Council outlines hopes, concerns for new Commissioner
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009 at 1:16 pm by Robert Lowry
On Monday, incoming State Education Commissioner David Steiner had a column in the New York Post outlining his views of commitments that schools and policymakers need to make to schoolchildren.
On the same day we sent Dr. Steiner a letter outlining hopes that superintendents hold for his leadership of education in New York State, as well as observations on challenges he will face.
You can read it here.
The letter was developed with ample suggestions from the Council’s House of Delegates.
It includes thoughts on new standards, better assessments, closing achievement gaps, “re-imagining” how education is structured and delivered, charter schools and the State Education Department of the future.
It also cautions against “one size fits all policies,” discusses the financial pressures school leaders feel, and explains the practical perspective superintendents bring to policy-making discussions — they are the leaders who are held accountable for making state policies work at the local level.
The advent of new leadership in high state offices is an apt time for the Council and other organizations to reconsider and restate positions on core policy issues.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009 at 1:16 pm and is filed under Achievement Gap, Finance, Leadership, Standards & Assessments. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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September 3rd, 2009 at 11:11 am
Tom:
I found your letter to Commissioner Steiner thoughtful, comprehensive and strikes the proper balance between concerns of the present and hope for the future.
Additionally, the letter frames The Council as an important educational organization deserving of playing an important role in helping shape educational policy.
Kudos,
lee