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Regionalization

Regionalization

Description

A systematic approach to continually improve schools and districts is essential for supporting successful outcomes for our students. Regional planning is a mechanism for achieving this goal. This collaborative approach provides a strategic solution to increasing educational opportunities for students and responding to pressing academic and operational issues in an evolving educational, demographic, and fiscal landscape.

What it is: The Regionalization Initiative is a collaborative regional planning approach for local districts to communicate what they need in order to address student needs and operational efficiencies, grounded in a process of periodic needs assessment and cross-district conversations.

What it is not: The Regionalization Initiative is not about reorganization (e.g., merger, consolidation, annexation), nor does it mandate districts participate in particular activities under a regional plan.

There is not a one-size-fits-all approach to creating opportunities for students. New York State's educational landscape already features many different examples of partnerships across schools and districts as well as existing regional infrastructure that offers support, such as cross-district contracts and Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES). The outcomes and action items from regional planning conversations will vary from region to region, building upon the strengths inherent in local communities and reflecting innovative ideas from the individuals who live in them.

Definition of Regions

Regional conversations will be facilitated through the state's 37 Sole Supervisory Districts and the District Superintendent that leads each one. They are commonly referred to as the Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) regions as each Sole Supervisory District houses a regional BOCES that provides cooperative educational programs for two or more school districts. The District Superintendent of the Sole Supervisory District is also the CEO of the region's BOCES.

Collaborative Partners

Regional conversations will be led by the components districts of a Sole Supervisory District, facilitated by the District Superintendent. Neighboring districts in other Sole Supervisory Districts, as well as non-component school districts (such as the Big Five school districts), and community stakeholders including, but not limited to, business and industry groups, collective bargaining units, institutions of higher education, parents/caregivers, students, and neighboring Indigenous Nations will all be invited to engage in the conversations so that the resulting plans are authentic to their local context and tailored to their unique needs.

Purpose

This initiative is an effort to provide local school districts with a platform to compile, discuss, and analyze information on educational opportunity and supports available in their region for all of their students, leading to a locally creating plan or set of recommendations for expanding opportunities and closing transcript gaps * consistent with Board of Regents priorities. Regional conversations are driven by local districts and facilitated by the District Superintendent of the Sole Supervisory District / CEO of BOCES.

Many schools and districts are facing seemingly insurmountable and intractable challenges in areas such as teacher recruitment, advanced course offerings, and funding/aid. Not all schools and districts across the state face equal or similar hardships, and many contributing factors are outside the control of local school districts and the Department.  Enduring solutions must be identified locally through collaborative thinking and conversations.

Together, we aim to move from a system that promotes siloed, limited opportunities for some students to a collaborative approach where districts within and across regions partner to solve local challenges through local solutions. 

* The “transcript gap” refers to disparities in the high school coursework and access to high-quality, cohesive college- and career-preparatory curriculum among students attending different schools and districts, as evidenced by the information reported on their high school transcript. For research around this phenomenon, see The Education Trust’s 2016 publication “Meandering Toward Graduation: Transcript Outcomes of High School Graduates” and the results of the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) high school transcript study. 

Goals

This initiative seeks to leverage the collective strength and capacity of the state to identify current and innovative ways to address challenges and mitigate their impact on student trajectories and outcomes. The goals of this initiative are: 

  • To implement a collaborative approach for schools and districts to identify, explore, and pursue a variety of possible solutions to the academic and operational challenges they face by tapping into the full span of capabilities that already exist in their larger region; and  
  • To establish a continuous improvement process for schools and districts to review, reflect, and update regional data, plans, and recommendations on a 10-year cycle. 

NYSED and the Board of Regents are committed to strengthening the Department's role as a service agency that supports and facilitates field-informed and field-driven approaches to real change and reform across our state's educational landscape. This process will produce the data and innovative thinking to inspire real change for our schools and students.

Benefits

This initiative is about reimagining the collective responsibility and capacity of New York’s districts in ensuring equitable access and opportunity for all New York students. Collaboration and partnerships are essential for creating student opportunities across all schools, districts, regions, and communities throughout the state. Through harnessing the collective strengths of districts, all students can benefit from a rich and varied educational experience.

All districts can benefit from regionalization efforts. Benefits include:

  • Creating equitable opportunities for ALL students;
  • Establishing a systematic mechanism for districts to engage in continual improvement; and
  • Developing an approach for addressing ongoing educational and fiscal challenges through locally-developed solutions and recommendations.

Expanding opportunities is not limited to filling gaps in areas of need. Rather, the goal is to optimize experiences available for our students. Every school has something of value to gain and to contribute to the regional conversations and planning because every school is unique, and every school is limited in the opportunities it can provide to its students in some way—whether due to funding, location, partnerships, scheduling, or other realities of place, time, and access. 

Moreover, New York’s student body is ever-changing. No school or district is immune to receiving new students or experiencing shifts among their student populations—whether on a small scale as students transfer schools one-by-one, or in larger influxes of new populations. Receiving schools and schools with declining enrollment each face a variety of challenges as students move around, creating a shared responsibility for our students’ experiences in school. * 

* Read more about some consequences of student mobility, for mobile and non-mobile students, in this 2015 policy brief from the National Education Policy Center.