Katonah-Lewisboro School District still seeking state direction on requirements for graduation

By JEFF MORRIS 

A presentation by Superintendent Raymond Blanch at the Oct. 29 Board of Education meeting summarized where the district stands in relation to changing graduation standards from New York state. Much of the district’s direction depends on guidance that has not yet come from the state.

NY Inspires

The changes being discussed fall under NY Inspires, which the New York State Education Department calls “a historic transformation of education in New York State, redefining what a diploma signifies and how students demonstrate readiness for college, careers, civic life, and the world beyond high school.”

The process resulting in NY Inspires began in 2019, when Commissioner of Education Betty A. Rosa, then-chancellor of the New York State Board of Regents, wrote a column imploring New Yorkers to rethink and reimagine the state’s education system, saying it was leaving too many students behind. She prompted a series of regional meetings that included teachers, parents, students, administrators and staff to consider what children should know and be able to do before they graduate, and how such knowledge and skills should be demonstrated.

Between 2019 and 2024, thousands of stakeholders were engaged around the question of what a New York state high school diploma should signify. Those activities informed the work of a Blue Ribbon Commission on Graduation Measures, which developed four NY Inspires “transformations”: Portrait of a Graduate, which establishes shared expectations for the knowledge, skills, and attributes every graduate should demonstrate; Learning Experiences, which redefine how credits are earned and expand the ways students can demonstrate meaningful learning; Diploma Assessments, a proposed sunsetting of separate exam passing requirements and a move away from a single high-stakes test for graduation; and the One NYS Diploma, a move toward a single, unified diploma with optional seals and endorsements recognizing diverse student achievements.

No more Regents exams

All of that culminated in the state Education Department’s announcement in June that New York’s graduation requirements will move away from “time-based measures” and toward demonstrated readiness in the knowledge, skills, and competencies students need to succeed in college, career, civic life, and the world beyond high school. In short, a competency-based system, and no more Regents exams.

Blanch made clear that the district’s own “profile of a learner” was built before the state approved its process, and the district is now awaiting the state’s new rubric, which is not yet ready. The district’s “profile” will then be tied to the state’s “Portrait of a Graduate.”

Multiple portions of the state’s plan are still noted as “pending,” about which Blanch said, “We thought we were going to get something in the summer. It’s not here yet. It’s coming maybe in December.”

The initial implementation will take place from 2027 to 2029, and then move forward to full implementation, said Blanch. “This cycle of roughly the four-plus years is what the state has identified,” he said.

First phase underway

The first phase of the transition is already underway, having begun in the fall of 2025 and continuing until the summer of 2027. The district says this initial phase focuses on laying the groundwork for the NY Inspires framework. 

Blanch said while the district had already been developing its own standards and had many of them in place, the majority of the work to be done will depend on aligning those standards and strategies with the emerging state guidance.

Among the areas on which work is in progress are financial literacy and climate education instruction. Beginning in fall 2027, the district will work on actively integrating the new NY Inspires framework into student experiences and requirements, shaping the path toward graduation.

Gauging the impact

Blanch was asked how these changes would impact students who are already here and fully entrenched in the Regents. Blanch reiterated that the changes start with the class coming in the fall of 2027, and for kids who are involved now, “if they’ve started that pathway, that’s the pathway they have to finish on.” He said creating pathways would actually provide structure to current course offerings. “Kids, in essence, create their own path right now,” he said, citing as an example someone interested in engineering taking math classes or an introduction to engineering and design class. “In essence, that’s a pathway,” he said. “What we’re asked to do by the state is create a little bit clearer [idea] of what pathways could be, not what they must be.”

Other assessments

While they know that those students leaving in 2031 will not have to have passed the Regents exam, they don’t have clear direction of what the other assessments are that they will have to complete, said Blanch. “Our last understanding is that it should be released here in February for us to start implementing next year,” he said.

Blanch said they are hoping that later in January, the high school administration will share “what our current best thinking is on these pathways.” He said the idea is that the pathway is intended to end like a capstone, and they believe the six-week senior internship experience will evolve into that capstone. 

“A lot of changes to come and a lot of direction that we need from the state,” said Blanch. “We don’t want to go ahead and get crazy far ahead of ourselves if they’re going to tell us to rewind it going backwards.”