Publications

Councilgram Newsletter

Connecting the school leadership community is what our Councilgram newsletter is all about. By sharing stories written by educational leaders, staff, strategic partners and individuals influencing educational policy, we can provide information that informs, educates and inspires members. Members enjoy access to our 11 editions each year. All articles require approval and editing by Council staff. 

Model Superintendent's Evaluation

The Council's Model Superintendent's Evaluation helps boards and superintendents develop thoughtful, constructive evaluations that advance district goals and keep the leadership team healthy. The evaluation is the instrument through which the board judges the superintendent, how (s)he is performing, whether its goals for the district are being achieved, and what needs to be done if goals are not being met.  

Superintendent Survey Reports

The advocacy staff prepare and send surveys asking members questions related to the financial condition of school districts and summarize the results in an annual financial report. Similar questions are ask each year to compare results relating to financial conditions to show changes over time. Results are broken down into regional comparisons and predictions made on future financial prospects.

Snapshot of the Superintendency

The Snapshot of the Superintendency is a unique source of data, when looked at longitudinally, chronicles how the superintendency in New York as evolved by asking questions on personal, contractual, retirement, and educational issues related to the superintendency. Since  its inception in 1991, the Snapshot of the Superintendency has served as the primary source for Chief School Officers with regard to trends related to the role and was originally published every three years. In 2015, The Council chose to prepare this series of surveys and publish the Snapshot of the Superintendency every five years.

Model Contract

The Council has a Model Contract  to serve as a base for negotiation of new agreements or as a means of evaluating a superintendent’s current contract. Not all superintendents will have or need every clause in the model, but the language it contains is a good resource for superintendents wishing to add a benefit, or restate a provision.

State Budget Analysis Reports

Each year Council staff review and analyze the Executive Budget and its impact on school finances for members. In this comprehensive policy report, our advocacy team outlines key points and provides reactions to education budget proposals. 

Directory

A complete listing of Chief School Officers that includes address, telephone, and fax information for district superintendents, superintendents, and assistant superintendent members. The directory is published each January and only available to members and strategic partners and is available to members only. To view online, follow this LINK. Contact Melanie Seiden, Associate Director of Membership at melanie@nyscoss.org for more information.

Legal II Quarterly

The Legal II Quarterly is a financial and retirement publication prepared for those members who are participants in our Level II Legal Services. Articles are written by those Strategic Partners in the financial services industry and provided via email each quarter.

News Releases

The Council issues news releases in response to education policy developments and to unveil our reports and initiatives. As with our legislative advocacy, we seek to be recognized as an information source which reporters can trust and rely upon. A thrust of our media relations efforts is to attempt to frame issues once at the state level, so that superintendents do not all have to make the same arguments in 700 different locations throughout the state.