My Stance on Common Core Curriculum

My stance on the highly controversial "Common Core Curriculum" is not necessarily black and white because I believe there is alot of misconception. In addition, the old saying of "you can't believe everything you read on the internet holds quite true. The numerous emails. links, videos, etc., i have received against the Common Core Curriculum, cite other states, other systems, etc. We (CCPS) cannot be held accountable for the how and why the standards are implemented in other areas, or the curriculum they are teaching. Hopefully, my explanation below will help clarify. If it doesn't, I'll try again and as always I'm open to suggestions.
To start with, I was one of the board members voting "No" from the the very beginning for the Race To the Top grant back in March of 2010.  This grant obligated CCPS to proceed and implement, with the assistance of federal funding, what is now known as the "Common Core Curriculum.” 

• Official Board Minutes can be found here, https://www.boarddocs.com/mabe/ccpsmd/Board.nsf/legacy-content/89M9Z4733A1C/$FILE/030910brdmingood.pdf
• My personal notes of this meeting can be found here, http://abell4edu.blogspot.com/2010_03_01_archive.html
• Here is the link to the actual presentation in February 2010, https://www.boarddocs.com/mabe/ccpsmd/Board.nsf/Public
• My notes from the above presentation, http://abell4edu.blogspot.com/2010/02/notes-from-board-of-education-meeting.html
• An additional post, http://abell4edu.blogspot.com/2010/02/race-to-top.html

With that being said, (and noting the EACC was adamantly against Race To The Top also), I was in the minority and the proposal passed, funds were received, RTTT was initiated and implementation began.  Our system became one of the "lucky" few to be guinea pigs and receive federal funding.

While I was being sarcastic with the word "lucky" above, as "luck" would have it, we later discovered,  the local school systems still retained control over the actual curriculum and implementation.  The mandates only pertain to the actual "Standards" that must be met by each student (and later teachers evaluated).  How we achieve those "Standards" is up to the individual system.  Hence CCPS has modified the curriculum, for what is best for our students to achieve those mandated standards.

The concerns about the new Common Core curriculum are not limited to Charles County – they are nationwide concerns by both parents and educators.  It is change, and change is always difficult.  We need to focus on our students achieving the standards– and with a positive attitude – to the extent that we are able…and voice all the concerns – whether about funding, resources, implementation, content, etc. to CCPS in a collaborative fashion.  

The MSTA Legislative priorities states:

“Poorly planned implementation of new curriculum, student assessments, educator evaluations, and school accountability systems are all hitting at one time. This tsunami of education reforms threaten the pillars of our world-class schools. While accountability and student achievement are important goals, we cannot let unproven and unreliable testing and evaluation systems punish our teachers and principals, unfairly label our students and schools, and usurp local school systems’ abilities to make policy decisions that work for their communities.”

All of these are valid concerns, but I want to be sure that we set an example for students, parents, and staff too – that we will approach change with an open mind and strive to succeed and meet the standards, and be positive about it.  Failure is guaranteed – for everyone – if we dig in, refuse to try, and not work collaboratively.  We MUST listen to our teachers and our administrators about the handicaps they face in trying to meet these standards.  At the same time, we MUST listen to our parents and students about their concerns and obstacles being faced with the achievement of the standards.   Working collaboratively together, altering the curriculum to the needs of our local community and working toward solutions at the local, state and national level will ensure the success we all want for our students.

In closing, as I previously stated, my answer isn't neceessarily black and white.  Am I against Common Core Curriculum.  Yes.  However, I want to make it very clear....the Common Core Curriculum is NOT what is taught in Charles County Public Schools.