The parent academy or workshops, as they are also called, take place in the New York State and across the Race to The Top country. They are prescribed to each school district. Districts download the workshop modules located at engageny.org, NYSED website. The parent academies promote the Common Core Learning Standards (CCLS) which are part of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). … Continue reading →
The SOS Agenda Governor Cuomo barely finished his State of the State speech on January 8th when the first reactions to his speech started appearing in social media. The following day, there were two petitions drafted regarding the merit pay and $20,000 bonuses for teachers the governor mentioned. … Continue reading →
Currently, the education system is going through drastic changes. In 2010, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) agreed to proceed (and accept funds) with a federal plan entitled Common Core State Standards Initiative. Yet the implementation of the plan hasn’t been smooth. The interpretation of requirements (mandate) differs from one district to another. The administrators and members of school boards, who rely only on official memos issued by the education department are far … Continue reading →
inBloom Testimony Hearing The NYS legislators, education committee, held a hearing on November 20, 2013. The topic was inBloom, data mining, disclosing personally identifiable information (PII) to third parties, and the security of collected data. The testimony hearing took place in Albany. It was lengthy (5:45 h.) and exhaustive, but well moderated and informative. (Video recording embedded below). It is a must listen to, eventually watch, for any board of education member and curriculum … Continue reading →
At the November BOE meeting, the audience was presented with a Halloween video clip the staff made using iPads the district recently purchased. It was followed by a slide presentation that dealt with a program entitled K-SAT Initiative. The goal of the initiative is to start preparing students for the test early and encourage as many of them to take the test. … Continue reading →
The Common Core has been on the agenda of schools and parents across the country for quite some time. And it’s still picking up more interest each day, as new facts are being revealed. Parents of several school districts (E. Rockaway, Lynbrook, Malverne, Valley Stream) teamed up and are very excited to be able to invite all residents to an informative meeting about the Common Core Initiative. The meeting takes place at HERJC in … Continue reading →
During the Q&A period at the October board of education (BOE) meeting, a resident asked the board to do something with the ever increasing property taxes. The resident claimed her taxes have increased 400% since 1960s when she moved in. She said her house was already paid, but many of her neighbors, who were also retired, were hurting, as they still had mortgage to pay. She was evidently frustrated. … Continue reading →
Consolidating School Administration One Step at The Time Consolidating the school administration campaign started in spring. The summer campaign, adjusted for findings gathered in spring, starts now. Flyers are being distributed throughout the school district 12 (MUFSD). You can help. The most important finding—few people understand the role of the board of education and how the 5-member body affects 70%–80% of the property tax. … Continue reading →
This post was updated on 6/25 by the following information: Secretary Arne Duncan announced that he will allow states to request additional time before using the outcome of new assessments based on the new Common Core State Standards. Although the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were in development for a long time, the NYS adopted them in 2010 and has been implementing them ever since. State assessment testing — also called high-stakes testing — … Continue reading →
The Field Tests In April, high stakes testing took place and selected classrooms will undergo yet another round of testing— field tests —at the beginning of June. These experimental tests have no implications for the students and schools, but are designed to try out new test questions, Tom Dunn, communications director of the Education Department, told HuffPost. The resources at the end of this post list articles describing the nature of the field testing … Continue reading →
