RECOGNIZING THE ROLE OF ARTS IN EDUCATION

Hauppauge School District Superintendent of Schools Patricia Sullivan-Kriss, of Rockville Centre, New York, has been selected to serve as a member of the New York State Blue Ribbon Commission on the Arts. The New York State Board of Regents has tasked the Commission, co-chaired by Regent Roger Tilles and Carolyn Adams, with examining how other states are providing pathways to graduation in the arts, determining the role of assessment in an arts pathway and evaluating assessments used to measure student achievement in the arts. “I am certain that your participation in this work will result in valuable contributions to the future of the arts in New York State,” said Elizabeth R. Berlin, Acting Commissioner, the State Education Department.

In January 2015, the New York State Board of Regents approved regulations establishing multiple, comparable rigorous assessment pathways to graduation for all students. The regulations recognize the importance of engaging students’ interests in rigorous and relevant academic programs in the Arts; Languages other than English (LOTE)/Biliteracy; Career and Technical Education (CTE); Humanities; and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) by allowing students to pass an approved pathway assessment to meet graduation requirements.

The work of the Commission will be led by a 17-member Executive Committee and supported by a panel of national assessment experts. The Executive Committee and national experts will meet multiple times over the summer and fall to prepare supporting documents and materials for the full Blue Ribbon Commission. In the fall, the Commission will make a recommendation to the Commissioner of Education on Arts assessments acceptable as an alternative to a Regents exam.

“It is an honor to be selected to serve with my esteemed colleagues on the Blue Ribbon Commission on the Arts as we examine how other key states are responding to the growing call to prepare students for college and career by explicitly recognizing the role of Arts assessments,” stated Sullivan-Kriss.