Education Commissioner Visits Area Schools ROCHESTER, NY (WXXI) -

The newly-appointed New York State Education Commissioner and state Board of Regents members visited several Rochester city schools Wednesday.

Dr. David Steiner's "listening tour" ended at the School of the Arts where a group of seniors walked him through the building. Steiner says he and his senior deputy are touring the state to get a feel of how schools are run.

"Our conviction is, in the end, we need to learn a lot about what's working on the ground, what the challenges are, in order to really be helpful to the field," says Steiner. "And that's, after all, why we are here."

Steiner also visited Holy Rosary, Monroe BOCES 1, and Genesee Community Charter School.

Steiner says the almost $50 billion a year spent on education needs to be used wisely, like in teacher preparation, instructions in the classroom so kids get the education they desire.

Steiner says he's committed to helping schools bring the arts into their curriculum.
He says he worked in the teacher preparation field for several years and worked for the National Endowment for the Arts.

Steiner was in Buffalo last week, and will visit schools in Long Island next week.

This is Steiner's second trip to Rochester in the last month.
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