New Regents Chancellor Needs New Priorities

A statement by Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,C,I-Corning)

“New York State Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch announced this morning that she plans to step down from her leadership post when her term ends in March. Though Ms. Tisch was well intentioned and hardworking, her departure is welcome news to those of us who want our education system to be responsive to students and supportive of teachers and parents.

“Ms. Tisch, along with former Education Commissioner King, was the public face of Common Core. Together, they ignored the legitimate concerns of parents, students and teachers who were wary of transforming institutions of learning powered by curiosity into testing factories managed by bureaucrats. I hope our new chancellor leads the way in crafting education policy that is more focused on how children learn than how much we can test them.

“I have said it time and again. If we are going to create a world class education system in New York for our children, we must treat our parents as partners, teachers as professionals, and ensure our children's self-worth is not measured by how they score on a high-stakes, standardized test.”