New York Schools encompass two different worlds: New York City and New York State. Assessments of the two are generally separate since the thriving metropolis of New York City is a different world from the New York Schools that make up the rest of this rural and suburban state.
Johanna Duncan-Poitier, recently named senior Deputy Commissioner of Education
P-16, recently revealed the Board of Regents plan for the New York Schools outside of the city limits. While these New York Schools retain a national reputation for excellence, they still face challenges in educating the vast and diverse students in its many districts. Duncan-Poitier announced an unprecedented $1.7 billion budget that New York Schools will use to improve graduation rates, raise learning standards and increase accountability.
Among the issues that New York Schools are dealing with are: charter schools, time for instruction and inequity in learning. The last, a learning imbalance, seems to occur during the middle school years. 70% of New York Schools fourth grade students passed the reading and writing exams, while only 48% of eighth graders passed. This challenge is compounded by the gap...