BY STATE EDUCATION COMMISSIONER RICHARD P. MILLS
June 1998
BY STATE EDUCATION COMMISSIONER
RICHARD P. MILLS
The money we need to improve schools is now on the table. We must support school leaders. We must close the gap in student performance.
That’s the whole stump speech. And it’s a speech that all leaders -- Regent, commissioner, superintendent, board chair, principal, teacher leader – all of us should give in our own way many times in the coming months.
The money we need is on the table because of unprecedented increases in state aid to education. An astonishing 94 percent of the school budgets passed. The leadership at the local level is clearly stressed, but they have the right stuff – I know because I have listened to so many of them – and we must back their play. After all, it was local leadership at every level that got the results last year that demonstrated that education is indeed a good investment. We all know about the gaps in performance because we read the School Report Card for two years in a row. We can see how far we have come and how far we have to go.
What we do now is not easy, but it isn’t complicated either: more time and support for children who need it, stronger curriculum, effective practice, better school buildings, and engagement with the parents and the wider community. Those are the things the money is supposed to buy. Most of us are on the same page. The fact is that after years of talking about better education for all children, the pieces have come together. Together, we can make it happen.
On May 26, the City University Board of Trustees approved a resolution that changed the admissions requirements to the senior colleges of the University. This policy statement is a change from the University’s previous policy as set forth in the approved 1988 master plan for CUNY. Education Law §§6206, 237, and Chapter 82 of the Laws of 1995, §§135 to 137, prescribe the role and overall procedure for the Board of Regents and the State Education Department in reviewing master plan amendments.
By law, the Regents must review any change in CUNY’s master plan that involves a change in admissions policy. We will work with the CUNY Trustees and the administration to ensure that we can achieve three things that all can agree on: higher standards, opportunity for students to enter college, and improved quality of education.
The Regents have taken a firm position in favor of higher academic standards. The CUNY Trustees have stated that their action is intended to raise standards while ensuring access. And it is vital that the quality of education in CUNY improves.
Many fundamental questions about the effects of the CUNY action remain. At the direction of the CUNY Trustees, the CUNY administration is preparing a detailed plan for the implementation of the resolution. The implementation plan is due to the CUNY Board of Trustees in September. State Education Department staff is contacting CUNY staff to begin the review required by law. Once these steps are completed, we will bring the proposed master plan amendment to the Regents for consideration.
The Office of Professions in the State Education Department has expanded its path breaking public information efforts. Our web page now includes even more information on physicians to help the public make informed decisions. In addition to information previously available, citizens can find the name of the medical school attended, graduation dates, and links to many other web sites that provide a wealth of information on related topics such as specialty board certification.
Many states charge for this information and accept only written requests. We provide it immediately 24 hours a day at no cost. The Office of Professions benchmarks other states and is determined to stay far ahead of all other states in the matter of public service and quality. This expansion of the service was accomplished with no additional burden on members of the profession and with the full endorsement of the State Medical Society of New York.
The renewal of our strategic plan continues on schedule. Here is what we have accomplished so far:
We have put our strategic plan to effective use in the last two years. It has driven our budget requests, and our internal performance improvement. Our customers perceive some improvements, but not yet enough. We are still trying to do too many things, and not always executing as well as we should. Many outside the State Education Department are not aware of the short pamphlet that contains our Strategic Plan. They may see the focus in our work with schools or VESID or the State Library, depending on where their interests lie, but we are not yet conveying the idea of the University of the State of New York. We will work on that.
The last round of commissioner level reviews of the budget proposal for fiscal year 1999-2000 is nearly complete. The aim is to connect the proposal still more tightly to our strategic direction to improve the knowledge, skill and opportunity of all the people of New York. Each of the major parts of the State Education Department has advanced only the highest priority proposals. The Regents will begin work on the proposal in September.
We are listening to local leaders as we prepare for the Regents initiative to support effective school leadership. Three groups of superintendents representing all parts of the state have already met with me. We are listening to their answers to questions that flow from the plan discussed at the April Regents meeting: What are the tasks of leadership? How do leaders actually spend their time? What are the problems and what can we do about them? Here’s what I gleaned from one group of leaders:
School superintendents say that their job is to create a vision that puts the learning and well being of children first and to keep the vision alive. They must engage everyone, keep the performance data visible, and provide continuous staff development. And they must promote the value of public education.
That’s the ideal. What is the superintendent’s work really like? "To do it well takes exhausting amounts of time," said one leader. The work never ends, but it is exhilarating. They feel that nowhere else could they have such a positive effect on so many children. Yet the problems they face are complex, and they often face them alone in a culture that expects well researched answers immediately and regards asking for help as a sign of weakness. Said one superintendent, "It’s hard to do the job when you don’t feel valued."
It’s important to resist the rush to solutions before we have a deep understanding of the problem. Still, the participants had some suggestions: Look at school governance. Resolve the inherent conflicting expectations. Share some of the tasks of leadership. Deal with the human needs of leaders. Build a consensus on the tasks of school leadership, and its value. As District Superintendent John Grant suggested, "Leadership is a resource that can be developed and managed."
We videotaped portions of the second discussion group and I will use the comments of superintendents to share some good examples of school leadership with the public in my next PBS television program.
There is tremendous interest in the Regents work on leadership. The Board of Directors of the School Boards Association expressed their strong sense of partnership with the Regents and the State Education Department during my regular meeting with them last week. Leaders of principals’ organizations and teachers have also expressed interest.
The Regents Task Force on Teaching presents its report this month after more than 18 months of research, consultation, and deliberation – and close to 100 meetings. The context of their report is the entire sweep of elementary and secondary school reform – standards, tests, core curriculum, leadership, interagency collaboration, and funding.
The essence of their report is this: There are serious gaps between the teaching capacity we have and what we need. That is, nearly half the teachers will be eligible to retire in the coming decade and the teacher preparation system is not meeting the need for quality and quantity even now. The recommendations call for raising the standards for entry into teaching, while creating powerful incentives for qualified candidates. The Task Force also proposes a vigorous commitment to professional development.
The Regents Committee on Quality has been planning for a Regents Policy Retreat this summer. Our purpose is easily stated. We want to be as effective as possible in achieving the mission we have set for ourselves – raising the knowledge, skill, and opportunity for all New Yorkers. Research shows that effective boards working with their CEOs have a strategic advantage. We have decided to concentrate on building the strategic effectiveness of the Regents and the Commissioner as a team.
We will reflect on our own practice and examine CEO-Board relationships in other major organizations that are, like us, continually striving for higher performance. So far, nine organizations in the public and private sectors have provided data on how their boards and CEOs work together to make and execute policy in ways that add value. We will also look at published research in this area and compare it to our own experience.
We are after results. We also want to set a good example for the boards and the chief executives who work with us in schools, colleges, libraries, museums, and all the other entities that make up the University of the State of New York.
A series of incidents across the nation has made educators and parents everywhere deeply concerned about how to prevent violence in schools. We are taking several steps in New York.
No education is complete without the arts. To help keep that message before the public as well as ourselves, the State Education Department has added two impressive galleries of student art work on the first and third floors in the State Education Building. I commend my colleagues for their thoughtfulness in presenting the exhibit and the many student artists and their teachers for making this work available to us.
While the Legislature appears to be in its final days, we have continued to advocate for changes in special education. The Department released a long list of statewide organizations that support the Regents proposal for special education funding reform.
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