Common Core Standards are not the solution to America's education problems. First and foremost, Common Core removes any and all local control over K-12 curriculum in Math and English. And it applies not only to public education institutions, but to private schools and home-schoolers as well. Common Core is billed as being a "voluntary" program, but it is only as voluntary as the 21-year-old drinking age and the 1970's national speed limit of 55 MPH. That is, as a domain of the "state's rights" granted in the U.S. Constitution, the Federal Government can't mandate adoption of these laws. They do however use the "power of the purse string" to coerce adoption by limiting or eliminating federal funding and/or grants to those who don't follow the policy line. Here are some links that provide more information about the problems with Common Core. Please take time to read these and educate yourself about the changes in store for your children.
Every year, the New York State Legislature, Governor, and Board of Regents and/or the Federal Government adopt new mandates that school districts are required to follow. In virtually all cases, additional funding is needed to fulfill these mandates. In most cases, the majority of funding is sustained at the local level. Therefore the mandate is “unfunded” by those who are requiring the action. You will be surprised at how many of these mandates there are and the impact on local school districts, especially small-population districts such as Honeoye.
I believe that school districts, by way of their Boards of Education, should band together and oppose these mandates, Common Core included. One district alone will never win a legal battle against the NYS Education Department. If districts begin cooperating and using combined resources (such as increased size of community members and influence over state representatives) they can make their voices heard. This has to start as a grass-roots campaign, and it has to start somewhere. Recently, 18 school districts in the down-state counties of Westchester, Rockland, Orange, and Putnam did just that. Let's bring this idea to Western-NY as well.
The "Right to Opt Out".... a grass-roots campaign to assert parental rights and oppose standardized testing. There has been a lot of news around this spring's grades 3-8 standardized testing, including one parent in Rush-Henrietta School District who is suing the school district and the NYS Education Department over sanctions imposed for "refusal to take the test". Here in Honeoye, our school administration sent a letter indicating that "opting out" was not an option. There are conflicting legal views on this matter and these will have to work their way through the state legal system. I am in favor of parental decision-making in this regard, and in general with parents educating themselves about their children's education.
I hope that you find the information provided on this page useful in educating yourselves further about the changes being implemented in how our children are taught. I welcome your thoughts and ideas, and would love to hear your perspective on education in general, in New York State, and in Honeoye. Please see the "Contact" page.
Sincerely,
Brian Boorman