Schools

Birmingham Stands By Common Core Guidelines

Recent moves in Lansing could change how schools approach Common Core State Standards, if at all.

Reported by Art Aisner, Jessica Schrader and John McKay 

The Common Core Standards, adopted unanimously by the State Board of Education in June 2010, may not be fully implemented while a debate over funding is under way in Lansing. The standards, a set of rigorous, college and career-ready curriculum benchmarks are used in 46 states across the nation, to bring consistency in education delivery. But some believe the standards could lead to a federal takeover of Michigan's educational system by taking power away from the legislature and local school districts, a recent article in the Detroit Free Press stated. 

On Tuesday, the state House of Representatives approved a measure as part of the overall budget that prohibits the Michigan Department of Education from spending funds on implementing the Common Core standards for math or English, MLive.com reports.

State Rep. Tom McMillin, (R) Rochester Hills told Patch on Wednesday that he would like to “take a pause, at least” to evaluate the Common Core Standards mandate. McMillin said he is opposed to the idea of Common Core Standards, but is more concerned about the mandate.

“I think it’s a big mistake to let the National Governor’s Association in Washington decide what’s going to be taught in our schools,” he said.

Schools that began the process should be free to adopt them if they feel it fits the curriculum—without the mandate, he said. 

Though the debate is ongoing in Lansing, there is little doubt they will help, said Birmingham Public Schools Superintendent Daniel Nerad.

"The common core standards need to be supported," he said. "These standards are more rigorous and clearer than what has been in place and will lead  to improvements in student learning and teaching."

Nerad said he believes the standards describe what students should know and be able to do as a result of their learning experiences in our district. The process does not replace the need to develop  a curriculum at the local level, he added.
"Now is not the time to turn the clock back on this work," he said. Districts have done a great deal of work and have expended significant resources to ensure our curriculum aligns to these standards."

But Martin Ackley, director of Office of Public and Governmental Affairs at the Michigan Department of Education, said in response to McMillin's comments that it is not just a "pause."

"There is nothing in the language above that indicates that this is a “pause,” as Rep. McMillin would like people to believe. This is an outright prohibition (“shall not”), with no guarantee that the prohibition will be lifted," he said in a statement released Wednesday. 

"Local school districts have been working for three years, and spent hundreds of hours in planning and implementing the high-quality Common Core State Standards for their students to be career- and college-ready. This provision in the bill will leave school boards, administrators, teachers, and parents with no clear direction on how they continue planning their locally-developed curricula to meet the state standards," he wrote.



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