On Board Online • December 10, 2018

By Eric D. Randall
Editor-in-Chief

By the time you read this, the state Board of Regents probably will have decided to extend the moratorium that shields teachers and principals from any employment-related consequences based on student test scores.

But events that maintain the status quo aren't usually considered big news. Our staff picked the following as the most significant news stories affecting public education in New York State:

On Board Online • December 10, 2018

By Mareesa Nicosia
Special Correspondent

Last fall, Oneonta High School health teacher Renee Stanley was in the middle of a lesson about defining sexual consent when she noticed a girl sitting stiffly at her desk. Tears were streaming down her face.

That's when the veteran educator and parent of two teenage daughters realized that she needed to "do way more than what I'm doing" to educate students about consent.

On Board Online • December 10, 2018

Timothy G. Kremer
NYSSBA Executive Director

Have you ever gone to a meeting, unsure of its purpose, only to be pleasantly surprised? That was my experience recently at Baldwin Senior High School, where I attended the "Redefining Ready" Forum.

What I learned in a few hours was an eye-opener.

Redefining Ready, a national campaign launched by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), is a model for assessing student progress and achievement that offers an alternative to conventional credentials that rely heavily on state-produced standardized tests.

The theory behind Redefining Ready is that many different kinds of achievements can prepare a student for future success, and the criteria used to award graduation credentials ought to be more flexible and broad.

On Board Online • December 10, 2018

By Cathy Woodruff
Senior Writer

The State Education Department has updated guidance for public school officials who must regularly review the educational programs of local nonpublic schools.

In more than 300 school districts with nonpublic schools within their boundaries, public school officials are required to determine whether the private and religious schools are providing instruction that is "substantially equivalent" to what students receive in public schools.