This is a guest post from Stephen Tomlinson, Superintendent of the Broadalbin-Perth Central School District. It has been adapted from a speech given at the Tech Valley STEM Smart Alliance launch event on April 23

During a year when the school district that I lead, Broadalbin-Perth, is laying off as many as 20 employees, you might be surprised to learn that we’re also adding 18 new electives at our high school. Many of these new electives fall under the heading of STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

You might ask: How could I do such a thing? How could I lay off employees but add new classes? The answer is simple: Our priorities have changed. Therefore, we as a school district must change in order to meet our new priorities.

Broadalbin-Perth is beginning the process of reinventing itself. We’re eliminating some classes that have been taught since the 1980s and investing in more rigorous and relevant opportunities for our students. Starting this fall, our high school students will have the chance to take classes in engineering, computer arts, robotics and nanotechnology—courses that are being developed in collaboration with Fulton-Montgomery Community College and Hamilton-Fulton-Montgomery (HFM) BOCES.

A district-led ad hoc community group is helping us redefine what a Broadalbin-Perth graduate should know and be. The new Broadalbin-Perth that we are working toward will be characterized by hands-on learning; interdisciplinary instruction; student access to technology; and a well-balanced and challenging curriculum that meets the needs of the whole student.

Together, the school district and community have begun a multi-year process through which we will re-imagine a new kind of education for our students—an education filled with the relevant, practical learning opportunities necessary to help our students grow into productive citizens who will thrive in the 21^st century.

Not all school districts require the kinds of ideological and programmatic shifts we are making in Broadalbin-Perth. To find out what your schools need, you must ask yourself: Are we really doing all we can to prepare our students for college and careers in the 21^st century? If you’re not already offering the kind of education I’ve just described, chances are your answer will be “no.” That needs to change.

I challenge every superintendent, principal and school board member in the Greater Capital Region—and in all of New York State—to develop a vision for STEM education for all students, pre-K through graduation, that is supported by Board of Education goals. As education leaders, we must create a school structure that supports STEM instruction at every level, as well as collaborative programs with area colleges and businesses.

To paraphrase Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, it takes a village to educate a child. That’s why partnerships like the Tech Valley STEM Smart Alliance are so important. By working with the business and higher education leaders in our communities, we can create a better future for all of our students.

There has never been a more exciting time to be an educator than right now. But in order to give our students the education they need to be successful, we must have the courage and the conviction to stop doing what we have always done and start doing what we know is right.

Check out Emily’s billboard and learn more about the contest!

TOP 10 REASONS TO VOTE  (plus one bonus reason)

10. It’s a great opportunity to teach your children about civic responsibility, AND a good chance to practice for the big one in November.

9. So you can cancel out someone else’s vote. Whether it’s your spouse, your boss or that buddy you refuse to talk politics with, you probably know someone else who is going to vote the opposite of you — but you can even the score in the voting booth.

8. Because if you vote and a friend or neighbor doesn’t, you can tease him or her about it forever.

7. Because Election Day is the one day each year when every resident is equal. Your vote has the same impact as anyone else’s.

6. Because elections are often decided by only a few votes.

5. Because we will live with the consequences. Whether you agree with the decisions made by your district’s Board of Education in the final budget or not will be moot if you don’t exercise your right to vote.

4. Because they are our children and our future. The people we elect, the budget we accept or reject: these will both have far-reaching impacts. Be sure your opinion counts by voting.

3. Because in the case of low voter turnout, a minority of the residents can determine an entire district’s future.

2. Because you’ll be really steamed if you forget to vote, then wake up Wednesday morning to find the result isn’t what you wanted.

1. So YOU can decide. Why let other people decide what is best for you when you have a voice? Your vote is your voice. Don’t silence it…vote!

And our BONUS reason to vote: “I VOTED” makes a great Facebook status or Tweet!

Last week our poll asked if readers were planning to vote on their school district’s budget. Out of the 20 responses (Only 20?? Our analytics tell us we have more readers than that! Go vote if you haven’t yet.) 18 people said they were planning to head to the polls. Whoopee! That’s 90% of our population that’s planning to vote. Too bad that percentage is significantly higher than the actual percentage of voters that do cast a ballot in school budget votes. Voter turn-out has historically been extremely low, unless there is a hotly contested school board election or some other form of drama surrounding the school’s budget that year.

We think this is a real shame. People often complain about the high taxes we pay here in New York, but then they neglect the opportunity to get involved in the budget process of the one taxing entity that they have a say in.

Many schools have a proven track record of making a concerted effort to involve the community in their budget process. And every district in the state is required by law to hold a public hearing on the budget in the weeks before the vote. In this first year under the new property tax levy cap, we’ve seen many schools conduct their entire budget planning process through public forums so that their residents have had the option of following along with virtually every board of education decision.

Our point is that the opportunities are there for everyone to get involved in what is happening in their local school district, even if their only action is to head to the polls tomorrow and pull a lever.

Here are two great articles about why everyone should plan on voting:

• Engage in your schools
• Parent Power: Be Engaged in Your School District’s Budget Process

If we’ve convinced you to vote, go Google your school district and do some research. Find out what time the polls are open and read up on what the district is proposing. How will it impact kids and your community? However you vote, we thank you.

According to the findings of a new survey of 403 school districts released this week by the New York State School Boards Association and the New York State Association of School Business Officials, school districts have eliminated thousands of jobs to meet the new property tax levy cap. 64 percent of districts have cut teachers. Here’s some news coverage:

• Democrat and Chronicle
  
• Lohud.com
  
• Saugerties Post Star
  
• The Corning Leader
  
• The Legislative Gazette
  

With the school budget votes coming up, The Empire Center released its latest data Benchmarking NY’s Property Taxes by Location. Here’s some news coverage:

• Highest taxes in New York in places with low property values
  
• Capital Region top in state for lowest taxes
  

Yet another call for mandate relief,”before it’s too late.”

Many parents face the challenge of trying to keep their kids entertained while they get some work done around the house, wait for the bus, or run errands. And in today’s high-tech society with its seemingly ubiquitous smart phones and iPads, reaching for one of these tools as a diversion has become a regular solution for some parents.

My family is a prime example of this, and if hard-pressed I would have to admit that most of the apps on my iPhone are for the entertainment and edification of my six-year old.

The key word in that last sentence is”edification.” I find that I’m OK with my daughter playing games that I consider educational. And it turns out I’m not alone in that. This article from the Hechinger Report outlines a small study that shows that parents don’t feel all that much guilt over screen time with iPads and other touch screens. And parents who think that the apps are educational are least likely to feel guilt.

And what kind of apps, you might ask, do I consider educational? When my daughter was younger, games that taught her to trace letters and numbers and helped her learn basic phonics fit the bill. Now that she’s a big-shot first grader, I try to push games that help her practice her math-fact fluency, spelling, reading comprehension and vocabulary. Interesting to note: She’s getting to an age where she recognizes that I expect her to be learning while she is monopolizing my iphone, and suddenly she isn’t as interested in playing with it as she used to be. Or she’ll say, “Can’t I just play Angry Birds instead of having to be learning all the time, Mommy?”

Silly girl. We parents all know that Angry Birds teaches physics. I think I’ll let her figure that one out for herself.

How do you feel about letting your kids play with smartphones and iPads? Does your perception of the “educational” value of an app or game change how you feel about the time your kids spend using them?

Researchers say there is a proven way to reduce cheating: de-emphasize the outcome of the test, by making the test more about gauging a student’s knowledge and less about getting an “A.” That theory is put to the test in this video with some interesting outcomes.

How do you talk to your kids about cheating? And how do you think the idea of de-emphasizing the outcome of a test fits in with the growing focus on high-stakes testing in New York?

The Mandate Relief Council is an 11 member executive and legislative council charged with reviewing and advancing proposals to reduce the statutory and regulatory burden on local governments and school districts. Earlier this year the council conducted a series of public hearings around the state to get input about how mandates are impacting schools and municipalities. Videos of the hearings are available on the Council’s website.

As part of the process of identifying and determining whether a mandate on a local government/school district is unsound, unduly burdensome or costly, the Mandate Relief Council is currently accepting submissions of questionable mandates from local governments/school districts. Based on what is shown on the website, it doesn’t appear that many mandates have been submitted through this vehicle.

That list can be found here, and comments can be submitted on the same page. The page states that “In addition, the Mandate Relief Council is looking for any comments and ideas for mandate relief that you may have.”

Whether you’re a parent, school district official, student or community member, we encourage you to check out the page, and to have your voice heard!

On Monday, Governor Cuomo announced his new NY Education Reform Commission.

• Media coverage: NYT School Book; Times Union; Democrat and Chronicle
• With no sitting superintendent, school board member, teacher or parent advocate on the membership list, educators are concerned about a “Commission of outsiders.”
• This commission was “put together from the top down, when the problem is best viewed and analyzed from the bottom up.”

Sorry, kids, 
can’t afford you: No matter what the judgment in a case to improve aid to small urban districts, students will lose.

Without providing notice, the Republican-controlled Senate approved $9.95 million in aid to school districts this week. The money was, sadly, not distributed based on need, but along party lines. Schools with republican legislators were the only ones to benefit.

Life-saving legislation or unfunded mandate? Lawmakers, advocates want CPR training in schools

Great article on tax cap math: “It’s not nearly as simple as taking 2 percent off the top.”

Faced with consequence of freezing tax levy at current levels, schools fear new cost of ‘no’ vote.

In the realm of online learning: Harvard and MIT announced this week that they will be  jointly offering free classes to anyone in the world who wants to take them. Stanford, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Michigan are doing the same.

And here’s an interesting article from Diane Ravitch: A primer on the group driving school reform.

As always, if we’ve missed any good articles, let us know in the comments! Have a great weekend!