This is a list of the Regents of the State of New York. The majority want to maintain high-stakes testing to evaluate teachers.
Six of the 17 Regents voted to oppose high-stakes testing and to change the state’s way of evaluating teachers. These six want more attention to student performance, not defined as bubble tests, but student work in the school.
If your Regent voted to support high-stakes testing, please contact him or her to express your views.
The Regents who opposed Governor Cuomo’s high-stakes testing are:
Kathleen Cashin
Betty Rosa
Judith Chin
Judith Johnson
Catherine Collins
Beverly L. Ouderkirk
These Regents are profiles in courage. They based their decision on research and on their own experience as educators.
If you live in the district of one of the other Regents, you should contact them and let them know that their vote for high-stakes testing hurts students and teachers by placing too much emphasis on standardized tests. Urge them to pay attention to pedagogically sound practices, as the other six Regents did.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
As a parent of a Harrison, NY student, I applaud my representative, Judith Johnson in standing up for the children of New York. As a warning to all of those who bend over for corporate money – We vote and we’re mad!
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Seconded
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Thank you for posting this valuable information.
Judith Johnson represents the school district in which I teach.
I have thanked her and I will organize support for her if needed.
Josephine Finn represents the school district in which I reside.
She will be hearing from a group of us here in Ulster county.
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Betsy Marshall,
Josephine Finn first signed on with the dissident Regents, but then withdrew her signature and joined the majority in favor of high-stakes testing. Reach out.
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Yes, I remember. Thank you!
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all a charade. Regents support big money as does the Teachers Union
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Dear Friends,
The only thing that will move an elected or appointed political figure to “do the right thing” is the fear of not being reappointed/re-elected. That FEAR arises when the people they represent rise up to expose their perfidy and to actively work to remove them from office.
The NYS Board of Regents is a case in point. This body is constitutionally charged with setting education policy, and hiring the education commissioner, who reports to the Regents (not the governor). Individual Regents are appointed by a vote of the combined legislative bodies, supposedly with the sign-off of the elected officials in the area that Regent represents. Since Democrats in the combined Assembly-Senate outnumber Republicans, and since Democrats control the Assembly, the appointment of Regents is essentially in the hands of the Democratic conference in the Assembly.
The public school parents of NYS made their voices heard loud and clear over the past two years. As a direct result of their actions, the Democratic Assembly decided to appoint four new Regents who are responsive to the will of The People. As a result, six of the 17 Regents are now with The People.
My friends, we can “finish the job,” so to speak, if we convince at least 3 Regents to flip to our side and take over the Board of Regents. The new Regents majority would oust the high-stakes testing cheerleader and uber-corporatist Meryl Tisch, make sure the education commissioner they appoint is in sync with The People, and refuse to put into action the insane teacher evaluation policies that the legislature and governor forced into law.
Here are a few Regents who should hear from all the angry parents out there:
Roger Tilles — Regent “representing” Nassau/Suffolk!! How dare he represent the home of the Opt Out movement by supporting his pal Tisch.
Lester Young — At-large Regent who was for many years the Supt of District 13 in Brooklyn, and who says all the right things when it doesn’t matter. Why are you in hiding? PS 321 and PS 8 parents — give him a call!
Christine Cea — STATEN FRIGGING ISLAND!! Where are the angry moms??
Andrew Brown — Cayuga, Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, Yates – his term is up in 2017
James Tallon — Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Otsego, Schuyler, Tioga, Tompkins – term expires in 2017
Anthony Bottar — Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego – TERM EXPIRES IN 2016!!!
Charles Bendit — MANHATTAN!! Who is this guy? His term expires in 2017.
Josephine Finn — Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Schoharie, Sullivan, Ulster
And of course there’s dear Meryl Tisch. HER TERM EXPIRES IN 2016!!
How do we convince 3 Regents to “flip”? Contact your fellow Opt Out parents and tell them to contact their Regent, AND the people who appoint their Regent (their State Assembly member and their State Senator). The message is simple: “Tell Regent X that s/he must represent the people in this area, or I will work to unseat you. The People want an end to high stakes testing and using test scores to evaluate teachers. Let teachers get back to teaching, and principals get back to running schools that reflect our community’s values.”
Imagine the effect on YOUR Regent, who usually operates in anonymity, if s/he were to hear from HUNDREDS of constituents. Similarly, Assembly members and senators do NOT want to be on the wrong side of The People.
Organize, my friends, and we WILL win this!
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Dorothy in Brooklyn,
You laid out the information, the steps to be taken, and the reason for taking them, perfectly.
‘Organize, my friends, and we WILL win this!’
Absolutely
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Thanks. Bottar, a reform lackey, is doing a “listening tour” in the Utica area his week. time to give him a Mohawk Valley earful.
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I’ve made it a point to invite our Regent to important school events I’ve run, and to encourage our district PR person to do the same.
In 11 years, to my knowledge, never has our Regent ever visited our school, let alone our district. Is this to preserve autonomy, an impartiality and objective view of all the districts under his purview?
Or is it an indication of how disdainful he is of the actual work of education, the nitty-gritty? If he actually meets with kids and educators, he might find emotions stirring in his heart and mind, and that could get in the way of the logical, cold, unemotional mind set required for education reform.
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Rockhound2, invite the Regent again and again. Don’t give up. Persevere.
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rockhound2
“No one gives a !@*# what you feel or think”
David Coldman (aka Commander Data) said so and who are we humans to question the words of an all knowing bot?
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As a long time fan of Star Trek-The Next Generation, I should inform you that Commander Data was an android trying to be Human.
Coleman seems to be moving in quite the opposite direction. A better analogy would be the Borg, who assimilate other species into their collective, and in the process stamp out all individuality and creativity, and thus joy.
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Thanks for listing the Regents. Folks should understand how few of these people have a background and understanding of public education. They should further recognize the potential conflict of interests that those tied to Wall Street have based upon tax breaks that are being extended to the Cheater School industry.
Another conflict of interest arises due to Education and Health Care being the two largest funding areas in our state budget. When Regent James Tallon–a man with clear connections to the medical industrial complex is placed in position to author the Regents Annual State Aid Proposal he has a direct conflict of interest. I have attended a number of meetings where Tallon pushed back at education advocates talking nonsense about a “new normal.” and acting like the state was broke. Each year Tallon did this the medical industrial complex received increased funding while education received almost nothing. Clearly, there is a strong likelihood that Tallon has sought to hold down funding increases for education thereby allowing additional state money to be directed to his highest priority–the medical industrial complex. Lets expose Tallon as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It is a clear conflict of interest for someone like Tallon, with direct ties to NY’s huge medical industrial complex, to author the Regents State Aid Proposal! Time for additional change at the BOR!
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Does it really matter?, give me the names of those resigning in disgust.
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Why do you think “resigning in disgust” is useful?
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