The NYSED Office of Curriculum & Instruction (C&I;) Team's October 2010 E-Blast is now available.

The Race to the Top Scope of Work Technical Support Webcast.

The Race to the Top Final Scope of Work documents are now posted.

On Monday morning, October 4, Commissioner Steiner and John King hosted a closed circuit video conference to discuss with school leaders Race to the Top and its implications for LEAs.

Commissioner Steiner's September 13, 2010 summary presentation to the Board of Regents on New York's winning Race to the Top application.

This guidance provides educators with policy, program, and legal considerations that need to be addressed when dealing with the issues of bullying, cyberbullying, and general internet safety.

The United States Education Department today announced that New York State has been awarded $696,646,000 as a winner in the second round of the federal Race to the Top competition. Of the ten states named winners, only Massachusetts's application scored more points than New York's.

The NYSED Curriculum, Instruction & Instructional Technology (CI⁢) Team's August 2010 E-Blast is now available.

The State Education Department (SED) today announced the release of its 2010 Charter School Application Kit, seeking applicants--including educators, parents, teachers, and community leaders--to open new, high-performing charter schools across New York. The Application Kit details the specific steps and requirements that a charter school applicant must follow to submit an application to the Board of Regents for consideration.

The Regents recognize the urgency captured in President Obama's State of the Union address: "In a global economy, a good education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity - it is a pre-requisite. Three-quarters of the fastest-growing occupations require more than a high school diploma. I ask every American to commit to at least one year or more of higher education or career training. We know the countries that out-teach us today will out-compete us tomorrow." The Regents share this goal with the President, "to ensure that every child has access to a complete and competitive education," and have acted to use college-readiness as the state's Proficiency standard.

"We are naturally quite pleased to learn that New York State is among the finalists to be interviewed for Race to the Top funding. We look forward to representing the Regents' very strong vision for education reform in Washington, DC."

The Board of Regents today strongly endorsed the rationale presented by Education Commissioner David M. Steiner to adjust the "cut scores" on the state's grade 3-8 math and English assessments based on research that clearly suggests the need to more accurately indicate "proficiency" on those exams. With the support of the Board of Regents, Commissioner Steiner will set the cut scores accordingly. School, district, and statewide results from these tests will be released during the week of July 26.

The Board of Regents today approved the appointment of Valerie Grey to serve as the State Education Department's (SED) Chief Operating Officer. The appointment becomes effective on August 23rd.

The New York State Board of Regents voted to approve two sets of strategies to achieve cost reductions in the state assessment program at its full Board meeting in Albany today.

New York State submitted a Phase II Race to the Top application in Washington, DC today for $696.6 million in funding to advance progress of the Regents reform agenda through 27 projects over four grant years. $477 million of the RTTT funds would be awarded directly to participating LEAs (school districts and charter schools) over the course of the grant while $219.6 million would be used to build statewide capacity of educators and directly support new curriculum models, standards, assessments, teacher and principal preparation and professional development as well as the statewide student data system.

"Today's comprehensive legislative action is a landmark moment that will improve educational results for children in New York State for years to come," said Regents Chancellor Merryl H. Tisch. "The Regents and I thank the Legislature and its leadership -- Assembly Speaker Silver, his staff, Assemblywoman Nolan, Senate Majority Conference Leader Sampson, Senator Oppenheimer, and Senate Minority Leader Skelos -- for their leadership and passionate commitment to creating the best educational opportunities for our children..."

Education Commissioner David Steiner and Senior Deputy Commissioner John King today announced that New York State was awarded $19.7 million by the United States Education Department toward the design and implementation of a statewide longitudinal data system. The award to New York was the largest of 20 made in a competition that drew applications from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.

The New York State Board of Regents yesterday approved a recommendation by Education Commissioner David Steiner to move the release of scores on the Grades 3-8 Math and English exams to the week of July 26, 2010. Results from these tests, taken in late April/early May 2010, were originally scheduled to be returned to schools by June 24.

The New York State Education Department today proposed legislation with the backing of the statewide teachers' union, New York State United Teachers, and its largest local, the United Federation of Teachers, to advance key areas in the state's Race to the Top application. The reforms will be presented to both houses of the legislature later today.

The State Education Department announced today the release of 2008-09 School Report Cards for all schools and districts throughout New York.

This month inaugurates the first issue of the Bulletin, a newsletter from the Office of Higher Education. The Bulletin is intended to provide timely and useful information to many segments of New York State's higher education community.

While our application placed us among the finalists, the United States Education Department has announced that New York is not among the two first round winners in the Race to the Top competition. We will closely analyze the USED reviewers' response and will revisit our application with a view to submitting a successful second round plan that advances the Regents' education reform agenda. Critical to a positive outcome will be the legislative changes the Regents proposed prior to the submission of the Round 1 application - changes that will not only strengthen our application, but will bring important benefits to education in New York State. For the sake of our 3.1 million children, we cannot allow this critical opportunity to undertake vital reforms to slip away.

Statewide high school graduation results reported by school districts were released today.

I am pleased that New York State has been selected as a finalist in the first round of the federal Race to the Top competition. The Regents and I commend our many partners in school districts across the state for their support in developing New York's application. Together, we developed a strong and competitive proposal -- one that will advance the bold reforms needed to turn around failing schools, close the achievement gap and enable all of our children to succeed. These reforms aim to ensure that all of New York's public schools have truly effective teachers and principals, high quality curricula, well-designed assessments and are focused on the academic success of every child. We continue to recognize the importance of Legislative action to the Regents' broader agenda for education reform. We look forward to presenting our case in Washington for a comprehensive, integrated and innovative education reform agenda for New York State.

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has been awarded $9.5 million in a matching grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to expand computer access in public libraries across New York State. The funding is being provided through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP).

State Education Commissioner David Steiner today announced the removal of 14 schools from "school under registration review" (SURR) status and the addition of four schools onto the SURR list. Additionally, Commissioner Steiner announced that three schools in New York City and one school in Rochester that otherwise would have been placed on the SURR list will be phased-out and closed. SURR schools are those farthest from meeting State standards and face the possibility of closure if they do not make improvements required by the Commissioner.

I am deeply concerned about the issues facing homeless children in our school system. I believe strongly that our system needs to support all of our children, and that homelessness should never be a barrier to educational achievement. With too many families throughout the State facing homelessness and so many struggling in this economy, it is critical that we get this right.

State Education Commissioner David Steiner announced today that New York will join the Partnership Zone Initiative together with Mass Insight and five other states--Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts--to turn around low achieving schools.

State Education Commissioner David Steiner today announced that 57 schools have been identified as "persistently lowest achieving" and therefore eligible for new funding and major intervention to turn them around, as part of New York's school reform agenda.

"In an effort to ensure that New York presents the strongest and most competitive Race to the Top application possible and in light of the productive ongoing discussions occurring between school districts, unions and policy makers in districts that have not yet signed, we will be extending the deadline for eligible districts and charter schools to sign on to the state's Memorandum of Understanding. I am in regular contact with school leaders, policy makers and union officials and am hopeful that we will be able to forge a consensus to move forward with the bold reforms necessary to close the achievement gap, turn around failing schools and ensure that all of our children succeed."

Race to the Top is a competitive U.S. Education Department grant that is open to State Education Departments. This funding would not only help provide our schools with much needed support. It would also help to underwrite a bold agenda for reform that will greatly improve the achievement of our students.

The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a joint effort by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) www.nga.org and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) www.ccsso.org in partnership with Achieve, ACT and the College Board. Through this initiative, Governors and state commissioners of education from across the country have committed to joining a state-led process to develop a common core of state standards in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics for grades K-12 and for more detailed information visit www.p12.nysed.gov/ciai/common_core_standards/.

Governor David A. Paterson and Regents Chancellor Merryl H. Tisch today announced the award of approximately $5.5 million in grants to 11 "Smart Scholars" Early College High Schools (ECHS) and the State University of New York (SUNY) to coordinate this network of early college high schools throughout the State. Over the course of the four-year program, it is estimated that approximately 2,570 students will be served by these early college high schools supported, in part, by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced last summer.

Each one of our 3.1 million K-12 students in NYS deserves a world-class education — the chance to succeed in college or meaningful employment in our 21st century global economy — along with the tools and the desire for a lifetime of learning. When I was given the task of being Education Commissioner this October by the Chancellor and the Board of Regents — they gave me a very clear charge: raise the quality of education in our state, and work to transform the New York State Education Department into a hub of innovation and best practices.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released guidance on infection control measures to prevent the transmission of 2009 H1N1 influenza for healthcare personnel — including school nurses who may potentially come in contact with an individual with 2009 H1N1 Influenza. The "Interim Guidance on Infection Control Measures for 2009 H1N1 Influenza in Healthcare Settings, Including Protection of Healthcare Personnel" can be accessed at: www.cdc.gov/h1n1/guidenlines_infection_control.htm

School-Based Vaccination Clinics for 2009 H1N1 Influenza Virus - Joint SED-DOH guide to schools as they partner with local health departments to conduct school-based vaccination clinics for the 2009 H1N1 influenza. This includes a letter from Commissioners Steiner and Daines; a guidance document; a sample MOU for the use of school facilities for this purpose; a parent/guardian H1N1 vaccination consent form; a sample letter to parents/guardians; and a summary of relevant legal issues.

In Albany today the New York State Board of Regents took the first in a series of steps to strengthen the preparation and practice of teaching with a specific emphasis on providing high need schools with the best teaching faculty possible. The Regents are authorizing the development of a performance-based approach to teacher certification and inviting - on a trial basis - new entities to prepare teachers for certification. As part of this new approach, the Regents will support the development of new performance-based assessments for teacher certification (including the eventual use of value-added assessment as a component of professional certification), will develop new methods to recruit and retain teachers for high needs schools in subject shortage areas and will allow additional content knowledge demonstrations for prospective teachers to bring new talent into the teaching field.

On October 28, Governor Paterson signed Executive Order 29 declaring a disaster emergency in New York. The Executive Order authorizes a 30 day temporary suspension or modification of several laws and regulations related to licensed professions overseen by the State Education Department and the New York State Department of Health in order to facilitate the timely administration of the 2009 H1N1 and seasonal influenza vaccines throughout the State of New York to prevent the further spread of these viruses.

Dr. David Steiner took the oath of office today as New York State Education Commissioner in front of 5th and 6th grade students at Albany's Pine Hills Elementary School. Judge Victoria Graffeo of the New York State Court of Appeals administered the oath. Also present at the ceremony were representatives of major stakeholder groups in New York State's educational system.

The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and the National Governor's Association (NGA) Center for Best Practices have convened a State-led process to develop common core standards in English language arts and in mathematics. On September 21st, 2009, the NGA Center and CCSSO released the first official draft of the college-and career-readiness standards and would like public feedback.

The State Board of Regents today announced the selection of Debra Calvino as the 2010 New York State Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Calvino, a high school math teacher at Valley Central High School in Montgomery, New York, also serves as the Chairperson/Supervisor of the school's Mathematics Department. Interim Education Commissioner Carole Huxley made the announcement at the September meeting of the Board of Regents.

The State Board of Regents today announced the appointment of Dr. John B. King, Jr. as Senior Deputy Commissioner for P-12 Education. In his position, King will lead the State's school reform efforts. He will begin State service on October 5, 2009. Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch said, "John King is a nationally recognized education leader with a proven track record of lifting student achievement, particularly for low-income minority students in urban settings. His goal is always the same -- ensuring that the students in his care are prepared for college-level work and productive careers."

The State Education Department announced today that 13 schools have been identified as "persistently dangerous" under the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. Last year 19 schools were identified. Eight new schools have been added to the list of persistently dangerous schools this year and 14 have been removed. The eight newly identified schools are located in New York City; the 14 newly removed schools are all located in New York City as well. Schools were removed from the list because they reported fewer serious incidents.

A total of 499 elementary, middle and high schools and 35 districts statewide have been identified for improvement under the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. Of these, 49 schools and three districts were newly identified this year. Of the identified schools, 430 will receive Title I funds in 2009-10 and are required to offer extra help to eligible students; 339 of these Title I schools must also offer public school choice (as appropriate) to all enrolled students. In addition, 197 schools and 26 districts have been removed from the improvement list because they made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for two consecutive years in all areas for which they were identified. AYP is the minimum level of performance schools and districts must achieve each year and is based on student participation and performance on state assessments.

Results released today show that New York State students are the largest and most diverse state population in the country taking the SAT and Advanced Placement exams. In the 2008-2009 school year 122,790 students took AP exams and 159,886 seniors took SAT exams indicating a strong interest in preparing for and attending college.

New York State Governor David A. Paterson and the New York State Education Department announced today that 493 schools in 119 school food authorities have been awarded Food Service Equipment Assistance Grants totaling $5.99 million. The grants were made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.

The New York State Board of Regents voted today to elect Dr. David Milton Steiner as New York State Education Commissioner and President of the University of the State of New York. The Regents took this action at their July meeting held today in Buffalo.

The Rochester Leadership Academy was created with funding from the Wallace Foundation through the Building a Cohesive Leadership System (CLS) in New York State grant in partnership with New York State Education Department. The academy will serve principals in the Rochester City School District and support their leadership efforts to enhance student achievement. It will serve as a model for replication throughout New York State. This event is designed to recognize the official opening of the academy and to inform all school leaders in New York State of the commitment to leadership development that this grant represents. (An archived version of the webcast will be available a few days after the live event.)

The State Board of Regents today discussed a number of issues related to New York's high school graduation rate. Among the issues discussed were the following: how students, particularly those with the lowest graduation rates, performed; whether to set new graduation rate goals and targets; whether to use a 4 and/or 5-year graduation rate; what the impact of phasing-out the local diploma will be; and how to improve the reliability of the data that districts report to the Education Department. To guide their decision-making on these issues, the Regents reviewed newly available graduation rate data.

Achievement in math in grades 3-8 has improved overall this year, according to 2009 test results announced today by Regents Chancellor Merryl H. Tisch and State Education Commissioner Richard Mills. Eighty-six percent (86.4%) of students across grades 3-8 achieved the standards in math this year, compared with 80.7 percent last year. More of this year's students are meeting the standards than did students in those grades four years ago. Despite these improvements, many students are still not meeting the standards.

Marion Blumenthal Lazan, a Holocaust survivor and community educator in Hewlett, today received the 2008 Louis E. Yavner Citizen Award. Helene Alalouf, a Holocaust educator and retired English teacher in the Yonkers Public Schools, received the 2008 Louis E. Yavner Teaching Award. Established by the New York State Board of Regents and funded by the late Regent Emeritus Louis E. Yavner of New York City, who served on the Board from 1975-1981, the annual awards recognize teachers and private citizens who have made outstanding contributions to teaching about the Holocaust and other violations of human rights.

Achievement in English in grades 3-8 has improved overall this year, according to 2009 test results announced today by Regents Chancellor Merryl H. Tisch and State Education Commissioner Richard Mills. (Press conference archived webcast and materials are available.)

Information in the form of Questions and Answers for educators regarding H1N1 (Swine) Flu.

New York State Education Commissioner Richard P. Mills and New York State Department of Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines update schools and other educators with information on H1N1 (Swine) Flu. DOH Memo, "Educational Institutions: Update #1," is included.

The sixth statewide "Empire Promise Summit: Building Our Economic and Intellectual Capacity" will take place on April 29-30, 2009 at the Holiday Inn Turf, Albany, NY. The Empire Promise Summit is organized by the Liberty Partnerships Programs, a pre-collegiate/school dropout prevention initiative of the New York State Education Department, Office of K-16 Initiatives.

New York State Education Commissioner Richard P. Mills and New York State Department of Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines send memo with information on H1N1 (Swine Flu) to school administrators and other educators.

The State Education Department announced today the release of 2008 School Report Cards for all schools and districts throughout New York. The Report Cards are available on the web at http://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/. Much of the data contained in the School Report Cards has already been publicly released throughout the past year, but the Report Cards represent a single place for finding all of that information.

The New York State Board of Regents announced today that Carole F. Huxley has been appointed as Interim New York State Education Commissioner, effective July 1, 2009. Carole Huxley had previously served the Education Department as Deputy Commissioner for Cultural Education for 24 years, retiring in November of 2006. Carole Huxley will begin service on May 15, working alongside current Commissioner Mills until he steps down at the end of June. She will assume the office and duties of Education Commissioner and President of The University of New York on July 1, 2009.

A total of 543 elementary, middle and high schools and 53 districts have been identified by the State Education Department as "in Need of Improvement" under the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. Of these, 62 schools and four districts were newly identified this school year. All Schools in Need of Improvement (SINI) and Districts in Need of Improvement (DINI) receive federal Title I funds and must take a variety of actions under federal law. In addition, 85 schools and 11 districts have been removed from the Title I improvement list because they have made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for two consecutive years in all areas for which they were identified. This represents a substantial increase from the 46 schools and four districts that were removed from school improvement last year.

I am honored to have the opportunity to serve as Chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents at this critical moment for New York's three million school children. I look forward to working closely with Dr. Milton L. Cofield, Vice Chancellor-Elect, who is a tireless advocate for educational excellence.

Robert M. Bennett, Chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents, announced today that he is stepping down as Chancellor but will remain as a member of the Board and continue to represent the 8th Judicial District in Western New York.

State Education Commissioner Richard Mills today removed 25 schools from Schools Under Registration Review (SURR) status, the largest number of schools ever removed from registration review in a year. SURR schools are those farthest from meeting State standards and face the possibility of closure if they do not make improvements required by the Commissioner.The Commissioner also announced that he had placed an additional five schools under registration review and that four schools in New York City and Buffalo that otherwise would have been named to SURR status will be phased out and closed under agreements with the districts.

The State Education Department (SED) agrees with the findings of the Office of State Comptroller (OSC) regarding criminal history background checks for school employees. SED has instituted the recommendations of the OSC and has made other significant improvements to strengthen the process that will ensure that those hired to work in our schools are properly screened.

Advanced Placement (AP) results released today by the College Board show that many of New York's high school students are well prepared for the academic challenges of college. New York is again one of the nation's leaders in the percentage of students scoring a three or better on at least one AP exam, which indicates mastery.

The New York State Board of Regents seeks applications and nominations for the position of Commissioner of Education. Our goal is to find an accomplished leader who will bring New York State to the forefront in educational achievement. We need a visionary to manage the State's educational resources to raise achievement for all students, close the achievement gap, and raise the State's graduation rate.

The New York State Education Department is accepting applications for the 2009 Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) from public or nonpublic, nonprofit school food authorities; all local, county, municipal, or state governmental entities; migrant programs; nonprofit agencies; and residential camps interested and eligible in sponsoring an SFSP Program.

Nominate an outstanding teacher in your school for the 2010 New York State Teacher of the Year. Deadline for Applications is February 13, 2009.

From Senior Deputy Commissioner Johanna Duncan-Poitier

Governor David A. Paterson today received the final report of the Temporary Special Advisory Panel On Driver Education Availability and Curriculum Enhancement. The report, which was also sent to the Legislature, provides recommendations on improving driver education and making it more available to young drivers across New York State. The report was forwarded to the Governor and the Legislature by New York State Commissioner of Education Richard P. Mills and New York State Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles David J. Swarts, co-chairs of the panel.

Clearly, this is a challenging time – both in terms of the depth and the expected duration of our economic downturn. Earlier this month, the Board of Regents presented a responsible State Aid proposal that balances the needs of our children with the State's fiscal realities.

In response to the State's economic crisis, the Board of Regents has proposed an increase in State Aid that is almost $1 billion less than the increase previously enacted by the State. The Regents today approved their 2009-10 State Aid proposal, recommending an increase of $879 million for the upcoming year. This amount represents a 4.1% increase over the previous year.

Today's release of Measuring Up, a biennial study of various higher education metrics, including college affordability, in the United States, contains inaccuracies regarding higher education costs in New York State.

Elementary school students in 51 schools around the state will be getting fresh fruit and vegetables for snacks during their school day under a new program being administered by the New York State Education Department. A total of $1,730,384 is being allocated through grant awards to 51 schools as part of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program.

State Education Commissioner Richard Mills announced today the approval of Contracts for Excellence between the Department and ten school districts throughout the State. This follows the announcement on October 3 of the Commissioner's approval of Contracts in 26 districts.

After serving for more than thirteen years as New York's Education Commissioner, Richard P. Mills today announced that he has notified the Board of Regents of his decision to resign from Office by the end of June 2009.

The Board of Regents today announced the appointment of Bernard A. Margolis as the New York State Librarian. He will assume his new responsibilities in January 2009.

The State Education Department has awarded the 2008 Marge A. Tierney Scholarship Award to Ms. Lynn Gorczyca of Irving, NY. Ms. Gorczyca is a graduate student in the Rehabilitation Counseling program at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

The Board of Regents invites nominations for the 2008 Louis E. Yavner Teaching and Citizen Awards. These awards provide recognition of a teacher and a citizen who have made outstanding contributions to New York State education about the Holocaust and other violations of human rights. The awards were established by the Regents and funded by the late Regent Emeritus Louis E. Yavner. The deadline for submission of nominations is Friday, January 30, 2009.