Contracts for Excellence:

1. Contracts for Excellence: Connecting Money to Performance

2. Contract for Excellence • Legislation last session tied money much better to achievement and accountability. • One key change - a huge funding increase in a Foundation Formula based on successful schools. The Regents fought hard for that since 2003. • A second change was a Contract that tied some of the funding increases to what works and to results.

3. Contract for Excellence • 55 districts with schools in need of improvement, including New York City, received enough Foundation Aid to enter into a Contract by which they pledge to improve the achievement of their students. • These districts used their C4E dollars in 1,547 schools that have an enrollment of almost 1.1 million students. • The Contracts account for a total of $428 million in State funding for schools.

4. What Districts Agreed To Do • Direct the funds to the neediest students. • Use what works. They chose proven programs: • Time on Task - More time in school, and more focused instruction to help individual students • Better recruiting and professional development for teachers • Pre-kindergarten or kindergarten • Restructuring of middle and high schools • Class size reduction.

5. How New York City Will Spend Funds C4E Allocations by Allowable Program for New York City(In Thousands of Dollars)

6. How Rest of State Will Spend Funds C4E Allocations by Allowable Program for Rest of State (In Thousands of Dollars)

7. What Districts Agreed To Do • Set targets showing the improvement they expect, including all students in need and groups of students, such as students with disabilities or English Language Learners. • Use the money in proportion to the need in low-performing schools before spending dollars on other schools. • Publicly report results. • Seek public comment and develop a complaint process.

8. How Contracts Have Improved • Many Contracts have improved since they were submitted to SED July 31. • By August 15, we responded, told them what more was needed: • Some districts needed to reallocate funds to ensure they were targeted to the students most in need. • Some needed to reallocate funds to ensure the amount of money was commensurate with need. • All districts were required to set performance targets for each school.

9. How New York City’sContract Improved • Redirected funds to ensure more than 75 percent of funds will go to students who need help the most. • Reallocated Contract for Excellence funds so money that goes to low-performing schools is at least in proportion to the need in those schools. • Provided baseline class size data for every school so that any change can be judged from this point.

10. How New York City’s Contract Improved • Provided an overall 5-year class size reduction plan for the entire City. • Set class size targets for the most severely overcrowded and low-performing schools – those with class sizes of 29 or above – that will reduce class sizes to the citywide average. • Set performance targets for all Contract for Excellence schools.

11. New York City Class Size Plan • New York City has agreed to extend and amend its plan to cut class sizes in all of New York City's overcrowded and low-performing schools, subject to my approval. • I will appoint a panel to make recommendations. Panel will examine research, hear from experts, seek advice of parents, teachers, and school leaders. • I will review their work and make a decision, as the law requires, so that New York City's current plan can and will be amended in time for the next school year.

12. The Year Ahead • Throughout next year, we will work with all districts to see: • How funding is being spent on students in need, • What happens to performance of students in each school, • Whether the school district has created a way for parents to file complaints with the principal or superintendent, • Whether the district has created a public process to review next year’s proposed Contract before it is submitted to the Education Department.