NY Gets NCLB Waiver

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New York State has just been awarded an NCLB waiver from the US Department of Education. Here’s some info from the US Dept of Ed press release:

The Obama administration approved eight additional states for flexibility from key provisions of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in exchange for state-developed plans to prepare all students for college and career, focus aid on the neediest students, and support effective teaching and leadership. Today’s announcement brings the number of states with waivers to 19. Eighteen additional applications are still under review. …  “These eight additional states are getting more flexibility with federal funds and relief from NCLB’s one-size-fits-all federal mandates in order to develop locally-tailored solutions to meet their unique educational challenges,” Duncan said.

Duncan pointed out that many of the new state-created accountability systems capture more students at risk, including low-income students, students with disabilities, and English learners, adding, “States must show they are protecting children in order to get flexibility. These states met that bar.”

Also see this Education Week article for a brief analysis: http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2012/05/eight_more_states_get_esea_wai.html

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SAANYS issues APPR Resource Materials

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We have updated our APPR Resource Packet and Sample APPR Agreement as of May 7, 2012. These are in response and relation to the recent SED guidance documents mentioned earlier.

Members can download pdf versions of these material from the SAANYS website at http://www.saanys.org/membersonly/evaluations.asp

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APPR Update – 5/2/12

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SED has released updated APPR resource material. The guide can be downloaded at
http://engageny.org/resource/department-resources-and-tools-to-support-appr-implementation/

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APPR Confidentiality For School Principals and Teachers

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A review regarding confidentiality of APPR scores and results was delivered to all legislators on April 16. It is SAANYS position that absolute confidentiality of APPR scores and ratings is of paramount importance for principals and teachers alike – just as is the case for police, firefighters and medical personnel. The APPR system is intended promote the identification and provision of PD and supports to improve performance and inform instruction. Releasing such information would serve no positive purpose, but would likely result in teacher shopping and ridiculing educators.

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