MNKING MINORITY M5MBER

THE ASSEMBLY
Eeonomlc Oevelopm(lnt,
Job Cr"atl'Jn, COmrMrC(l and
SlATE OF NEW YORK
Industry Committee
ALBANY COMMITTEeS
Children & P:amiliell
Education
STEVEN F. MoLAUGHLIN
1 District Tourism, Park:!;, Art'! &
Spa-Is DeWlopmen\
April 29, 2013
Hon. Andrew Cuomo
Governor of New York State
NYS State Capitol Bui]ding
Albany, NY 12224
Dear Governor Cuomo,
On ThursdaYl April 11) I he1d my first annual "Education Summit" for the 10t
h
Assembly district, the first of its kind heJd by a member of the state legislature.
While my office is regularly in contact with school administration officials, we
unfortunately do not always have an opportunity to hear from those who are on the front
lines: our teachers. The legislative decisions we makc in Albany impact the lives of
many, but most dramatically affect the men and women who have devoted their lives to
educating our future generations,
My Education Summit was an opporttmity to bring together teachers from across the
107
1h
Assembly District and have a roundtable discussion about how decisions that are
made in Albany affect our classrooms. We covered topics including Annual Professional
Performance Revjews (APPR), Common Core, state testing and how unfunded mandates
take the focus off of educating our youth, among several others.
This summit was a great learning opportunity for myself as well as an open forum which
allowed the 13 participating teachers to ask questions, raise concerns and offer
suggestions as to how my staff and I can better represent and serve our devoted educators
in Albany. The educators who participated represented a good cross-section of schools:
urban, suburban and rural.
As this Summit was regarded as highly successful among community teachers,
administration and superintendents, I'm eager to share with you the results, issues,
suggestions and ideas that came from our time together. Enclosed you will find:
The schedule we used for the day which outlines the topics we discussed;
" My power point presentation used during the opening section of the Summit;
The official minutes/report of my Summit. \Vhat is contained here is very raw and
reflects exactly what was discussed that day; and
An 11 minute video that is a brief but very powerful recap of the 4 hour long
Summit.
ALBANY OFFICE: ROorn $33. OfficI': BUlldlnll, Albany, New York 1224<)' 511;1-455-57n, FAX: 51 B--IS559l!3
DISTRICT Or-FIDE: 2SS Hoo.e;ick strllst, Suite 109, TICY, New York 12< 80 518-272-6148, rlW: 518"272"()313
SMAll:
THE ASSEMBLY
RANKING MINORITY MeMBER
Eoonomic Devalopment,
STATE OF NEW YORK
Job Creation, CommQrce end
IMustry Committee
ALBANY COMMIiTEES
Children &. Famili!)s
2dUCllliOn
sTeVEN F. MoLAUG"".IN Small Buain9$!l
101" Dlffirict
Tourism, Parks, Art!! &
Sports Development
The question that was asked repeatedly at the conclusion of my Summit was: what's next
and where do we go from here? My answer was simple: that the conversation, ideas,
input and suggestions could be brought to your attention and other state leaders in an
effort to have a real and honest dialogue with our devoted teachers. These tremendous
educators have the great responsibility of teaching our youth, and for far too long, those
making decisions affecting the state's classrooms have not reached out to them to gain
their valuable input.
This Summit was not intended to be an event that rehashed all that is wrong with our
state education system, but rather, an opportunity to learn from those who deal daily \\-ith
the decisions we make. I sincerely hope you join me in an effort to better bring educators
from across the state to the decision making process. Their input is needed as we continue
to invest in education so that our children can compete in an economy.
I hope you are able to take the time to read the enclosed for a better understanding of the
challenges that face our state's classrooms, I certainly acknowledge I gained a great deal
of knowledge from my Summit and Thope that you do. too.
I would be happy to have a further discussion with you about my Education Summit and
to discuss your reaction and thOUghts. I would also be happy to discuss my ideas of how
your office, the state legislature and the state education department can better serve our
teachers, Please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,

Steven F, McLaughlin
MEMBER OF ASSEMBLY
Ene.
AI..BANY OFFIce: Roo"n 533, Legislative Office Building, Albany, Now York 12248' 511'111,555777, !=AX: 5184$55923
DISTJ:1ICT OFFICii: 25B HoosiCk Street, Suite 109, Troy, New York 12180' $18272-6149, FAX: 5180-2726313
EMAil.: mciaughlins