Assemblyman Graf speaks with State Education Commissioner King at a budget hearing in Albany.
Assemblyman Al Graf (R,C-Holbrook) is advocating for a renewed focus on career-oriented high school curriculum. The assemblyman has had several conversations with state Education Commissioner Dr. John B. King Jr. about the disappointing graduation rate among New York’s high school students and stated that, in his opinion, this abysmal number can be directly linked to New York state’s new requirement that all students obtain a Regents Diploma.
“Years ago, we had an education track and a career track; a Regents Diploma and a General Diploma,” said Graf. “Now, more than one quarter of New York’s high school students are failing to graduate across the state, with that number spiking to almost 40 percent in high-need districts, and that is simply unacceptable,” said Graf. “We have decimated our trade-based BOCES programs, and placed too many of our students at a disadvantage. It’s time to untangle the mess that the state has made, and get back to the fundamentals of educating our children in a holistic manner. We can ill afford to leave these children behind with no marketable skills, thereby barring them from being able to live, get a job, work and be a functioning part of our economy.”