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UUP members made a strong case May 24 for realistic funding of SUNY campuses and hospitals and fair treatment of the state\u2019s next generation of teachers, in a productive day of post-budget advocacy as lawmakers hammered out final deals in the Legislature.<\/p>\n
Topping the list of union priorities: a reinstated Maintenance of Effort that would pay SUNY\u2019s operating costs, an idea which last year had nearly unanimous support from the Assembly and the Senate but was vetoed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo; the enactment or preservation of funding programs that would recognize the unique role of SUNY teaching hospitals and health sciences centers in their urban and upstate settings; transparency and public accountability for the SUNY research foundations; and the removal of the educative Teacher Performance Assessment as a high-stakes requirement for teacher certification.<\/p>\n
UUP members met with generally receptive and attentive staff and lawmakers. Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples-Stokes (D-Buffalo), came off the Assembly floor for a meeting that lasted nearly 20 minutes with a delegation led by Oneonta Chapter President Bill Simons. Peoples-Stokes, above with Simons, left, and Oneonta Chapter member Ed Wesnofske, sat down with the delegation in a quiet corner outside of the Assembly chamber, read the materials and asked a number of questions.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was really gracious,\u201d Simons said.<\/p>\n
UUP member Amanda Merritt of SUNY New Paltz told staffers at the office of Assembly Member Michael Simanowitz (D-Queens), that the edTPA is driving talented young teachers out of New York.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the final high-stakes test that you have to pass, and what (students) are doing is completing their college degree, they\u2019re doing their student teaching and they\u2019re leaving New York,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n
VP for Academics Jamie Dangler explained in meetings that there is no legislation yet that would fulfill the union\u2019s two goals around teacher certification: removal of the edTPA as a mandatory requirement for certification, and a change in state procurement law to stop educational testing companies such as Pearson Inc.\u2014which administers the edTPA\u2014from profiting through students\u2019 failure.<\/p>\n
Under the current system, the least that a teaching student usually spends on certification test registration fees is about $1,000; many students spend far more if they fail and retake an exam. UUP wants the state to pay companies like Pearson for their services, instead of the current system, in which the company\u2019s profit is built around test-registration fees.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s really a complex set of problems with the certification exams; we do need legislation,\u201d Dangler said, adding that lawmakers and the Regents are increasingly responsive to the union\u2019s concerns about teacher certification.<\/p>\n