SUNY Poly and New York State School Boards Association Partner to Honor Top Three New York School Districts’ STEM-Based Educational Programs

“Be the Change for Kids” Innovation Award winners singled out for innovative, easily replicable programs that encourage critical 21^st century skills

School districts should plan for limited state and local revenue growth in their budgets next year, based on projections for shrinking state tax collections and another low tax cap, according to State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

DiNapoli made the prediction in an interview with New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA) Executive Director Timothy Kremer in an upcoming “NYSSBA News” program that will air on NYSSBA’s website beginning September 12.

School employees must now receive training on violence prevention and mental health, under a new law taking effect this school year. 

In addition, schools may have to begin testing their water supplies for lead contamination under a proposal passed by both houses of the state Legislature and expected to be signed into law by the governor.

Multiple legislative and regulatory changes to law have left some to question the value of evaluation plans

Once hailed as a game changer for public education by linking student achievement to teacher and principal evaluations, New York's teacher and principal evaluation law today largely represents for school officials an obligation to bargain, according to a new research report from the New York State School Boards Association. 

NYSSBA's report, "Building Trust at the Table," is based on interviews with school officials and an analysis of 100 approved Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) evaluation plans.

For the first time in the award’s history, the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA) is honoring two school board members with the Everett R. Dyer Award for Distinguished School Board Service.

The winners of the 2016 award this year are Deborah Coates of the Nassau BOCES and Joseph DiMaio from the Jamestown City School District. The award is the highest honor NYSSBA annually bestows upon a single school board member.

The New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA) issued comments to the United States Secretary of Education on the first round of Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) regulations.

Below is a link to NYSSBA's comments:

http://bit.ly/2asSo4r

New learning standards being crafted for New York State are likely to be similar to the Common Core standards they will replace, according to a new research report from the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA).

The report, entitled "Replacing the Common Core: New name, same standards?" examines what happened when three states – Indiana, Oklahoma and South Carolina – repealed the Common Core Learning Standards and adopted their own state standards in English and math.

The 2016 legislative session brought many positive changes for public education. 

Lawmakers provided funding for lead testing and remediation in school drinking water. Protecting the health and safety of students and staff is every school board's highest priority. 

The winner of the New York State School Boards Association's 2016 Champion for Change Award is a 21-year-old school board member who spearheaded initiatives in the Belleville-Henderson school district while simultaneously earning a bachelor’s degree at Cornell University.

John “J.W.” Allen has had a perfect attendance record at board meetings, held twice monthly, despite the fact that he had to drive four hours each way from Ithaca to Belleville, which is located near Watertown.

Schools subject to receivership or state takeovers have seen mixed and inconclusive results in improving academic achievement, according to an analysis of schools in other states by the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA).

A new research report from NYSSBA examines state takeover efforts in Massachusetts and Tennessee. The report points out that while students in the Lawrence Public Schools in Massachusetts made some improvements on state math and English language arts (ELA) exams after three years in receivership, those improvements were not sufficient to remove the schools from receivership.