Community group protests Common Core at SE School Board meeting
SHERBURNE – A team of parents, teachers and community members turned out to the Sherburne-Earlville Central School (SECS) Board of Education meeting on Monday to protest the newly implemented and increasingly controversial Common Core Curriculum, New York State’s latest attempt at education reform.
The group, self-dubbed the SECS Parent Advocate Group (PAG), took the spotlight during the public comment portion of Monday night’s meeting to warn school board members of the drawbacks and frequently unintentional repercussions they see in the Common Core. In addition, they asked the school board for its support in overturning the Common Core, which is being fully implemented across all subjects for the first time this year.
Although the mission of the Common Core is to make students college and career ready by making information relevant to the real world, the PAG says the negative implications of the Common Core have been overwhelming for parents, teachers and students alike who struggle to keep pace with the new standards. Many parents at the meeting said their child is being overtested and overworked while others said they feel disconnected from their child’s learning and their child’s needs are being brushed aside.
Currently, 45 states have opted into the Common Core Curriculum, the roots of which go back to a 2009 federal stimulus bill that provided funding for the “Race to the Top” initiative between states. To be eligible for federal funding, each state was required to adopt the Common Core. As extra incentive, states that adopted the Common Core have also been exempted from many provisions of the preceding No Child Left Behind education program that was implemented in 2001.
Said Julie Bigger, a spokesperson for the PAG, the Common Core is an “unproven and untested set of standards” that uses children as “guinea pigs” for the expansion of nationwide controls over educational issues.
Bigger shared with school board members the PAG’s belief that the Common Core in New York State was passed hastily, “behind closed doors and clouded in secrecy,” and that there is “no proof” it’s for the students’ benefit.
Bigger also pointed to the implications of nationwide control over education and the flaws the PAG sees in the state testing system that doesn’t allow teachers to examine end-of-the-year testing results until the following September, when students have already been moved up to the next level.
“Teachers who love their jobs are having their voices silenced,” said Bigger. “More and more parents are coming out and telling the stories of hours and hours of homework with tears and frustration.”
Brandi Kellogg, member of the SECS Parent Advocate Group and mother of three children enrolled in the Sherburne-Earlville School District, also chimed in. “Intelligent students hate it,” she said in reference to a growing workload students take home. “They’re frustrated and we’re frustrated.”
The SECS Parent Advocate Group is calling for a moratorium on statewide high stakes testing, the resignation of New York State Education Commissioner Dr. John King. Moreover, the PAG is throwing support behind proposed legislation to overturn the Common Core in New York State that was introduced by State Senator Joseph Griffo earlier this year.
“We will support every legislation that is against the Common Core,” Bigger told school board members, “and we will continue to fight for the resignation of Dr. King ... We won’t give up and we won’t be silenced.”
“We are all appalled by the education system,” replied SECS School Board President Dr. Tom Morris, citing schools nationwide that are facing similar challenges. In response to the SECS Parent Advocate Group, Morris said, “It’s groups like yours that will make the difference ... Without your efforts, change will not happen.”
In spite of his verbal support for the PAG, Morris also emphasized the importance of Race to the Top funding for the district, saying it may be a “small part of the budget” but necessary nonetheless.
The PAG is presently reaching out to community members via Facebook. Its page, SECS Parent Advocate Group, has become a source of information and networking for parents and community members. PAG is also planning to address state education officials at upcoming meetings, including one to be held in New Hartford at a later date.
The group, self-dubbed the SECS Parent Advocate Group (PAG), took the spotlight during the public comment portion of Monday night’s meeting to warn school board members of the drawbacks and frequently unintentional repercussions they see in the Common Core. In addition, they asked the school board for its support in overturning the Common Core, which is being fully implemented across all subjects for the first time this year.
Although the mission of the Common Core is to make students college and career ready by making information relevant to the real world, the PAG says the negative implications of the Common Core have been overwhelming for parents, teachers and students alike who struggle to keep pace with the new standards. Many parents at the meeting said their child is being overtested and overworked while others said they feel disconnected from their child’s learning and their child’s needs are being brushed aside.
Currently, 45 states have opted into the Common Core Curriculum, the roots of which go back to a 2009 federal stimulus bill that provided funding for the “Race to the Top” initiative between states. To be eligible for federal funding, each state was required to adopt the Common Core. As extra incentive, states that adopted the Common Core have also been exempted from many provisions of the preceding No Child Left Behind education program that was implemented in 2001.
Said Julie Bigger, a spokesperson for the PAG, the Common Core is an “unproven and untested set of standards” that uses children as “guinea pigs” for the expansion of nationwide controls over educational issues.
Bigger shared with school board members the PAG’s belief that the Common Core in New York State was passed hastily, “behind closed doors and clouded in secrecy,” and that there is “no proof” it’s for the students’ benefit.
Bigger also pointed to the implications of nationwide control over education and the flaws the PAG sees in the state testing system that doesn’t allow teachers to examine end-of-the-year testing results until the following September, when students have already been moved up to the next level.
“Teachers who love their jobs are having their voices silenced,” said Bigger. “More and more parents are coming out and telling the stories of hours and hours of homework with tears and frustration.”
Brandi Kellogg, member of the SECS Parent Advocate Group and mother of three children enrolled in the Sherburne-Earlville School District, also chimed in. “Intelligent students hate it,” she said in reference to a growing workload students take home. “They’re frustrated and we’re frustrated.”
The SECS Parent Advocate Group is calling for a moratorium on statewide high stakes testing, the resignation of New York State Education Commissioner Dr. John King. Moreover, the PAG is throwing support behind proposed legislation to overturn the Common Core in New York State that was introduced by State Senator Joseph Griffo earlier this year.
“We will support every legislation that is against the Common Core,” Bigger told school board members, “and we will continue to fight for the resignation of Dr. King ... We won’t give up and we won’t be silenced.”
“We are all appalled by the education system,” replied SECS School Board President Dr. Tom Morris, citing schools nationwide that are facing similar challenges. In response to the SECS Parent Advocate Group, Morris said, “It’s groups like yours that will make the difference ... Without your efforts, change will not happen.”
In spite of his verbal support for the PAG, Morris also emphasized the importance of Race to the Top funding for the district, saying it may be a “small part of the budget” but necessary nonetheless.
The PAG is presently reaching out to community members via Facebook. Its page, SECS Parent Advocate Group, has become a source of information and networking for parents and community members. PAG is also planning to address state education officials at upcoming meetings, including one to be held in New Hartford at a later date.
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