February 6, 2020
 “If everything was perfect, you would never learn and you would never grow.”
  – Beyonce Knowles
HOW YOUR DISTRICT CAN IMPLEMENT A LATE SCHOOL START TIME
WHETHER IT'S COMMUNITY POLITICS OR ATHLETIC SCHEDULES holding you back, learn from our panel about how they were able to make a change to a later school start time. Experts all agree that middle and high school students need 9+ hours of sleep and that their sleep patterns biologically shift to later in the day. If your district is interested in addressing this, WPSBA's School Smart Time Workshop (with breakfast on the side) on 2/13 at 8:00 AM will highlight the practical issues involved in making this change - so ask your district clerk to sign you up before it's too late (registration deadline is tomorrow).
WE WERE HOPING FOR FOR MORE $ FOR PUBLIC ED IN THE GOVERNOR'S BUDGET...
NOTHING SAYS BUDGET SEASON like discussing the details of Foundation Aid, STAR, and special ed costs. When board members and superintendents met with NYS legislators at last week's Legislative Forum, a hot topic was the Executive Budget proposal to dissolve 10 expense-based aids into Foundation Aid. The details of proposed changes to building and transportation aids, and pushback of certain CSE costs to local districts are also critical to district advocacy, so read budget testimony by WPSBA Executive Director Karen Belanger and check out the materials and pictures from the Forum.
SHOULD THE REGENTS EXAMS BE THE ONLY PATH TO A HS DIPLOMA?
LOOKING AT ALTERNATE PATHWAYS TO A DIPLOMA while maintaining rigorous standards is a current focus of the NYS Board of Regents. Yes, all agree this is a much needed discussion, and many educators, administrators, and board members met last week at SW BOCES to share their thoughts on how the state can better measure what students know. Ultimately, the decision will be up to the Regents, but many thanks to those who went and gave input.
CENSUS 2020 FUN FACT
National Census Day shares a date with the infamous prankster holiday, April Fool’s Day. This is the day that we are required to return complete Census forms, and it’s no joke!
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