RTTT shows why we need BOCES |
On Board Online • December 13, 2010
By Fred Langstaff
Area 12 Director
School district leaders depend on BOCES to help address emerging needs. BOCES are frequently called upon to design new shared services when districts determine that such an approach would be more cost-effective then offering the service on a stand alone basis. In these difficult economic times, our state is finding new ways to use BOCES.
Consider the federal Race to the Top (RTTT) program. The State Education Department’s RTTT application envisioned the creation of Network Teams to serve as the vehicle for implementing the initiatives embedded in the federal program. The application anticipated that BOCES across the state would house these teams. In fact, the application was written in a way to encourage districts to collaborate with each other and/or with a BOCES to fulfill the requirements.
The strategy worked, and New York was awarded $700 million. Now the state’s 37 BOCES are each working with their component school districts to implement RTTT requirements. This is a perfect example of how the BOCES are positioned to address changing priorities.
Now that many RTTT initiatives are required of districts as a result of recent legislation, most districts have decided to join in the process. In fact, in order to qualify for the federal funds, the legislature and Board of Regents tailored laws and regulations to meet federal requirements. This has created a situation that requires participation in these initiatives, regardless of whether a district opts to officially jump into the RTTT process.
Different BOCES are taking different approaches. As reported in the Nov. 22 issue of On Board, 21 districts in the Capital Region have pooled RTTT funding to create a consortium in cooperation with Capital Region BOCES. Staff from the BOCES will attend state-mandated trainings and help districts do the heavy lifting of implementing new standards and analyzing student performance data.
As a board member for Eastern Suffolk BOCES, I am most familiar with how that BOCES is approaching the RTTT requirements.
For districts to create the Network Teams by July 2011. Eastern Suffolk BOCES needed to develop a plan that made sense for districts with an enrollment of less than 15 and in excess of 15,000.
In an effort to meet this challenge, ESBOCES has developed a three-tiered service model. The first tier consists of districts purchasing services offered to districts as part of the traditional CoSer process. The second and most robust tier provides all of the coordination and training that a district needs to implement the planned state initiatives. The third tier offers training for Network Teams that districts develop on their own.
It makes sense to have regional entities such as BOCES. With all that school leaders have to do, deciphering the details of the RTTT application packet had the potential to be arduous and time consuming. Across the state, BOCES have stepped in to take over the task of coordinating questions and answers with SED, assisting with the completion of the required Scopes of Work and related budget packets, and answering multiple questions about student data, allowable activities, and budgeting of RTTT funds for the next four years.
Like BOCES throughout the state, Eastern Suffolk BOCES has set up informational meetings with superintendents as well as technical assistance “work sessions” to walk districts through the process.
The next notable deadline is July 1, 2011 when districts are required to have the first set of evaluation systems for teachers and principals in place. Districts that opted into RTTT funds will also be setting up School-Based Inquiry Teams in each of their buildings to work with the state-trained Network Teams. Network Team training is scheduled to begin during the summer of 2011.
RTTT implementation is illustrative of the power of BOCES. It has enabled BOCES to demonstrate that it is a powerful instrument for facilitating and managing change. As education in New York State enters an era of change, this lesson must be remembered and the potential of BOCES must be fully realized.
The views expressed in the Director’s Dialogue column are those of the author and do not necessarily represent NYSSBA policies or positions.