GREATER AMSTERDAM SCHOOL DISTRICT
 

2008-09 Contract for Excellence (C4E)

Prior to the 2007-08 school year, the Greater Amsterdam School District entered into a "Contract for Excellence" (C4E) with the New York State Education Department. The four-year contract provides the district with additional funding to create and augment an assortment of educational programs and initiatives designed to improve academic achievement.

C4E History

New York State's Contract for Excellence program was created prior to the 2007-08 school year. SED mandated school districts to enter into Contracts for Excellence if they met the following criteria:

• One or more schools designated as a School in Need of Improvement

• Foundation Aid* increase of 10 percent or more over previous year
  or

• Foundation Aid increase of $15 million or more over previous year

As a result, 55 school districts throughout the state were required to enter into C4Es prior to the 2007-08 school year. When the 2008-09 school year begins, 39 school districts throughout the state will be operating with a C4E.

* Foundation Aid is the Education Department's term for money provided to school districts for instructional purposes. The amount of Foundation Aid school districts receive is essentially based upon enrollment, but is adjusted to account for regional costs and other considerations. Foundation Aid does not fund expense-driven costs, such as construction, transportation, BOCES and other special service aid, special education, universal pre-kindergarten and other items.

Amsterdam's C4E

GASD was designated a District in Need of Improvement because of low scores on the NYS English Language Arts assessment tests for seventh-graders and high school students, low scores on the NYS math assessment tests for high school students and because the district's Foundation Aid increased more than 10 percent from 2006-07 to 2007-08.

School district administrators worked with SED officials to develop a C4E that addresses specific GASD needs in four areas: class size reduction, increased time on task for students, quality initiatives for teachers and administrators and MS/HS restructuring. For further explanation of these categories, click on the Contract Plan link below.

Amsterdam's C4E includes plans to reduce class sizes and create after-school tutoring programs, a high school equivalency diploma program, a mentoring program for new teachers and a Curriculum Leadership Cabinet to ensure the district's curriculum matches SED standards.

GASD received $1,501,251 in C4E funding for the 2007-08 school year. The district will receive $1,538,945 for the 2008-09 school year, of which $1,000,314 must be used to develop new initiatives, while the remaining $538,631 will fund initiatives created during the 2007-08 school year. The district's Foundation Aid will cover the balance of the cost to continue operating the initiatives created during the 2007-08 school year.

We hope you will take a moment to review the district's contract, which is further outlined in the links below: 

• Achievement Issues

• Contract Plan

• Committees

• 2008-09 Budget Summary

• 2008-09 New Initiatives

• 2007-08 Budget Summary

Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the school district by calling 843-3180. Or, click here to complete a C4E Feedback form.

 

Learn more about Children First and the components of the Contract for Excellence here.

Learn more about the State Education Department's accountability designations here.