Q: One of your priorities is to get one of the coveted "Race to the Top" federal grants. What impact on schools and teachers will result if we get a grant?

A: The federal stimulus bill allocated $5 billion in federal funding for states with aggressive plans to raise standards, turn around their lowest performing school and create robust data systems to boost accountability and improve teacher quality.

New York has historically led the country in raising standards and we plan to be at the forefront of the national effort to raise them yet again, so no student graduates or is deemed proficient on state tests without being college ready.

But as I often say, it's not enough to simply raise standards and hope for the best. Our teachers need to be prepared to help kids meet and exceed these standards. Study after study confirms that teacher quality is the most important factor under the control of schools in boosting student performance.

With Race to the Top funding we will overhaul our standards and, along with them, how we support teachers at the local level. We will continue to refine our data system so that we can track children and hold schools accountable for results. Under the leadership of our new Commissioner, David Steiner, we will help turn the State Education Department into a hub of innovation and best practices in teacher preparation and accountability so teachers in every setting across our state can help their students achieve and succeed.

Q: Education Secretary Arne Duncan has claimed New York State's charter school cap could hurt our chances to compete for Race to the Top funding. Do you agree with Duncan's concern about the cap?

A: While there is a lot of talk about New York's cap, the fact of the matter is it has had no actual impact in restricting the growth of charter schools. As of August, 147 new charters have been issued in New York that count against the cap of 200. That leaves 53 more unclaimed charters under the current law — and the only time we've butted up against the cap in the past the Legislature voted to double it.

The Board of Regents strongly believes that charter schools, carefully regulated and held accountable for their results, are an important element in making good public schools available to the children of our state.

I believe the current law has allowed charter schools to flourish in New York while avoiding many of the pitfalls that befell states with ad hoc charter policies. 

Q: The Regents approved three steps to guide New York state's reform efforts:

• District-based approach to school improvement
• SED's internal reorganization
• A theory of action for the Regents to exert its influence on curriculum and the interaction of teachers and students.

How will each of these steps enhance reform in New York state?

A: The Regents are committed to building the capacity of school districts to become full partners in our effort to turn around their lowest performing schools. When we work with just a single school, the strength of our intervention is limited, but when we are able to increase the strength of a district's improvement team that district cannot only work with other low-performing schools but also tackle problems in schools before they become critical.

SED's internal reorganization is ongoing, but suffice to say it is focused on one goal: transforming SED into an organization that can replicate and support innovation, build capacity for school improvement and become a repository for best practices throughout the state. Our aim is to organize SED to better support local innovation in our highest performing districts and engage more deeply with districts that are struggling and in need of additional support.

With a focus on rigorous standards, curriculum, assessment and accountability, the Regents have succeeded in improving schools and raising student achievement.

However, substantial performance gaps still exist. What we refer to as our theory of action is really the answer to the question: How can we make the strongest impact on the instructional core — the interaction among teachers, students and curriculum — in districts across the state?

While the work of teachers and students takes place far from the Regents, the board's influence is strong. Our Theory of Action identifies how the board can best leverage change at the district and school level. Examples include policies that raise the quality of teacher preparation, require that all students encounter a Regents curriculum, and that students who need extra help receive it.

Q: How do you envision the grades 3-8 ELA and math tests will change in the next few years?

A: The Regents are committed to continuing to raise the bar and ensuring New York remains at the forefront of the national effort to raise standards. We are committed to ending the annual debate about whether our state tests have become harder or easier and putting to rest questions about the difference in student performance on the ELA and the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Getting there will require aligning the 3-8 ELA and math tests more closely with the national tests, as well as ensuring that the tests become both less predictable and more comprehensive in terms of the number of items in each curriculum they test. 

Q: What would you say are the strengths and weaknesses of New York state's accountability system?

A: You can't raise standards or turn around failing schools without real accountability. New York has a strong system of standards aligned to valid and reliable assessments that are used to measure school and district performance and hold institutions accountable for results.

Through Contracts for Excellence we have linked accountability to additional state funding — ensuring that districts target resources to the lowest performing schools and that those schools implement specific programs to raise student achievement.

Through the Schools Under Registration Review process, New York state has instilled a perform-or-perish culture aimed at turning around failing schools in districts across the state.

Since 1989 more than 300 schools have been identified for support and assistance under SURR. Today, approximately half of them have improved to the point that they are now in good standing under NCLB.

When SURR schools do not improve they are phased out or closed. Since the inception of the program the Regents have closed more than 70 schools.

Local school districts have also followed our lead even before schools formally enter the SURR process. For example, New York City has opened more than 350 new public and charter schools in the last decade to replace failing schools.

Overall, our accountability system is getting results: The number of schools identified for improvement has been declining even as the requirements for making AYP have been increasing and the performance of our lowest performing schools has improved significantly.

Whereas 10 years ago the overwhelming majority of students in the lowest performing schools performed at Level 1, now even in the lower performing schools around half the students are likely to perform at Level 3.

That said, we need to continue to do more to not only improve failing schools but make them truly high performing.

We need to eliminate red tape that keeps too many failing schools open for too long and makes it difficult to replace a failing school with a truly new school with new leadership and staff.

In addition, even schools that are not failing need to be pushed to improve. SURR, curriculum audits and School Quality Review don't currently reach all the schools that need improvement.

Q: New York state's higher education institutions are feeling the effects of the state's diminishing financial support. How will the Regents help New York's higher education institutions receive the resources necessary to fulfill the state's Higher Education Master Plan?

A: The Regents are deeply committed to supporting higher education and are proud that even during this downturn New York continues to support our state's colleges and universities.

New York's Tuition Assistance Program remains the largest need-based state grant program in the nation. In addition, the state has long supported Aid to Independent Colleges and Universities (commonly referred to as Bundy Aid).

In the 2009-10 state budget, the governor and the Legislature have enacted the New York Higher Education Loan Program. NYHELPS is a public/private partnership that makes available up to $350 million annually in private activity bonds for fixed-rate loans for students attending postsecondary institutions in our state.

Finally, the governor has allocated $38 million to restore community college cuts as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's funding to New York state.

All of these efforts are designed to ensure that, during a time of fiscal crisis, we continue to support students' access and success in higher education.

Another partner, of course, is the federal government. And with the ARRA, significant additional dollars are being made available to support higher education.

For example, there has been an increase in Pell grants, increasing the maximum award by $500 and a new higher education tax cut for nearly 4 million students.

Additional funds are being made available to community colleges for economic development purposes, to colleges in partnership with school districts to improve teacher quality, and millions of dollars for research development for institutions of higher education.

The Statewide Plan for Higher Education acknowledges the needs for New York's colleges and universities to be strong and vibrant.

We will continue to collaborate with the 271 higher education institutions in New York state to help meet the overall goals of the Regents Statewide Plan for Higher Education and to continue to promote access and success for all New Yorkers in higher education.

Q: What changes will the Regents advocate for during Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization?

A: When ESEA first came up for reauthorization several years ago, the Regents proposed a broad and comprehensive set of recommendations related to accountability, growth models, assessments for English language learners and students with disabilities, school improvement interventions and consequences targeted specifically to underperforming subgroups instead of an entire school, early childhood education, highly qualified teachers and funding.

They are posted on our Web site at: www.oms.nysed.gov/legcoord/nclb/priorities.htm and www.oms.nysed.gov/legcoord/nclb/martixl.htm.

When discussion begins again about the next reauthorization of ESEA the Regents will review proposals from Congress and the Obama administration and determine whether and what changes should be made to their recommendations.

Q: This year, the governor and Legislature agreed to freeze foundation aid for two years, placing the solution to the Campaign for Fiscal Equity decision on hold and denying school districts the resources necessary to close the achievement gap. What are the Regents planning to do with their 2010-11 state aid proposal to ensure foundation aid is preserved and school districts are able to continue progress on closing the gap?

A: Despite the economic downturn, the Regents will continue to advocate for funding levels sufficient to educate all students.

While our 2010-11 state aid proposal is still under development, I am confident the proposal will continue to stress the need to fund schools based on student need, local fiscal capacity and regional cost differences beyond control of local school districts.

As part of the development process the Regents are looking at the needs and circumstances of fiscally stressed school districts, regional high schools, regional transportation, and supporting green-design, high-performance, energy-efficient school buildings, and the role of Boards of Cooperative Educational Services.

In addition, the State Education Department is conducting a study to update the foundation aid formula, which determines the cost to educate students in successful school districts.

The Regents have proposed legislation to streamline reporting requirements and are looking for other cost savings that will allow the state to fund a Foundation Aid increase and support the Regents' funding adequacy and gap closing strategy.

The result will be a thoughtful proposal that continues to make progress in achieving the Regents goals of closing the achievement gap and stimulating academic improvement throughout the system.

Most importantly from the perspective of the Board of Regents, the teachers, principals, guidance counselors and all professionals who work in school buildings are our partners and our change agents on the ground.

We are committed to strengthening our relationships and our collaboration with all those who serve youngsters in classrooms across this great state.

The power of "we" is central both in our efforts to secure Race to the Top funding but more importantly in our aspirations to continue to secure academic achievement at the highest levels that is worthy of the great state of New York.