During last week's board of education meeting, Pearl River School District Superintendent Dr. John Morgano promised parents that he would relay their concerns to New York State Education Commissioner Dr. John B. King and Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch.
Parents had questioned the new standards and the state assessments based upon them at previous meetings and did so again last Tuesday. Morgano sent a letter to King, Tisch and the other members fo the Board of Regents Friday. A copy of the letter is posted on the Pearl River School District website here.
Morgano wrote about the meeting, which he said included approximately 50 parents who came to speak out regarding the implementation of the Common Core.
"We allowd everyone who wanted to speak to do so, some speaking multiple times," Morgano wrote in the letter. "The meeting lasted several hours. Personally, I found the meeting to be both productive and frustrating. Productive in that parents felt they could share their concerns with our board of education and administration, and frustrating in that our ability to effect change is limited, and in no small way stifled by the mandatory exams that assess student progres toward the Core standards."
Among the issues Morgano raised was the state assessments from 2013, which tested the students on a curriculum that was not even in place yet. Parents have also raised the issues of students lacking the prerequisite knowledge for some parts of the curriciulum, something that could have been avoided had it been phased in over a number of years rather than all at once.
"I think if I could summarize what the parents are asking for, it is to slow down the pace of this change," Morgano wrote. "Not to stop it, not to cancel, but to implement it in a more child centered approach."
King will be part of a community forum on the subject from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday at Port Chester Middle School.
For more on the state assessments and Common Core Learning Standards in Pearl River and neighboring districts, see these reports on Patch.
- State Education Dept. Common Core Forum Set for Port Chester Middle School
- Nyack Schools Address State Assessment Questions
- Pearl River Schools Answer Questions About Assessments, Common Core
- State Education Department Schedules Common Core Forums
- Carluci Calls for Reinstatement of Common Core Forums
- New York State Common Core Forums Cancelled
- State Releases New Grade 3-8 Test Results
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