School Executive's Bulletin

May/June 2007

News from the Senior Deputy Commissioner

Who to contact

The School Executive's Bulletin is a publication of the New York State Education Department's Office of Elementary, Middle, Secondary and Continuing Education.
Comments and suggestions should be submitted to Patricia Wendelken, Editor, Office of Elementary, Middle, Secondary and Continuing Education, Room 875 EBA, Albany, NY 12234, or to pwendelk@mail.nysed.gov 

Statewide Student Achievement Improves Across Grades 3-8 on 2007 Mathematics Test

On June 12, the Commissioner and Board of Regents publicly released the results of the 2007 grades 3-8 mathematics assessments.  Achievement in mathematics has improved overall, with 73 percent of students across grades 3-8 meeting the standards compared to 66 percent last year.  Congratulations to the students, as well as to the parents, teachers and school leaders on your successful efforts to help improve student achievement in math.  Across grades 3-8, the number of Black students achieving the standards increased from 46 percent last year to 55 percent this year.  The number of Hispanic students achieving the standard increased from 52 percent last year to 61 percent this year.  White students increased from 76 to 82 percent.  The results for students with disabilities also improved overall.  The press release, PowerPoint presentation and link to school and district data are available at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov.

2007 Grades 3-8 English Language Arts Results

In late May, Commissioner Mills and the Board of Regents also publicly released the summary results for this year's English language arts assessments.  The press release, PowerPoint presentation and link to school and district data are available at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov.  I am pleased to report that achievement in grades 3-8 has improved overall this year and is most notable in the middle grades.  Although the number of English language learners (ELL) taking this year's tests more than doubled from 2006, the performance of ELL students decreased only modestly in each grade.  Results for students with disabilities improved overall.  Successful school leaders have indicated that they have high expectations for all children, focus on reading in every class, use proven practices that work, and act quickly to give extra help to students as they need it.

Governor Spitzer’s Children’s Cabinet

The inaugural meeting of the Governor's Children's Cabinet was held on Thursday, June 14th. Johanna Duncan-Poitier, a member of the Cabinet steering committee, represented the State Education Department. The Cabinet is chaired by Olivia Golden (Director of State Operations); vice-chairs are Deputy Secretary for Health and Human Services Dennis Whalen and Deputy Secretary for Education Manny Rivera. Leaders from 19 State agencies serve on the Cabinet.  At the inaugural meeting, Cabinet members discussed the importance of health care and strategies for furthering the Governor's goal of providing universal health care for children in New York State.  The next Cabinet meeting will focus on early learning programs for children from birth to age five.

Coming Soon: Service Satisfaction Survey

Over the past several weeks, I have met with Superintendents, District Superintendents, school leaders, teachers, parents, students, union leaders, government leaders, professional associations, and many others across the State.  During these discussions, many of you have shared your ideas on how we can work together across the pre-kindergarten through higher education continuum to achieve greater success for all students. I too have shared with many of you my vision for the P-16 structure and the future of education in New York State; this vision is two-fold:

1. Educational:  More students graduate from high school ready to succeed in college and the workplace. 
2. Organizational: Extending beyond our responsibilities for ensuring compliance, expand the Department’s role in helping you with your important work to help students learn, succeed, and graduate.

Within the coming weeks, my colleagues and I will be asking you to share your feedback and ideas for helping us to advance this P-16 vision and be supportive of the important work that you do, by completing an online service satisfaction survey.  We will be working with District Superintendents, professional organizations, and other partners to let you know when the survey is available on our web site.  Additional information will also be shared in our News & Notes publication.  We are looking forward to hearing from you.

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