Dear Parents,

The New York State Board of Regents and the New York State Education Department (NYSED) seek to ensure all students have equitable access to high-quality education opportunities, including effective instruction aligned to the New York State Next Generation Learning Standards in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics. Full implementation of the new standards will begin during the 2020-2021 school year for prekindergarten through grade 8.

To help parents prepare for the transition to the Next Generation Learning Standards, NYSED collaborated with multiple partners, including parents, to develop A Parent's Guide to the New York State Next Generation English Language Arts & Mathematics Learning Standards. The Parent's Guide facilitates and promotes parental involvement and engagement and provides links and resources to support classroom learning at home.

You can learn more about the standards by talking to your child's teacher or visiting our Next Generation ELA and Mathematics Learning Standards website. If you're interested in learning more about what school districts are doing to implement the standards, check out our NYS Next Generation Roadmap Spotlights.

State investments to implement education initiatives are critical to realizing our goal of achieving educational equity. This week, Governor Cuomo gave his State of the State address, which contained several proposals that will benefit New York's students and adults. We are encouraged by many of the Governor's education proposals, including expanding early college high school training programs; expanding apprenticeships; increasing the number of Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) programs; expanding Universal Pre-Kindergarten; supporting afterschool programs; making college affordable for more middle class families; ensuring that every New Yorker is counted in the 2020 Census; increasing teacher diversity; expanding opportunity programs; and creating a mental health education and training competitive grant program for school districts.

The Board of Regents has long supported increasing state aid for all schools, especially for those that serve our most at-risk students. While we are pleased the Governor recognizes the need for increased support for our high-need schools, we must ensure all schools have the resources they need to provide a high-quality education for all New York students. Read the entire statement from Chancellor Rosa and me on the Governor's State of the State address.

If you have a college-bound student, the New York State FAFSA Tracker website is again available to track completion rates for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This tool provides information and valuable insight to help students with completing and filing the FAFSA form. The FAFSA Tracker allows users to view the overall number of completed applications for high schools across the state and compare them with their peers. Users are also able to view application progress trends year-to-year or review weekly, monthly, and year-to-date rankings of schools. The FAFSA Tracker website is a free service provided by Data Insight Partners in support of the advancement of students in New York.

Finally, if you will be in the Capital Region this weekend, consider visiting the State Museum for " New York State's Great Places and Spaces" program on Saturday. Representatives from over a dozen New York State historic sites and cultural organizations will provide educational hands-on activities and unique artifacts to explore. In addition, a themed exhibit tour of Enterprising Waters: New York's Erie Canal will be held at 1:00 p.m. For more information, visit the Museum's website.

I appreciate your continued support, and I hope you encourage other parents to subscribe to the parent email list to receive my biweekly letter.

Sincerely,

Shannon Tahoe

Interim Commissioner