| NY State Legislative Forum Advocates More Counselors, Endowment for Higher Ed |
| A record crowd of more than 200 members of the New York Legislative Coalition met earlier this month in Albany to review current policies, pending legislation and the proposed state budget with regard to education. This is the 11th annual forum for the group, which was founded and is currently co-chaired by Brian Petraitis, director of advocacy, government relations and development in Albany for the College Board’s Middle States and New England regions. The coalition is diverse in its membership, being composed of the leadership from 10 professional associations, school counselors and admissions and financial aid officers — with representatives from K-12 and higher education, upstate and downstate, and private as well as public institutions.
The coalition has two very clear goals that remain at the forefront of its agenda: (1) To train newcomers and the leadership of these professional organizations to be strong advocates for education issues; and (2) To support its mission to create common ground on which all students from every background have access to an affordable, high-quality higher education for which they have been adequately prepared.
Seasoned government relations officials from Cornell, the State University of New York and the City University of New York shared with attendees their expertise and their various perspectives on state budget proposals, policies, legislation and what the current education issues are in New York state. They discussed who’s doing what, what the real challenges are and what the current proposals will mean, especially for higher education.
One pending piece of legislation is pushing for more properly trained school counselors, requiring at least one in every K-12 school in the state. The bill has a strong sponsor in Felix Ortiz, a democratic assemblyman from Brooklyn, who came and spoke to the Legislative Forum. He would like to see the ratio of students to counselors — which is currently as high as 600 or 700 to 1 in some New York schools — reduced to a maximum of 250 to 1. Another budget initiative, Contracts for Excellence, would make money available to highly stressed school districts in the state.
For higher education, John Reid, executive director of the New York State Commission on Higher Education, recommended creating a billion-dollar endowment for higher education in the state, which would support more full-time faculty at SUNY and CUNY, allowing them to become flagship campuses in the way that the universities of Michigan, Texas and Ohio have. Although a recent change of leadership in the governor’s office makes the future somewhat uncertain, the current momentum has been more supportive of higher education initiatives than in the 35 years since Governor Rockefeller was in office. Current New York Governor David Paterson, like his predecessor, is thought to be very supportive of equity in K-12 and access to affordable higher education.
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| A Note from Middle States Region VP Robert J. Alig |
VP Robert J. Alig |
I wish to extend my gratitude to our regional council, my colleagues in the Middle States Regional Office and across the College Board, as well as to the many members who attended and presented at the Middle States Regional Forum Feb. 13-15 in Atlantic City, N.J. This year's regional forum was a huge success! We convened nearly 550 professionals from across the educational spectrum, including presidents, principals, superintendents, financial aid officers, teachers and counseling and admissions professionals. Over the course of the three days, we offered more than 65 sessions dealing with topics such as innovative uses of technology, strategies for creating access and success, and partnerships that address issues at each level of the K-20 continuum. |
We’re already looking forward to next year’s regional forum and hope you plan to join us in Baltimore, Md., Feb. 11-13, 2009. Next month, we will issue a Call for Proposals for our regional forum. Please consider presenting a session to share your work with your peers or to facilitate a discussion on issues in education. The momentum and success of this year’s Middle States Regional Forum serve as a strong foundation upon which to build an even more compelling program for next year.
In January, my Middle States Regional Office colleagues and I visited with chief state school officers and state higher education executive officers from across the region, delivering the annual “AP®Report to the Nation.” Our message was one of optimism, as we see an ever-increasing number of students gaining access to a rigorous curriculum through the AP Program. We are especially encouraged to see an increase in the percentage of traditionally underserved students receiving a grade of 3 or better on AP Exams. Nevertheless, we have a great deal of important work ahead of us to make sure all students have the opportunity to be successful in AP courses. One of our members summed this up beautifully when she emphasized that AP is “for the prepared, not for the elite.” Our outreach only reinforced the importance of working with our partners within the region to continue the strong momentum of the AP Program.
Several members of the Middle States staff recently visited Donna Mooney’s first-grade class at Longstreth Elementary School in Philadelphia, which our regional office is sponsoring as part of the Adopt-A-Classroom program. The staff members enjoyed working with the students at various learning stations; sharing a story and hearing the class recite “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” by Maya Angelou. Ms. Mooney has more than 30 students of varying ability levels in her class. Her dedication, passion and commitment to overcoming the challenges of working with such a large class with such limited resources are inspiring. The students are working hard and truly love to learn. Our visit reminded us that, ultimately, our work is about students.
Looking ahead, district superintendents and their leadership teams from the Middle States Region will come together on May 16 to discuss "Closing the Achievement Gap — A District Imperative.” Kati Haycock, president of The Education Trust, and Carol S. Fixman, executive director of the Philadelphia Education Fund, will deliver the keynote addresses, and districts from the region will share their strategies for helping all students be successful in the classroom. For more details, or to register, contact Andrew Richardson (arichardson@collegeboard.org).
Our K-12 and Higher Education teams are planning more collaborative outreach approaches for our members, as they will attend the annual Association for College Admission Counseling conferences for states in our region, and will join their K-12 colleagues at some of the ongoing “Summary of Answers and Skills” workshops for partner school districts. We are confident that this more integrated approach will allow us to better meet your needs as we work together to prepare our students for college success.
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The National Chinese
Language Conference: Building Global Competence of US Students in K-12 Schools: Making
Chinese Accessible
for All
April 17–19, 2008
Renaissance Washington
Washington, D.C.
For more information,
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The College Board
Middle States Regional Office
Two Bala Plaza,
Suite 900
Bala Cynwyd, PA
19004-1501
Phone: (866) 392-3019
Fax: (610) 227-2580
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Albany State Services Office
122 South Swan Street
Albany, NY 12210-1715
Phone: (518) 472-1515
Fax: (518) 472-1516
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