October 1998

BY STATE EDUCATION COMMISSIONER RICHARD P. MILLS

Help to meet standards

Some students need help to reach the standards. That makes sense to the public. We think back to our own school experience, for example, and remember that while history came easily, mathematics took a lot more work. For others, the reverse was true. And sometimes, we needed more time and help with every subject. This common sense conclusion is a cornerstone of the campaign for state aid to support the standards.

The ground is already prepared. Superintendents report endless variations on the theme – tutorial help, a mathematics lab to supplement the math class, summer school, and homework help after school. Research findings also show that the schools that led the way used the extra help strategy.

There is another opportunity here. Schools are now in a position to think ahead and make changes to ensure that all students get more of what they need in the regular program to meet the standards.

A Higher Education Summit

As Robert Reich has pointed out, the real wealth of nations and communities is in the knowledge and skill of the people. New York colleges and universities create that capacity. As individual institutions, they present a great diversity of mission. Taken together, they represent a strategic advantage for New York, and one that we should strengthen in every way we can.

On February 18, 1999, the State Education Department will convene in New York City a gathering of administrators and faculty from higher education institutions throughout the state. This Higher Education Summit will forge a partnership to address critical issues in higher education. Deputy Commissioner Patton is surveying college and university leaders to identify those issues and to prepare the way for a productive meeting. The newly formed Commissioner’s Advisory Council on Higher Education will review the survey data in December and will recommend a structure for the Summit.

Higher Education and students with disabilities

Higher education leaders demonstrated their seriousness in confronting one pressing issue this month – how to get ready for an anticipated increase in students with disabilities. Chancellor Hayden and I opened the meeting, and then the chief executive leader in every sector of higher education pledged support for the common work. They included Chancellor John Ryan of SUNY, Chancellor Christoph Kimmich of CUNY, President James Ross of CICU and President Richard Turan of the Association of Proprietary Colleges.

Teaching – from policy making to policy implementation

In yet another gathering of higher education leaders -- deans and faculty of the schools of teacher education -- I outlined the work ahead to bring the Regents recent teacher policy action into practice. The Professional Standards and Practices Board will be appointed in December. We have a distinguished list of nominations and we are checking references. The Regents will discuss new regulations on teacher education in December, and we will follow with regional forums through the winter and concluding in March. The Regents will vote on the proposed regulations in July. I signed a partnership agreement with NCATE this month.

Many other implementation issues affect teacher education. Regents policy will eliminate transcript evaluation by 2003 as a route to a teaching credential. To support that vital policy change, teacher educators in New York must produce a ready supply of qualified candidates. I urged them to expand their second career programs in a manner consistent with the Regents action.

The greatest challenge facing teacher educators is to transform their programs during the 1999-2000 academic year. The regulations to guide this will appear in July as that academic year starts. The pace will be fast. I pledged that the State Education Department would make any necessary adjustment in our processes to ensure that we did not delay approval of the new programs. The commitment of leaders in higher education will be the key to success. Those attending the meeting demonstrated that commitment. I believe that the open and responsive manner in which the Regents developed their policy was responsible for this very positive reception.

The first two forums on school leadership took place in Binghamton and Rochester this month. Chancellor Hayden opened the Binghamton meeting, and Regent Farley was the host in Rochester. Eight more forums are scheduled. Participants include leaders in many areas: teacher union leaders, superintendents, principals, board members, parents, and business people. There is tremendous interest in recruiting the next generation of school leaders and in improving the leaders’ work environment.

The discussion has spread far beyond the small group sessions at the leadership forums. For example, while I waited to speak at the annual dinner of the National Rural Education Association, two District Superintendents were quietly developing their ideas to tap potential candidates for entry level leadership roles in their regions, and to find much more rigorous training for seasoned leaders.

This is a tough issue. But we have to solve it as part of the campaign to raise student performance. From what I have seen of the energy unlocked in the first two sessions, we will solve it.

Evaluating the CEO

The most important task of any board is to hire its chief executive officer and then evaluate that person’s performance. The Regents will conduct my annual evaluation Wednesday afternoon in Binghamton, just as I evaluate all the Deputy Commissioners and District Superintendents. My evaluation will be in relation to a performance agreement that specifies three obligations: to lead change, manage for results, and increase the capacity for the organization to accomplish the first two items.

Quarterly performance reviews

We are also in the midst of quarterly performance reviews for each of the six management teams that lead the State Education Department. Here are some samples of what happened in three of them:

• Office of Higher Education. Our Higher Education unit presented their last quarter’s performance through the eyes of four New York college and university presidents. The four presidents offered candid views on our work concerning program review, master planning, funding, teacher preparation, and diversity, among many other topics. It was a remarkable seminar on State Education Department leadership in higher education.

• Office of Management Services. Management Services has begun a six-month transformation of our human resources effort. They surveyed internal customers, achieved a number of "quick fixes" where possible, and engaged consulting help to design and install major systems improvement. The team also demonstrated performance improvements that were made possible by the systemic improvements of last year in technology. For example, they accomplished dramatic improvements in the timeliness of responding to requests for Legislative Bill Memos. The team has also converted the personnel waiver process from paper to a completely electronic process. These and other changes have enabled staff to refocus scarce staff resources on higher priorities.

• Office of Professions. The Office of Professions has significantly streamlined the professional discipline process. To ensure consistency of the delivery system, a statewide-training series was conducted for over 300 members of the professional state boards. Ninety-nine percent of those customers said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the quality. Professions reduced costs to nursing exam candidates by $24, and reduced the number of forms New York State nursing graduates need to complete for licensure from six forms to one. The Office of Professions also conducted their own staff morale survey and found that 83 percent of staff reported that their morale was high. (Last January’s rating was 77 percent.) In addition, the Office of Professions reports that due to most recent outreach efforts, the overall current diversity of the professional state boards and their committees reflects the diversity of the state as a whole.

Cultural Resources on line

The State Museum’s Cultural Resource Survey Project and the Anthropological Survey are making images and information from their work available to the schools and general public through new web sites at http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/arccrsp.htm/ This website stands out nationally for providing very specific, newly acquired information on New York’s past to a broad public.

Legislative conference

The Regents will decide their legislative priorities in November, and when they do, it will be with the weight of many co-authors. More than 400 people took part in the Regents Legislative Conference in September. We are grateful for their energetic help in developing our legislative agenda, and we will call on them when the time comes to advocate.

A monthly publication of the State Education Department

Back to Report Home Page	Return to SED Home Page