On Board Online • May 29, 2017

By Eric D. Randall
Editor-in-Chief

Voters across the state supported almost all proposed school spending plans when they went to the polls on May 16, but voter turnout was the lowest since the State Education Department began tracking vote totals in 2003.

"I think it's a good sign," Sara Lattin, president of the Elmira school board, said when asked about the turnout trend in her district. Five years ago, 4,099 residents flocked to the polls in Elmira, upset about layoffs and eager to vote in highly contested school board races. But this year, only 751 people showed up, with 82.8 percent voting yes.

On Board Online • May 29, 2017

By Eric D. Randall
Editor-in-Chief

In an age of globalization, smart robots and rapid change, schools need to prepare students for jobs that don't yet exist, or jobs they create themselves, according to an acclaimed professor who will be the keynote speaker at NYSSBA's 98th's Annual Convention, which will be held Oct. 12-14 in Lake Placid.

"We are in the age of smart machines," said Yong Zhao, a professor of education at the University of Kansas. "That is going to render obsolete a lot of traditional jobs. It's a big shift."

On Board Online • May 29, 2017

Susan Bergtraum
NYSSBA President

The release of the state's new draft "Next Generation Learning Standards" to replace Common Core has prompted debate about what we should be teaching students in our schools.

After a comment period that ends June 2, it is expected the state will formally adopt new standards. Teachers will begin implementing them in the classroom. School boards and administrators will align local curriculum and assessments to the new standards.

While the emphasis in the standards appropriately has been on English language arts and math skills, I hope we don't lose sight of another important skill: creativity.

On Board Online • May 29, 2017

By Cathy Woodruff
Senior Writer

A draft state plan for implementing the federal Every Student Succeeds Act would give schools a wide new range of options for demonstrating quality and success.

State education leaders say revisions are ongoing as the draft ESSA plan moves through a series of public hearings and a public comment period that concludes in mid-June.

On Board Online • May 29, 2017

By Stephanie Combs
Associate Policy Consultant

In the digital age, many districts have posted their policy manuals online or desire to do so. This article will explain how to select the best option for your district.

On Board Online • May 29, 2017

By Kimberly A. Fanniff
Senior Staff Counsel

Lisa Broad, a tenured elementary school teacher in New York City public schools, received her unsatisfactory ratings in the 2009-10, 2011-12 and 2012-13 school years. Observations found issues with inattentive students and a dirty classroom as well as multiple concerns involving the quality of her teaching and classroom management skills.

In Broad v. New York City School Board/Department of Education, the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court, First Department, upheld her termination.

Despite numerous warnings of widespread teacher shortages, a new report from the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA) finds teacher shortages in New York are generally confined to a handful of subjects and geographic regions.

"What we found was that teacher shortages in New York exist largely in such hard-to-staff subjects as science, math, special education, English as a second language, bilingual education, foreign languages and technology," said NYSSBA Executive Director Timothy G. Kremer. "We also found that shortages aren't necessarily widespread across the state, but are found mostly in New York City and in smaller, more rural locales.