout fanmi ki afekte pa desizyon sa, epi yo te fè yon apèl telefòn pa connected epi yo pral kontinye rele lakay tout fanmi ki afekte yo. Nou tout ap travay pou ede fanmi yo ak chanjman sa ki sou règ transpòtasyon nou yo ak opsyon sa yo nou ofri a:
1) Transfè a priyote nan yon lekòl ki tou prè kay elèv la
2) Oubyen bay yo aksè nan yon bus MBTA gratis pou rès ane a
3) Epi nan semen kap vini an- bay rekòmandasyon sou opsyon yo genyen pou woulib nan machin yo.
Si ou gen plis kesyon oubyen nenpòt bagay ki konsène ou, tanpri rele nan nimewo sa: 781-397-6100.
Mèsi,
Dr. Charles Grandson, direktè lekòl yo.

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الأعزاء الأهل/ الأوصياء،

هذه الرسالة لتذكيركم بأنه إذا تلقى ابنكم خدمات المواصلات في الصف K-6 السنة الماضية، فلن يحصل عليها هذه السنة بناء على قرار مجلس المدرسة الذي اتخذه الربيع الماضي. إذا كان طفلكم يتلقى أية خدمات تعليم خاص تتضمن المواصلات كواحدة من خدمات برنامج التعليم الفردي الخاص به، فلن يؤثر هذا التغيير عليه. قامت مدارس مادلن العامة بإرسال رسائل للمنازل بغية إخطار العائلات المتأثرة بهذا القرار، وكذلك قامت بإجراء المكالمات وهي مستمرة بالاتصال بمنازل العائلات المتأثرة. نعمل على مساعدة العائلات في هذا التغيير بسياسة المواصلات من خلال توفير الخيارات التالية لهم:

• أولوية الانتقال إلى المدرسة الأقرب لمكان أقامتكم
• أو الاستفادة من خدمات إدارة نقل ماساستشوتس المجانية لباقي السنة
• وفي الأسابيع القادمة – توصيات حول خيارات النقل بالسيارة.

إذا كانت لديك أية استفسارات أخرى أو اهتمامات، يرجى الاتصال بمكتبنا على 781-397-6100.

شكرا لكم،

د. تشارلز غراندسون، المدير المراقب على المدارس

We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty. -Mother Teresa

I hope everyone enjoyed the Thanksgiving break; it hard to believe we are already a few weeks into the month of December. Three days before the break, two teams from Malden spent Monday and Tuesday working at a DESE conference. The timing of the conference was tough, the two days before the break are busy for teachers and administrators, so I really appreciated that staff members were willing to be there and participate. The theme of the conference was teaching and dealing with student poverty. The keynote speaker, Eric Jensen, spoke to the staff about the effects of poverty on not only the social/emotional aspects of students’ learning, but how poverty is also affecting the brains of our students. I didn’t attend the conference, but I did read Jensen’s book and would like to share some of the points that stood out for me.

Author Eric Jensen defines poverty as “a chronic and debilitating condition that results from multiple adverse synergistic risk factors and affects the mind, body, and soul.” He continues to explain that poverty is complex and impacts people differently. The author highlights six types of poverty which may impact students as they enter our schools and classrooms. He starts with Situational poverty which is caused by sudden crisis or loss and is temporary. Generational poverty is at least two generations being born into poverty; many of these families lack the tools to move out of their situations. Absolute poverty means the lack of necessities such as food, shelter, and running water, which he points out is rarely seen in our country. Relative poverty is based on a family’s whole income being insufficient to meets society’s average standard of living. Urban poverty is associated with areas consisting of a population of 50,000 or more, and urban poor deal with a complex aggregate of chronic and acute stressors. The sixth and final definition of poverty is Rural poverty which is associated with areas of a population of 50,000 or less. Being rural poor is associated with have more single family households, less access to services for disabilities, and lack of quality educational opportunities. Until I read this book I always thought of poverty in two categories, rural and urban. By expanding the definition of poverty, I was able to rethink about our homeless students (using the lens of situational poverty); when speaking about families struggling to make ends meet I can now use the term relative poverty, and as we struggle with some families who have a long history of issues we can recognize the impacts of generational poverty. By naming and defining the multiple dimension of poverty, I believe we can build better methods to support our students and parents in our district who are struggling with one form of poverty or another.

Beyond the definitions, the author writes in detail about the impact of poverty on a child’s development. Brain research is beginning to associate poverty, along with the stressors associated with being poor, as having a negative impact on a child’s brain development. There is a growing body of research linking poverty to impeded development in various areas of a child’s brain which then affects her/his ability to regulate gratification, create plans, make decisions, process explicit learning, acquire language, process spatial organization, and engage in emotional processing. These stressors by definition can manifest themselves as poor nutrition, living in over-crowded spaces, social exclusion, constant criticism, lack of enrichment, drug use, exposure to toxins, abuse, and trauma. The author tell us that being exposed to acute and chronic stress over a long period of time is changing the development of the brain at a genetic level.

After reading this book I came to one major conclusion: poverty is changing the way our children’s brains are being wired. Poverty over time is creating negative change at cellular level – a scary thought for me because it forced me to think about how I have dealt with students of poverty over my career. For most of my educational life I worked in high poverty areas and believed that poverty was something we could ‘fix’ with more funding. We could help by giving free and reduced breakfast and lunch in schools. If a students lacked the basics with regards to clothing, school supplies, and other materials, we would find a way to provide items to them. I guess I believed that if we as a school district could supply the food, clothing, and basic material needs for a student living in poverty, then we were doing our job. Those measures go a long away, but as I am reading more about the effects of poverty, it appears we need to go deeper and do more to intervene at the cellular level and help to rebuild the damage being done. After reading this book and other articles on poverty’s genetic influences on the developing child, I’m not sure more funding alone can help. Whether we are looking rural poverty, situational poverty, or generational poverty, it is becoming more apparent that poverty has a negative impact on a child’s life right down to the cells in her/his body. Poverty affects a child’s social/emotional development, it creates health safety issues, and enhances cognitive lags in school. So what can we do?

We need to learn and deepen our understanding of poverty. Throughout the book author stresses the need for developing a better understanding of poverty and the need to teach with the stressors that play a role in a child’s life clear in our minds. The more we read, discuss, and expose ourselves to the concept of poverty, the barriers associated with it, and the effects it has on children, the better we can educate and support students. Too often in education we look to funding to fix our problems, but I don’t believe our first step to dealing with poverty as a district is money. Empathy costs us nothing but can go a long way in understanding the students and parents we deal with daily. Respect is free, yet why at times is it so hard to give? Building a belief system in oneself doesn’t require a purchase requisition. Forming positive relationships doesn’t require a line item in a budget. Acts of kindness don’t cost us anything. We can undo the long term effects of poverty by simply adjusting our school environments.

In closing, the author states that children are hardwired for six emotions; joy, anger, surprise, disgust, sadness, and fear. In a world influenced by the chronic stressor of poverty, who will teach them cooperation, patience, gratitude, embarrassment, forgiveness, sympathy, and empathy? These emotions are just a few of the building blocks of a humanistic society, a work place, and a classroom that foster social/emotional growth. I believe we have an obligation to teach, model, and lead with a constant eye on the social/emotional growth of our students, staff, and community.