Common Core Legislation in Missouri Moves Forward

From Missouri Coalition Against Common Core, May 6, 2013:

SB210 Passes Out of the Senate

Today SB210 was perfected in the Senate. Discussion centered around the public's need for more information on this very large change to our education system.  

Two amendments were added to the bill. One is a long standing amendment to change the timing and process of the decision for the state to take over a district which has lost its accreditation.

The second amendment sets up an interim committee to study the foundation formula. It was noted during the discussion that DESE has not followed the foundation formula in distributing $130 millions dollars to the district. (For context, DESE's budget is $3 billion and the districts contribute another $4 on top of that making the total the state spends on education, out of a $22 billion budget, $7 billion.) One impact of this misuse of the foundation formula is that the St. Louis Special School District has lost $3 million dollars annually. 

For the perfected language click here.  The bill now goes to the house for reading and a vote. 

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Here is the language from the bill focusing on the Common Core issue:

SS/SCS/SB 210 - This act requires the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to conduct at least one public hearing in each Missouri congressional district prior to the full implementation of the Common Core State Standards. The Department must provide each person who wishes to testify a reasonable amount of time to do so. The Department must publish a notice on its internet website at least two weeks prior to each of the public hearings and post the notice at the location of each public hearing. The Department must also notify each district of the public hearing. Districts must also notify parents, in a manner of their choosing, as described in the act.

At least two weeks prior to the first of the public hearings, the Department must perform a fiscal analysis of the projected cost to the state and school districts of the implementation of the Common Core State Standards. The Department must also prepare, at least two weeks prior to the first of the public hearings, a report identifying any data that will be collected as a result of the Common Core State Standards and any governmental or quasi-governmental entities or consortium that collects or receives any data. These reports must be published on the Department's website and must be provided to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Joint Committee on Education. 

All public hearings must be completed by December 31, 2013.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education must provide a report to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Joint Committee on Education that summarizes the public testimony heard at each of the public hearings. (Section 161.855)

We currently have 1119 signatures on our petition to stop Common Core in Missouri.  Add your signature here.

Bill Gates and Teachers on Film! Gates Should Spread the Wealth for ALL Government Employees. (DESE included)

Effectiveness benchmarks should be required for all government employees, not just teachers.  Government employees must obtain marvelous results.  If the results aren't marvelous, they are ranked ineffective and they can dance their way into unemployment.   

Bill Gates is determined to fix education and knows which tool to use to do it - the camera. In this interview with Fast Company he talks about expanding his three year pilot program, Measures of Effective Teaching,  in which teachers were filmed in the classroom as a means of providing "feedback" on their teaching skills, to districts across the country.  The program filmed 3000 teachers in seven districts as part of a teaching evaluation system that combines test scores, student evaluations, and classroom assessments, where teachers are graded by impartial observers. 

What do you think teachers? Has he found the magic "new" tool to evaluate your work? Have none of you been observed or critiqued in the classroom as part of your evaluation?

As Gates said in the interview, 

"States and districts have already spent millions of dollars overhauling teacher evaluation systems, only to have districts rating 97, 98, or 100% of teachers as 'satisfactory or better." I wonder what he thinks that percentage should be.

"In the long run, your human capital is your main base of competition."
"The ideal there is creating a skills-based credential that is well trusted and well understood enough that employers view it as a true alternative to a degree." School as jobs program. Differing from founders view of school."

"His goal for the next 20 years, he says, is to graduate roughly twice as many kids from college, move the United States up in the international rankings, and do so without spending more money."

What society needs is better return on the investment we make in education. Filming a teacher at work and then having someone provide a critique of that teacher is meant to improve their effectiveness at their job, which we have to note is a government job.

Gretchen and I were talking about this and thought, "Why should teachers be the only government employees critiqued in this way? Don't we want the best return on ALL our tax money? Shouldn't we use similar metrics that they are applying to teachers to ALL government employees?"  We quickly came up with several ideas.

Anne - Using this logic, the best way to measure the effectiveness HHS employees who oversee the welfare distribution system would be to make sure they are actually helping the applicants become productive workers in the new global economy. Therefore, their cases should be required to take a standardized test on their job seeking skills. If their scores are too low, the HHS employee should be rated ineffective and a more effective employee brought in.


Gretchen - Public health officials should be measured by how many children they can get to an acceptable Body Mass Index (BMI) measurement.  Even if the parents allow the child to eat junk food and gain weight and/or the child refuses to self regulate or exercise, the doctors/nurses should be held accountable.  If the kid doesn't slim down, obviously the health officials are not effective and should be replaced as soon as possible.


Department of Labor officials should find jobs for everyone.  Even if their clientele is lazy, unemployable because of various issues, or there are no jobs because business owners are not hiring because of the cost incurred by the Health Care Act to pay for health insurance, if the officials don't find jobs for all the unemployed, then the Department of Labor officials will be relegated to the unemployed line themselves.

A word of advice to the teachers: take theater classes before you appear on film for Bill Gates' idea of how to become an effective teacher.  Hey, even if  you can't control a child's intellectual capacity, the family structure of the child, the parental involvement (or non-involvement), what you can teach in the classroom (because you know, it's all "common") even if it is not appropriate for the level of some children or your class, the economic level of the child and the emotional level of the child, you might as well put on the best performance possible and look good. 

But let's require cameras for ALL government employees.  Like Anne said, Americans want sound investment on ALL government money expended.   Why should just teachers be singled out?  

That last question brings me to the idea that DESE employees/representatives should be filmed to determine their effectiveness.  If Bill Gates has done the pilot testing on teachers and has great results for effectiveness, then it should be a valid measure of performance for DESE employees and representatives.   Citizens have videos of the DESE Delphi Common Core meetings May 2 and you can see at the Springfield and Lindbergh locations DESE officials were not only ineffective in answering questions, they were ineffective in delivering a message people were satisfied in hearing. (This ineffectiveness was also reported in Camdenton, Kansas City, Hazelwood, Cape Girardeau...more to follow).  

If DESE allows the use of cameras for Missouri teachers, then it should welcome the use of cameras in its offices and presentations.  Cameras were an effective evaluation measure at the CCSS meetings.  DESE officials simply had to answer questions (not just make a presentation) on what CCSS are, why they were adopted, the cost, the data collection, who is funding them, etc.  The representatives were expected by the citizens to answer citizen questions (not deliver scripted one-sided information) on DESE's decisions and they could/would not answer questions.  These meetings were a massive failure and extraordinarily ineffective.   

As Billy Crystal says in the above clip, "I'm kidding.  I'm a kidder".  This was the message DESE gave to the crowds last Thursday night for folks wanting answers to their questions on Common Core.  DESE bureaucrats set up meetings in which the message is controlled and real input from the citizens is not allowed nor welcomed.  Choice architects don't have to answer to you or anyone else.

DESE did not obtain marvelous results on May 2 in the CCSS hearings.  If cameras are determined to be the tools to rate educational effectiveness, then start with the state government employees advocating DESE policies and see how many really are effective at their jobs.  Unlike Common Core, let's base THIS decision on test piloting, research and data, starting at the state agency.  If DESE accepts Bill Gates' pilot testing on teachers then it should welcome with open arms the use of cameras in its offices/presentations to determine the effectiveness of DESE employees and policies.

James Shuls Offers His Thoughts on the Disastrous Lindbergh DESE Common Core Meeting

From Lindbergh Crowd Halts Scripted Common Core Meeting:

Officials from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) are finding out that it might not be easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission, at least not when it comes to the Common Core State Standards. DESE adopted the standards without public knowledge and last night, officials from DESE attempted to justify their decision with a one-sided presentation. Many concerned citizens and parents, however, were not interested in listening to DESE’s Common Core gospel.

At the meeting I attended at the Lindbergh School District, citizens showed up with questions; DESE officials showed up with scripts and videos. The plan was to divide the crowd into small groups so we could discuss the standards. They even provided a form for us to write down what we like about the standards and what we dislike. That plan may have worked at other meetings, but the folks at Lindbergh demanded to be heard.

The DESE officials seemed shocked when patrons who wanted to be heard continually interrupted the presentation.

One lady sitting near me said, “Can’t you deviate from your script?”

Another shouted, “This goes against teaching.” She was implying that the officials should have been willing to take questions, like a good teacher would during a lesson.

After the crowd’s continual pestering, and the crowd’s refusal to separate into small groups, the DESE officials began fielding questions. Of course, they were not answering the questions, just listening to them.

Read more here.

Explaining the Delphi Technique Used in the DESE Common Core Meetings and Reactions from Readers

Say NO to DESE's "Nudge"

A reader made a comment on a recent post about the DESE meetings and the Delphi technique used in all the meetings except Lindbergh.  Lindbergh's attendees would not comply and their questions/concerns were heard by all the citizens, not just the members and facilitators in small groups.

This is an excellent video from the San Francisco area explaining the process and how the message is controlled by the messenger.  This is the blueprint of DESE's Common Core meetings on May 2.

"Exposing the Delphi Technique in Public Meetings...or how to tell when you have been railroaded"

It is important you contact Senators Lamping, Richard and Dempsey on Monday to voice your opinion on DESE's "communication meetings" in the eight locations.  DESE will insist it met with the community to deliver information on Common Core and there is no need to have additional meetings across the state requiring the Commissioner to present information (and respond to questions) about the cost to the state/districts and the data retrieval necessary with Common Core.  These issues, if raised, were not answered since the presenters were "not qualified" to answer.

DESE thinks it did a fine job in those meetings and you need to tell the senators otherwise. The videos from previous posts and reports show the taxpayers were not satisfied with these presentations and no meaningful response to questions.

Here is the information you need to convey by email, fax or telephone call:

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Make Missouri's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Accountable to Missouri Residents for Common Core

This Monday morning --- call and e-mail your senator, as well as Senator Lamping, Senator Dempsey, and Senator Richard and tell them you support SB 210 (text below) .

To find your senator's contact information, just enter your zip code in the appropriate box on this senate webpage

http://www.senate.mo.gov/

Also, please e-mail and call the following senators. Thank Senator Lamping for sponsoring the bill, and ask Senators Dempsey and Richards to see that SB 210 passes in the senate:

Senator John Lamping, Sponsor of SB 210
State Capitol Room 426
(573) 751-2514
john.lamping@senate.mo.gov

Senator Tom Dempsey, President Pro Tem
State Capitol Room 326
(573) 751-1141
tom.dempsey@senate.mo.gov

Senator Ron Richard, Majority Floor Leader
(573) 751-2173
ronald.richard@senate.mo.gov

SENATE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
SENATE BILL NO. 210
AN ACT
To amend chapter 161, RSMo, by adding thereto one new
section relating to the common core state standards
initiative, with an emergency clause.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI,
AS FOLLOWS:
Section A. Chapter 161, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto
one new section, to be known as section 161.855, to read as
follows:
161.855.
1. The department of elementary and secondary
education shall conduct at least one public hearing in each
congressional district in Missouri prior to the full
implementation of the common core state standards. The public
hearings shall provide an opportunity for members of the general
public to publicly testify regarding the common core state
standards. The commissioner of education and at least one member
of the state board of education shall attend each public hearing.
For each public hearing, the department shall provide at least
two weeks' notice to school districts and parents of public
school students located within the congressional district in
which the hearing shall be held.
2. At least two weeks prior to the first of the public
hearings, the department of elementary and secondary education
shall perform and make publicly available a fiscal analysis of
the projected cost to the state and school districts of the
implementation of the common core state standards. The analysis
shall include the costs of material, equipment, technology, and
training, as well as any savings that may be realized. The
department shall provide the fiscal analysis to the president pro
tempore of the senate, the speaker of the house of
representatives, and to the joint committee on education. The
department shall publish the fiscal analysis on its internet
website.
3. At least two weeks prior to the first of the public
hearings, the department of elementary and secondary education
shall prepare a report that identifies:
(1) Any data that shall be collected as a result of the
implementation of the common core state standards; and
(2) Any governmental entity, quasi-governmental entity, or
consortium that collects data or receives data as a result of the
implementation of the common core state standards.
4. The department of elementary and secondary education
shall submit the report required under subsection 3 of this
section to the president pro tempore of the senate, the speaker
of the house of representatives, and to the joint committee on
education. The department shall publish the report on its
internet website. The department shall notify parents of public
school students of the data collection procedures described in
subsection 3 of this section.
5. The department of elementary and secondary education
shall conduct all of the public hearings by December 31, 2013.
Section B. Because of the importance of providing information to
the public about the common core state standards,
section A of this act is deemed necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public health, welfare, peace and safety, and
is hereby declared to be an emergency act within the meaning of
the constitution, and section A of this act shall be in full
force and effect upon its passage and approval.

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Readers' comments from MEW posts about these DESE meetings and the Delphi Technique:

Is it just me, or do teacher inservice days and other education trainings seem to revolve around the Delphi technique as well? on Van Harvey Notes Citizens Wouldn't be "Nudged" at the Lindbergh DESE Common Core Meeting. No Choice Architects Allowed to Present the Grand Plan.

they certainly do..... No open discussion allowed on Van Harvey Notes Citizens Wouldn't be "Nudged" at the Lindbergh DESE Common Core Meeting. No Choice Architects Allowed to Present the Grand Plan.

I feel badly for the representatives DESE sent out to conduct the Common Core meetings last Thurs. My experience, concerning alot of different issues in education, has been that people in these positions are inundated with "controlled messaging" - which began back in 2009-2010 with CommonCore. They have been working to "implement" and may not have investigated (the unconstitutional) CCSS "Initiative" on their own. They were sacrificed by DESE (imho) in order to gather public opinion info on CommonCore. I wouldn't be surprised if a few of them are absolutely furious when they begin to independently research some of the questions posed that night. on Video of Delphi DESE Common Core Springfield Meeting 

If only each person in attendance had had a posture analysis seat or a facial expression camera or a pressure mouse or a wireless conductance sensor as outlined on page 44 of Common Core's manual entitled Promoting Grit, Tenacity and Perseverance. Maybe next time they will. on The Delphi Technique Did Not Work at the Lindbergh DESE Meeting. People Were "Mad As Hell and They Were Not Going to Take This Anymore". 

Your meeting was much different than the Lindbergh School one. People were upset, and there was good dialogue between attendees. Of course, we there was a good supply of troops. All-in-all, I think DESE was successful, in that it had not answered a single question and they were condescending. I do not think there will be a single answer in the future. I would not send them a single new question, because they will just shape their new dialog to answer concerns if meetings are required in new legislation. We need to stick with informational meetings of our own, IMO, instead of giving them more ammunition. Your meeting sounded a lot like the AG21 meetings in Pevely, and they had 4 meetings! To fight their message, I think it IS important to stand up to them and not obey their control tactics. on Brian Bollman in Cape Girardeau Provides Report of the DESE Delphi Technique in Practice.   

Did no one attempt to disrupt Delphi or did everyone just go along? on Brian Bollman in Cape Girardeau Provides Report of the DESE Delphi Technique in Practice. 

I had heard the words Delphi Technique in my life, but I never read anything about it. Being a computer geek in the auto industry, I assumed it was a manufacturing process created by parts manufacturer Delphi. Sadly everyone went along, but we did realize it was a divide and conquer strategy and refused to play into the "what's good about CCSS" question. Lesson learned. on Brian Bollman in Cape Girardeau Provides Report of the DESE Delphi Technique in Practice.

Van Harvey Notes Citizens Wouldn't be "Nudged" at the Lindbergh DESE Common Core Meeting. No Choice Architects Allowed to Present the Grand Plan.

Van Harvey's perspective on the Common Core attempted Delphi meeting at Lindbergh School District was spot on.  From If Govt is reckless with money that's not theirs, just imagine how they'll treat your human capital (aka:children) - Common Core State Standards:

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After attending our local Common Core 'presentation' by Missouri's DESE, I've only time for a brief pre-post post. This picture (H/T Adam Bohn) of the only informational hand out that the DESE (Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) people brought to the meeting tonight, should tip you off to how the evening went.

All they thought to provide interested parents, was a one sided questionnaire, to a meeting of parents who have been chaffing for a chance to comment on and ask questions about the monstrosity that is the Common Core Curriculum. Their handout has two sections. The first says:

"1. What do you like about the Common Core State Standards?"

,

, followed by a number of blank lines suitable for recording our praises, and then a second line:

"2. What questions do you have?"

and another section of lines, followed by an optimistic section to be filled out afterwards, for

"Location:___, Table Recorder:___, Table Facilitator:______".

They never got that far, as their 'Nudge' bombed, big time.

To lure people out of their lives in the expectation of information, discussion and debate, and then to make it clear that not only have you not come prepared to answer any of their questions, but she also made it clear that neither she nor DESE had ever had any intention whatsoever of answering any of our questions - that was infuriating. Her one comment to one of many questions on the CCSS summed it up well, and I quote:

"I can't answer your question in a public sense."

There ya go. They simply called us parents out of our evenings to be hosed down with a content-less presentation and a healthy heaping of condescension. Sums their educational philosophy up rather well.

Gretchen Logue of MEW

Fail.

Towards the end of the Q&A that we finally forced upon them, I asked her, truly puzzled,

'Why are you surprised by the reaction of the people here?'

, and she was speechless. When I followed up afterwards, she so much as said that she really expected our common decency to yield to their completely disrespectful presentation. Surprise. Another DESE representative, Doug, I think his name was, said that he couldn't understand why anyone was the least upset, after all, he said,

"This is the first time, the very first time I can remember, where everyone agrees upon a plan. Our big corporations agree, our governors agree and the leaders of our educational system all agree, these standards are the best for all concerned - I can't understand why you don't welcome them."

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Read more here.  To fully understand Van's reference to "nudge" and Doug's response above, read the Commissioner's Race to the Top proposal in 2010 (pg 11/299): 

The Race to the Top has provided an unprecedented opportunity for Missouri to bring its citizens together, to identify common goals and to develop a plan for a decade of educational reform designed to give Missouri’s children a competitive edge in tomorrow’s international competition.  Our vision for reform embraces the notion advanced in the book, Nudge, where Thaler and Sunstein outline the need for ―choice architects‖ to subtly steer choices toward positive results while leaving people, districts and schools ―free to choose.  We know that if Missouri’s public schools are to be the best choice for our citizens, they must produce the best results.  This Race to the Top competition has provided the ―nudge‖ Missouri needed to pick up the pace.  (MEW note: Sunstein is Cass Sunstein, Obama's former regualtory czar)

Once people understand (and accept) that they are not considered "choice architects", it is inconceivable to bureaucrats that citizens could be concerned they are not consulted about the educational plans for their children that their tax dollars are funding.  That's the underlying theme of all the DESE meetings on May 2, 2010 to "communicate the message".  DESE really doesn't want to hear from you and doesn't care what you think or what you envision for your children.  "Trust them".  Allow yourself to be "nudged".  Make way for the governors and the private associations and the big businesses to develop/direct the education for your children.  They are the choice architects.  Just go along and everything will turn out just fine.

That explains the reaction of the presenter and other DESE official.  They really are surprised you little people would question the grand plan.

Video of Lindbergh DESE Common Core Meeting. Crowd Refuses to be Delphied.

Body Language at Lindbergh

This is a followup to our reporting on DESE's attempt to use the Delphi technique at the Common Core meeting at Lindbergh School District.  We have two videos which show the refusal of the crowd to be divided into groups and asking questions to the officials.

Part 1

Officials explain the process and the people refuse to cooperate/collaborate in the process

Part 2

More citizen comments on the standards and the process

Unfortunately the storage on my phone reached its capacity and I couldn't capture the rest of the entire meeting but you can see and hear the anger and concern by the taxpayers.  They are well educated and didn't appreciate their questions not being answered or their concerns not seriously considered. 


More photos below:

Back of the room

No smiling faces in the room. 

You can see from the photos breaking up into groups to gather questions would have been impossible.  

Sign the petition for Missouri to stop the implementation of Common Core here.

Video of Delphi DESE Common Core Springfield Meeting

Announcement:  DESE has indicated it will take questions electronically if you could not make one of the meetings DESE held around the state. Email your question(s) to:

Susan Potter  Communication Coordinator

communications@dese.mo.gov

 We will be publishing reports on the various DESE meetings on this blog the next several days.

The following videos were sent in from Springfield by Sharlee Lawless.  The citizens did not like being Delphied and not having their questions answered directly. 

 Before the Delphi meeting

On tables are Missouri Coalition Against Common Core brochures provided by a citizen

Part 1
Superintendent is excited about engagement.
DESE supervisor excited about the conversation.

Part 2
Instructions on how to do the Delphi
Another teacher video that had already been posted on the DESE website. Note that comments on DESE videos are disabled.
Peter Herschend (State School Board president) on the video was present at this meeting. He refused to answer questions.

 Part 3

 "The NGA and CCSSO determined the time was right" (Those are private organizations)

Fewer, clearer, higher, rigorous...research and evidenced based (NOT)
"Curriculum is flexible and creative"(Has to be aligned to CCSS standards)
"States can make changes to the standards" (Not according to the MOUs)

Part 4

DESE official reading from a script of questionable claims
"The Federal Government played no role in the Common Core State Standards"
"There is no data collection required from CCSS"
--People begin getting agitated--

Part 5
Citizens furious when they realize questions will not be answered

Part 6
CITIZENS UNLEASHED 

DESE official says about answering questions: "I'm not qualified to answer"

DESE officials don't know state or local cost of CCSS

Citizen points out education started failing when USDOEd established
Assessments given every 3 weeks?
Where is the money coming from to pay for CCSS?

Part 7

Questions in the groups gathered

Part 8

Questions from the groups
No answers given

Last questions of the night

Sign this petition to rid Missouri of Common Core State Standards.

Brian Bollman in Cape Girardeau Provides Report of the DESE Delphi Technique in Practice.

Announcement:  DESE has indicated it will take questions electronically if you could not make one of the meetings DESE held around the state. Email your question(s) to:

Susan Potter  Communication Coordinator

communications@dese.mo.gov

 

 We will be publishing reports on the various DESE meetings on this blog the next several days.

Thanks to Brian Bollman for his post on the meeting in Cape Girardeau.  From rockinconservative.com and DESE Common Core Meeting / A lesson in controlling the message:

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I attended the DESE Common Core Meeting at 6:30pm on 05/02/13 in Cape Girardeau, MO at the Career and Technology Center, and what I witnessed was mastery of controlling the message.  Of course, there was no prayer or Pledge of Allegiance; this is the school!  Prayers are forbidden by the Constitution and the Pledge is offensive. (/sarc)

The sound quality was ridiculous, and I have no idea the name of the gentleman that led the event.  He worked through a PowerPoint presentation including videos by educators that could not be understood due to the poor sound.

The leader of the event stated clearly at one point:  “There will be no data collection.”  However, a quick review of CCSSO.org website leads you to these two pages self-refuting the leader’s claims:

Sadly, a leader in the Education industry would absolutely LIE about whether or not there will be data collection involved with Common Core Standards

Divide and Conquer
We had heard that there would be 15 leaders or members of DESE at the event.  We couldn’t imagine why they would put so many on the dais.  As it turned out there was no dais, and there were 30 DESE organized leaders at the event.  Why?

As you entered the event, you were assigned to 1 of 15 tables.  Each table had a Table Leader and a Table Recorder.  The attendees (proponent or opponent) were divided into 15 tables, so the interaction was between approximately 6 attendees and two studied proponents of Common Core.
Each table was provided with a form to complete.  The form contained two questions:

• What do you like about Common Core?
• What questions do you have about Common Core?

The facilitators at table #12 were Jeff Lindsey and Wade Bartels.  Both were very nice and listened as we tried to fill out the form.  Jeff gave anecdotal information about the process of aligning to Common Core in St. Genevieve, MO and how great it was going.
When we asked him our questions about CCSS, the typical answer was “I don’t know”.

• How much will this cost the state? I don’t know
• How much will this cost your school? I don’t know
• What is the cost going to be for the technology to allow completion of the standardized tests? I don’t know
• According to the CCSSO web site, there will be data collection.  What data will be collected?  I don’t know
• We read that the standards are copyrighted.  Will the schools be able to make changes? I don’t know

What Jeff Lindsey did know was that he really wanted his table to come up with an answer to the question… What do you like about Common Core?
Unfortunately, the time allotted for table discussions, and table #12 never listed a positive feeling about Common Core.

Following the kitchen table discussion, the messaging control continued.  Table Recorders, not attendees, were summoned to the front one-by-one to read the list of things that attendees liked about Common Core.  All of the ‘likes’ were read.  For the questions about Common Core, duplicate questions were skipped.  One CCTP member noted that 5 items were read from their lies of ‘likes’ that weren’t discussed at the table.  They ‘magically’ appeared.

I provided Jeff and Wade a long paragraph with questions about data collection, CCSSO, and EIMAC.  When Wade asked the question on microphone he simply said, “What is EIMAC?”

Strategy Worked

As I said, the DESE folks employed a brilliant Divide and Conquer strategy, and it worked to perfection.

• Prevented general attendees from hearing tough questions asked at one table that was not asked at another table
• Prevented mini-speeches given by attendees
• Separated less knowledgeable attendees from stronger more studied attendees
• No negative press to be reported by the media
• DESE walked away with positive talking points and a long list of things that Cape Girardeau liked about Common Core

For me, there was a positive outcome.  At a Table #12 side discussion, a teacher stated that she liked common core because every school would teach the same topics at the same grade levels.  She continued that children moving state-to-state would be able to pick right up where they left off in their new school.

Her statement helped me finally crystallize my foremost reason for opposing Common Core.  CCSS removes any desire for one school to work to excel.  Children will be tested for certain skills at certain ages, and there will actually be negative reinforcement should a school decide to teach subjects at different grade levels to help them excel.  Should the school choose to teach some subject in a different order or different grade, their assessment ratings will suffer.  They will see lower ratings and less funding.

This is the absolute antithesis of freedom and self-governance.
Questions and likes reported back to the attendees:

• If state led, why were funders from Federal Tax $$$?
• Liked Crosswalk on DESE web site
• Will International books be implemented?
• Federal Control?
• Why no question about what we don’t like?
• What comprehensive studies have been developed?
• How often reviewed / revised?
• How can standards be enacted that haven’t been evaluated in classrooms?
• How will they handle gifted students?
• How will they help students not currently meeting standards?
• How will local districts have a say?
• What pilot studies have been conducted?
• Too one size fits all
• Not enough options for teacher flexibility
• Govt grab for control of education
• Not enough parental involvement
• Ideologically different from local values
• Is common core copyrighted?
• What is EIMAC?
• Has state legislature voted to adopt CCSS?
• Liked fewer standards / flexible teacher instructions
• Liked incorporation of non-fiction / promotion of critical thinking
• Further investigation of who initiated development?
• Who will profit?
• Can state of MO step back and wait for other states to prove CCSS works?

Below are Miscellaneous Notes taken that may or may not make sense:

• Crosswalk

• Shows where a concept is located in CCSS vs. Show-Me
• Fewer topics but more in dept
• Teachers saw that common core was more rigorous

• Why need for common state standards?

• 2007 NGA / CCSSO decided to define Common Core Standards
• Facilitated State-Led development
• Rigorous
• Research and Evidence Based
• Define what all students are expected to know
• Teachers develop lesson plans
• Adoption was voluntary
• Aligned to Show-Me standards / College Standards
• All students will graduate college and career ready
• Currently
  • 36% must take remedial
  • $90M cost for remedial
  • $32M lost wages

• Video – Chris Nicastro / Mr. Russell
  • State-Led involving parents / teachers

• Missouri Involvement

• College and Career readiness standards
• Based on career readiness, k-12 learning progressions developed
• MO Represented on Development Team
• Standards released on 6/2/10
• Teachers
• Principles
• Parents
• Education Experts

• ELA

• Non-fiction
  • More
• Complex Text Academic Vocabulary
  • Regular practice with complex text and its vocab words
  • Spelling?

• Math

• Focus
  • 2-4 concepts focused deeply in each grade
• Coherence
  • Connect learning from one grade to next linked topics
• Rigor
  • Real world situations

• Preparing for Transition

• Crosswalk document
• Statewide public sessions on standards
• Model curriculum

• Wrap-up
  • Federal Government Played no Role

• Discussion

• Anything said here tonight means absolutely nothing next year because criteria will keep changing
• Jeff L – I look at common core as a plan
• Jeff L – Doesn’t know anything about it being copyrighted

Update:  Don’t take this as an indictment of Mr. Lindsey and Mr. Bartels.  They was very engaging and I enjoyed meeting them.

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