When Merryl Tisch announced Monday that she will step down as chancellor of the Board of Regents in March, fellow Regents praised her vision during a divisive time.
Advertisement
Tisch has served on the 17-member board, which is the state’s equivalent of a board of education, since 1996, and has led the group for the past six years.
But the collegial tone glosses over divides that plagued the board in recent months on contentious issues like state testing and teacher evaluations. So she’s also been a face of the discord over the regulations, leading her to be on the receiving end of criticism about the policies.
Tisch said the work group’s members would be announced “shortly”.
The New York State United Teachers, which has tangled with state education officials over the format of teacher evaluations, said on its website that her departure represents a change in direction.
“Many of these things which we spoke of at this table and put into law in New York state are going to be replicated throughout the national landscape”, Tisch said when listing accomplishments under her tenure at the meeting. “This mistaken direction in state education policy led to a serious erosion of trust and confidence”, NYSUT President Karen E. Magee said in a news release.
Cuomo said Tisch managed a hard time for education. The message is clear: Common Core and its test-and-punish scheme are not working.
“It’s a tough, tough area to work in because it is controversial and people have different ideas”, Cuomo said Monday. This is also a time where you’re going to see a lot of changes in the education system.
“I don’t think it’s ever helpful to have someone who was such a champion and defender of the Common Core as Tisch leave”, said Sigmund, the head of the pro-Common Core coalition.
The Executive director of the Network for Public Education Foundation, Carol Burris, was in our studio earlier this month, where she called for Tisch to step aside. He said the chatter about his candidacy reminded him of another policymaker whose colleagues had recently recruited him for a leadership role in Congress.
“We are deeply disappointed by Merryl Tisch’s decision not to seek re-election as chancellor”.
The Assembly Democrats, given their numbers compared to Republicans, control the selection process for members of the Regents. “In the short run it could help, as she said, “calm the waters” and get to more consensus through the [Cuomo-appointed Common Core task force] and [education department] commission”. In January, Silver stepped down after he was arrested on corruption charges and was replaced by Speaker Carl Heastie, D-Bronx. “We’re a new board to begin with, and then to be faced with this, it’ll take us a few time to sift through it”.
Young, asked about the possibility, told Newsday: “You’re way ahead of me”. “That would be really not great for the state”, Tisch said when asked if she was anxious about leaving in the middle of so much change. About 20 percent of students last April declined to take the third through eighth grade exams in protest.
Advertisement
“Her legacy of public service is defined by her incredible work ensuring that every one of New York’s children has access to a high quality education no matter where they grow up or their background”.
