By CRAIG FREILICH

POTSDAM – The “Race to the Top” school reform initiative and school financing are on the minds of Potsdam Central School Superintendent Patrick Brady and his colleagues as a new school year is about to start.

“The ‘Race to the Top’ is a major reform movement the likes of which we haven’t seen in decades,” Brady said, and “the challenges of what we call ‘The Great Recession’ and its impacts on school districts is something we’re all working on.”

Core curriculum changes and new student assessment methods are going into effect for fourth- through eighth-graders this year, Brady said, and for everyone else next year.

In addition, a new teacher and principal evaluation system begins this year.

The main emphasis of the “Race to the Top” federal program is “raising student achievement scores to meet new standards put out by the state,” and instruction in subjects such as English and mathematics will change, while “the ‘cut scores’ bar” -- the line between acceptable and unacceptable results – “has been raised,” he said.

“All of that takes deliberate and considered planning.”

As far as getting the money to run the schools, Brady said “we all recognize that despite the historical cuts in state aid the last two years and flat state aid the year before that, that the governor has also signed into law a property tax cap which we will have a major impact on schools and education.

“Rural schools are more dependent on state aid. The Potsdam district and many others will have major challenges to find the revenues to keep functioning effectively.”

Brady says there is “much discussion and planning among districts” as a study by St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES of the 18 districts it serves is prepared for release in its final form this fall.

“We will look at every opportunity to save on costs while still providing strong education for students,” Brady said.

He said a special cost-saving committee of the Board of Education has been formed to look at ways “to build revenue and cut costs while maintaining quality education.” The committee, which will report to the board’s regular finance committee, will try to engage the community in coming up with ideas.

Brady said students will serve on the cost-saving committee as well as be involved in a green initiative where they will focus on energy costs and ways to cut them. Brady says there have been successful efforts along those lines before, but that “the focus is ever sharper.”

Last year’s cuts in state aid in Potsdam amounted to about $1 million, and in preparing the budget for this school year, about 18 positions were cut, Brady said, “so there will be some larger classes and fewer aides in some classrooms.” Some elective classes in the high school will no longer be offered, but he believes that so far the district can say it still provides a high quality education to its students.

Some collaborations and combinations are being tried this year.

In the fourth grade, regular teachers and a special education teacher “will work together in combined classrooms. “That’s been a focus the last couple of years, trying to raise the achievement levels.”

“We’re also looking at doing a ‘looping’ program with a combined first- and second-grade classrooms, learning together and participating in joint activities.

“The following year, the first-graders become second-graders with the same teachers they had the year before.”

Brady said the research is clear that that such programs provide for “a better learning environment and a higher level of education,” but that other models are being tried, too.

Another program he is interested in is the senior “capstoner” project. This year’s seniors will be the first to complete the program, where they compile “a culminating portfolio indicating they are ready for work or college.”

In the portfolios, students document things like “job shadowing,” where they will visit a workplace they’re interested in and write about it. They present those portfolios in the spring to local businesses and other people. The portfolios are required for senior English credit.

“There are always new opportunities in challenges such as the ones we face, and we’ll seek to take advantage of those. But there’s no question about it: As we superintendents look out over the horizon, we see it’s going to be a very interesting time in the field of education, probably like none we’ve seen before.”