Paul Gasparini Timothy Heller Russell Kissinger Maureen Patterson I thought that all four represented SAANYS and their school districts extraordinarily well, and provided important information to be considered by the senators. I am taking this opportunity to thank them for taking the time out of their busy schedules to attend the hearing and for their excellent contributions. TESTIMONY TO THE SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION The Regents Reform Agenda: Our Progress “Assessing” Syracuse City Hall October, 2013 Senator Flanagan and honorable members of the Senate Standing Committee on Education thank you for your leadership in holding these important and timely public hearings in regard to New York State’s education reforms. Thank you also for inviting the School Administrators Association of New York State (SAANYS) to contribute to the testimony you will consider in determining what is right about our initiatives and trajectory, and in identifying what should be changed so that students are not disadvantaged and become disengaged. At the outset, we wish to state that our association and school leaders fully support better This testimony is written on the behalf of more than 7,000 school administrators across New York State. Four active administrators join in the presentation verbal testimony and are available to answer any questions you may have regarding specific local implementation. The four administrators are: Paul Gasparini Principal of the Jamesville-DeWitt High School – Timothy Heller Principal of the Groton Elementary School – Russell Kissinger Principal of the Mount Markham High School – Maureen Patterson Assistant Superintendent for Instruction K-12 in the Liverpool School – District My name is James Viola and I am the SAANYS Director of Government Relations. Many people regard all that is happening in New York as a single great reform, and accordingly they their observations of what’s working and what’s not working in a large amorphous way. In fact, “lump” there are numerous reforms that are being implemented simultaneously. To facilitate analysis, our testimony is presented according to specific headings. Each heading will include recommendations.
Paul Gasparini Timothy Heller Russell Kissinger Maureen Patterson I thought that all four represented SAANYS and their school districts extraordinarily well, and provided important information to be considered by the senators. I am taking this opportunity to thank them for taking the time out of their busy schedules to attend the hearing and for their excellent contributions. TESTIMONY TO THE SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION The Regents Reform Agenda: “Assessing” Our Progress Syracuse City Hall October, 2013 Senator Flanagan and honorable members of the Senate Standing Committee on Education thank you for your leadership in holding these important and timely public hearings in regard to New York State’s education reforms. Thank you also for inviting the School Administrators Association of New York State (SAANYS) to contribute to the testimony you will consider in determining what is right about our initiatives and trajectory, and in identifying what should be changed so that students are not disadvantaged and become disengaged. At the outset, we wish to state that our association and school leaders fully support better This testimony is written on the behalf of more than 7,000 school administrators across New York State. Four active administrators join in the presentation verbal testimony and are available to answer any questions you may have regarding specific local implementation. The four administrators are: Paul Gasparini – Principal of the Jamesville-DeWitt High School Timothy Heller – Principal of the Groton Elementary School Russell Kissinger – Principal of the Mount Markham High School Maureen Patterson – Assistant Superintendent for Instruction K-12 in the Liverpool School District My name is James Viola and I am the SAANYS Director of Government Relations. Many people regard all that is happening in New York as a single great reform, and accordingly they “lump” their observations of what’s working and what’s not working in a large amorphous way. In fact, there are numerous reforms that are being implemented simultaneously. To facilitate analysis, our testimony is presented according to specific headings. Each heading will include recommendations.