| On Board Online • March 16, 2015 By Christine Schnars Beyond a doubt, it's been one of the worst winters I can remember. Snow and cold are nothing new for us New Yorkers, but this season the weather has been relentless. It seems that as soon as one storm or blast of cold subsides, another one hits. This is not unlike what we as board members are facing this budget season. Like winter, budgets are always a challenge. But, this year, the chill is deeper. Of course we can all recall tough years - years when we've made hard decisions and talked ourselves hoarse about the unfairness of unfunded mandates, inadequate state and federal funding and a 2 percent tax cap that, in most cases, turns out to be less than 2 percent. We've educated our communities and our legislators about the gap elimination adjustment that reduces our state allocations as well as the fact that aid formulas don't work well for most of us. |
| On Board Online • March 16, 2015 By Cathy Woodruff How many guidance counselors work in your school district? The answer may be zero. The term "guidance counselor" has been retired by leaders in the field, and directors of "school counseling" programs say they are in the process of reinventing their office operations. While the term "guidance" implies the function is one of steering students toward college and vocational choices, counselors say they are focusing on three main areas: academic progress, social-emotional development and college and career planning. The State Education Department is drafting new regulations on counseling based on a national model, and counselors say an update is badly needed. New York last updated its school guidance and counselor certification regulations in the 1970s. For instance, the state currently requires virtually no ongoing professional development for school counselors to retain their certification. Regular professional development and training for counselors is expected to be among New York's regulatory changes. |
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| FOR RELEASE: March 12, 2015 CONTACT: David Albert The state Senate and Assembly budget resolutions provide a good framework for negotiations as lawmakers approach the April 1 budget deadline. Both houses recognize the dire need schools have for state aid, and deliver with increases well above the governor's proposal. We urge lawmakers to use these increases both to restore funds that school districts would otherwise lose to the GEA, and make a sizable investment in Foundation Aid. That will deliver funding to all school districts that need it the most. As negotiations continue, we encourage the Senate to join the Assembly in abandoning the governor's ill-conceived receivership proposal. Hostile takeovers may work in corporate America, but they will fail miserably in New York's public schools. |
| FOR RELEASE: March 9, 2015 CONTACT: Al Marlin MEDIA ADVISORY and PHOTO OPPORTUNITY School board members bring their voices to the Capitol Who: More than 200 school board members, elected leaders and state education officials What: NYSSBA Capital Conference When: Sunday, March 15, 2015 from 11:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. Where: Hilton Albany, 40 Lodge Street, Albany, NY Governor Andrew Cuomo has proposed major state education reforms that would impact school districts and tied a significant funding increase to passage of those reforms. The Governor has also not released state aid runs for school districts, making it difficult for schools to develop their 2015-16 budgets. Hear school board members from around the state discuss their views on all of the issues, including proposed receivership or "takeover" models, teacher evaluations, tenure and school funding.
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| On Board Online • March 2, 2015 By Kenneth Hilton I guess we'd all like to believe that 12th grade provides the "finishing touches" to K-12 schooling, ensuring that students are successfully prepared for college, meaningful employment and lives as adults. But a lot of grim data suggest that this may not always be the case: Only 56 percent of four-year college students graduate within six years. Only 29 percent of two-year college students earn diplomas or certificates within three years. More than half of all college freshmen must take non-credit, remedial classes, requirements that discourage students and often derail graduation plans. |
| On Board Online • March 2, 2015 Cathy Woodruff The Educational Conference Board, a group that includes NYSSBA and other organizations representing school officials, teachers and parents, has sought clarification from Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders on what baseline state aid figures school districts should use in developing their budgets. While the governor publicly advised using a 1.7 percent projected aid increase, a figure tied to personal income changes and a statutory school aid growth cap, the ECB's Feb. 9 letter pointed to bill language that would bar any increase. The group also noted that the overall statewide increase would not assure every district a 1.7 percent increase and that the state Budget Division projected a higher growth cap of 3.9 percent in October. |
| On Board Online • March 2, 2015 By Paul Heiser After three years of experience with the state's property tax cap, a statewide advocacy group that includes NYSSBA has issued a report recommending dual ballot measures and other changes designed to improve rules on how school budgets are drafted and approved. The recommendations of the New York State Educational Conference Board (ECB) include changes that voters will see and behind-the-scenes technical adjustments to how districts' tax caps are calculated. The ECB is composed of the seven leading educational organizations that represent key stakeholder groups including school board members, superintendents, principals, teachers and parents. The recommendations apply to school districts outside the five biggest cities in the state (New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers) and do not represent the position of the Conference of Big 5 School Districts, an ECB member. |
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| On Board Online • March 2, 2015 By Cathy Woodruff The frosty air and shamrocks of March are sure signs that it's almost time for kindergarteners in the Greece school district to start learning about Christopher Columbus and the Pilgrims. While the Columbus Day and Thanksgiving holidays of autumn might seem to be more sensible times for those lessons, the 15th Century Italian explorer and Plymouth Colony settlers actually are right on schedule to sail into many kindergarten classrooms around New York this month. It's a change inspired by the Common Core and the concept of "core knowledge," which was conceived at the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia during the 1970s. Rather than building their curriculums around holidays, teachers in early grades are covering topics in sequences designed to build on each other. Using state-developed curriculum modules as guides, teachers in Greece spent the fall and early winter months leading kindergarteners through lessons on topics such as plants, farms, Native Americans, kings and queens, seasons and weather, said Suzanne Pettifer, literacy coordinator for the district. |
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