Meeting of the Board of Regents | April 2003

REGENTS GOAL All students will meet high standards for academic performance and personal behavior and demonstrate the knowledge and skills required by a dynamic world.

Performance Measures:

• Percent of students scoring at or above the State standards on statewide examinations required for grades K-12 overall and disaggregated for students with disabilities and English language learners
• Percent of school districts offering prekindergarten programs for four-year old children
• Dropout rates for grades K-12 students
• Percent of first-time undergraduates receiving remediation
• Completion rates for educational programs
• Education, training, and rehabilitation program outcomes

Key Strategies:

1. Use student performance data to analyze the needs of students and improve instruction, develop the knowledge and skills of teachers, disseminate and apply proven practices, and align curriculum and tests with the standards.
2. Develop comprehensive multi-year plans to allocate resources for strategies to improve student achievement including extra help and extra time for students.
3. Expand availability of academic intervention and prevention services by disseminating proven practices and advocating for additional funding.
4. Engage partners who can address the health and human services needs of families so students come to school every day ready and able to learn. 
5. Design a system of reporting and reviews, coordinated with accrediting agencies, to improve institutional effectiveness and student outcomes.
6. Increase employment opportunities and outcomes for people with disabilities by obtaining additional resources and utilizing the Welfare to Work and Workforce Investment Act programs.

REGENTS GOAL All educational institutions will meet Regents high performance standards.

Performance Measures:

• Conformance with Commissioner�s Regulations on program quality
• Adequacy of school and cultural facilities
• Percent of school instructional staff who are appropriately credentialed
• Differences in student performance by type of school building and postsecondary institution
• Trends in State aid funding by school district type
• Percent of libraries and public records programs to attain the highest level of service

Key Strategies:

1. Use and expand the existing systems of public accountability for schools and postsecondary institutions - based on student performance results - and provide incentives for improving effectiveness and sanctions for low performance.
2. Assist districts and schools to improve the quality and safety of, and access to, facilities.
3. Expand the Department�s partnerships with national, State, regional, and local organizations to provide programs and services that build local capacity for teaching and learning.
4. Advocate for revision in State funding formulas, which recognize the high cost associated with poverty and regional labor costs.
5. Provide incentives to libraries and library systems to attain the highest level of service.

REGENTS GOAL
The public will be served by qualified, ethical professionals who remain current with best practice in their fields and reflect the diversity of New York State.

Performance Measures:

• Performance on teacher certification tests and professional licensure examinations
• Substantiated complaints of unethical/unprofessional conduct
• Number of allegations of illegal practice referred for prosecution
• Racial/ethnic profile of professionals in educational institutions and the licensed professions
• Participation of teachers and librarians in professional development and continuing education programs
• Supply of qualified teachers for the highest need schools

Key Strategies:

1. Circulate information about sound ethical practice, consumer rights and professional responsibilities.
2. Resolve in a timely way complaints of professional misconduct and discipline cases for teachers and other school personnel.
3. Identify and investigate allegations of unlicensed professional practice and refer substantiated cases for criminal prosecution.
4. Ensure that postsecondary institutions prepare teachers with arts and sciences backgrounds, content preparation, and the skills to teach all students.
5. Develop incentives to encourage secondary and postsecondary minority students to pursue careers in teaching, the licensed professions, and cultural institutions.
6. Create incentives for effective teachers and leaders to work in the highest need schools and to achieve racial and ethnic diversity among teachers entering the profession.
7. Strengthen the preparation and ongoing development of educational leaders by setting clear standards for the knowledge and skills they need, assessing their knowledge and skills against those standards, and creating professional development opportunities.
8. Encourage continuing education for certified librarians and create professional development opportunities.
9. Ensure that all of the Department�s vocational rehabilitation professionals meet the highest professional standards as required by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.

REGENTS GOAL
Education, information, and cultural resources will be available and accessible to all people.

Performance Measures:

• Participation of individuals with disabilities in education, training, and rehabilitation programs
• Percent of first-time postsecondary students from under-represented groups
• Completion of doctoral programs at New York State postsecondary institutions by race/ethnicity
• Percent of library users accessing the statewide on-line library
• Number of regional and local plans to document their history
• Number of New Yorkers without the services of a public library
• Status of implementation of the State Museum exhibit master plan compared to five-year timetable
• Number of teachers using the public television education channel
• Demographic profiles of Department�s advisory committees, boards for the licensed professions, and panels of external experts

Key Strategies:

1. Implement least restrictive environment (LRE) fully for students with disabilities.
2. Build collaborative regional networks among colleges and schools that assure access to postsecondary institutions for under-represented groups.
3. Use data on students entering, participating in and completing postsecondary education - disaggregated by race and ethnicity - to promote institutional accountability for closing the gaps in performance results across groups. 
4. Create a statewide virtual on-line library accessible to all New Yorkers through an electronic library card.
5. Document New York�s history through statewide, regional and local grants and through technical assistance.
6. Execute the State Museum exhibit master plan to illuminate the natural and human history of the State for the public.
7. Launch a statewide education channel on public television.
8. Make more Department resources and information available in a variety of formats, including greater use of the Internet.
9. Ensure that the Department�s programs, services, publications, and advocacy efforts are relevant to the needs of our diverse constituencies.

REGENTS GOAL
Resources under our care will be used or maintained in the public interest.

Performance Measures:

• Status of capital improvements to the Cultural Education Center compared to the planned timetable
• Year-to-date Department expenditures compared to its annual budget
• Percent of time that standards for timeliness are met for major Department services and products
• Percent of customers who indicate that they are satisfied with Department services and products

Key Strategies:

1. Concentrate audits and program reviews on education, training and rehabilitation programs with low performance or poor financial practices.
2. Target discretionary federal funds to support the Department�s strategic goals.
3. Implement the capital facilities and collection care plans for the New York State Museum, Archives, and Library.
4. Continue improving the efficiency of Department processes.

REGENTS GOAL
Our work environment will meet high standards.

Performance Measures:

• Staff participation in professional development programs
• Trends in the Department�s workforce demographics
• Staff rating of the overall work environment

Key Strategies:

1. Align staff and their responsibilities to the strategic plan.
2. Target staff development resources on enhancing the skills and competencies of the Department�s managers and supervisors.
3. Diversify the Department�s workforce through innovative recruiting and hiring practices and through promoting the value and importance of diversity with staff.
4. Continue to use technology and effective meeting techniques to improve internal communications.