Typical MVRCS -Avoidance and Intimidation Tactics!

 REQUESTS: We are seeking to make contact with an individual from the Malden school that the students in question attended (teacher, aid, staff, or parent) who can confirm that the students in question actually attended their school. We can assure you that your identity will NOT be revealed under any circumstances. While we have individuals and materials available from MVRCS to confirm that the students were enrolled, removed, and re-enrolled there, we would like someone from the Malden schools to confirm they were students there.
Should you (or someone you know) be able to provide any information regarding this situation, please contact us at UnOfficialMVRCS@gmail.com. Information and Contact Found - Thank you for the responses!

The following complaint was filed first with MVRCS Board of Trustees (filed March 14, 2011) and then, per DESE procedure, with Mitchell Chester (filed April 15, 2011), who is the Commissioner of Education at the DESE. Finally, on June 23, 2011 we heard back from Rick Veilleux (the Business Manager of MVRCS) regarding our complaint. As in the past when we have requested copies of the Board Meeting Minutes (both the open portion and Executive Session), the school resorted to intimidation and avoidance tactics by requiring us to either come into their office to review the material or provide a mailing address and funds to have it mailed to us. While the copies of the minutes were requested under the Freedom of Information Act and are therefore subject to such conditions, the formal complaint we filed is not. The complaint was filed electronically and as such, should be responded to in like form. Furthermore, as we're sure the complaint is already in electronic form, emailing a copy would be entirely appropriate and easily done. Of course we know that this is just MVRCS way of trying to determine our identity. In either case, any individual who is interested in obtaining a copy of the response from MVRCS's Board of Trustees may either drop into the office to view their response or request one be sent through the postal service (but the school will charge for photocopying and postage).
On June 23, 2011 we sent the following email was sent to Rick Veilleux and other various individuals who SHOULD be concerned and willing to further address this issue. Since then we have been working with a number of reporters and media outlets regarding the confirmation of our allegations. While we do want this issue addressed and the school to be held accountable, we are attempting to ensure that the identities of the students in question are not published as we feel this would not be in their or their immediate families best interest. In the meantime, we thought we would share with our readers our current efforts and this issue.




Subject: Complaint Response
To: rveilleux@mvrcs.org
Cc: JMcCleary@mvrcs.org, BBarnett@doe.mass.edu, JWulfson@doe.mass.edu, ago@state.ma.us, legal@eth.state.ma.us, KarenNober@eth.state.ma.us, cccompliance@doe.mass.edu, boe@doe.mass.edu, media@doe.mass.edu, CharterSchools@doe.mass.edu, www@doe.mass.edu, Gov.Webmail@state.ma.us
Date: Monday, July 11, 2011, 4:33 PM

Mr. Veilleux:

I am writing in response to your email dated June 23, 2011 regarding the formal complaint filed with Mystic Valley Regional Charter School (dated March 14, 2011) and the subsequent complaint filed with the Commissioner Mitchell Chester of the DESE (dated  April 15, 2011). I find your response to my complaint unacceptable and an attempt to circumvent addressing the issue at hand. Out of respect for Christopher Finn, a substantial amount of time to has been permitted to pass without further action being taken. As a direct result of your unwillingness to adequately respond in like form to the manner in which the complaint was filed,  I feel it is necessary to seek the assistance of the media and reporters. Therefore if an adequate and acceptable response is not received through electronic email by July 20, 2011, a copy of the complaint in full (along with contact information for all involved parties) will be forwarded to reporters and media outlets along with a request for assistance. I look forwarding to hearing from you.

March 14, 2011

To The Board of Trustees:

As required by Massachusetts Law 603 CMR 1.00, specifically section 1.10 regarding the Complaint Procedure please accept this letter as a formal complaint. It is our belief that MVRCS has violated section 1.06 ‘Charter School Enrollment and Recruitment’. Specifically section 5 of the law which states:

(5) …No student entering an enrollment process may be admitted ahead of other eligible students who were previously placed on a waiting list during a prior enrollment process, except in cases described in to 603 CMR 1.06(4)(e).

 It is our understanding that this law has been violated on numerous occasions but most recently in the re-admission of Chris Finn’s (Assistant Director) two xxxxxx, xxxxxx and xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxx. It has come to our attention that during the 2007-2008 school year their mother transferred them out of the school. The following year these same two xxxxxxxx were re-admitted mid-year and are now currently enrolled in the school (xxxxxxx is in 3rd grade and xxxxx 5th). It is also our understanding that this is in direction violation of the above mentioned law as well as Massachusetts State Ethics laws pertaining to Conflicts of Interests and Codes of Conduct.

April 15, 2011

Commissioner Chester:
The following complaint was filed with the MVRCS Board of Trustees on March 14th, 2011 to which they have failed to respond to. In accordance with the law, I am now filing this complaint directly with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

To The Board of Trustees:

As required by Massachusetts Law 603 CMR 1.00, specifically section 1.10 regarding the Complaint Procedure please accept this letter as a formal complaint. It is our belief that MVRCS has violated section 1.06 ‘Charter School Enrollment and Recruitment’. Specifically section 5 of the law which states:

(5) …No student entering an enrollment process may be admitted ahead of other eligible students who were previously placed on a waiting list during a prior enrollment process, except in cases described in to 603 CMR 1.06(4)(e).

 It is our understanding that this law has been violated on numerous occasions but most recently in the re-admission of Chris Finn’s (Assistant Director) two xxxxxx, xxxxxx and xxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxi. It has come to our attention that during the 2007-2008 school year their mother transferred them out of the school. The following year these same two xxxxxxxxxx were re-admitted mid-year and are now currently enrolled in the school (xxxxxxx is in 3rd grade and xxxxxx 5th). It is also our understanding that this is in direction violation of the above mentioned law as well as Massachusetts State Ethics laws pertaining to Conflicts of Interests and Codes of Conduct.

June 23, 2011

In regards to your complaint about the school’s enrollment policy, I have been asked by Mr. Brennan, our Board Secretary, to make arrangements with you to obtain or view his response.  As per our prior communications regarding various other matters, you may come into the Business Office located at 671 Salem Street to either view a copy of the response or pay for a copy of the response to take with you.  If you cannot come into the office, you can send me a check for the copy and cost of postage and the response will be mailed to you.  If you choose this option, please provide me with your mailing address and I will provide you with the cost and once a check is received, I will drop it in the mail.

Rick Veilleux

School Business Manager

Mystic Valley Regional Charter School

The Lottery and Waitlist ……Powerball Anyone?

It seems that certain staff members (or any with children who are interested in sending them to MVRCS) and/or friends should play Powerball as they seem to have incredible luck!

We’ve blogged before about the issues relating to the handling of the lottery and waitlist at MVRCS but feel the need to do so again. In November the school held its annual lottery for incoming Kindergarten students. We didn’t give it much focus as we wanted to gather information and review the information before jumping to any conclusions. We were fortunate to have several different individuals in the audience who either manually recorded or (secretly) voice recorded the drawing. It’s taken us a while to put it all together and find the discrepancies but we found some. We had seriously hoped that the school had handled it with integrity and ethics this year but found otherwise. It seems that regardless that the school has an outside CPA handle the drawing itself, the school officials have somehow managed to continue manipulating the list to ensure certain individuals gain entry. We have heard from some reliable sources that not only has the Department of Education taken possession of the school’s waitlist, it is also now being managed by an outside source as a result of a change in the law and (we would imagine) wrongdoing on the part of the school.

We’ve compiled a comparative list of the numbers that were called and the final list that the school has published (located @ http://www.mvrcs.com/files/Lottery_Results_11_23_10.pdf). We see a number of differences and will be forwarding the data to the DOE for their review and (in)action, along with the names of the individuals who we believe will have benefited. It seems that being friends with Danielle Ferrara in the office is one way of ensuring entry into the school. We have also heard that parents also have the option of bribing their way into the school but have been unable to confirm the specifics. We’re also not sure if Ferrara is the person to bribe or if she is just the one doing the dirty work at the lottery drawings and/or working of the waitlist (either on own accord or at the instructions of someone else)..

As a side note, we have noticed that staff members of the school have unbelievable luck gaining entry into the school. We’ve mentioned before the high number of Kinnon’s and Finn’s and that they were all unbelievable fortunate to gain entry, never mind all the relatives of Henry Gennetti. Also worth mentioning is that relatives of both Finn and Gennetti who were so fortunate to gain admission not just once but twice! Somehow at least two families chose to leave the school and then somehow managed to be at the front of the waitlist when other children left (how that can happen is beyond us). We did hear that the school has some kind of allowance for this in their By-laws although how this can be is again beyond us as it is not permissible per the Department of Education (but then again, the rules that apply to all other charter schools don’t seem to apply to MVRCS). We have been unable to locate the school by-laws to confirm this but are continuing to work on it.

We have noticed that with a few exceptions, any staff member who places their child in the lottery or on the waitlist seems to gain entry. We’d heard about past teachers who somehow managed to gain access to MVRCS for their children after beginning to work there. Two good examples would be Dr. Biegler and Ms. Herrera. More disturbing is that it appears as though Ms. Herrera’s children got in ‘from the waitlist’ which we seriously question if they were ever on. We’ve come across other examples as well which leads us to believe that this was not an isolated incident.

Bringing the focus to current practices, it amazes us how many staff and faculty members have been fortunate enough to gain entry through the lottery and/or waitlist. Yes, we know that some staff members began working there after their children were admitted but it doesn’t seem as though many who work there and have children DO NOT GAIN ENTRY. Funny enough it doesn’t seem to just be limited to staff member’s children but also includes staff member’s relatives and friends. Isn’t it amazing that Gina McKinnon and Jen Mullen were both fortunate enough to have their children selected? Amazing, what luck they have. We did hear that Jen Mullen was not originally selected but did have a low number on the waitlist and made sure her child managed to get in (probably one of those non-english speaking kids that were systematically eliminated or encouraged not to enroll). Then again, it appears as though being a friend to Danielle Ferrara (or is she the person to bribe?) is one way of ensuring entry as a few of her friends that work at a popular Melrose seafood restaurant have managed to gain entry (one of which doesn’t even live in one of the sending districts). Who knows, we could be wrong but... It seems Val Doherty and Peter Connolly were fortunate enough to gain entry into the school for their nephews. This was in the year that a number of other staff members also were fortunate enough to have their children admitted. The current first grade class has a number of employee’s children sprinkled among it. It amazes us that out of only 125 spots that so many staff members, friends of Danielle Ferrara (not to mention Neil Kinnon) and relatives were selected from the lottery YET individuals who have been included in numerous lotteries have NEVER been selected. Isn’t it amazing? That is why we think the these staff members, family members, and friends should play Powerball – the odds are in their favor. Although the Powerball lottery isn’t fixed, is it? 

NOTE: We'd like to clarify that when we 'verify' our information, we aren't speaking to other parents but individuals who are either currently or have been employed by the school, a number of which have been there for numerous years. Through these individuals and our own resources (such as class lists and year books), we are able to confirm our information.

Absolute Power Corrupts - Absolutely!

Is there any truth to the old adage is true: Absolute power corrupts - absolutely.

We think so especially since reading (and re-reading) the statements made by Neil Kinnon in the recent Boston Globe article, we have been both incensed and humored by his self-serving interest in defending the Boards refusal to set term limits out of necessity. Neil Kinnon stated that only ‘through a long-serving board that has full understanding of the charter’ can a Board of Trustees’ ‘remain true to the charter’. We take issue with his position and question if the Board has in fact stayed ‘true to the charter’. Further we believe that just as the President of our country is limited to term limits, so too should Board members.

As a side note on this matter, Neil Kinnon has stated that ‘the state Department of Education has repeatedly questioned the trustees’ long tenure’, yet he fails to mention that they have not simply questioned the Board but have issued directives regarding the setting of term limits. Also, as we have mentioned in earlier posts, other charter schools have had their charter renewal contingent upon the adoption and incorporation of term limits into their by-laws. It still befuddles and exasperates us as to why the same has not been required of MVRCS (up to this point we have not heard back from Associate Commissioner Wulfson who we have been communicating with).

The 22 Amendment to the US Constitution addresses the number of terms an individual may serve as President of the US. While Mr. Kinnon believes that continuity is the only manner in which the Board can stay true to the charter, we question how the knowledge, insight, experience required of the Board of Trustees’ of MVRCS can so severely outweigh that of the individuals elected as our President? We think not and just as with the restrictions placed upon our President, we believe they should be adopted for good reason and purpose. Neil Kinnon himself has proven this by his self-created dictatorship that has removed the components found within a democracy. Unfortunately just as the Founding Fathers of our country did not believe it necessary to incorporate term limits into the Constitution (it was an unspoken but agreed upon rule), neither did the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education when drafting the original laws and regulations that govern charter schools. It wasn’t until Roosevelt’s disregard for the unspoken and his attempts to ensure judicial support for his programs did it become required to incorporate term limits into the Constitution. The same situation has arisen in the current standoff between the Board of Trustees and the DESE, as we are sure that the individuals who drafted the laws and regulations at no time intended for a Board to become a monarchy corrupt with cronyism. 

Letter: Taking exception with Mystic Valley ad - Malden - Your Town - Boston.com

To post or not to post.....that is the question.
We have obtained a copy of the ad that was placed in the Malden Observer that people have taken issue with and while a reader has asked us to include a copy of it, we do not feel it would serve any purpose other than lower ourselves to the standards of those responsible at MVRCS. We felt that MVRCS demonstrated their lack of consideration and character by including the portion related to Malden Public Schools as it served no purpose. The portion of the ad that related to MPS was contained to the lower left hand corner of the ad. The gist of it identifies Malden Public Schools ranking among Massachusetts schools and the implication of that ranking which is that the number of Malden students that the school MAY be able to accept for the 2011-2012 school MAY increase. Interestingly enough, Martin Gately has said that they have not yet applied to have the cap listed for the City of Malden which causes us to question why they felt the need to even mention it.
It should be stressed that the schools are have very different populations and approaches to educating children. What also is not mentioned is that MVRCS has a lower number of Special Education Students and no English Language students compared to Malden. It was also not mentioned that MPS must follow the laws and regulations the govern them while MVRCS feels that they can follow only those that are convenient to them. As we've said before, SO SAD and SO BAD on the part of MVRCS.

We do have a copy of the ad, so should anyone want to see the actual ad we would be happy to email you a copy of it.

MVRCS has responded to the letter. The response is below Open House Announcement and the letter but link is MVRCS Response to Letter.

This may be similar although without the Malden statistics that were included in the Malden ad. Interesting side note is that this was posted by Martin Gately ON October 15th yet the open house was on October 15th....? What Mr. Gately said is correct, they HAD to do this to meet a requirement of the DESE. Funny, they do this to appease the DESE yet refuse to release financial records, meeting minutes, and set term limits.

The school was also supposed to submit plans regarding Anti-Bullying (as were all schools) and a Teacher Retention plan.

Mystic Valley Regional Charter School Open House

Mystic Valley Regional Charter School Open House

Mystic Valley Regional Charter School

770 Salem St, Malden, MA

/announcements/mystic-valley-regional-charter-school-open-house

271793

/locations/2204192

Posted by Martin Gately | October 15, 2010

 On Friday, October 15, 2010 at 8:30am Mystic Valley will host the first in a series of open house meetings for prospective parents. Each Open House will take place in the multipurpose room in the annex building located at 30 Laurel Street in Malden. Parents will hear from Mystic Valley administrators and observe a Mystic Valley class in progress. Parents will be given an opportunity to ask questions about the school. Open Houses are also scheduled for October 21st , November 8th, 15th, & 18th at 8:30am and October 26th at 7:00pm. Open Houses generally run between an hour and a half and two hours.

This year's fall admission lottery is scheduled for Tuesday, November 23rd at 7:00 in the multipurpose room in the annex building located at 30 Laurel Street, Malden.  The lottery is open to the public. The deadline for submitting lottery applications is Friday, November 19th at 4:00pm. An application for admission can be obtained by clicking here.

Letter: Taking exception with Mystic Valley ad - Malden - Your Town - Boston.com

Letter: Taking exception with Mystic Valley ad

(Editor's note: Suzanne Tynemouth, librarian at the Salemwood School, challenges information contained in an advertisement run by the Mystic Valley Regional Charter School in a Malden newspaper. The following is her letter:)
The Mystic Valley Regional Charter School recently ran an advertisement in local newspapers and distributed a flyer to attract potential students who may be interested in entering their lottery.  In their attempt to attract students, the Mystic Valley Regional Charter School administration publicly demeans the Malden Public Schools.

This type of thinking sets up a dichotomy between the Mystic Valley Regional Charter School and the Malden Public Schools. Both schools are publically funded although the  Malden Public Schools do not have a lottery. They accept all students.  Students from Mystic Valley Regional Charter School come from six sending communities with demographics that are very different from the Malden Public Schools. The Malden Public Schools has a diverse population, a high number of low income students, and a significantly higher number of special needs and new English Language Learner (ELL) students.

Despite those challenges, the Malden Public Schools sends its graduates to Ivy league schools every year; students are recognized by the National Merit program and the Harvard Book Club.  Malden High School has a first place competitive marching band, and the list goes on.

The Lottery & Waitlist Issue Expanded

With the upcoming lottery just around the corner, we have been working to draw the attention to the lottery process at our school. We have compiled a list of students and matched those names with school employees (who worked there prior to their child attending the school), city officials and employees. As a result we have identified at least 120 students of MVRCS that have connections to one of the above. Additionally, we have compiled a list of another 90 students who we believe to be associated with the school through connections to a Board Member, Administrator,or school employee. We also know that we do not have a complete list of all students we believe were given preferential treatment in obtaining admission to the school. While compiling this list, we came across examples that demonstrate the questionable and unethical allegations we have been hearing of from others.
A few examples include Chris Finn having upwards of 13 nieces and nephews within the school and John Baglio's son being admitted even though Mr. Baglio was living in Saugus at the time of applying (according to our sources, he used a relatives address). Mr. Baglio, for those of you who do not know, is or was married to Mayor Howards niece which is how he has gained and managed to retain his position (he is known for texting on his phone during classes, arriving late to his classes, playing questionable music, and implementing a questionable curriculum). Mr. Baglio isn't the only individual to apply to school while living out of district (regional districts), we also recently heard of a friend of another school employee who had to finagle for an acceptable address after being 'chosen'. In addition we've also recently heard of a Malden city employee who recently managed to get his two children into the school but not through the lottery but off of the wait list. According to our sources, this same gentleman is also currently a Malden school committee member. Additionally, we have  heard from individuals who told of teachers being given preferential treatment that ranged from ensuring their child was selected, to siblings being admitted after 5th grade. Another instance would include the previously discussed re-admittance of two of Chris Finn's relatives but also the re-admittance of relatives of Mr. Gennetti (which we now have the names of). Another example involves the 'luck' of long time Neil Kinnon friends gaining acceptance. We find it amazing that all of these individuals were 'chosen' yet the school has not 'chosen' a single non-english speaking student. Our list goes on and on and will continue to compile and document examples (feel free to submit any you may have) until a government agency takes on the responsibility of ensuring that the lottery and wait-list are handled according to the laws as MVRCS will not do so on their own accord. We might suggest, at the very least, requiring that a formal wait list (created during the drawing by an unbiased, unconnected individual) be submitted to the DESE so that parents can not be told they are currently number 2 only to suddenly find themselves number 36 (as one family has), who happens to have a child in the same grade level as one of Chris Finn's re-admitted relative. Hmmmm