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January
Regents Exams back on school calendars
New York City mayor and school chancellor spearhead
fundraising effort to restore January 2012 Regents exams
throughout the state
 UPDATE-
Aug. 3, 2011 - New York City Mayor Michael R.
Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott today
announced that they have secured $1.5 million in private
funding that will allow students across the state to take
the New York State Education Department Regents Exams in
January 2012.
The New York State Education Department confirmed that the
January Regents Exams would be restored and administered
from Tuesday, January 24 through Friday, January 27, 2012.
NYSED Assistant Commissioner David Abrams expressed
gratitude for the privately-donated financial support that
will "provide many students the opportunity to demonstrate
their abilities in a variety of subjects and allow many to
graduate from high school."
Previously, NYSED said that it would not offer the January
exams for high school students beginning in 2012, after the
Board of Regents voted to eliminate them due to budget cuts.
“Thousands of high-school students rely on the January
Regents Exams to graduate on time and move on to college and
careers,” said Chancellor Walcott in a press release issued
by the mayor’s office. “These generous donations give these
students the opportunity for an uninterrupted transition to
a successful future. We will continue to work with the state
legislature and the State Education Department to find a
long-term solution so that our students, especially the most
vulnerable, have the best chance to succeed.”
According to the mayor's office release, nearly 2,400 of the
3,454 students who graduated in New York City between
January and March of 2011 relied on the January exams to
earn their diplomas. A large proportion of these students
represented the city’s ethnic minorities as well as its most
vulnerable populations, including students who have returned
to school after dropping out, students with disabilities,
English language learners and overage and under-credited
students.
After fundraising efforts by Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor
Walcott, six New Yorkers each made donations of $250,000,
for a total of $1.5 million, which was accepted by the
Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City and the Fund for
Public Schools.
In the statement from NYSED, Abrams mentioned efforts to
secure continued funding to stabilize the important schedule
of high school exams.
"The continuing structural imbalance in funding for the past
several years led to the difficult decision to discontinue
this testing period," Abrams said. "The State Education
Department is currently identifying nearly $4 million in
cost containment measures to ensure the program remains in
balance for the remainder of this year. A longer term
solution for adequate funding remains a department priority. |
