State Education Commissioner Richard Mills assured unionists "we are on the move together" in the challenge to close the achievement gaps defined by race, poverty and disability.

"We're making gains, but you know the gaps remain," Mills said, noting that fewer than half the state's students of color graduate from high school in four years. "That's unjust, unfair and dangerous."

Mills started his speech by thanking NYSUT President Dick Iannuzzi for living up to his promise to make the achievement gap a core statewide issue. "He made that promise at the Regents Education Summit in 2005," Mills said. "He kept that promise and has kept at it."

As we start the next leg of the race, Mills noted, the state is providing several strong starting blocks: a big increase in state aid; an improved data collection system that highlights what works and what doesn't; and expansion of the state's pre-kindergarten program.

Mills thanked delegates for their efforts and said he's seen "truly amazing tradecraft" as he's visited schools around the state. He spoke of a Queens school "where absolutely everyone is on the same page for positive behavior interventions — it's even posted on the wall." He was also impressed by the project-based learning at the Tech Valley High School that recently opened as a cooperative BOCES venture in the Capital District.

Mills told delegates the Regents are working to simplify SED's accountability system, which includes more than 15 data releases a year and about 30 negative designations for schools that need improvement. "We need to rethink that," he said.

He said any growth model would have to "use test results responsibly."

With the state's economic downturn, Mills thanked unionists for being "good companions" on the road together. "The road is difficult, but we've done difficult things before," Mills said. "The destination is clear: the success of every child."