Contracts For Excellence Approved For 10 School Districts

State Education Commissioner Richard Mills announced today the approval of Contracts for Excellence between the Department and ten school districts throughout the State. This follows the announcement on October 3 of the Commissioner's approval of Contracts in 26 districts.

State law requires that certain districts – those that have at least one school in need of improvement and received an increase in State Foundation Aid above a threshold – enter into "Contracts for Excellence." Contract districts must spend a portion of their Foundation Aid increase on programs and activities that have been shown to improve student achievement and that are focused primarily on students with the greatest educational needs. These districts may use funds for class size reduction; increased time on task; teacher/principal quality initiatives; middle school/high school restructuring; model programs for English language learners; full day pre-kindergarten/kindergarten; and experimental programs.

The ten school districts the Commissioner approved are: Albany, South Colonie, Elmira, Norwich, Geneva, Fulton, Schenectady, Monticello, White Plains and Yonkers.

"These Contracts represent a commitment that districts make to improve student achievement and provide for public involvement and accountability," Regents Chancellor Robert M. Bennett said. "They offer an unprecedented opportunity to link school funding with increased expectation for achievement."

Commissioner Mills said, "Districts throughout the State have responded by using their Contract funding in ways that have been shown to improve student performance, especially for those students in greatest need. We will continue working with them to ensure that student achievement improves as a result of the Contracts."

The 26 school districts whose Contract approvals the Commissioner announced in October are:  Arlington, Binghamton, Buffalo, Copiague, Dunkirk, Gloversville, Greece, Hannibal, Haverstraw-Stony Point, Hyde Park, Massena, Mexico, Middletown, Newburgh, Northeastern Clinton, Odessa-Montour, Ossining, Oswego, Port Jervis, Spencer-Van Etten, Syracuse, Utica, Valley Central (Montgomery), Wappingers Falls, Watertown, and Watervliet.  

2008-09 is the second year that the law has required certain districts to enter into Contracts for Excellence. In the first year, 2007-08, 55 school districts were required to adopt Contracts. Those 55 districts – comprising over 1,500 schools with a total enrollment of 1.1 million students – received $428 million in Foundation Aid that was subject to Contracts. Monitoring by the Education Department showed that the vast majority of Contracts were implemented as approved and where there were compliance issues, corrective action plans were put in place. This year, 20 districts were removed from the list of districts required to enter into Contracts, while four were added, for a total of 39 Contract districts in 2008-09.

In the newly approved Contracts, the districts committed to:

• Direct 75 percent of their Contract funds to the neediest students.
   
• Implement and expand programs shown to improve student achievement.
   
• Set performance targets indicating the academic improvements they expect students to achieve. This includes targets for students in need and also for groups of students, such as students with disabilities and English language learners, who need more help to meet the standards.
   
• Use the money in proportion to the need in low-performing schools before spending on other schools.
   
• Ensure public involvement in the development and implementation of the Contract.
   

Examples of specific programs to be implemented by the ten districts with newly approved Contracts:

Class Size Reduction: Research has shown that reductions in class size, particularly in the early grades, can improve student achievement.  More than three-quarters of the approved Contract for Excellence districts will use at least part of their fund allocations to support these efforts.

• Yonkers is adding certified teaching assistants in 15 schools to reduce student:teacher ratios and provide more intensive, personalized instruction.
   
• Schenectady City School District will reduce class size at the middle and high school to a student:teacher ratio of 18:1.
   
• Albany City School District is continuing their commitment to maintain smaller class sizes with a teacher funded through C4E at the Arbor Hill and Giffen elementary schools and an additional teacher at the high school.

Increased Time on Task:

• Schenectady City School District will use Contract funds to:
  • Implement an arts program to provide increased student time on task and enhance outcomes in English language arts, literacy and mathematics by writing and performing poetry; learning the basic operations of filming, editing And producing video and film; and improvisational theater;
  • Reduce the case load for academic intervention services teachers enabling students to receive at least one hour per day in English language arts and math. 
  • Add 30 minutes to each school day providing an additional 90 hours of direct instruction to students over the school year.

Middle and High School Restructuring:

• Yonkers is continuing its Middle School strategy of restructuring PK-7 to PK-8 grade spans in five schools with high numbers of students living in poverty and/or English language learners.
   
• In an effort to connect students to their own learning, Albany City School District's Philip Schuyler Middle School will reconfigure its math program and enable students to use online programs, making learning more relevant to their interests, and supporting the district's quest to more fully involve and motivate all students.

Teacher and Principal Quality Initiatives:  Research shows that improving teacher preparation is one of the strongest policy levers that schools have to improve achievement, and a number of districts are making significant efforts in this area. 

• The Albany City School District hired a literacy coach, to mentor teachers in reading instruction, to be shared by three elementary schools.
   
• The Albany City School District will provide targeted professional development for high school faculty that will stress effective urban education teaching models; engaging students who have not previously been active participants by identifying and building on their strengths and nurturing their potential and intellectual interests. The district believes this approach is key to reaching urban youth and will improve teaching and learning, reduce the performance gap and increase high school completion.
   
• The Schenectady City School District will design and implement a three-day professional development institute in the fall and follow this up with regularly scheduled professional development opportunities in the areas of differentiated instruction and teaching literacy across the content areas.

Full-Day Pre-K and Kindergarten: 

• The Albany City School District's Contract for Excellence will support two additional full-day pre-Kindergarten classes.

Model Program for English Language Learners:  

• Yonkers is implementing a Model Program for English language learners at Roosevelt High School that introduces non-native English speakers to the rigors of the International Baccalaureate program as part of college preparation.
   

Next Steps

The Department will continue to work with the remaining districts to complete their Contracts.

Additionally, the Department will continue to monitor the implementation of the Contracts for Excellence and will use what was learned from the first year of Contract implementation and monitoring to assist districts this year. Building upon that knowledge, the Department will, among other things, continue to meet with Contract districts to offer technical assistance; provide the Regents with analyses of broad trends in student performance in C4E districts, once a full set of test results are available; and report to the Regents on the degree to which schools were successful in meeting performance targets.

Click on the link which follows to see the thirty-six 2008-09 Contracts that are currently approved: http://eservices.nysed.gov/c4e-public/actions/dispatcher.