CTNewsJunkie: Common Core Opponents Voice Their Opposition
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Jul 9
2014
CCER Tells State Board of Education: Support the Recommendations of the Common Core Task Force
New Haven, Connecticut – On June 26th, the Educators’ Common Core Implementation Taskforce submitted its final report to Governor Malloy, listing recommendations for improving statewide implementation of the Common Core State Standards. Today, Common Core implementation was a topic of discussion at the meeting of the State Board of Education. Jeffrey Villar, executive director of the Connecticut Council for Education Reform (CCER), released the following statement in response:
“The Common Core State Standards are right for our students, for our teachers, and for our future. Instead of spending time fighting the process of implementation, we now need to be collaborating to do it properly.
“That’s why CCER was pleased to see that membership on the Educator’s Common Core Implementation Task force represented all of our important stakeholders including, school administrations and teachers. I have written and testified many times in the past year about the importance of collaboration among stakeholders. If we are trying to make real, systemic changes, we need to do it collaboratively.
“The Task Force recommends establishing a clear and consistent understanding across the state as to what the standards should look like in the classroom and how they should impact instruction. They recognize the importance of providing effective training and job-embedded professional development so that our educators can transition smoothly. The Task force has recommended that we communicate across the state about the Common Core in a manner that keeps all stakeholders engaged in a jargon-free and informative discussion. And lastly, the Task Force has recommended ensuring that districts and schools have sufficient resources to navigate this transition.
“We see these recommendations as the foundation for a rubric to ensure that Connecticut effectively implements the new standards. Proper implementation across the state will require careful strategic planning, and these recommendations are a step in the right direction. They seek to involve the Connecticut State Department of Education and each district and community in the hard work of careful implementation, and they identify critical actions that will lead to success.
“As our districts continue their ongoing work of implementing the Common Core State Standards, I urge all interested parties to consider these recommendations and to prioritize the long-term goal of raising achievement over the short-term struggles of implementation. Our students deserve nothing less.”
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About the Connecticut Council for Education Reform
The Connecticut Council for Education Reform (CCER)-a statewide, non-partisan, 501(c)(3) not- for-profit organization-works to close the achievement gap and raise academic outcomes for all students in Connecticut. The achievement gap is the disparity in academic achievement between children from low-income families and children of color, and their peers. We advocate for state policies and local practices that research shows have the best chance of raising achievement for high-need student populations.
For more information on CCER, go to www.ctedreform.org
By Korey Wilson
HARTFORD — After several months of meetings, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s Common Core Implementation Taskforce has concluded.
On Thursday, Malloy announced the launch of the Connecticut Core initiative, which will provide additional resources for public schools based on the findings of the task force.
As a result of the task force’s report, Malloy announced that $5 million will be spent on training and materials. Another $10 million in the upcoming fiscal budget has been provisioned for technology upgrades to assist in the roll out.
“I’m proud of the path that we have taken in Connecticut,” said Malloy during his speech at Annie Fisher STEM Magnet School in Hartford on Thursday.
“The recommendations of this task force will allow us to take quick and deliberate action to improve support for teachers and ensure that Connecticut students succeed.”
Malloy announced the allocation of $2 million to fund at least 1,000 professional training days for teachers; $1 million in mini-grants for library resources; and $2 million to upgrade curriculum for students with special needs as well as additional training for ESL and special education teachers.
The governor’s capital budget for FY ’15 authorizes an additional $10 million to prioritize school technology upgrades to support transition to the new standards.
The task force also recommended teacher and parent involvement as well as jargon-free language in the Common Core state standards.
The Common Core Implementation Taskforce consisted of 25 school administrators, teachers and parents that met weekly from March to June to identify challenges of the implementation and translate the Common Core State Standards into viable curricula.
Kendall Elementary School Principal Tony Ditrio served on the taskforce.
“We support the implementation of the Common Core State Standards as an important first step toward ensuring the global competitiveness of Connecticut’s children. We’re very pleased to see resources being dedicated to helping districts with the difficult work of implementation,” said Jeffrey Villar, executive director of the Connecticut Council for Education Reform.
“The policies have been written. What matters now is making sure that districts are equipped to meet the new standards with success. Making substantial changes within school districts is hard work, so we’re glad to see the state providing districts with resources and support.”
In recent weeks, the governors of Oklahoma, South Carolina and Louisiana signed bills repealing Common Core implementation.
Read the original story here.
CCER Pleased to See Financial Support for Common Core Implementation
New Haven, Connecticut – Governor Malloy today announced that resources will be allocated to implement the recommendations of Connecticut’s Common Core Task Force. In response, Jeffrey Villar, executive director of the Connecticut Council for Education Reform (CCER) made this statement:
“We support the implementation of the Common Core State Standards as an important first step toward ensuring the global competitiveness of Connecticut’s children. And we’re very pleased to see resources being dedicated to helping districts with the difficult work of implementation.
“The funding will be committed to such endeavors as implementing the recommendations of the Task Force, technology upgrades, financing instructional workshops and professional development, and focusing on English language learners and special education students. In addition, there will be an ongoing Common Core advisory committee to ensure that parents and teachers have a voice as statewide implementation moves forward.
“The policies have been written. What matters now is making sure that districts are equipped to meet the new standards with success. Making substantial changes within school districts is hard work, so we’re glad to see the state providing districts with resources and support.”
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About the Connecticut Council for Education Reform
The Connecticut Council for Education Reform (CCER)-a statewide, non-partisan, 501(c)(3) not- for-profit organization-works to close the achievement gap and raise academic outcomes for all students in Connecticut. The achievement gap is the disparity in academic achievement between children from low-income families and children of color, and their peers. We advocate for state policies and local practices that research shows have the best chance of raising achievement for high-need student populations.
For more information on CCER, go to www.ctedreform.org
CCER: Expansion of Preschool an Excellent Step Forward, But There is Much Left to Do
New Haven, Connecticut – Governor Malloy today announced the allocation of the 1,020 preschool slots that were funded during the 2014 legislative session. In response, Jeffrey Villar, executive director of the Connecticut Council for Education Reform (CCER) made the following statement:
“CCER is pleased that Connecticut has once again demonstrated its commitment to improving early childhood programming. Research shows that there are substantial short- and long-term benefits for children who attend preschool, especially for children who come from low-income backgrounds. Providing our youngest learners with these kinds of experiences is an important component of our ten-year plan to narrow Connecticut’s widest-in-the-nation achievement gap.
“CCER estimates that approximately 6,500 children from low-income families would benefit from state-funded slots in high-quality preschool programs. Last year, the state funded 1,000 slots for school readiness programs, and this year, we’ve funded another 1,020 slots. With today’s announcement, the state has allocated preschool opportunities to low-income children from 46 towns and cities across Connecticut. That is very exciting news.
By Eileen FitzGerald
A group of six organizations representing superintendents, school board leaders, principals, and business and community leaders today launched a campaign in support of high academic standards in public education.
The campaign, hosted at http://facebook.com/ExpectMoreCT, is focused on ensuring that educators, parents, students, and community members have the tools to understand how high, clear, and consistent standards will affect public education in Connecticut.
The group is made up of: the Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE), the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents (CAPSS), the Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS), the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA), Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now (ConnCAN), and the Connecticut Council for Education Reform (CCER).
“High standards are essential to ensuring Connecticut public school students have the bright future they deserve,” said Robert Rader, executive director of the Connecticut Association of School Boards of Education.
The group said that “If we are to ensure a bright future for our children and our state, we need to know that our kids are getting the best education possible. Connecticut’s students will need to be ready to compete in an increasingly complex and global society. That’s why Connecticut’s Big Six supports high academic standards in Connecticut’s public schools through the Common Core State Standards.”
Read the original story here.
CCER has always been committed to the idea that all Connecticut students deserve a great education that will prepare them for success in college and/or careers.
That’s why we are working with business, community, and education organizations across Connecticut to support high academic standards in public education through the Common Core.
Join the conversation and learn more!
You’ve heard from Catherine Freeman before—in her op-ed and in a previous blog-talking about why Common Core has made her classroom a place of deep learning for both her and her students. Today, Cay will tell you a little more about how Common Core specifically helps her students in math.
What exactly are the Common Core State Standards?
The Common Core Standards for Mathematics are an outline, a clear set of specific skills and mathematical concepts that students should know by the end of each grade level. The Common Core is NOT a curriculum. Although the standards do set rigorous end-of-year learning goals, districts have the freedom to determine how to help their students get there.
In fact, each state or district has the independent right and responsibility to take the Common Core Standards and develop or adopt a curriculum that outlines how much time to spend on each topic, and identifies age-appropriate materials and resources to be used. Curriculum specialists and teachers in each district decide how to lay out the sequence of big ideas and smaller learning tasks to reach the end goal of developing critical thinkers and problem solvers. They also develop regularly scheduled check-ups on students’ progress so that students who are behind can receive intervention and support as the year progresses. There should be an ongoing cycle of developing lessons to teach the standards, going back to revisit and revise them as we become experts on these new standards, and discussing how to best help our students reach deeper levels of understanding and lasting skills.
Common Core Creates Deeper Understanding of Content
The Common Core Standards are written to encourage students to solve real-world problems. As a math teacher, I see these standards built with greater focus-with fewer standards than before in each grade, but with the potential for a truer and more lasting understanding. Instead of giving students a cursory survey of many math concepts, we work on building lasting conceptual understanding of the really important concepts. This translates to higher-level learning with more opportunity to teach critical thinking skills.
Previously, students were taught the procedures to solve a math problem with an often tangential explanation of the conceptual understanding behind the process. I look at the work that I used to give my students, and I see how I used to teach skills in isolation, without context. I was teaching my students how to get the answer, instead of how to understand the math. I am throwing out my old worksheets, which listed 40 problems of a single type on each page. I’m not going to use these anymore because this isn’t how students will be presented with math in real life. Instead of teaching, “Here’s the process for finding the answer to a ratio problem. Now solve it 40 times,” teachers must now ask their students to demonstrate that they understand ratios and can use them to solve real life problems.
CCER: CT’s Increased Graduation Rate Shows Narrowing of Achievement Gap
New Haven, Connecticut – Today, on May 14th, 2014, Governor Malloy and Commissioner Pryor announced that Connecticut’s high school graduation rate has increased for four consecutive years. In response, Jeffrey Villar, executive director of the Connecticut Council for Education Reform (CCER) made this statement:
“We are pleased to learn that Connecticut’s graduation rate is continuously improving. According to Governor Malloy’s office, the statewide average graduation rate has increased by 3.7 percent since 2010. The graduation gap between students from low-income families and their peers has been reduced by 17.5 percent over the same period. It is essential that we continue this progress. There are too many low-income children and children of color who don’t graduate from high school. Students who drop out of school earn less than college graduates, each cost the state more than $500,000 across their lifetimes, are more likely to be incarcerated, and become part of an unskilled labor force in Connecticut.
In 2012, NCTL collaborated with the Connecticut State Department of Education and a strong steering committee to launch the TIME Collaborative in Connecticut. We did this because every child in Connecticut deserves an education that prepares her for success in college and career and sets her on a path to a rich, fulfilling life. Unfortunately, our antiquated school calendar is too limiting to provide children from low-income communities with the breadth and depth of educational experiences they will need to thrive.
