Organizer of EN Common Core Standards meeting: Their silence speaks volumes

(The following comments were left by Jill Carter in response to my post about the Common Core Standards meeting held Friday night at East Newton High School. Ms. Carter was one of the organizers of that event.)

I was one of the organizers of the meeting at East Newton. I would like to answer your valid question of why now? Why after three years would there be so much concern?

It could be said that I was behind in my understanding of what was happening in my local school district. I was not made aware of CCSS until my daughter came home from school and happened to mention the school was implementing a new curriculum. I didn't think to much about it. Then the children were sent home with a paper saying that they were doing some pilot testing on new assessment tests. I became even more curious so when I had the opportunity, at a school levy meeting, I asked the superintendent who was paying for the new Common Core Curriculum, which he stated that they were. It was that night that I came home and looked into it. What was I going to be paying for? I became increasingly concerned and was looking to have my concerns alleviated. Surely, this isn't what it seems to be? 

I started with my school board. I shared some things I had learned, hoping they could refute it. They weren't sure of the answers. I called my representative. He did know some about it, but he also had questions. On up the chain I went. The most alarming thing to me is, no one knew the answers to the questions. Obviously, the easiest thing to do was to have a community meeting where we could have an open dialogue and conversation. Get it all out in the open. Both sides at the same time, where there wouldn't be a "he said, she said." That is where I ran into difficulty.

My girlfriend Bobbi, who shared my concerns,couldn't find anyone from DESE,who was willing to accept the invitation to come to our meeting and answer our questions. DESE did, after extended invitations from Representative Mike Moons office and from Representative Fitzpatricks office, send out an email saying it was the superintendents job to answer the questions. Really? hadn't we started there? 

We made more phone calls, just to name a few these are just a few: The State Board of Education President, and the Commissioner of Education Chris Nicastro, Senator Pearce, who is a proponent of CCSS and the Governors office. We didn't think that they could come, but surely they knew someone just as well educated that could represent a proponents view of CCSS. No one accepted our invitation. Many were kind and did give us other referrals. 

The blessing is, after an exhausting journey to try to educate myself, I have found enough documentation and spoke to enough educators and policy makers to know, I don't want this for my children or school. 

This has taken me places I didn't expect to go, but we did finally find answers to my questions. Some of them through the silence of those who should have been answering them. 

(Photo: Nina Dean, legislative assistant to Rep. Kurt Bahr, R-St. Charles, was one of the speakers at the Common Core Standards meeting Friday night.)