Wayne- Finger Lakes BOCES Receives Grant Money

New York State Educational Department recently awarded “Teaching is the Core” grantsfunded through Federal Race to the Top resources.Through this grant, Wayne-Finger Lakes (W-FL) BOCES has been awarded $396,795.The “Teaching is the Core” grant will support recipients in their efforts to eliminatelocally adopted tests that do not contribute to teaching and learning. In addition, thesefunds will help districts and district consortia identify and improve high-qualityassessments already in use that can be included as a component of multiple measures ofstudent learning and school and educator effectiveness.“High quality assessments are an integral part of teaching and learning,” stated StateEducation Commissioner John B. King. “They provide useful feedback to teachers,parents and students. These grants will help reduce non-essential local testing inhundreds of school districts across the state. And, more important, they’ll help teachersteach more and test less, which is exactly what our students need.”The following districts in the Wayne-Finger Lakes region were included in the grantapplication: Bloomfield, Geneva, Gorham-Middlesex, North Rose-Wolcott, Palmyra-Macedon, Penn Yan, Red Creek, Seneca Falls, Victor, and Williamson. While thesedistricts will be directly impacted by the grant, all districts in the Wayne-Finger Lakesregion will benefit from the work that will be done by the W-FL Regional AssessmentService.“We are very excited to be the recipients of the ‘Teaching is the Core’ grant,” said ScottBischoping, District Superintendent of Wayne-Finger Lakes BOCES. “The districts andteachers that are part of the Wayne–Finger Lakes grant consortium will be able toimprove their understanding and use of student assessment information as a result ofthis funding. We look forward to the ultimate impact on student learning.”