ESSAA Stakeholder Meeting Summaries

 Meeting 

The Empire State Supervisors and Administrators Association (ESSAA) held their monthly Stakeholder Meeting on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, via videoconference. Participants representing NYSED included Senior Deputy Commissioner for Education Policy, Jeffrey Matteson; Deputy Commissioner, P12 Instructional Support, Angelique Johnson-Dingle; and Deputy Commissioner, P-12 Operational Supports, Jason Harmon. 

ESSAA was represented at the meeting by ESSAA President, Carol Conklin-Spillane; Executive Director, Mike Starvaggi; Executive Vice President, Skip Voorneveld; Vice President, Dr. Shireen Fasciglione; Vice President, John Zampaglione; Director of Professional Learning, Eva Jones; ESSAA member, Lisa O’Neill; and Regents/NYSED Liaison, Paul Scampini. 

Topics discussed during the meeting included: 

1. April – Month of the Military Child 
2. Need for Increased Support for the Recruitment, Development and Retention of School Leaders 
3. Status of APPR Legislation 

Important Note: 

The informational summary provided by NYSED prior to the meeting is available as an attachment at the end of this meeting report. The summary includes updated background information, data, and links to additional guidance and resources on each of the areas being discussed. It also contains updated information on several topics not discussed at the meeting including: 

1. Proposed Amendments to School Safety Plans 
2. Zero Emission Busing – August 2024 District Readiness Survey 
3. Regulations Regarding the Installation of Electric Bus Chargers 
4. Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) Update 
5. District Resource Allocation Review Pilot Proposal 
6. April 8 Solar Eclipse Update 

Recognizing Military Connected Children 

Senior Deputy Commissioner for Education Policy, Dr. Jeffrey Matteson, encouraged that districts across the state support efforts to recognize April as the Month of the Military Child. The Deputy Commissioner stressed the importance of building awareness in school communities of the sacrifices these children endure while their parents serve our country. 

NYSED is encouraging schools to host special recognition events to honor military children and show appreciation for the challenges they experience. The Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission (MIC3) has designated Wednesday, April 17, 2024 as the official Purple UP! For Military Kids Day, encouraging students and staff across the state to wear purple as a show of support. 

Need for Increased Support for the Recruitment, Development and Retention of School Leaders 

The majority of the discussion during meeting focused on the lack of funding currently being dedicated to recruit, mentor, and retain education leaders, especially principals and assistant principals. 

At the March Board of Regents Meeting, an overview of interventions currently being provided to underperforming schools through the accountability requirements of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was presented. Included in the supports are special professional development opportunities and mentoring focused specifically on Enhancing Principal Leadership and the Role of the Assistant Principal. 

Mrs. Conklin-Spillane emphasized that the ESSAA organization currently has initiatives in place to support leadership development and would like to partner with NYSED in these efforts. She stressed, however, that priorities need to expand outside of supporting only lower performing schools and include ALL schools across the state. Mrs. Conklin-Spillane expressed strong concerns that, in recent years, the responsibilities of both principals and assistant principals have shifted a long way from their intended role of instructional leadership. She added that we have moved to the point where school leaders, especially assistant 

principals, are now siloed in roles where a large majority of their time is spent investigating issues relating to student discipline and school safety. 

Deputy Commissioner Matteson acknowledged the current challenges associated with the roles of the principal and assistant principal and the frustration school leaders feel. Deputy Commissioner Harmon expressed that, while there is a need to leverage what is learned from the work with underperforming schools, federal ESSA regulations dictate that funding goes to Schools In Need of Improvement. 

Mrs. Conklin Spillane also asked about when the true implementation of the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSELs) will occur. She expressed frustration that, while they were formally adopted by the Board of Regents several years ago, the new standards are rarely referenced in any conversations related to supporting the development of educational leaders. 

Status of APPR Legislation 

Mr. Voorneveld asked how close we are to having the new APPR legislation adopted. Deputy Commissioner Matteson responded that he is confident the current proposal will be approved by the legislature in the near future, but anticipates it will likely be passed as a separate item after the legislative budget is approved. The Deputy Commissioner added that the proposed APPR guidelines have support from most stakeholder groups and he anticipates that they should be in place for the 2024-25 school year. 

NYSED Agenda Summary Notes – A copy of the document can be found as a separate attachment/link, or to request a copy please contact Bonnie Berry at: bberry@essaa.org. 

ESSAA Members: If you have any feedback on the foregoing issues or would like to suggest a topic to be addressed with the Commissioner at an upcoming meeting, please e-mail us at info@essaa.org. New topics will be submitted to our Stakeholder Committee for consideration.