- Description
Governor Andrew Cuomo is right: New York State has a dramatic contrast in the quality of education available in different school districts. Nowhere are these lines of contrast clearer than in the Schools In Need of Improvement (SINI). While the majority of our students are in schools with high rates of student success, too many students in SINI schools are not succeeding. Across the state 92% of students in the highest income districts graduate on time (these districts are classified by the State Education Department as Low Need Districts) and 81% in average need schools, while only 57% graduate on time in SINI schools. Every year, the New York State Education Department publishes a list of SINI schools as an accountability measure to make the public aware. But putting out a list is not enough, where is the plan to improve these schools? Governor Cuomo has warned that he plans to make large cuts to education. This is on top of $1.4 billion cuts last year -- the largest cuts in the history of the New York State. Will large cuts two years in a row improve our schools or undermine schools that are succeeding and increase educational inequity?
