MaryEllen Elia
In that role, she gained recognition for easing tensions surrounding implementation of the Common Core State Standards Initiative and the question of how to evaluate teachers.
[2] Elia started her career in education in 1970 as a social studies teacher in Buffalo's Sweet Home Central School District,[1] a position she held for 19 years.
[2] In 2009, the district received a $100 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to overhaul its teacher evaluation system using student standardized test scores as a rubric.
[2] Elia supported school choice and the Gates-funded Common Core State Standards Initiative, even though Florida would eventually pull out of the program.
"[2] Stuart said in an interview that a number of incidents had eroded the board’s trust in Elia, including one in which a 7-year-old special education student had slumped forward on a school bus and stopped breathing,[4] and later died.
Cuomo administration spokeswoman Dani Lever said, "It can only be explained as shilling for the educational bureaucracy and special interests at the expense of children.
Under state law, the Education Commissioner may remove a board member for office for a violation of the law or willful neglect of duty; the board argues that Paladino's statement violates the Dignity for All Students Act, "which requires school districts to provide students with an environment free of discrimination, harassment and bullying.
[17] Several of the petitions argue for Paladino's removal on the basis of his public sharing of information discussed in executive session related to negotiations for a new contract with Buffalo teachers.
[17] In April 2017, Paladino filed papers with the commissioner seeking a delay in the administrative hearings against him while he pursues a lawsuit claiming a conspiracy to remove him from the school board.
[19][20] After the public hearing, Elia announced Paladino's removal from the board on August 17, 2017, effective immediately, citing the violation of executive session rules.
[21] In what he deemed a "stab in the back to Holocaust survivors," state assemblyman Dov Hikind called for Elia's resignation on April 3, 2017, for her support of an Oswego High School assignment that asked students to put themselves in Adolf Hitler's shoes to argue for or against the Final Solution.
[27][28] Elya Brudny and Yisroel Reisman, two rosh yeshivas (deans) from Brooklyn, New York, complained about being rebuffed by Elia when they tried to negotiate with her about the measures.
Chaim Deutsch, a New York City councilman, suggested that the Jewish community would fight back against the "onerous" and "intrusive" new guidelines.
[30] Elia submitted her resignation letter to the New York Board of Regents on July 15, 2019, citing a move to an unnamed national company that provides services to students.
