State Education Regent Visits Three Village School District

The New York State Board of Regents has made it a priority to close the achievement gap between school districts without hurting the districts that are already performing at high levels. That's according to Roger Tilles, the Regent representing Long Island, who addressed the faculty and administrators of the Three Village Central School District in December during the annual superintendent's conference on Dec. 23.

"We don't want to close the gap by bringing the top districts down," Tilles told Patch in an interview on Friday.

Based on his knowledge of the Three Village CSD, Tilles called it "one of the finest on Long Island." In his address, he contrasted Three Village to districts that have had to make serious cuts in critical areas – including some special education services – saying Three Village appeared to be "a long way away" from that kind of situation.

Tilles, who has visited more than half the 126 school districts in Nassau and Suffolk recently, said he hopes to work towards making some of the education mandates more flexible, especially for schools that are already succeeding.

Tilles visited the Three Village CSD on an invitation from interim superintendent Neil Lederer.

"It was an honor to have Regent Tilles visit with our staff," Lederer said in a statement. "He is certainly a friend to education, and we truly appreciate his words. I hope his words resonate with the Governor, and that these reforms will be modified to benefit our students."