Greetings Malden Public Schools Community,
Due to the snow emergency declared by the City of Malden, all Malden Public Schools activities will be canceled on Saturday, January 7th, 2017.
Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Stay warm and safe!
Dr. Charles Grandson
Superintendent
12-15-16 3:00 p.m.
Dear Malden Public Schools Community,
MALDEN Public Schools will be in session tomorrow Friday, December 16th, 2016. The weather forecast predicts extremely cold temperatures for tomorrow. We urge all parents and families to dress children warmly and use all necessary precautions to ensure that they are safe and warm during their travel to and from school. Students who do not attend school tomorrow due to the weather will not be penalized for attendance. We ask that families use their best judgment.
Join us for our inaugural
F.A.C.E. Meeting
Tuesday, November 29th
6:30pm
Malden High School Library
F.A.C.E. is an outlet for families and overall Malden Public Schools community to collaborate and partner with Malden Public Schools.
Click here for the F.A.C.E Flyer
Please RSVP to Kristy Magras at kmagras@maldenps.org
I look forward to seeing you there.
Kristy R. Magras,
Family and Community Engagement Manager
Did you hear about the new new ADVISORY council in Malden Public Schools? Are you looking for a way to ENGAGE in the Public Schools? Are you willing to SERVE and foster productive relationships with Malden Public Schools Central Administration ? Please click below to complete a short form and JOIN in the excitement!
https://goo.gl/forms/HTHTJ19RAVflF8XA2
Overview/Scope:
Who:
When:
Why:
The Superintendent welcomes all Malden Public Schools parents and caretakers to attend one of the following meet and greets:
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
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.
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
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
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.
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
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.
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:
إذا كانت لديك أية استفسارات أخرى أو اهتمامات، يرجى الاتصال بمكتبنا على 781-397-6100.
شكرا لكم،
د. تشارلز غراندسون، المدير المراقب على المدارس
“Throughout the nation men and women, forgotten in the political philosophy of the Government, look to us here for guidance and for more equitable opportunity to share in the distribution of national wealth… I pledge myself to a new deal for the American people. This is more than a political campaign. It is a call to arms.”
-Franklin Roosevelt
Recently, I was reading a study on children living in poverty when a gentleman sitting next to politely look at me and said, “That’s and uplifting topic.” I acknowledge the weight of the subject matter, and he asked me what I did for living. We spent the next few minutes talking about poverty and its impacts on kids and families. In my opinion poverty has always been the ghost that haunts student achievement. Poverty is often masked by behavior issues, excessive absences, and apathy. After reading the book; Teaching through Poverty in Mind, I decided to better understand what the poverty landscape looks like in this country and the effects on public schools.
I begin my education with the United States Census Bureau. Here are some of the facts I found, 46.7 million Americans are living in poverty, there has been a 2.3% increase in the national poverty level since 2007, and two groups have seen an increase in their poverty rates those with a bachelor’s degree and married couples. As I read articles and stories on poverty they helped to better understand poverty in America. I found a report completed by The Condition of Education in 2015. The reports states that in 2013 approximately 10.9 million school age students between 5-17 years old were in families living in poverty; poverty rates ranged from 9% in New Hampshire to 33% in Mississippi; 39% of African American students lived in poverty; 45% of children living in mother only households were in poverty, and single father households account for 29% children living in poverty. USA Today released an article on the number of poor children rising and the impact on learning. In the article they site other studies which state the following; nearly half of all U.S. public school students live in poverty, poverty-not race, ethnicity or where you attend school is the best predictor of college attendance and completion. Educational Leadership in March of 2013 had a section dedicated to help support teachers who are in classrooms with students of poverty. The article is located on my webpage.
Sasha Abramsky in her book; The American Way of Poverty: How the Other Half Still Lives, address the impacts of the recent recession, the economic free fall brought on by the collapse of the housing market, and the finical meltdown that followed. In her book she capture the stories of people who once were in solid financial shape, they owned houses, had decent employment, and were on the ‘lower rungs’ of the middle class ladder. As I read their stories it became apparent how fragile their financial situations were. A few months out of work due to their company downsizing, variable rate mortgage increases, and little money saved many of these people found themselves homeless. Those who were upwardly mobile found themselves in downward spiral brought on by the fiscal collapse.
The book speaks to diminishing foodbank supplies due to a greater need, neighborhoods with boarded up building because the inhabitants just abandoned homes they could no longer afford to live in. Abramsky examined New Orleans post Katrina and points out how many of the poor left behind in neighborhoods were unable to escape due to lack a of transportation, and how many of those neighborhoods were over looked when the plan to revitalize went into action. I felt the author did a good job describing the growing job market in a way that makes you understand how low wage jobs with limited benefits have created a class of ‘working poor’ who make just enough in wages not earn government benefits, but not enough to survive on. The ability for people to access government benefits has been made more difficult to navigate which often scares people away from applying, and physical and mental health issues of the poor are going un-serviced.
As I read this book I begin to realize that the American poor have lost a voice in our country, the working middle class is struggling, and more young children today are living with the stressors of poverty in their young lives.
It was President Franklin Roosevelt who led this country after a devastating depression. He stood in front of a nation and noted that a third of the nation was ill-housed, ill-clad, and ill-nourished. Today we are facing poverty rates much like those of the great depression, who will be the voice to address the facts? Can our current political structure produce a leader who will step forward, like President Roosevelt did, and develop the blue print for a ‘New Deal II.”
At the end of most evening I glances at the news feeds on Yahoo News as way to catch-up on the day’s events. To my surprise I read that Warren Buffet believes the economy is doing just fine. He feels the upper middle class is living today much better today in his neighborhood than John D Rockerfeller Jr did even with his wealth and power. According to Buffet, our upper middle class can purchase and take for granted such things like transportation, entertainment, communication, and medical services all of which Rockerfeller Jr. couldn’t. He spoke of a population growth of .08% per year, and 2% GDP growth which equates to 1.2% per capita growth and while that doesn’t sound impressive, he went on to say, in a single generation of 25 years that will lead to a real 34.4% GDP growth per capita. To be honest I’m not sure how all the numbers add up, but I don’t claim to be an economist.
I am an urban school superintendent, I see with my own eyes the rate of homelessness expanding in our city. I see and hear more about students and their families struggling to make ends meet. I see the expansion of food pantries opening in church halls and other meeting locations to help offset hunger. I am aware of our younger staff working several jobs to help support themselves. I am aware of more young adults in their twenties living at home with parents in part due to the high cost of rental properties, and student loans. I am aware that hard work over many years has provided me with solid employment, but also recognize how fragile the balance is. I’m not an economist, but from what see, what I read, and what I believe for many living in this country poverty is an everyday way of life.
If I could ask Mr. Buffet one question it would, “In the population increase of .08%, how many are born into poverty vs. upper middle class?”
Thank you for choosing Malden to work in.
“Pit race against race, religion against religion, prejudice against prejudice. Divide and conquer! We must not let that happen here.”
― Eleanor Roosevelt
Without jinxing us for the rest of the winter, we survived the month of January without a snow
day. Let’s keep our fingers crossed while we wish for a warm, snowless month of February. We
ended our month of January with a professional development day which highlighted a training on
cultural sensitivity. I feel this training came a good time for us and I thank the staff who
participated.
Cultural Sensitivity can best be defined as a consciousness and understanding of the morals,
standards, and principles of a specific culture, society, ethnic group or race, joined by a
motivation to acclimate to one’s actions with such. When I was growing up in East Boston, my
interaction with diversity was limited. Most people I knew were either Italian or Irish; they were
Catholic, and predominately white. It wasn’t until I went to Northeastern University that I
actually met someone of the Protestant faith. My lens on diversity was shaped by grandparents
and parents who had less exposure to diversity than I did. They grew up in a time when there
wasn’t a great deal of integration, and tolerance for differences was limited. I grew up listening
to comments such as, “Why don’t those people just get a job?!” or “People like that just don’t
want to work hard, that’s why they will never get better.”
As I grew older, in all honesty I grew older before I matured, my exposure to diversity grew. My
road to maturity started when I had my first child, a healthy little girl. All of a sudden terms like
“throw like a girl” or “run like a girl” took on a negative tone. Statements like that were no
longer funny when you are the father of daughter, and you begin to recognize how you behaved
growing up. In a split second when the doctor says “Congratulations, it’s a girl” dozens of past
actions, comments, and stereotypes flash into your mind. Having a daughter accelerated my
maturity on the subject of sexual biases.
My path to diversity maturation continued as I started to teach in urban districts. I began to gain
a better understanding of the struggles that were facing students and families in cities like Salem,
Chelsea, and Revere. By working with a variety of minority groups, I found myself face-to-face
with some of the biases I had growing up. It became clear to me that the families I was working
with were motivated and making attempts to improve their lives. I began to realize and respect
the complexities some of our families faced on daily basis. Many of the parents I grew to know
were hard working adults who put a huge level of trust in us as educators. I saw firsthand single
parents putting in long days trying to make ends meet and yet still invested in their child’s life at
school. After years in urban school districts I found a deep respect for the uphill battle many
faced to improve their lives.
As my professional maturity increased I found myself starting to monitor my language. I stopped
saying ‘those kids” started using ‘our kids’ when describing subgroups in our school buildings. I
made a conscious effort not to “judge a book by its cover” when dealing with students and
families. By the time I ended my tenure as principal of Revere High School, I was in a different
place with regards to the stereotypes, biases, and preconceived notions I possessed about people,
cultures, and social issues. At 47 years old the world looked a great deal different than it did
when I was 25.
Cultural awareness, identifying our own biases and prejudices, and examining the stereotypes we
carry is the first step in creating a climate and culture that will impact the social, emotional, and
physical well-being of a school district. At a recent conference the keynote speaker, Dr. Greene,
asked us in the group, “What skills foster the positive side of human nature?” He highlighted the
following: Empathy, Appreciating how one’s behavior is affecting others, Resolve
disagreements in ways that do not involve conflict, Taking and understanding another’s
perspective, and Honesty. These skills spell EARTH.
Teachers and administrators shape social and cultural norms. Our students look to us to help
guide them, educate them, and develop them as strong human beings. We have made great
progress closing an achievement gap. Our students are showing strong, steady growth in
academic achievement. For this you should all be proud. My question at this time is “Are we
ready to tackle the next hurdle and begin the work to close the social-emotional gaps in our
students, and in ourselves?”
We started this work with several staff members on Friday involved in a professional
development day focusing on cultural awareness. To change a climate and culture of school
district to ensure it embraces the skills to support and develop the ‘positive side of human nature’
is no easy task. It starts with each and every one of us admitting we need to address the
stereotypes and biases we all possess, and work hard to ensure they don’t impede our ability to
work with others.
Okay, I jinxed us!!! Enjoy the snow day.
Dave
