Race to the Top

NYSED / P-12 / Race to the Top / Memos / June 15, 2011

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June 15, 2011
Memo from John King, Commissioner of Education

Greetings Colleagues!

As the school year draws to a close, I know that many of you are looking forward to the planning and professional learning that will happen this summer. As you do so, I’d like to share several key pieces of information with you as well as several valuable resources.

First, I’d like to alert you to a webinar on the near horizon. On Tuesday, June 28 (10-10:30 am), we will host a webinar regarding the Network Team Summer Institute, hosted by NYSED in Albany, August 1-5. On the morning of June 28, the link to the webinar will be available at http://usny.nysed.gov/rttt/. We look forward to your participation, including questions and comments.

Also, we are distributing two sets of resources which can inform your work this summer.

1. Network Teams – General Information

   Here, we share several key documents that will guide the selection and preparation of Network Teams as they assemble and organize for the challenging and exciting work ahead in School Year 2011-2012.
   • A one-page description of the focus and purpose of New York State Network Teams (35 KB)
   • A job description which BOCES and districts can use to describe the duties of various NT/NTE specialists (71 KB)
   • A list of Deliverables for Network Teams over the next 4 years (88 KB)
   • A set of metrics and suggested evidence which districts and BOCES can use to assess the effectiveness of Network Teams over the course of the 2011-2012 school year (174 KB)
   • Recommendations for the Scope and Content of local professional development in The Common Core and School Based Inquiry/ DDI (58 KB)
   • The CPRE Policy Brief: "Standards Based Teacher Evaluation as a Foundation for Knowledge and Skill Based Pay"
     We are including this article because we found it informative in our planning for Teacher and Leader evaluation training.

BOCES Network Teams and Network Team Equivalents will shortly receive this same general information plus additional information regarding registration for the Network Team Summer Institute.

2. Implementation of the Common Core

   As schools, districts, and BOCES are gathering minds and resources to think deeply about the early stages of Common Core implementation, we are sharing the set of "Publishers' Criteria" which can be used to drive and assess curricular alignment with the Common Core. As teachers, principals, and curriculum developers work to generate instructional materials for classroom use, they will be able to consider these criteria in ELA/Literacy, Math, and The Arts. Please note that while we are not releasing Publishers' Criteria for Science and Social Studies, the ELA/ Literacy criteria can certainly be used to think about the ways in which these subjects can align with Common Core expectations regarding the students' interaction with and creation of text.
   • Guiding Principles for the Arts (13 KB)
   • Publishers' Criteria - English Language Arts and Literacy Grades K-2 (142 KB)
   • Publishers' Criteria - English Language Arts and Literacy Grades 3-12 (215 KB)
   • Criteria for Resources - Mathematics (25 KB)

We hope that you find these materials and webinar helpful and look forward to your thoughts and feedback.

John B. King, Jr.

Last Updated: July 18, 2011