Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

State Education Commissioner

State Education Commissioner

  • State Education Commissioner Errs in Yeshiva Ruling

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    Kids in Brooklyn (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photo Office)


    Just when you thought the world of New York City yeshiva education couldn’t get any more like “Alice in Wonderland,” along comes a new ruling by New York State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa that, in Lewis Carroll's words, just makes the years-long dispute over lack of secular education at Hasidic yeshivas "curiouser and curiouser." 

    Here’s the background: In September 2019,

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  • Common Core Mistakes Worth Not Repeating

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    State Education Commissioner Elia visits a school (photo: @NYSEDNews)


    Political expediency is terrible policy.

    This idiom is crystal clear when it comes to the criticisms of the Common Core. To hear the cynics tell it, repealing the Common Core learning standards is as easy as 1, 2, 3; repeal them, increase scores, then everything is fine.

    But it is not nearly that simple.

    As policymakers

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