EdVANTAGE Blog

Here is an interesting and/or intimidating item — a set of detailed time lines for projects to be undertaken by the State Education Department and various partners (including school districts) under the state’s Race to the Top grant. Read the rest of this entry »

As part of the successful effort to win Race to the Top funding, the Board of Regents voted to adopt the national “Common Core” Standards for mathematics and English language arts and literacy.

States are permitted to add to the Common Core Standards.

Over the past summer, the State Education Department assembled work groups to recommend additions for new York.

Now SED is seeking reactions to the recommended additions through online surveys.

You may review the recommendations and complete the surveys here:

• English Language Arts and Literacy
• Mathematics

The SED website explains,

The State Education Department will be gathering input from October 20th, 2010 to November 29th, 2010. After the survey data and comments are compiled, there will be a revision period in December prior to the submission of the final materials for Board action in January 2011.

Last week, the State Education Department announced that it had received sufficient funding in the almost finally finalized state budget to reverse some but not all of the planned reductions in the state’s assessment program.

Perhaps most notably, the Department will continue to administer January Regents Exams.

Here is the Department’s memo outlining planned changes to the state’s assessment program for the coming school year.

Below are the reductions the Department will still implement: Read the rest of this entry »

The State Teachers Retirement System has published guidance on the newest state retirement incentives enacted two weeks ago (Chapter 105 of the Laws of 2010).

TRS has also published a more extensive notice on the implications of the legal challenge to the previously enacted NYSUT-only 55-25 incentive (Chapter 45 of the Laws 2010).

Below is a slightly updated rendition of the email message I sent earlier on state retirement incentives.

Read the rest of this entry »

The prospect of sweeping teacher layoffs have been commanding media attention lately, including the lead-off story on the NBC Nightly News last evening.

Earlier this week the State Board of Regents voted to adopt three recommendations originating with the Council to help school districts retain good teachers who might otherwise be laid off.

Guidance on the new regulations has been released by the State Education Department. Read the rest of this entry »

Today the State Education Department and State Health Department issued new guidance for schools on how to work with local health departments in conducting school-based vaccination clinics for the H1N1 influenza.

The materials include a letter from the two state agency commissioners; a guidance document; a sample memorandum of understanding 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.

Individual items may be obtained below:

• NYSED and NYSDOH November 17, 2009 Joint memo on School-based Vaccination Clinics for 2009 H1N1 Influenza virus. (32 KB)
• School-based Vaccination Clinics Guidance for Schools (51 KB)
• MOU for use of a School or School District Setting for Immunization of Persons (School Children/Residents) Against 2009 H1N1 Influenza
• 2009 H1N1 Influenza Vaccine Consent Form for Schools (37 KB)
• Consent Letter to Parents
• Summary of Relevant Legal Issues (58 KB)

All the items, plus additional guidance, may also be obtained here:  http://usny.nysed.gov/swine-flu-info.html#November

Last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control released new guidance for schools and other local officials on handling outbreaks of the H1N1 virus, also referred to as swine flu.

The guidance is available here.

The CDC also has a communications toolkit for school leaders here.

The Council is planning a webinar for the first week of September to provide district leaders with the latest advice on dealing with flu outbreaks.  Details on logistics will be provided soon.

Newspaper reporting on the guidance has focused on a shift in the government’s advice on school closings.  For example, the Associated Press noted,

The government is urging school officials to stay calm when swine flu strikes this fall, closing buildings only in drastic cases and allowing sick students to return as soon as 24 hours after their fever is gone.

States and schools should also be planning now for the possibility of schoolwide vaccinations beginning in mid-October.

Federal officials know more now about swine flu than they did last spring, when alarm and confusion led hundreds of schools to temporarily shut down. New guidance issued Friday reflects what the officials have learned.

Closing schools is rarely warranted, even if students or teachers have swine flu, said Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A few weeks back we posted an item about the availability of funding for energy conservation studies through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

Now NYSERDA asks that we pass along notice of availability of more substantial funding to support implementation of energy conservation initiatives.

Read the rest of this entry »

The State Education Department recently released its revised examination administration schedule for the 2009-10 school year. This schedule implements the move of the 3-8 tests for English Language Arts and Math to the May timeframe.

The SED invites questions on the implementation for inclusion in a “Q&A” document to be released shortly. Questions may be forwarded through the Office of State Assessment, or The Council.

In advance of that document, we believe one clarification may be useful – the column titled “Administration Dates” indicates the range of dates on which the first day of testing must occur. For multi-day exams, the administration may continue beyond the date range specified (for example, to accommodate students with disabilities or to conduct make-ups). Obviously all other rules for administration of these exams remain unchanged (all students in a single district must start the same test on the same day, etc.). We believe this clarification will be spelled out in more detail in the SED Q&A document, once released.

We are passing on news about this funding on the request of colleagues at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)…

Later this month, NYSERDA will be issuing a request for proposals (RFP) to allocate $30 million in federal stimulus funds for school energy efficiency and conservation projects.

Pursuant to federal requirements, the window for school districts to apply for these funds will be very narrow – the RFP is expected to be released on July 27, and the first round of applications will be due back on August 24.

Districts will be able to submit proposals for this funding based upon previously developed plans for projects which can meet criteria for the program.

To assist districts which do not have suitable projects already under development, NYSERDA will be awarding up to $5 million in funding for school districts to complete Energy Conservation Studies. Completed studies could then be used to support applications for the upcoming $30 million implementation grant program.

Examples of studies which could receive funding include building improvements to support energy efficiency, certain alternative energy source projects, and studies of alternative fuel and hybrid-electric vehicles.

Applicants may apply for funding up to the lesser of $30,000 or 100 percent of the cost of the study, or 25 percent of the annual energy cost of the facilities or vehicle fleets to be studied.

For more information about how to apply for Energy Conservation Study grants, please see here.

Sometime soon information about the $30 million implementation grant program will be available here.

Maximum funding per applicant under the implementation grant program will be $1 million.