FOR RELEASE: November 23, 2020

Pandemic learning pods, or clusters of K-12 students learning and studying together outside of school, provide academic structure, child care and social support during the COVID-19 pandemic. But some researchers say these pods promote inequities for K-12 students, according to a new report from the New York State School Boards Association.

Across the nation, parents are forming pandemic learning pods for their children to allay safety concerns about the recent return to school classrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pods can act as an alternative to traditional K-12 public education or as a complement to it.

"It is important to stress that these pods can create inequities for student learning and, ultimately, can only be a short-term fix to an unpredictable global event," said NYSSBA Executive Director Robert Schneider.

FOR RELEASE: October 8, 2020

Schools are laying off teachers and staff. Some students in grades 7-12 are being forced to learn entirely remotely, due to inadequate funding. The federal government needs to get serious and provide the necessary relief.

FOR RELEASE: October 1, 2020

New York’s public schools are facing a threat of irreparable harm from the one-two punch of sharp cuts in state aid and costly operations during a pandemic, according to a report entitled "A Lost Generation" released today by the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA) and the Association of School Business Officials of New York (ASBO).

FOR RELEASE: September 8, 2020

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.

FOR RELEASE: August 11. 2020

We congratulate Betty Rosa on her appointment as interim commissioner of education by the Board of Regents.

We appreciate Dr. Rosa’s willingness to serve during this turbulent and difficult time. Her hands-on involvement in developing guidance for school reopening plans means she is familiar with the urgent educational challenges facing New York schools right now and can easily hit the ground running.

FOR RELEASE: August 7, 2020

FOR RELEASE: July 29, 2020

A majority of New York school board members would like to see students go back to their classrooms on a full-time or part-time basis in September, but they have reservations about whether they can do that safely without additional funding, according to a poll by the New York State School Boards Association.

FOR RELEASE: July 24, 2020

NYSSBA Executive Director Robert Schneider said, "NYSSBA has had a close working relationship with Interim Commissioner Tahoe that included texts and phone calls at all hours of the day and night. She has shown excellent leadership in a time when public schools have been coping with a pandemic in addition to the many ongoing challenges of public education. She will be missed."

As your membership Association, NYSSBA takes the health and well-being of its members seriously.  Therefore, we are transforming our annual convention, originally scheduled for October 29-31, into a two-week virtual event.

You’ll receive the same great quality experience that you have come to know and enjoy from our in-person event.

Our virtual convention will provide you with exceptional programming, keynote address, pre-convention events, expo, networking opportunities, entertainment and much more!

The dates and times of the virtual convention will be announced in the coming weeks.  In the meantime, if you have any questions, feel free to contact the individual listed below for your specific inquiry.

Barry Entwistle, Member Relations Director – General Convention – barry.entwistle@nyssba.org or 518.783.3767

Heidi Longton, Convention & Meeting Manager – Programming/Registration/Speakers – heidi.longton@nyssba.org or 518.783.3768

Anna O’Hara, Expo Manager – Education Expo – anna.ohara@nyssba.org or 518-783.3710

Cassandra Ingham, Business Development Manager – Sponsorships – Cassandra.ingham@nyssba.org or 518.783.3726

FOR RELEASE: June 18, 2020

An updated analysis of school budget votes by the New York State School Boards Association finds that 98.7% of school district budgets were approved by voters on Tuesday.

The analysis, which includes results for 667 of the 675 districts across the state that hold public budget votes, found that voters passed 658 school district budgets. The number of budgets defeated was nine.