On Board Online • October 12, 2020

By Robert S. Schneider
NYSSBA Executive Director

Of all the names given to generations, none is as forlorn as "The Lost Generation." It refers to those who came of age during World War I, many of whom were scarred by that experience and were depicted in literature as drifting and directionless.

Today, are we raising another kind of lost generation?

On Board Online • October 12, 2020

By Merri Rosenberg
Special Correspondent

During the shift to distance learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a relatively new educational innovation has proved invaluable to school districts: Learning management systems (LMSs).

On Board Online • October 12, 2020

By Chris Carola
Special Correspondent

Some public school districts across New York state are seeing a dip in kindergarten enrollments as parents express concerns about COVID-19.

On Board Online • October 12, 2020

By Gayle Simidian
Research Analyst

Can the cellphones of parents of young children become tools that encourage school readiness? That's the idea behind "Tips by Text," a program that has resulted learning improvements among lower-income preschoolers in California and is being studied as a way that schools can enlist the aid of parents all the way through middle school.

On Board Online • September 21, 2020

By Eric D. Randall
Editor-in-Chief
and Pauline Liu
Special Correspondent

Educators across the state have expressed feeling both jubilant and distressed as schools reopened this September. On one hand, it's a long-awaited return to some semblance of normalcy, especially in districts that are holding in-person classes (about 93% of districts, according to a NYSSBA poll of school board presidents).

On Board Online • September 21, 2020

Fred Langstaff
NYSSBA President

As we are reminded at every turn, these are not normal times.

High school football will be a spring sport this school year.

Schools that used to worry about standardized tests are now obligated to submit daily reports on medical tests.

On Board Online • September 21, 2020

By Paul Heiser
Senior Research Analyst

The rate school districts will have to pay to the state Employees' Retirement System will rise in 2021-22 compared with the 2020-21 rate, the state comptroller's office anno

On Board Online • September 21, 2020

By Eric D. Randall
Editor-in-Chief

Seema Yasmin, an Emmy Award-winning journalist and physician who teaches a class on "Media, Medicine & (Mis)information" at Stanford University, will join a panel of experts at NYSSBA's 12th Annual Pre-Convention Communications Workshop, which will focus on how schools should talk about the risk of COVID-19 with their key audiences.

On Board Online • September 21, 2020

By Cathy Woodruff
Senior Writer

Judith H. Katz, who served on boards of the Williamsville Central School District and the Erie 1 BOCES for a combined total of more than 50 years, has been honored with New York's highest honor for distinguished school board service.

Katz, an early leader of regional efforts to appreciate and encourage diversity in public education, will receive the Everett R. Dyer Award for Distinguished School Board Service in October. Look for a video announcement on the dashboard of the 2020 Annual Convention & Education Expo, which will be held virtually this year from Oct. 20-22 and Oct. 27-29.

On Board Online • September 21, 2020

By Sal Prividera
Special Correspondent

Edward J. Nitkewicz, an 11-year member of the South Huntington Board of Education on Long Island and long-time advocate for children with special needs, has been named the 2020 winner of NYSSBA President's Award.

The President's Award recognizes individuals or organizations that have made significant contributions toward the betterment of public education in New York State. Nitkewicz will be honored in a virtual presentation accessible from the dashboard of the 2020 Annual Convention & Education Expo, which will be held online in October.