State Has New Education Commissioner

By Karen DeWitt

Albany, New York – New York has a new education commissioner, Dr. David Steiner, the Dean of Education at CUNY's Hunter College. Steiner was elected by the Board of Regents, who met in Buffalo on Monday. The Regents say they hope the new commissioner can further improve schools, by focusing on his area of expertise, teacher training.

Steiner, who was born in New York but raised mostly in England, jumped right into the issue, questioning the high approval rate of 92% in the State Education Department's teacher certification process.

"A gateway certification test that has that high a pass rate should give us pause," said Steiner.

He says that perhaps there should be a performance based test for new teachers, so that they can prove they actually are adept at teaching before they enter the classroom.

Steiner, a graduate of both Harvard and Oxford Universities, has written four books on education reform and teacher training. He says New York's teaching methods need to be upgraded to prepare children for 21st Century jobs.

"Much of our instruction, it seems to me, still looks the way it did a century ago," said Steiner, who said he'd like to incorporate more Internet based technologies into the curriculum.

He also says he's distressed by the disparities between students at wealthier schools and those from poor or immigrant families.

Steiner replaces Richard Mills, who retired from his job on July 1st, after fourteen years. Under the former commissioner, student test scores steadily improved. The new commissioner says it may be time to raise the standards again. And he says despite tough economic times, many of his goals can be achieved.

"We have a lot of opportunity to rethink our approach, and thinking, fortunately is free," Steiner said.

Regents Chancellor Merrill Tisch says the Regents chose Steiner partly because of his reputation to "push the envelope" and "challenge orthodoxy".

Steiner, will begin the job in October, and will relocate from New York City to Albany. He'll get a more than $50,000 raise from the salary of the previous commissioner. His annual income for the post will be $250,000.

Steiner says one of his first tasks will be to visit schools across the state in the coming months