posted: March 17, 2004.

ALBANY, N.Y. March 17, 2004 - Delegates to New York State United Teachers' annual convention next week will debate education policy and review a major new report detailing an explosion of excellence in public schools and colleges.

The 2,500 delegates to NYSUT's 32nd annual Representative Assembly, which runs from March 25-27 in New York City, are also expected to rally in support of the Professional Staff Congress/CUNY, the United College Employees of FIT and the United Federation of Teachers. All three are working under expired contracts.

"Teachers, paraprofessionals and college faculty in New York City are under siege," said NYSUT President Thomas Y. Hobart Jr. He added, "NYSUT members from across the state plan to show their support for our host locals, sending a loud message that an injury to one is an injury to all."

Bill Cosby, educator, humorist and founder of the Hello Friend Foundation - which honors his slain son Ennis' dreams of teaching children with learning problems - will deliver the keynote address to a ballroom full of 3,200 NYSUT members and guests on Thursday evening. The union will also honor former Democratic gubernatorial candidate and state Comptroller H. Carl McCall with its Albert Shanker Award for Distinguished Service on Thursday, and hear from a who's who list of other education and political leaders.

NYSUT First Vice President Antonia Cortese said the 500,000-member union would be presenting to delegates a major new report, Explosion of Excellence, which details dramatic gains in student achievement over the last decade. The report shows that excellence in New York's public schools, as measured by state tests, Advanced Placement exams, SAT scores and other assessments, is significantly deeper and more widespread than presented to the public.

"We know we all must do more to help those children struggling to meet the Regents' standards. But the unrelenting focus on the lowest-performing schools has led to misperceptions about public education in New York. That focus has overshadowed an explosion of excellence in school districts all across the state," Cortese said.

Cortese, who heads the union's Research and Educational Services Division, said delegates will also consider more than 116 resolutions. One resolution urges the State Education Department to adopt a number of union-backed strategies to improve student performance in the middle grades. Another opposes the identification of an entire public school as in need of improvement based on the scores of a single sub-group - a major flaw in the No Child Left Behind legislation.

Also highlighting the convention will be appearances by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, state Comptroller Alan Hevesi, state AFL-CIO President Denis Hughes, American Federation of Teachers Executive Vice President Nat LaCour, and Democratic U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer. UFT President Randi Weingarten will greet the delegates.

Hobart, the longest-serving state teachers' union president in the nation, will deliver his State of the Union Address on Friday morning.

NYSUT, the state's largest union, will also honor New York State Teacher of the Year Lynn Gatto, of Rochester, and Port Jervis teacher Rachel Moyer, who has made it her personal crusade to get a defibrillator in every school. Moyer will be presenting defibrillators to several NYSUT members and staff who revived a delegate stricken by a heart attack at the union's 2003 convention.

The union will also present Life Line Honor Roll awards to two educators from East Greenbush, who prevented a Columbine-like massacre by disarming a student with a gun last month. Life-saving teacher Michael Bennett and assistant principal John Sawchuk will be honored as heroes for their role in stopping the February 9 incident.

NYSUT, the largest union in New York State, represents more than 500,000 classroom teachers and other school employees and retirees; academic and professional faculty at the state's community colleges, State University of New York and City University of New York; and other education and health professionals. NYSUT is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO.

NYSUT, the largest union in New York State, represents some 500,000 classroom teachers and other school employees; academic and professional faculty at the state's community colleges, State University of New York and City University of New York; and other education and health professionals. NYSUT is affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO.

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