I propose that we discuss two topics.
TOPIC # 1:
The Board of Education
The Board of Education really has no checks and balances.
The Board is comprised of non-educators who make decisions on curriculum, policies, budgets, hiring, firing and so on. They seem to have the right to hire a superintendent with no real input from the community or from the professional educators on the final choices available. There are no representatives from the community or from the educators who are even privy to the information regarding the finalists. Budgets are voted on by these same folks. The public is invited to hear about budgets, discuss budgets, but the ultimate decision for recommendation belongs to the Board of Education.
Although I am not certain, it appears that foundation grants can be allocated for spending by a select few. Are we, the public and the professional educators, allowed to know how this money is spent? Wouldn't you like to know if there were secret consultants hired (as has been suggested) and what they were paid? All of this seems un-American. Is this the way public schools should operate? Let's have a conversation!
TOPIC #2:
Common Core Curriculum and Testing are very hot topics in New York. I have heard of schools where over 70% of the students opted out of testing. Did you know you could have your child opt out of testing?
I have also heard that, due to Common Core teaching, there are major holes in students' learning. We have a Swiss Cheese education in this country. Teachers must move on with the curriculum even if students don't grasp the concepts. Learning is no longer enjoyable. Teaching is. No longer enjoyable.
Care to comment on these opinions?
We need an FOI on the MOU agreements between the Board and the consultants hired. The public should know what consultants cost in the district. Let's stop the back and forth between Mike Lyons and people who are questioning him and let's find out for sure what these consultants cost from ALL the funding sources.
ReplyDeleteYes let's stop it. It has seemed for many months that someone inside with an axe to grind (fill in the blank - it's easy) is feeding innuendo to one of the posters here.
ReplyDeleteIt could all be settled if the Memorandum of Understanding gets posted in its entirety. Why isn't this being done? I agree put an end to it. We need to move on.
ReplyDeleteby Principal Carol Burris of South Side High School in the Rockville Centre School District:
ReplyDeleteMany New York parents are in rebellion. They are determined to see Pearson’s Common Core test machine grind to a halt. The state’s Grade 3- 8 opt-outs will likely exceed 200,000 and those who allowed their children to take the test are not happy campers. Parents and teachers are refusing to be bullied into silence about this year’s tests, exposing the well-above grade level reading passages, and tasks that are bringing young children to tears.
First, the numbers.
Parent Jeanette Deutermann, who started Long Island Opt Out, keeps meticulous account of the numbers of students by district who refuse the tests. She has developed a network of parents, teachers and administrators who accurately report refusals. She is presently reporting that on Long Island alone, there were 81,931 test refusals on the English Language Arts exam. You can find updated numbers here. Newsday has translated raw numbers into percentages, estimating that over 40 percent of all Long Island 3-8 students refused to take last week’s ELA Common Core state tests. Numbers in some districts reached well over 70 percent, with at least one district exceeding 80 percent. It appears that no more thanseven of the 124 districts on the island will meet the testing threshold of 95 percent. ..........
I'm a retired NPS administrator. If my own children were still in school, knowing what I do about SBAC, I would opt them out. And would encourage all of my friends to do the same.
ReplyDeleteFrom Cleveland.com
ReplyDeleteCOLUMBUS, Ohio -- PARCC and test provider Pearson are trying to trim the time of their Common Core tests by combining the two waves of testing into one.
PARCC officials told Ohio's Senate Testing Advisory Committee on Testing Wednesday night that they are working on a proposal to combine their "Performance Based Assessments," which are given earlier in the year, with their "End Of Year" exams given near the end of the school year.
Jeff Nellhaus, chief of assessment for PARCC, said officials recognize that parents and schools are upset with the number of hours that PARCC needs for both rounds of tests.
"We're seriously looking at this," Nellhaus said. "This isn't a bunch of happy talk. We have heard what you all are saying."
Pat Kramer, vice president of national services for Pearson, said complaints of testing time are not unique to Ohio, but are "a common theme" from several states.
So Nellhaus said PARCC wants to "streamline" the tests.
A growing number of parents are refusing to let their children take standardized tests this year, arguing that civil disobedience is the best way to change what they say is a destructive overemphasis on tests in the nation’s public schools.
ReplyDeleteThe resistance comes as most states roll out new tests aligned to the Common Core academic standards and as Congress struggles to rewrite the federal law that has defined the role of testing in schools for the past decade.
Information on opting out of testing
ReplyDeleteRegional Leaders: Morna, email: tylerderden2012@gmail.com; Ruth, email: ruthrfay@gmail.com
Connecticut Opt Out Leaders: Karen, email: ongoingly@gmail.com; Jon, email: jonpelto@gmail.com; Jesse, email: readdoctor@yahoo.com
Curious, but this 'movement' is not being driven by parents but rather union and teacher activists in NY in particular, where it's really about the teacher evaluation and tying first generation student tests to the new evaluation. Fair enough complaint, but please don't suggest that it's about the kids. Connecticut will not be using the SBAC data this year for adult evaluations - hence the issue is not really catching fire in this state.
ReplyDeleteTrying to scare elementary parents is just wrong. It's not about the kids and never was.
Is anyone else concerned that the PTO Council is in the middle of the Shirley Mosby drama?
ReplyDeleteI will start another post on this. Thank you.
ReplyDelete