Board of Regents appoints its leader, Rosa, interim commissioner of education
Chancellor Betty A. Rosa speaks to members of the New York State Board of Regents during a meeting at the State Education Department Building on Feb. 10, 2020, in Albany. Credit: Hans Pennink
Betty A. Rosa, the state Board of Regents chancellor and a longtime advocate for changes in standardized testing, will take direct control of the state Education Department as interim commissioner on Friday, officials announced Tuesday.
Rosa's move, described as unprecedented by experienced educators, takes place at a pivotal moment for schools on Long Island and across the state. Those schools are moving toward reopening in September after closing down in mid-March in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under plans drafted by school districts, thousands of students will face conditions never experienced en masse before, including alternating days of classroom attendance, mandatory wearing of face masks, and spacing of desks 6 feet apart.
"Districts and schools are about to begin an instructional year like no other in our history," Rosa said in a statement. "It is imperative that the department continues its important work without interruption, and I am dedicated to providing that constancy as interim commissioner."
The Regents' vice chancellor, T. Andrew Brown, a Rochester attorney, will preside over the board when Rosa steps down.
Rosa's shift means she will leave the Regents board, a 17-member policymaking group, and take on the chief executive spot in the education department. In doing so, she will report to the board where she formerly served.
Rosa, a former Bronx school superintendent with expertise in special education and multilingual studies, was appointed in 2008 to the Regents board and has served as its chancellor, or chairwoman, since 2016.
She will be the fourth person to serve as head of the education department in the past year. She replaces Shannon Tahoe, who served in the position for about eight months. The commissioner’s salary is $324,000, according to the department.
Rosa's selection as chancellor in 2016 marked a dramatic shift in tone for the Regents board, where a majority in the past had supported rigorous student testing, first enthusiastically and then with growing reluctance. In February 2019, Rosa drew widespread attention when she called for rethinking the state's use of Regents exams, which have been required for high school graduation for more than 140 years.
The chancellor's shift Tuesday to the commissioner's post was welcomed by leaders of some parent groups, who have argued that the state put too much reliance on standardized tests without giving students alternate means of demonstrating their academic ability through completion of classroom projects and writing portfolios.
"Betty Rosa has always been an education leader who puts children first," said Jeanette Deutermann, a Bellmore parent and organizer of a Long Island test-boycott movement. "Having her steady the ship during these uncertain times is a relief to parents and teachers."
A particular target of the boycott movement were state Common Core tests in grades three through eight, which were temporarily used to rate the performance not only of students, but also of their teachers. That practice was sharply revised in January 2019, when the state gave local school districts and their teachers' unions greater leeway in deciding criteria for judging teachers.
Regents exams at the high school level remain an issue. Until the pandemic struck, Rosa and her board had been engaged in a long-term review of those three-hour exams, and of whether more students should be granted alternate ways to earn diplomas.
Social-studies educators, in particular, have voiced concern that passage of exams in American history and world history might eventually be dropped as graduation requirements, once the Regents board's review resumes.
"It leaves me very uneasy," said one social-studies expert, Gloria Sesso, referring to Rosa's move to the interim commissioner's position. "She's been talking about raising standards, but actually lowering them."
Sesso is co-president of the Long Island Council for the Social Studies.
Roger Tilles of Manhasset, who represents Nassau and Suffolk counties on the Regents board, said in a phone interview Tuesday that nine months might be required to find a permanent commissioner.
"Until we get a permanent commissioner, Betty is the optimum person to run the state Department of Education," said Tilles, who serves on a Regents committee searching for a permanent top executive. "She knows the department, she knows the politics and she knows the stakeholders."
Rosa supporters cited her extensive academic credentials, including an educational doctorate degree from Harvard University, and more than 30 years' experience as a bilingual paraprofessional, teacher and administrator.
Rosa was congratulated on her appointment Tuesday by both the New York State United Teachers union and the New York State Council of School Superintendents.
"I'm sure we'll all appreciate her guidance and leadership, as we move toward school openings in New York State," said Henry Grishman, superintendent of Jericho schools and a former state council president.
John Hildebrand is Newsday's senior education writer and has covered school news and policy issues affecting Long Island for more than 40 years.
