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Dear Teachers,
You have one of the most challenging and meaningful jobs in the world, and we should celebrate and lift you up every day. That’s why I’m so glad to have the opportunity on Teacher Appreciation Day to thank each and every one of you for the work you do that touches the lives of students and their families. I treasure the time I spent in the classroom and know that once you’re a teacher, you’re always a teacher!
You mean so much to your students – you’re a mentor, a friend, a guide, a caregiver. You are the source of knowledge and hope; a caring smile when it’s most needed; and the voice of reason when that’s needed too. Teachers open minds, but they also open their own hearts and that’s the greatest gift we give as educators.
I believe the teaching profession, more so than any other, determines our collective future and that we have to do everything we can to lift up our teachers. Teachers are the greatest resource we have in the classroom and it is hard to describe the unrivaled impact the profession has in our communities. After all, teachers are the core of education.
The saying goes that not all heroes wear capes. I believe heroes engage students at their smart boards and foster a love of reading. They take students on trips through history and make the periodic table fun. They help kids love art and music and P.E. and technology. They start with 2+2=4 and give students the key to unlocking the mysteries of the universe. Thank you for being a hero, a mentor, a friend.
Thank you to all of our teachers, for everything you do on this and every day.
This edition of News and Notes includes information and updates related to the following:
Sincerely,
MaryEllen Elia
Commissioner
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 2019 Vice Chancellor Emerita Adelaide L. Sanford Scholarships and My Brother’s Keeper Student Panel
This week, the Board of Regents awarded the inaugural Vice Chancellor Emerita Adelaide L. Sanford Scholarship to My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Fellow De’Andre Brown of Yonkers High School and Arleth Durand Mendoza of Brentwood High School, part of the MBK Community network. The Board of Regents and Vice Chancellor Emerita Sanford recognized Brown and Durand Mendoza at this week’s Board meeting.
The two scholarship winners also participated in a student panel moderated by Senegal Mabry. Additional panelists included Noah Moreno of Monticello CSD, David Armah of Yonkers Public Schools, and Kiara Ekeigwe of East Ramapo CSD. The remarkable students spoke eloquently about the challenges they have faced and about the opportunities they have had as a result of the MBK initiative.
Regent Young spoke about Vice Chancellor Emerita Adelaide L. Sanford’s contributions to education in New York State, and NYSED Assistant Commissioner Anael Alston shared a remarkable story about the monumental impact that VC Emerita Sanford had on his life. VC Emerita Sanford then delivered powerful words to the student panel and scholarship winners.
Later, Vice Chancellor T. Andrew Brown introduced the scholarship winners, De’Andre Brown and Arleth Durand Mendoza, who read their scholarship essays aloud. The framed essays were then presented as gifts to VC Emerita Sanford. Chancellor Rosa thanked NYSED staff and members of the Board of Regents for their work on making MBK a movement in New York State.
VC Emerita Sanford, NYS Senate Education Chair Shelley Mayer, Senator Kevin Parker, Senator Velmanette Montgomery, Senator Zellnor Myrie, Senator Robert Jackson, Senator John Liu, Assemblymember Diana Richardson, Assemblymember Tremaine Wright, and former Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson were among the many dignitaries in attendance for this special event.
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New York State FAFSA Tracker
The New York State Education Department (NYSED) recently launched a new online tool to track completion rates for Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) submissions. This New York State FAFSA Tracker provides schools and districts with information and valuable insight to help students with completing and filing the FAFSA form. The FAFSA Tracker allows users to view the overall number of completed applications for high schools across the state and compare them with their peers. Users are also able to view application progress trends year-to-year or review weekly, monthly, and year-to-date rankings of schools. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, FAFSA completion is a critical indicator of postsecondary enrollment. Data suggests that 90 percent of high school seniors who complete the FAFSA attend college directly from high school, compared to just 55 percent of FAFSA non-completers. Additionally, research shows that in 2018 alone, New York students lost out on more than $152 million in college aid by not submitting the FASFA.
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Celebrating Powerful Female Athletes and Their Achievements
Join the New York State Council on Women and Girls on May 19 to honor New York’s female high school athletes when the New York Liberty take on the Connecticut Sun at the Times Union Center in Albany. The event, part of Governor Cuomo’s Celebration of Women in New York State, will honor students who plan to continue their education while also pursuing excellence on the playing field.
Honorees will have the opportunity to participate in a reception with players and female leaders from across the state and will be honored during a half-time on-court ceremony. Honorees’ names will appear throughout the game on the continuous ticker in the arena highlighting their name, their high school, the college they selected, and the sport they will be playing. Tickets will be provided for the student honorees.
Note: Additional tickets are available at Times Union Center Box Office, online at ticketmaster.com, or by phone at 800-745-3000.
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| Statement from Commissioner Elia on Rochester City School District Plan
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Parent Dashboard Survey
NYSED is developing a Parent Dashboard to increase transparency and make information about school performance and other school-level data easier for parents and the public to access. This is part of New York’s ESSA plan.
NYSED is gathering feedback from parents and stakeholders to guide the work of developing the Parent Dashboard. Please encourage parents to complete our five-minute survey and tell us how we can make the Parent Dashboard as useful as possible. NYSED will use feedback from the survey to identify the data that is most useful to parents and the public. Informational resources in English and Spanish are available on our Parent Dashboard web page. Translations of the survey and resources in other languages will be posted as they become available. If you have any questions, please email us at ParentDashboard@nysed.gov.
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Teacher Workshops
The New York State Museum is accepting registrations for two upcoming teacher workshops:
Earth Science Teacher Workshop
July 9 – 11, 2019 at SUNY New Paltz and surrounding Hudson Valley locations
The workshop provides a three-day, hands-on educational experience for New York State Earth Science/Physical Setting teachers. Participants are immersed in geology and paleontology for a minimum of 8 hours each day, totaling 24 contact hours of continuing education credit. The $115 registration fee includes educational materials, three lunches, a picnic dinner, and bus transportation on field trip days. Registration is limited to 30 participants.
This free workshop provides educators with examples of activities that can be implemented in the classroom to introduce students to the excitement of archaeology. Information about the advantages of object-based learning, using a museum as an educational resource, and applications to the New York State Learning Standards will also be presented. The workshop is open to all teachers, although content is particularly geared toward teachers of grades 2 – 8.
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Summer Reading at New York Libraries
NYSED’s Summer Reading at New York Librariesprogram is once again partnering with myON in 2019 to bring digital books to young readers via unlimited access to the myON by Renaissance digital library! The myON library has a collection of over 6,000 fiction and nonfiction ebooks geared toward children from birth to 12th grade, with recorded audio, text highlighting, and an embedded dictionary all included. The goal is to keep children reading and learning through the summer by providing them with access to an abundance of reading material, to help prevent summer slide and the loss of reading skills. Students and their families can easily access the myON digital library from May 1 through September 30 with one simple statewide login. A mobile app is also available allowing up to 20 books to be downloaded and read while traveling or away from home.
Encourage students and families to use their school and local libraries for a wide variety of book selections and formats, and to visit the public library during the summer for engaging summer programs and fun learning activities. Discover “A Universe of Stories” at your library and online with myON!
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Regents Review Videos
The New York State Regents exams are just around the corner, and educators can help students prepare for them with Regents Review 2.0, a free service presented by New York’s public broadcasters. Regents Review 2.0 includes specially prepared television episodes, online videos, and resources.
This year, school districts have the option of administering the Transition Global History and Geography Regents Exam or the New Global History and Geography II Regents Exam. Regents Review 2.0 has exam preparation materials for both of these exams.
The programs are also being broadcast on most New York State public television stations. Check with your local PBS station for dates and times.
Regents Review 2.0 is produced by WCNY and is made possible through the support of NYSUT and the Association for Public Broadcasting. Additional production assistance is provided by the NYS Teacher Centers.
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