Reflections on the 2022 NYKids Advisory Board Meeting
By Kristen C. Wilcox & Maria I. Khan
On Monday, March 7, 2022, the NYKids team met with our Advisory Board members to share updates on NYKids’ core mission to Inform, Inspire, and Improve and to receive feedback on plans for the future.
Along with the NYKids team, attendees included Jolene DiBrango (NYSUT), Don Nickson (SAANYS), Angela Pagano (SUNY), Cheryl Dozier (UAlbany), Ginny Goatley (Chair NYKids Advisory board, UAlbany), Mike Piccirillo (CASDA), Gayle Simidian (NYSSBA), Joe Dragone (Capital Region BOCES), Terry Bordell (Questar III BOCES), Amy DelCorvo (NYSCATE), and David Ziskin (HFM BOCES).
Inspire: Educators’ Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic
The most recent NYKids study “Discovering Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Education Workforce” mixed-methods study focused on three lines of inquiry: educators’ experiences of stress, levels of job satisfaction, and qualities and facilitators for adaptations in policies, programs, and practices. Focusing on the analysis of the first two lines of inquiry, our findings from over 900 educators in state indicated that:
- The pandemic has exacerbated challenges faced by leaders and educators who service larger numbers of economically disadvantaged students.
- The school-community context and educators’ relationships with students and their families appears to have impacted educator levels of stress, job satisfaction and adaptations.
- Career plans, specifically plans to remain in the education workforce, have been affected negatively since the pandemic began, particularly among women who have childcare responsibilities.
The NYKids team reported that the next phase of the COVID Response study is underway and aims to discover how leaders and educators have adapted and innovated throughout the pandemic. This study will focus on positive outlier schools (those with better case scenarios in terms of educator responses to the pandemic).
Members of the NYKids Advisory Board provided feedback on the study and shared that the NYKids research reflects what they have been hearing from educators in terms of building leadership and the negative impacts of the pandemic on educators’ job satisfaction.
Improve: AIR-RPP and Continuous School Improvement Direct Support
In 2021-2022, NYKids provided continuous school improvement direct support in 20 schools through COMPASS Institutes and workshops. Members of the NYKids Advisory Board familiar with COMPASS commented on its effectiveness and that it was “respectful” and “inclusive” of educators. Other members felt the COMPASS process would be beneficial for school boards as they plan for the next school year.
The NYKids team then updated the Board on our new partnership with The American Institutes for Research’s Equity in Education Initiative, with Chatham High School, and Tech Valley High School. This initiative focuses on addressing critical diversity, equity and inclusion aims that have affected students and families differently throughout the pandemic.
Inform: Performance Tracker Database and Communications
Finally, NYKids reported that a number of changes to the website have already been completed including updated images and “our projects” highlights on the landing page. The Know Your Schools Performance Tracker has also undergone some updates with a new primer on how to use the site. We also provided updates regarding growth in the numbers of website visitors and dissemination efforts such as our bi-monthly newsletter and social media postings.
Going Forward
NYKids is honored to receive such valuable feedback from our Advisory Board members and we look forward to their continued guidance and support as we continue to inform, inspire, and improve together.
Stay tuned for more new research results and we invite you to follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or LinkedIn for announcements.
As always, we thank you for your interest in NYKids and encourage you to reach out to nykids@albany.edu if you have any questions, feedback, or interest in continuous improvement support.
