How State Educational Mandates Impact Our Children, Our Community, Our Taxes …and Our Future!

1. How State Educational Mandates Impact Our Children, Our Community, Our Taxes …and Our Future! • Race to the Top –The State Definition • A competitive educational grant program or ‘Race’ for states to win scarce Federal funds by improving student achievement, improving high school graduation rates and ensuring college and career readiness for all through: • More “rigorous” common core educational standards • Performance-based standards (Annual Professional & Performance Reviews- APPR) for teachers and principals • Building data systems that measure student growth & success • Turning around lowest-achieving schools • More charter schools

2. Program Overview Why We Live Here Losing Local Control Impact on Cost Impact on Education Quality What has been done How you can Participate

3. State educational leadership isn’t listening to our concerns Chancellor Meryl Tisch Commissioner John King

5. Why I live here. “Great teachers constantly reevaluate what they are doing.” -- Steven Farr, TFA So do great districts. We are self-reflective and responsive.Our district is constantly taking stock, in an upward spiral –

6. Scarsdale Approach“ Doing Better Assessing, Gathering input Evaluating, Training Identify an Idea and Try

7. ENRICHED LEARNING

8. What’s your spiral?

9. International Metrics In Perspective US Schools with less than 10% poverty* scored #1 in the world on all areas of PISA! (*just like schools in Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, Belgium, Norway, Germany {10.9%}) -- Tienken& Orlich: The School Reform Landscape “If Scarsdale had been a country it would have outscored all others, including Finland, which was #1 that year.” – Lynne Shain (from 2007 scores)

10. Scarsdale is the 5th most educated town in the nation. The top 4 are all college towns. In 2013, 64% of SHS seniors were accepted into the top 60 ‘most competitive’ colleges (Barron’s ranked). Highest percentage in 10 years of record keeping, even as college acceptance grows more competitive. Elementary Social Studies and Science curriculums are inquiry based providing child-driven experiential learning with 2-6 extended hands-on programs per unit. Student survey reveals high percentage felt prepared by k-8 for SHS and prepared for college by SHS.. SMS has over 25 Inter-disciplinary projects underway across all grades and houses in many subject areas.

11. Scarsdale Valueshistory of School Excellence since 1920s Local ControlSchool Board, Administration and Community Input Quality Reputation High Standards Strong Property Values Excellent Outcomes

12. We have something to protect.

13. New Federal/State Control Over Local School Decisions STATE TAX LEVY LIMIT LAW (“TAX CAP”) NCLB & RTTT INSTRUCTION BUDGET State Testing Unfunded & Underfunded Federal & State Mandates CURRICULUM Common Core Standards PERSONNEL Student Data Privacy APPR ADMINISTRATION

14. $ = Our Dollars OurSchools State Aid Other Scarsdale Taxpayers =

15. Tax Levy Limit Tax Levy Limit + Increasing Unfunded State Mandates + Decreasing State Aid ‘2% Tax Cap’ is a Misnomer In 2013/14 of the Nearly 700 School Districts in NYS Will the “Cap” Effect Scarsdale’s Property Values?

16. Tax Levy Limit + Increasing Unfunded State Mandates + Decreasing State Aid • Calculates cap using a flawed benchmark, • since CPI is NOT based on educational cost Will the “Cap” Affect Scarsdale’s Property Values?

17. Tax Levy Limits + Increasing Unfunded State Mandates + Decreasing State Aid

18. Annual Costs of Mandated Testing, Teacher Evaluations & Data Reporting Scarsdale • Direct Costs: • Salaries and benefits $ 450,000 • Test development 130,000 • Test administration 200,000 • Software & support 100,000 • APPR & other training 40,000 • $ 920,000 • Indirect Costs: • Teacher time devoted to testing, • Data collection & reporting $ 1,600,000 • Total Direct & Indirect Costs $ 2,520,000

19. Tax Levy Cap + Increasing Unfunded State Mandates + Decreasing State Aid Trends in NY State Education Aid: Most state aid was frozen in 2009-2010 Total state aid to schools was cut in both 2010-11 and 2011-12 Despite increases in aid in the 2012-13 and 2013-14, over 70% of NYS districts are receiving less state aid than 5 years ago

20. Tax Levy Cap + Increasing Unfunded State Mandates + Decreasing State Aid= THE FINANCIAL PRICE:

21. High Stakes Testing A high-stakes standardized testis a test with serious consequences for the students, educators, schools and districts. Hey, Tortoise, where are we racing? No idea, Hare, but I gotta finish this test!

22. Impact on Instruction of our Kids - Testing • Student Time Sitting For Test • 3rd GRADE LOST TO TESTING: 7 Hours • 5th GRADE LOST TO TESTING: 9 Hours • 8th GRADE LOST TO TESTING: 13 - 16.5 Hours (with Regents) • And Don’t forget… • Prep Time • Teacher Time Spent Grading Tests

23. Impact of Instruction of our Kids - APPR Wasted Administrator Time Annual Professional Performance Review APPR takes a lot more time! And takes away Discretion

24. Impact of Instruction of our Kids - APPR

25. Impact on Curriculum – Standards vs. Standardization Common Core Under RTTT, High-Stakes Tests linked to Common Core Curriculum NYS Rapid, Unsupported Roll-out with poorly designed modules and no time for teacher development or curriculum integration Standards are welcome, but… One size instruction does NOT fit all. ?

26. Impact on Curriculum – NYSPTA Campaign Core Value input from parents Order a one-year delay Implement first, test second Create improved, flexible testing Expand professional development

27. 21st Century Skills INTER- PERSONAL HIGHER-ORDER COGNITIVE CRITICALTHINKING NON- COGNITIVE CREATIVITY SELF- DISCIPLINE PASSION PURPOSE COLLABORATION COMPLEX PROBLEM SOLVING PERSISTENCE RESILIENCE

28. Who Pays for and Profits from Public Education Reforms? GATES Test Prep SOFTWARE PEARSON INVESTORS Charter schools

30. What is Scarsdale Doing? PTC Advocacy and Legislative Issue Website Link Declaration Of Intellectual Independence

31. What Others Are Doing End Corporate Education Reform National Resolution on High-Stakes Testing

32. Know Think Act