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The New York State Board of Regents announced the acceptance of an $892,500 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to the University of the State of New York (USNY) to support planning for the implementation of the Common Core Standards in New York – a key component of the Regents reform agenda. The Common Core Standards represent a set of expectations for student knowledge and skills that high school graduates need to master to succeed in college and careers.

The Regents Research Fellows Planning will undertake implementation of the Common Core Standards and other essential elements of the Regents Reform Agenda. The Regents Fellows program is being developed to provide research and analysis to inform policy and develop program recommendations for consideration by the Board of Regents.

Merryl H. Tisch, Chancellor of the Board of Regents, said, "New York needs standards that are aligned with college and work expectations; that are clear, understandable and consistent; that include rigorous content; and that are informed by what the top performers around the world are teaching. In short, we need to implement the Common Core Standards – and this funding will support the work of Regents Research Fund Fellows in planning for these standards here in New York."

In addition to the work on Common Core State Standards, the Fellows will complement the Education Department's work by focusing on the following elements of the Regents Reform Agenda:

• Developing a K-12 statewide curriculum aligned to the Common Core State Standards
• Redesigning the State's K-12 assessment system
• Implementing the State's new teacher and principal evaluation systems
• Building a virtual schools platform
• Transforming the State's General Education Development (GED) Program

USNY is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation, and the Regents Research Fund is a division of the USNY corporation. The Regents Research Fellows will provide the Department with supplemental expertise and research as the Regents Research Fund has done in the past. Other funders include the Wallace Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation. ��The philanthropic funds will help provide critical know-how to educational reform policies, to help achieve savings for today's taxpayers and better instruction and support for tomorrow's students.

President of USNY and State Education Commissioner David M. Steiner said, "The Regents Reform Agenda calls for New York to adopt a Common Core of standards in math and English that are internationally benchmarked, aligned with work and post-secondary education expectations, and inclusive of the higher order skills that students today need. This grant to the Regents Research Fund will help us develop recommendations to the Regents to implement these new standards."

In New York’s successful Race to the Top application, the State committed to a statewide curriculum and formative and interim assessments tools that are aligned to the Common Core Standards. Additionally, teachers will be prepared to teach the Common Core using the State’s curriculum; pre-service and in-service professional development will focus on teaching and assessing students on the skills and knowledge within the Common Core; and teachers and principals will be evaluated based in part on their ability to drive student achievement gains as measured by summative assessments aligned to the Common Core.

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