Report of

REGENTS EMSC COMMITTEE

to

The Board of Regents

September 16, 2008

              Your EMSC Committee held its scheduled meeting on September 15, 2008.  All Committee members were present except for Regent Phillips who was excused.

ACTION ITEMS

ELL Testing Accommodations

Your Committee recommends that the Regents endorse the proposed policy revision to permit former ELLs appropriate testing accommodations on the New York State Testing Program for up to two school years after achieving proficiency on the NYSESLAT.  [EMSC (A) 6]

Charter Schools

Your Committee recommends that the Board of Regents approves the revisions to the initial charter of the Elmwood Village Charter School, and the provisional charter is amended accordingly.  [EMSC (A) 1]

Your Committee recommends that the Board of Regents approves the revisions to the second renewal charter of the COMMUNITY Charter School, and the provisional charter is amended accordingly.  [EMSC (A) 2]

Your Committee recommends that the Board of Regents approves and issues the first renewal charter of the Girls Preparatory Charter School of New York as proposed by the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York, and that its provisional charter be extended for a term up through and including July 31, 2010.  [EMSC (A) 3]

Your Committee recommends that the Board of Regents approves and issues the first renewal charter of the Harlem Link Charter School as proposed by the Board of Trustees of the State University of New York, and that its provisional charter be extended for a term up through and including July 31, 2010.  [EMSC (A) 4]

Your Committee recommends that the provisional charter of the Central New York Charter School for Math and Science (“Corporation”), located in the City of Syracuse, County of Onondaga, State of New York, which was granted by the Board of Regents on April 4, 2000, amended by the Board of Regents on July 14, 2000, and extended by the Board of Regents on March 15, 2005  be, and the same hereby is, dissolved, that notice to such effect be given to the board of trustees of the Corporation, that any student records be transferred to the Syracuse City School District in accordance with the provisions of Education Law §2851(2)(t), and that any remaining assets of the Corporation be distributed in accordance with the procedures set forth in Education Law §220.      [EMSC (A) 5]

Your Committee recommends that the Board of Regents approves the revisions to the initial charter of the La Cima Charter School, and the provisional charter is amended accordingly.  [EMSC (A) 7]

MOTION FOR ACTION BY FULL BOARD

              Mr. Chancellor and Colleagues:  Your EMSC Committee recommends, and I move, that the Board of Regents act affirmatively upon each recommendation in the written report of the Committee's deliberations at its meeting on September 15, 2008, copies of which have been distributed to each Regent.

MATTERS NOT REQUIRING BOARD ACTION

New York Digital Collection Initiative Proposal - Jeffrey W. Cannell provided brief background information and introduced two presenters, Regents Advisory Council member Jill Hurst-Wahl and State Historical Records Advisory Board representative Patricia Dohrenwend.   The Cultural Education Committee had recommended that the May 2008 presentation be repeated for the EMSC Committee because of the valuable resources the Digital Collection would make available to teachers and other educators and students.   Ms. Hurst-Wahl described the vision for this new initiative which would involve educational and historical institutions statewide and would establish a means for the long-term preservation of digital collections, assuring access to New York State’s history in digital form for future generations.  The presentation continued with Ms. Dohrenwend who discussed important aspects of proposal implementation and expressed the long-standing interest and commitment of the State Historical Record Advisory Board in building online digital collections and on-line tools and materials for use by archivists, historians, researchers, teachers, students and others interested in learning more about New York State’s history and economy.    [EMSC (D) 1]

The Achievement Gap:  What the Data Show – The Committee discussed a report that highlights where student achievement gaps exist and especially how it affects African-American and Hispanic students, English Language Learners, students with disabilities, and all other underserved students.  The report documents the achievement gap for these students and reviews what progress has been made.  Committee members made several suggestions for further focus on this topic including assembling a panel of experts – both researchers and practitioners; additional data on these student groups including attendance, placement in special education classes, and student suspension; professional development for teachers and school leaders, etc.  The suggestion was made that a plan for how to move forward on these issues and maintain focus on these topics be developed as not everything can be done at once.    [EMSC (D) 2]

Growth Model for Accountability – The Committee heard an update from Brian Gong on the development of a proposed Growth model for Accountability and directed staff to submit a preliminary proposal for use in determining adequate yearly progress beginning in school year 2008-09, to the USDE as a “placeholder” in order to meet the USDE’s October 15th deadline.  At the same time, the Committee directed staff to solicit input on possible strategies for implementing a Growth Model that will hold school districts accountable for the achievement of all students including those at or above proficient level.   Staff were also asked to provide information on current growth models being used by school districts in New York and by other states and to make recommendations on which of those models could be used to improve student performance in New York State.  Public forums on the growth model are scheduled around the State in September and October and input from these forums will be discussed with the Committee in October and will help to refine the final proposal to the USDE which the Regents will decide on in October.    [EMSC (D) 3]

Contracts for Excellence Monitoring Reports – the Committee discussed a report on the monitoring of the Contracts for Excellence in 55 school districts for the 2007-08 school year.  This report includes an outline of the monitoring process; a section on NYCDOE Class Size Reduction; the general findings from the monitoring related to the implementation of the C4Es as approved (including the public comment process for the 2007-08 Contracts, the established procedures for parent complaint, improved student performance and expectation of achievement of contract performance targets, and the public comment process for the 2008-09 Contracts); and next steps for all C4E districts.   [EMSC (D) 4]

That concludes our report.

                                                                                    Anthony Bottar and Merryl Tisch       

                                                                                    Co-Chairs