Steiner, Tisch lay out reform agenda

On Board Online • January 11, 2011

By Brian M. Butry
Communications Coordinator 

Many in government promise to be architects of change, but David Steiner is delivering.

In just three months on the job, the newly appointed state education commissioner has laid out a far-reaching reform agenda. At the December New York State Board of Regents meeting, Steiner – along with Regents Chancellor Meryl Tisch – unveiled plans to:

• Create new consequences for low-performing schools, including seeking legislation to authorize the formation of “education oversight boards” that presumably would supplant the locally elected board of education.
• Develop a legislative proposal to streamline the section 3020-a disciplinary process.
• Ask the Legislature to double the number of charter schools that can be authorized.
• Create a teacher assessment process based on student performance.
• Ensure that state assessments “become less predictable and more comprehensive,” and begin offering Regents exams in the arts, economics and computer technology.

Some of the changes are aimed at helping New York land its share of federal Race to the Top funding.

In the wake of Gov. David Paterson’s deficit reduction plan last month, Steiner called the federal competition a “critical source of potential funding”  and said this was a “very exciting opportunity to help our students.”

The state Board of Regents approved action to address perceived deficiencies in New York’s application for the $4.3 billion federal grant program, some of which require action by the state Legislature. (The deadline to apply for the first round of Race to the Top is January 19.)

“We recognize that the difficult fiscal climate will make this work more challenging, but it also makes it all the more urgent,” Steiner said during a press conference. “The status quo is deeply unacceptable.”

Steiner and Tisch recommended lawmakers raise the state’s charter school cap to 400 from the current 200. They also called on the Legislature to eliminate any ban that would allow schools to link student performance data to teacher tenure decisions. Both items are weighted heavily in the Race to the Top’s scoring system.

One set of changes that requires no Legislative action and potentially could affect school governance profoundly is Steiner’s plan to change how the State Education Department identifies and addresses the state’s persistently lowest performing schools.

Subject to approval by the Regents, Steiner will revise the SURR (Schools Under Registration Review) process to better align it with other state accountability programs. Under Race to the Top guidelines, New York would need to identify the lowest-achieving 5 percent of Title I schools already tabbed for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring and high schools that have graduation rates below 60 percent over a number of years.

Steiner laid out four consequences for such underperforming schools:

1. Transformation. The school principal is replaced and a rigorous staff and school leader development and evaluation system is implemented.
2. Turnaround. The school principal and 50 percent of the staff are replaced. Significantly, Steiner also proposes a new “governance structure,” which may include requiring the school to report to a local educating agency turnaround office – presumably affiliated with a BOCES (whose district superintendents report to the commissioner as well as their respective BOCES boards). The school would also be required to hire a “turnaround leader” who would report directly to the superintendent.
3. Restart. In extraordinary circumstances, struggling schools could be converted into charter schools under the “restart” option. Or the school could be closed and reopened under an external education management organization.
4. Closure. The school would close and students would be able to enroll in other schools.

The language in the “turnaround” option is disturbing, according to NYSSBA Executive Director Timothy G. Kremer. 

“It sounds as if the commissioner is talking about usurping of the power of the locally elected board of education based on weak performance on standardized tests,” Kremer said. “On the other hand, he has been under tremendous pressure to produce a plan that would enhance the Race to the Top application. We have established an excellent, ongoing dialogue with Dr. Steiner and are confident the turnaround option can be handled in a way that makes sense for students and does not sacrifice democracy.”

He added, “Although we view that specific proposal as problematic, the commissioner and the Regents really should be commended for this ambitious reform agenda. We applaud the goals articulated – raising academic standards, ensuring the next generation of teachers is better prepared and developing a better evaluation model for our current teachers.”

NYSSBA President Florence Johnson said she was particularly encouraged by Steiner’s plan to create a value-added teacher evaluation model based on a new P-20 data system.

Under the Regents plan, the P-20 system would help link student performance data to educator effectiveness, provide electronic transcripts, connect P-12 education with higher education, and integrate non-instructional educational databases (like information on the workforce and health). This interconnected data would help inform decision making at the classroom, school district and state level.

Said Steiner: “We should not place a teacher in classroom, nor a principal in a school, before each has demonstrated their capacity to be effective, including their ability to raise the academic achievement of all students who make up the rich diversity of our state’s student population.”