Four RBA Members on hand for Albany Education Summit

Four RBA Members on Hand for Albany Education Summit

November 28, 2005
by Dylan Skriloff

Among the 700 community leaders and education experts that attended the recent Summit on New York Education were RBA President and CEO Al Samuels and RBA members Bob Hubsher of Ramapo Catskill Library System, SUNY Rockland board member Richard Kohlhausen of Capital Risk Management and Dr. James Ryan of Rockland BOCES.

In September, the summit's host, New York State Education Commissioner Richard M. Mills was the guest speaker at the RBA's monthly membership meeting, where he addressed general underachievement and the achievement gap between racial and economic groups and how this effects New York and the United States' position in the global economy. The RBA has long been involved in the education debate, hosting a Ready, Set, Grow symposium a few years ago that addressed similar issues.

Mills and the State Education Department hoped that by bringing together leaders from across the country and state, a plan of action would foment. The Department's aims as stated at the summit are that every child "get a good start," every child read by the second grade, every student complete middle school prepared for high school, every student graduate high school prepared for college, that students who begin higher education complete their programs and that anyone who seeks to further their education will have that opportunity.

Guest speakers included Kati Haycock, President, The Education Trus;, Gaston Caperton, President, the College Board and former governor of West Virginia; Nicholas Donofrio, Executive Vice President for Innovation and Technology, IBM; George Campbell Jr., President, Cooper Union and Linda Sanford, Chair of The Business Council of New York State.

Samuels said the summit was positive, but overemphasized intellectual achievement in technology.

"There are those who will be mechanics, service professionals and factory workers. What is in the program for them?" Samuels asked.

Kohlhausen said the leaders had a grasp on the big picture, but believed there would be a disconnect between their agenda and that of local school districts, who have the right of home rule in New York. He also questioned the consensus at the summit that more money would solve problems for struggling school districts.

Samuels said a major problem with education in the state is that teachers get lifetime tenure after only three years on the job and that their unions do not give administrators room to deal with ineffective teachers. Samuels is trying to get businesspeople more involved in the education debate, suggesting they sit on school boards.

No Child Left Behind Symposium

A major symposium was held on November 3 at SUNY Rockland as nearly 300 leaders and professionals in Rockland County education examined the effect 2002's No Child Left Behind Act has had on education in the County.

The symposium's two guest speakers, author and former New York Times columnist Richard Rothstein and former New York State Education Commissioner Dr. Thomas Sobol both gave poor reviews to the NCLB. Rothstein dismissed the entire concept, saying it was unreasonable to expect schooling alone to improve the performance of lower-income students because too many other factors were contributing to their troubles, including poor health and family situations.

Sobol thought the bill's intent was good, but found the reliance on standardized testing and lack of investment to undermine its very precept. He also said the government must invest in teachers if they expect them to perform better and that the curriculum itself is outdated and does not promote critical thinking.

Rockland educators at the symposium gave the bill mixed reviews. Most appreciated the impetus for improvement in standards and education caused by the bill, but felt the grading and testing process needed to be reformed. At the Albany summit, the precepts of the No Child Left Behind Act were generally taken for granted and not questioned.