FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JANUARY 17, 2019
From Kathy Dougherty, Interim Superintendent of Schools, Mayfield
Central School District
518-661-8207
The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has released the list
of public schools and districts designated as “CSI” (Comprehensive
Support and Improvement) and “TSI” (Targeted Support and Improvement)
based upon their students’ standardized test scores from the 2016-2017
and 2017-2018 school years. Based upon that data, Mayfield
Junior-Senior High School has been designated a CSI school and the
district has been named a TSI district.
These designations are primarily a result of the full cohort of
students in grades 7 and 8 in those years failing to meet proficiency
and growth goals on the N.Y. State English Language Arts and Math
tests that are administered every spring to all students in grades 3-8
throughout the state.
Interim MCSD Superintendent Kathy Dougherty stated that, “Although we
are clearly disappointed by these scores and designations, we are
confident that our teachers and students will embrace the challenges
that these designations pose and will continue to work very hard to
bring our scores to where they should be.” She cited strong
performances by Mayfield students in many areas, including 98% of
Mayfield students who passed the English Regents with 57% at the
mastery level of 85% and 91% who passed the Algebra Regents. The high
school graduation rate last June was 94%, with 43% receiving an
Advanced Regents diploma and 47% receiving a Regents diploma. The
district was ranked 20th overall in the Spring 2017 Capital District
Business Review.
Dougherty cited the work the district has begun on codifying the
curriculum, including work on the rollout of the Next Generation
Standards; an improved teacher evaluation process and an internal
review of the special education program as examples of the initiatives
currently underway in the district.
The impetus for this change in 2018 in NY State’s education policy was
the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) that replaced the No
Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation. ESSA was signed into law in
December 2015. This bipartisan measure reauthorized the 50-year-old
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), which provides federal
funds to improve elementary and secondary education in the nation’s
public schools and requires state and school districts, as a condition
of funding, to take a variety of actions to ensure that all children,
regardless of race, background or where they live, receive the
education they need to prepare them for success in postsecondary
education, careers and citizenship.
Dougherty stated, “We have begun studying our data, working closely
with data analysts and curriculum specialists provided by our local
HFM BOCES and the Capital Region BOCES Instructional Services
Departments, and will be working collaboratively as an organization to
boost these figures. We are confident that we will improve our
delivery of programs and services to our students while maintaining
our strong core program. Our high school Regents exam scores and
graduation rates support that belief.”
CSI schools must participate in an on-site assessment led by NYSED;
review additional data and documentation to identify needs to be
addressed in the school’s annual improvement plan; conduct an annual
survey of parents, staff and students; develop, in consultation with
parents, school staff and for secondary schools, students, an annual
School Comprehensive Education Plan (SCEP) to be submitted to NYSED;
and identify school-wide, evidence-based interventions to be included
within the annual plan.
Dougherty stated that, “Mayfield is a place that has always been proud
to put its students first. At this time, we must come together and
make a full commitment as a school community to do whatever it takes
for our students to reach the performance levels they need and deserve
as they prepare for successful college and career experiences beyond
graduation. Our students deserve nothing less, and our obligation to
lead the district to those goals is unwavering. I am confident that we
will achieve those goals through a strong collaboration of all
stakeholders throughout the district performing the diligent work
necessary to reach those goals.”