Today, Marylanders traveled to Baltimore to protest Common Core at the State Department of Education. A little about COMMON CORE that you might not know: For those who don’t know, in 2009, the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) formed the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) to develop a set of academic standards to be used across ALL states. Support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, private corporations (including assessment and publishing companies) funded the development of the standards (no conflict there). I am against Common Core State Standards because it takes control of educational content and standards away from parents, taxpayers, local school districts, and states. Common Core was produced by a closed group and conditionally approved by many states without public review (pass it and then see what it is). Did you know that NGA and CCSSO are both non-government groups that own and have copyright protected the Common Core State Standards? Did you know that states adopting the non-public domain, privately owned, copyrighted Common Core State Standards must adhere 100% without change? States may add up to 15%. Again, the Common Core State Standards are privately owned by the National Governors Association the Council of Chief State School Officers, both non-government entities. Did you know that control over changes to common core will lie in the hands of so called “experts” outside local school district, state, and the federal government jurisdiction (yes, they are and can remain nameless)? Did you know that local school districts and states must provide the funds to adopt and implement the Common Core State Standards? Yes, more unfunded mandates. With Common Core, the federal government is NOT providing the necessary funds since Maryland voluntarily made the decision to adopt the standards. For those who don’t know, our state committed to Common Core even before the standards were written. As many of you might know, we are looking at about a $10 Million shortfall in our county budget. With Common Core, Calvert County Public Schools will be responsible for the technology equipment, related personnel, and network capacity upgrade costs required for the Common Core assessments. Has anyone brought up how much that is going to cost us? I believe education is NOT the responsibility of the federal government, it is the responsibility of the state. Maryland should not turn over its rights or responsibilities to the direction and influence of non-government organizations or the federal government. Justice John Roberts once stated (ACA ruling), “The States are separate and independent sovereigns. Sometimes they have to act like it.” I agree with Justice Roberts. Talking about the cost associated with Common Core. Think about this, we in Calvert County are represented by the most powerful state Senator in the history of Maryland. Why does Baltimore get 68% of their education funding from the state, when our schools get around 40% of our funding from the state? While I don’t think we should get more than every other county, I don’t think we should be sending our hard earned money to support Baltimore City. I know everyone is busy, but if you get the chance, please read the below link. marylandreporter/2013/11/13/teachers-feel-unprepared-for-new-common-core-curriculum-tests-survey-finds/
Posted on: Tue, 19 Nov 2013 03:55:38 +0000