The Regents and the Department started powerful strategies for change. The public and our colleagues in the schools need to know that we are aware of the strains and that we are watching to see that the pace is right. It is a lot. And it adds up to a difficult set of changes. We needed to do these things together.
State aid has to change to put funds behind the standards.
And we cannot ignore the continuing increase in special education placements that result in large measure from the decline in capacity in general education. The major change of the last year is that the system has momentum toward higher performance for all students. Many individual schools always had this momentum, but it is easier to maintain that momentum when the whole system is moving. The State Education Department and the Regents must support schools by listening and using what we hear, by providing materials such as the Resource Guides at a level of quality that meets local expectations, and by lining up resources to match our expectations. And we should not add more initiatives.