Dear Parents,

I hope you are enjoying the fall. Last week, the Board of Regents and the New York State Education Department (NYSED) had the pleasure of honoring the National Rural Teacher of the Year, Scott Jordan! Jordan, a science teacher at Cuba-Rushford Central School District, presented a wonderful video about the district's unique CRCS Outdoors program. In the video, Jordan says it is important to give students responsibility, and notes: "Creating opportunities is the most important thing." I encourage you to watch the video, which provides a wonderful glimpse into the special programming the district offers to enhance its rural students' educational experiences and opportunities.

In addition to honoring the National Rural Teacher of the Year at its meeting last week, the Board of Regents received an update on the Education of Children in Foster Care State law passed this year. The Regents also reviewed resources designed to better support students in foster care by increasing opportunities for them to remain in the same school. Building on the requirements of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the new state law on foster care, the toolkit and guidance are a culmination of 18 months of collaboration among State agencies, local departments of social services, and educational providers.

Children need support to help them cope with life's major challenges, and there may be no greater challenge for a child than to be removed from all that is familiar to them. Research shows children in foster care do not do as well in school. Working collaboratively at the local level so these students remain with the teachers, counselors, and peers they know is one small, yet significant, way we can help lessen the burden of a tumultuous event in a child's life. The toolkit and guidance announced last week by NYSED and the New York State Office of Children and Family Services will help schools and social services agencies provide educational stability for these children.

Also last week, the New York State Archives announced the winners of the 2018 Annual Archives Awards. We are proud to honor organizations and individuals who work every day to manage records to ensure accountability, efficiency, and openness. We also applaud the student winners for their outstanding use of historical records in their research. At a ceremony in Albany, two individual students and one student group received New York State Archives Student Research Awards for their use of historical records in research projects.

Alan Wang of Guilderland Central School District won the NYS Archives Award for Student Research Using Historical Records, Grades 9-12! Alan wrote a research paper using primary sources focused on the influence of an anthropologist and Iroquois Indian on Marxist ideology. 

The fourth grade class of Thornell Road Elementary School in Pittsford Central School District won the NYS Archives Award for Student Research Using Historical Records, Grades 4-5! The class created a picture book about the experience of eight Civil War soldiers from their community.

See the full list of awardees by visiting our website. Congratulations to all the winners!

Finally, it's National School Bus Safety Week. If your children ride the bus to school, take a few minutes to go over these school bus safety tips together. This resource sheet from the National Association for Pupil Transportation includes safety tips for walking to the bus stop, waiting for the bus, and getting on and off the bus. Let's do everything we can to make sure all children get to and from school safely each day.

Thank you for all you do.

Sincerely,

MaryEllen Elia
Commissioner