Education

Governor Andrew Cuomo is leaning on New York’s network of public colleges to play a bigger role in economic growth -- and he’s proposing to provide the resources to do so. But there could stiff competition for those funds.

The Syracuse City School District did some last minute negotiating with its teachers and principal's unions, in the hopes of getting some state funding reinstated. As WRVO's Ellen Abbott reports, 11 and a half million dollars used in the districts most troubled schools, is at stake.

Russell, a Democrat from Theresa, has introduced legislation that will adjust the way school districts' wealth is measured.  Generally speaking, the poorer a district is, the more aid it gets. But it’s not a true sliding scale at the top and bottom ends.

Right now, the poorest districts are all lumped together in the same category, even though some may be much poorer than others. The same is true of the richest districts – they're all seen on equal footing, even though some may be much richer than others.

In effect, this drives less money to the poorest of the poor districts and more money to the richest ones.  Russell says that's a real problem when aid is being cut.

A little over 100 days ago, Sharon Contreras began her appointment as the superintendent of the Syracuse City School District.  She inherited deep challenges--low test scores and graduation rates, and an austere budget climate.  Following her "first 100 days" period of listening and assessment, she is issuing a strategic plan to improve the city's educational system. 

In this conversation, she relates what she has learned about the district so far, and previews the emphasis that will be placed on establishing a core curriculum, and making investments in teacher and leadership quality--and she also addresses the budgetary trade-offs involved in those decisions.

This year’s theme is organized around Media Diversity. In particular, issues pertaining to ethnicity, gender, technology, business models, content, global and personal will be discussed.