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TAKE ACTION AGAINST HIGH STAKES STANDARDIZED ASSESSMENTS -- PASS THE WPSBA RESOLUTION & SEND IT TO ALBANY AND DC!
Upcoming Events
5/30/2013
- WPSBA Annual Dinner
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
6/5/2013
- District Clerk Luncheon
12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
6/7/2013
- Negotiations Roundtable
8:00 AM - 9:45 AM
6/13/2013
6/27/2013
- Now That I'm Elected...
7:00 PM - 9:30 PM
 
Westchester-Putnam School Boards Association (WPSBA) Leadership • Advocacy • Education • Regional Networking

 WPSBA 50th Anniversary Gala                 WPSBA: 50 Years Strong, A Look Back

 UPCOMING EVENTS & PRINTABLE CALENDAR


  Legislative Advocacy Data Resources
TAKE ACTION - HIGH STAKES TESTING- WPSBA urges every school district and education organization to publicly discuss and endorse the WPSBA resolution on High Stakes Testing, as well as the National resolution...


IN THE NEWS:
Turmoil swirling around Common Core education standards, Washington Post, Lyndsey Layton (4/29/13), “…as the common core shifts from theory to reality, critics are emerging. State lawmakers are concerned about the cost… Progressives fret over new exams, saying that the proliferation of standardized tests is damaging public education. Teachers worry that they haven’t had enough training and lack the resources to competently teach to the new standards. And conservatives say the new standards mean a loss of local control over education.”

Hudson Valley parents to state: Don't share students' data with corporations, Newsday, Meghan Murphy (4/28/13), "Hudson Valley parents and educators are digging in to oppose a state Education Department project that they say may lead to "data mining" of private information about kids under the guise of improving education…There's nothing that they [NYS] do that comes for free or at a low cost. Just leave us alone and let us do what we are trained to do."

How school reform became the cause célèbre of billionaires, Valerie Strauss,Washington Post (3/19/13), "Why are billionaire philanthropists at the forefront of school reform? Primer from Jack Schneider, an asst. prof. of education at the College of the Holy Cross and author of “Excellence For All: How a New Breed of Reformers Is Transforming America’s Public Schools.”..."each time they make the case for a new reform, they blast public school leaders, disrespect what teachers know about classrooms, disregard most of the research on school improvement, and frame our schools as failures.  That isn’t common sense; that’s arrogance."


Advocacy Group to Monitor Reform Efforts in Public Schools, NY Times (3/7/13), "The Network for Public Education will call for curriculums that include arts and foreign languages, as well as better financing for schools and more respect for teachers...'We want to be a sane voice for educational policy,' said Ms.[Diane] Ravitch."

Hudson Valley leader rallies school boards for change, Newsday, Meghan Murphy (2/9/2013), "It's the small victories that keep her going, she [Lisa Davis] says…You have to keep up the fight. You take the small little victories and keep reminding yourself that you're doing it for the kids."

Hartsdale's Harry Phillips is Regents' independent voice, Journal News, Gary Stern and Randi Weiner (2/10/2013), Phillips speaks his mind on school reform, teacher evaluations, “…To Phillips’ way of thinking, New York made a terrible mistake when agreeing to participate in the Obama administration’s “Race to the Top” education initiative… Phillips contends that Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Regents should have chosen a simpler reform like renewable tenure...”

TAKE ACTION:

TAKE ACTION ON HIGH STAKES TESTING
:
WPSBA urges every school district and education organization to publicly discuss and endorse the WPSBA regional resolution on High Stakes Testing as well as the National Resolution. Want more information on High Stakes testing? Fact Sheet handouts, National High Stakes Testing Resolution, and other reference materials.

WPSBA SPEAKS OUT ON SCHOOL SAFETY CONCERNS with letter to state and federal legislators urging appropriate resources and funding for student and mental health services, and the exemption of non-aided safety and security costs from the property tax-levy limit calculation.

READ THE REPORT:

NYS Education Reform Commission Preliminary Report

NYSCOSS releases report of survey of NYS superintendents on financial matters, (Nov. 2012) Can’t there from here: Budgeting challenges call for new directions in state policy to help schools raise student achievement.”

Federal Mandates on Local Education: Costs and Consequences – Yes, it’s a Race, but is it in the Right Direction? , Ken Mitchell, Center for Research, Regional Education and Outreach, SUNY New Paltz, Discussion Brief #8- Fall 2012

WPSBA Journal News Community View: Local school boards stay obligated to community, Journal News (4/22/12) "It is not so much that the players on boards of education have changed, but rather that the times have changed, and local school board members have responded to the needs of their community… School boards must continue to be financially responsive to their communities, but without immediate mandate relief from Albany on critical cost drivers, budget cuts will lead to a degradation in the quality of education provided to students."

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