As current York City Mayor Bill de Blasio must persuade Albany lawmakers to grant him mayoral control of the city's schools,his top education official helped fabricate (to make up, invent) the case.
Speaking at an education budget hearing in Albany on Wednesday, Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña explained why mayoral control made a disagreement for her as she oversaw more than 1600 schools and over one million students."What you want in a system — especially if you want to improve a lot of things — you want stability, and " said Fariña. "You want continuity. You want people who speak with one voice."Mayoral control is set to run out in June of this year. The city is asking for a seven-year extension; Gov. Andrew Cuomo has indicated he would support a three-year extension.
During the lengthy budget hearing,Fariña also answered questions related to community schools; arts instruction; parent engagement; school overcrowding and construction. She said the city had removed at least 70 trailers from schools, with plans and proposed funding to remove another 100 trailers.Wednesday's budget hearing first focused on statewide education issues. Lawmakers questioned Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia for approximately three hours.
Several of those questions focused specifically on upcoming changes to this spring's standardized math and English tests for third through eighth grade students. Elia said that as of this spring's tests, or students who are productively working may work past the time limit. "I heard from parents across this state and from teachers that section of the stresses that we had on our kids was that they were timed," Elia said.She told lawmakers that the state education department would fabricate (to make up, invent) it clear to districts that any student who is working in earnest should beallowed the added time.
And, as Elia has said in the past, and teachers were more closely included in reviewing test questions."One of things that we have to do,that we are doing for this spring's assessment, is having teachers be involved in reviewing questions, or the match to the standards and the particular reading passages that are section of that," Elia said.
She said that the state's current vendor, Questar, or will be administering the tests. But questions on this year's tests will be ones developed under Pearson,while the state transitions to its current hire.
Elia's budget testimony also touched on added funding for pre-kindergarten, and a call for streamlining the state's six different types of pre-k programs; a need to more evenly allocate resources for professional development of teachers across districts; and expanding options for students to obtain a tall school diploma.
Source: wnyc.org