By Andrew Firestone

(The article has been modified from the original and printed versions to address errors in quotes attributed to Michael Chiu.)

The Somerville Public School system averted a $5 million budget loss and instead gained a possible new opportunity for improvement.   The Somerville Progressive Charter School proposal was rejected prior to a vote by the State Board of Education in the preliminary stages, and in the same week the SPS was granted a $10,000 boost for the planning of an Innovation school at the Winter Hill Community School.  If approved the teachers, school committee and administration, it could be running by September 2012.

This small step, enabled by the 2010 “Act to Close the Achievement Gap” may signal a new beginning for the Somerville School System.  In fact, there are several additional proposals are being considered at other schools in the district.  Superintendent Pierantozzi, speaking at a February 9 School Committee meeting raised the possibility of “combination” vocational and innovation programs that might teach sciences like engineering and design at public schools.

These proposals and new energy focused on education are intended to overcome the substantial challenges that face the schools. 51.6 percent of the students in Somerville Schools do not have English as their first language and 16.2 percent lack English proficiency; double the state average.

There are currently 4,877 students in the district; of these 69 percent receive free or reduced lunch, a common statistic used to indicate low income.

The debate over the charter raised the biggest uproar seen in recent years, with hundreds of parents, teachers and community members speaking against the initiative.  The city became eligible for a second charter when the 2010 law was passed.  It allowed additional charter seats in districts that are below the 10 percent line in MCAS scores statewide and with a focus on English Language Learners (ELLs).

The proposed charter aspired to fill these seats with a school that blended progressive educational practices and a focus on ELL students.  However, the structure of the ELL program was challenged by the community and district, with claims that it would not meet the needs of the targeted students.

Further, the need for a second progressive school and an ELL-focused school were also questioned, given the recent reconfiguration of the Healey school and data showing that Somerville ELL students actually outperform the State average and competing districts in MEPA (MA English Proficiency Assessment) tests.

The decision came before State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Commissioner Mitchell Chester, who passed along four of the proposed charters but refused to recommend the SPCS for a DESE Board vote. While SPCS Founders released a statement saying they would apply again, the matter is settled for now.

Spokesman for the DESE, JC Considine said that in coming to his decision, Commissioner Chester In looking at all of the applications asked “are these schools positioned to succeed?”

In the case of the SPCS, I think his overriding concern was that he did not feel that the founding group had the capacity to open and manage a charter school, and, particularly in the application and interview, I think the commissioner felt that there were certain aspects of the school’s education program, its physical operations, and its overall management of the school that just not were well-defined.”

He said the much-debated “proven provider” qualification did not even come into consideration. He also said that one out of every five active charter schools were not approved in their first go-round.

He did however, relate of the department’s interest in the innovation model, which he said was very popular despite it’s relative newness.

“We see districts across the commonwealth embracing this model. I know that this is something that the administration hopes is going to build over the coming years,” he said.

“It would inform [local educators and educational leadership’s] their decision making in terms of what additional flexibilities they might need to extend to other schools across the district.”

When asked whether or not he would say the turn away from traditional education methods was a referendum on the failure of said methods, Considine related, “it’s not surprising that a lot of the ways we have done business hasn’t always worked. We have a lot of schools that are struggling.

“It’s part of our quest here. Whether we’re talking about innovation schools, charter schools, our work in underperforming schools throughout the commonwealth: it’s what are going to be the levers that are going to move student performance in an upward trajectory,” he said.

Governor Deval Patrick and his Executive Office of Education (EOE) devised the innovation model. Heather Johnson, Spokesperson for the EOE said that these methods allowed educators, members of the district administration and union officials to negotiate for flexibility in length of day, curriculum and budgetary concerns. A day could be extended by a few hours; an emphasis on one subject or another could be implemented. In short, various guidelines could be reconfigured.

In the long term, we would say innovation is a huge part of the reason that Massachusetts is leading the nation in student achievement,” said Johnson.

“We have been able to try certain things like innovations schools, like our accountability status on schools that allow our educators to tailor education to what their students need. So the more instances of differentiated education, of their specialized education happening based on the student’s needs, the better that student is going to achieve.”

In total, 20 schools were awarded planning grants to develop their build-out applications. The final proposal must get final approval from the school committee.

If their districts approve all of the schools, there will be 50 schools across the state in the Fall of 2012.

Somerville can also apply for an implementation grant if they are approved. These state grants can range up to $75,000.

At the most recent meeting of the School Committee, most members were opening in favor of bold decisive action regarding the ability to modify teaching methods. While Ward 7 member Mary Jo Rossetti voiced caution, most displayed a desire for more dynamic change. The claim of change not being implemented fast enough had been a growing concern after the SPCS debates, but many parents said they trusted the teachers and administration of the SPS.

The group Progress Together For Somerville (PT4S) formed in response to the charter proposal, but has since been working to transform itself into a proactive, education-focused organization.   With the chance for innovation school practices forming in multiple schools in the near future, a much-needed catalyst may be forming to finally close the achievement gap.

One PT4S member, Michael Chiu, said that the charter school proposal wasn’t the right tool for the district.  “Somerville schools and students face many challenges, and we need to push for faster improvement.  However, we generally have great teachers and competent administration and discarding this talent to create a new school from scratch doesn’t make sense for this small district.”

Chiu was excited about the innovation proposals and said that the increased urgency and experimentation within the existing schools would serve the district better.

Chiu continued by stating that “there are many people across the city working to improve the schools and the most effective and equitable approach is to include as many voices in the process as possible.”

“This is slow, hard and sometimes frustrating work but there really isn’t a way to have instant success,  that’s not the real world.  I don’t think that the suburban schools have it figured out either, they just make a different set of trade-offs”.

He continued by stating that he chooses to send his kids to the public schools despite their challenges as they offer the best set of trade-offs for his family and that this motivates him to continue to push for improvement.

SPS Superintendent Anthony Pierantozzi said that the opportunities for the SPS were exciting, but that they would be geared towards closing the achievement gap. Massachusetts was one of 10 states, which received a waiver from the No Child Left Behind act. While failure under NCLB takes control away from educators, the innovation model supports it. The test is to which brings more results: a test for which Somerville is a prime subject.

“We would not want enter into this without addressing those achievement gaps. Our goal is to promote high achieving students achieving higher, moderately achieving students achieving at a high level, and students we haven’t found the key to, finding the key so that they are successful,” said Peirantozzi.