School Administration response to questions asked regarding common core

Like most parents, a little over a year ago, I didn't know much about Common Core.  I'd heard the term, but didn't have any clue what it entailed.  After beginning to hear the negative rumblings about it and noticing that my youngest daughter hadn't made much progress since Kindergarten at the same school my oldest daughter excelled in.   I decided to investigate.  The things that I uncovered were bothersome to say the least, and I began working even harder to find just one redeeming quality.  I've yet to find it.

During this time I came across a video of a speech by Dr. Duke Pesta (here is the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si-kx5-MKSE).  Some of the claims made seemed far-fetched, so I set out to either verify or disprove his information.  I was able to verify his claims and was hit with reality like a ton of bricks.

While volunteering at the school, I made some inquiries with teachers.  I told them that I knew that they couldn't say negative things about the standards without fear of losing their jobs and that I didn't expect a response, but voiced my concerns.  To my surprise, during one of these conversations, a teacher agreed that the standards  "appear" to be rigorous, but the actual material taught falls very short in reality, agreeing that the material is developmentally inappropriate.  She acknowledged that there is so much emphasis on assessing that any deviation would make it impossible to fit all the required material in.  She said she didn't understand why anyone would think these standards are beneficial and when I mentioned Microsoft and Pearson making huge profits off of updating technology and rewriting textbooks, she told me that they were already using Pearson tests.  She also gave me her opinion on the math curriculum our school uses "Everyday Mathematics" and told me she "hated it".

My next step was to schedule a meeting with our school principal, who at that time, I believed to be an honest man with the best interest of his students at heart.  This is an excerpt from an email written to him regarding an unrelated matter.

"On a completely unrelated subject, do you have time to meet with my husband and I briefly, maybe next week.  We have some questions/concerns about the curriculum.  I’ve done quite a bit of reading, and research on this whole common core curriculum and there are  a few things I’d like to not only get your opinion on, but I’d like to get a clearer picture of if what I am reading is going to be used at ******.  My husband and I would prefer a face to face meeting, but I know you’re busy and if time doesn’t permit meeting, I could just send you an email with our questions."

During our meeting, I expressed my concern over children being exposed books like "It's Perfectly Normal", a book for children 10 and up which in my humble opinion is porn.   It depicts all kinds of naked people, drawings of people masturbating,  putting on condoms, having sex, and covers topics like abortion and other school inappropriate subjects.  I received the standard responses...and even outright lies like "there is no common core, per se", we can choose our curriculum and I can assure you these books will never be in this library.  After a search of the library catalog for our school I found books on alternative families and other subjects that are up to a parent to choose to instill the values as they see fit.  I left that meeting frustrated and with more questions than I started with.  It bothered me so much, I sent this email.....

Dr. ****,

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule a few weeks ago to meet with my husband and I regarding our concerns about the curriculum.  First I will apologize for the length of this email.  I have to be honest and mean absolutely no disrespect in any way, but I feel that being direct is going to be the only way I will start to get the answers to my questions. I left our meeting that day with the same questions I came in with and quite frustrated as I didn’t feel I was getting answers to my questions.   I apologize in advance if I sound terse; this is not intended in that way at all.  I truly believe that you genuinely care about the students at your school and seem very excited to mentor them and be part of their education.

While in your office, I asked about the data collection issue and you seemed somewhat reluctant to share exactly what is tracked. You showed me a screen from the SLDS that I had already studied in depth on the internet. What I was looking for was a glimpse at the info you have already collected on my daughter, through your interface. This should not have created a privacy issue as we are her parents (the school district will share it with anyone else asking for it). I have done my research. I know that data on my daughter and our family is collected. The Department of Education admits that they are tracking students from cradle to career. I wanted to know specifically what data is being collected and who it is shared with. I wouldn’t have even raised the issue, had I not done the research and felt there was a need to be concerned.

I will be honest; the Common Core curriculum really bothers me and many of the other parents I have spoken with.  As I said during our meeting, I predict three things will come of this:

1. You will lose good, experienced teachers that cannot in good conscience push this onto students or just buckle under the stress.  (I have noticed already teachers and Assistants leaving).  

2.  The rate of high school students dropping out or failing will increase.  

3.  Students will not want anything to do with college, they will be so burnt out they will have no desire to further their education (especially with the additional remedial math classes they will have to take).  

I have seen the opposite side of the spectrum with the wonderful curriculum Clark had when my oldest daughter anded. She excelled. Appropriate material was being taught. We had no struggles or tears when it was homework time. I was absolutely thrilled with the education she received. She will graduate next year and her counselors are giving her information on Ivy League colleges as she has close to a 4.0 GPA.  When it came time to send ******* off to Kindergarten, I had no worries.  I thought that she’d receive the same guidance her sister received. The story with ****** is the complete opposite.  She is just as bright as her sister (and if you’ve had a conversation with her you can see it.)  It is not because, as Arne Duncan says, that ‘white suburban moms who - all of a sudden- their child isn’t as brilliant as they thought they were, and their school isn’t quite as good as they thought they were."  ********  sometimes even impresses me with her vocabulary and knowledge of animals and other subjects that she’s taken an interest in. She is creative and quite an artist.  But she is struggling.  I believe Kindergarten was productive, but she’s hasn’t been able to move much further beyond that and after looking at the assignments, comparing my eldest daughters school work to the work that comes home now, and speaking with other parents,  I can see why.  Many parents feel like their children are at least two years behind.

Why is spelling no longer a requirement (or cursive)?  Have you noticed that most of these students can’t spell?  I review ********* graded assignments every night and honestly feel like I have failed her for sending her to public school, or not knowing about common core earlier.  She is such a bright and sweet girl, but like the rest of these students is struggling.  As a parent, I worry that not only her, but all of these other kids that won’t have a chance at anything other than being whatever “ the assessments” say they are to do well. Few will excel. There is no creative spirit, no thinking outside the box…just test, test, test. Common Core is breaking these children’s spirits.  I’ve had to purchase not only non-common core math workbooks to work with her so she knows the basics as well as the everyday math workbook to give her a bit of extra help with that nonsense. I have started working on spelling with her at home. To me, spelling incorrectly isn’t “creative” as proponents of common core suggest.   It’s ignorance.

I have been involved in social media groups and met many concerned parents and some educators that feel this is wrong, but have been threatened that they will lose their jobs if they speak out against it. I corresponded with candidates for the last election, some that had NO clue about the curriculums and were shocked when they learned the facts. One of the candidates requested that I send him my daughter’s homework for the past week. I did. He responded to me with "please call me…an injury to one is an injury to all".  I received several other responses from these candidates (I’d be happy to show them to you).  Not ONE supported it.  Several responded and said that shared the same concerns and had even started homeschooling their own children due to it. One candidate told me that he had his own issues with his child being introduced to “sex bingo” in Kindergarten.  This is in the state of Washington.

I have spent literally hundreds of hours researching this curriculum, desperately hoping to find just ONE redeeming quality. The deeper I look the more I feel— no, I know that we are failing our children. Why on earth would we take a curriculum that was successful and replace it with one that was “smuggled” into the schools without parents knowledge, one that was untested and not even written at the time states accepted the Race to the Top grants? The standards were developed by the National Governors Association NGA, the Council for Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and Achieve Inc., all privately funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, none accountable to parents, teachers, students or taxpayers.  How did this happen?

Two of the five people on the Common Core validation committee, Dr. James Milgram and Sandra Stosky, refused to sign off on it. The irony is not lost on me that the two biggest contributors of this are Microsoft and Pearson…the two companies that stand to make a HUGE return on their investment. There obviously are new text and workbooks needed; do I dare ask if Pearson is providing any of these new materials? Technology will need to be updated and I’m sure that Microsoft will provide all of the cloud storage needed for data.  I absolutely loathe the idea of digital texts in the class. It leaves the door wide open for anything to be pushed on students and parents have NO access to the materials their children are being taught.  

During our meeting I expressed my concerns over the inappropriate sexual education beginning at any early age and inappropriate books, and was assured that it wouldn’t happen in your school. That wasn’t exactly true.  I did a brief search of the Clark library catalog and found a few books on "alternative families”. Most likely not as graphic as “It’s perfectly Normal”, but a book I don’t want my daughter to be exposed to at this time. The school has absolutely no business making homosexuality seem “normal” or “abnormal". I firmly believe that this is a moral or family value issue, one that a parent should be responsible for when they feel it’s the right time to have this discussion with THEIR child. It seems ridiculous to me that it’s “offensive” for anyone to mention God at school, but the sexual topics that are being talked about at school openly and without parental consent are acceptable. The standards even require sexual topics inserted in ELA and math lessons.

Here is one troubling example from another state.  A poster in plain view in a classroom at Hocker Grove Middle School in Shawnee Mission, Kansas.

http://fox4kc.com/2014/01/14/father-upset-with-terms-on-schools-sexual-education-poster/

You assured me during the meeting that there was nothing to worry about, but the bottom line is:  Since Washington accepted the Race to the Top Grant they are obligated to rollout common core or next generation sunshine standards, whatever they are going to call it. It’s the same garbage curriculum and we are not exempt from ANY of it. All states that took the grant have to implement the same standards, with the one exception that they can add 15% to them. So really control is in the hands of government (which isn’t legal) and these private organizations not accountable to taxpayers or voters, not state, district or school. I don’t think you will have a choice but to accept to implement the curriculum as they have designed it.

These kids are not being taught that America is the land of opportunity and a country of free people and free speech. They are being conditioned to accept and do what they are told to do by their elected officials (who are supposed to serve the people). If you haven’t done your research on the College AP History framework, I urge you to do so.  Most of our freedoms, history and influential people have been omitted or distorted.

History is being rewritten with a tone that incites racism.  This is a screen shot of a Scholastic book called "Barack Obama" on the common core approved list….

But that isn’t the only book….here’s a synopsis of a Zaner Blosner book, “The Jacket”, a book designed for fourth graders…

The story centers around a young white boy named Phil who wrongly accuses an African-American student of stealing his brother’s jacket. It’s a fun little book about racism and white privilege – a left-wing concept that teaches African Americans the values of American society are designed to benefit white people.

Another Zaner Blosner book “Harvesting Hope, The Story of Cesar Chavez”

A Zaner-Bloser guide to the book Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez, introduces 2nd-graders to the founder of the United Farm Workers union and “equality lessons.” As part of this two-week lesson, students read the book, and then indicate the living conditions of the farm workers on one side of a page and the living conditions of the landowners and business owners on the opposite side. Teachers are instructed to say, “Fairness and equality exist when the scales are balanced” and that “unfairness and inequality exist when the scales are weighted heavily to one side and are out of balance.” Teachers then get the classroom conversation going by asking the 2nd-graders, “Do you think both sides are equal?” EAG’s Olson ironically asks, “You don’t suppose the lesson creators truly meant to get political — and start indoctrinating — children that young, do you?” He points out that seven-year-olds don’t know about “economics or property rights,” nor do they have the perspective to “understand that most first-generation Americans came to this country with very little except the hope to one day escape poverty through hard work and give their children a better life than they had. And many of them found better lives.” 

Here is an assignment from a sixth grade history class that terrifies me.  

 http://education-curriculum-reform-government-schools.org/w/2013/10/common-core-classwork-rewrite-obsolete-constitution/

An outright false definition of the 2nd Amendment...

http://www.thefederalistpapers.org/second-amendment-2/common-core-textbooks-teaching-bald-faced-lies-about-the-2nd-amendment

Child Psychologist Dr. Megan Koschnick gave a speech regarding common core. Her opinion is that children are NOT able to think abstractly until around age 11 and that the curriculum is developmentally inappropriate. She states "This will result in stress and difficulties for the class in whole.  You can train a second grader to answer abstract questions, but you have not really changed the internal process of understanding abstraction. You have trained them to answer questions and you see this all throughout the standards”…  She further states "So, since there is not research yet, I’m going to hypothesize, based on my expertise in Child Development, that we are going to see a loss of creativity, because we are getting started early on conformity…..frustration, because a child is individually wired to be independent and you are asking them to be dependent on the other person…, lots of tears”.  She closes with “Teachers wear many hats….mentors, mothers, fathers, scientists…but I’m afraid after reading these standards that they are going to have to wear yet another one, and that would be the hat of a  magician."

A link to her presentation is here…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tSQlJE6VuA

I will tell you that this issue literally keeps me up night after night. I know this is wrong for these children. Every night there are tears during homework time and my husband and I sit there patiently trying to help my daughter with concepts that should’ve been mastered in first and second grade. They are not being taught fundamentals; they are quickly prepped for the assessment and have to move on to the next “lesson” without any practice. How do you master basic skills in an environment without repetition?  The only thing “rigorous" about the standards are the ridiculous amount of testing that has to be done.  

In my opinion, our children are being dumbed down, taught that anything goes when it comes to sexuality, and the children and even parents are conditioned to comply with what the government dictates. Families have no value and parents that disagree are labeled as trouble makers or unfit. You are an educated man—I’m sure that you’ve studied Nazi Germany and Hitler’s philosophies on youth and if you don’t see very eerie similarities, then I’m even more troubled. Hitler once said “This new Reich will give its youth to no one but will itself take over youth and give youth its own education and its own upbringing” and ‘’he alone, who owns the youth, gains the future’.

I don’t want to take any more of your time up, so I will get to the bottom line. To say I am deeply concerned is an understatement. So from one parent to another... What do we as parents do?  Whom do we contact?  This simply can’t go on.  My daughter is not a ward of the state and I will no longer be told what I can or cannot do or kept in the dark when it comes to my children and their education. My children are well cared for, loved and I cannot as a parent let this continue. Not only my children, but all children’s futures depend on a strong foundation and education. My husband and I have discussed homeschooling and at this present moment, I think the quality of her education would be improve (and it is no fault of yours or these teachers), but she’d never be able to pass a college entrance exam as they have been aligned with the Common Core curriculum.  

Like I said before, I think you genuinely care about your students and that’s why I ask for you to do what you find in your own conscience not only as a principal and parent, but a human being, to be right for them.   Please let me know if there is anything I can do.

Warm Regards,

Preview YouTube video Dr. Megan Koschnick- Common Core is Developmentally Inappropriate

Dr. Megan Koschnick- Common Core is Developmentally Inappropriate

His response was in the form of a phone call.  Again, he reassured me that the district was able to choose curriculum content.  He also told me that he had spoken with the Assistant Superintendent and she was willing to meet to discuss it further.  The next week my husband and I met with the Assistant Superintendent and the Principal.

I showed up to our meeting well prepared with documents that I found relevant.  She assured me that content was chosen by the district, not dictated by the standards.  I voiced my concerns about the standards being so "scripted" that there wasn't time for a teacher to squeeze anything else in.  She again, gave it the positive spin and was excited for the new Next Generation Science standards to be rolled out next year.  She agreed when I made the statement that the Next Gen standards are just common core rebranded.

I expressed my concern for the process being used to teach math and how it appears that children are being taught something for two days and assessed and moving on to the next concept (some concepts I feel are inappropriate on a developmental level).  She explained that this process is called "spiraling" and they would come back to it for reinforcement.  Again, I expressed my concern and my opinion that without repetition, it's very difficult to learn the fundamentals and without fundamentals you can't build any real skills.

I asked about the observation that our children can't spell.  She told me that having been a teacher before Assistant Superintendent, she would rather see a child be able to read than spell.   The thought is with technology, the fundamentals aren't necessary.    I asked if they had noticed that none of these children can spell, there is no vocabulary list to study each week and spelling mistakes go uncorrected.  I was given the "we don't want to hurt the students feelings by pointing out their mistakes."  I asked how you make improvements when you don't know there is a problem.  I asked why cursive is no longer taught.  All these things  I managed to learn in school, what is so different these days?

I showed her an article from the day before saying that only 12% of Washington State schools were proficient.  She looked at the Principal, said it's the AYP (annual yearly progress) and shrugged her shoulders like it wasn't an issue.  We asked about opting our daughter out of SBAC and were told that we could, but there was consequences for the school.  I just happened to have an article from a website called fairtest this disproved that.

I asked about the STEM grants and iRIS system and data collection and was told that they didn't have a system like that, though in the same breathe I was told they were installing cameras the next week for "security".

I asked about the legislation proposed by Arne Duncan to eliminate state authority and make them merely  administrative in function.  Both of them were unaware.  I later followed up with an email with the proposal.  That document I will post further down.

Again I left that meeting after almost two hours, feeling more frustrated and lied to than ever.  I was determined to not accept their lies and be heard.  I followed up with this email first about the Duncan issue.

I just wanted to share the documentation that backs up what I was saying on Friday about Arne Duncan.

Thanks.

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Search: Agenda Reg Review ICR

View Rule
View EO 12866 Meetings Printer-Friendly Version Download RIN Data in XML
ED/OESE RIN: 1810-AB16 Publication ID: Fall 2014 Title: Title I--Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged
Abstract: The Secretary will amend the regulations governing title I, part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA), to phase out the authority of States to define modified academic achievement standards and develop alternate assessments based on those modified academic achievement standards in order to satisfy ESEA accountability requirements. These amendments will permit, as a transitional measure, States that meet certain criteria to continue to administer alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards and include the results in accountability determinations, subject to limitations on the number of proficient scores that may be counted, for a limited period of time.

Agency: Department of Education(ED)
RIN Status: Previously published in the Unified Agenda Major: No
CFR Citation: 34 CFR 200.1; 34 CFR 200.6
Legal Authority: 20 USC 6301 to 6578
Legal Deadline: None
Timetable:
Action
NPRM
NPRM Comment Period End Final Action
Additional Information: Includes Retrospective Review under EO 13563. Regulatory Flexibility Analysis Required: No
Small Entities Affected: No
Included in the Regulatory Plan: No
Public Comment URL: www.regulations.gov RIN Data Printed in the FR: No
Agency Contact:
Monique Chism Ph.D.
Director, Student Achievement and School Accountability Programs Department of Education
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
Room 3W224, 400 Maryland Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC 20202
Phone:202 260-0826

Priority: Other Significant
Agenda Stage of Rulemaking: Final Rule Stage Unfunded Mandates: No

08/23/2013 11/26/2013 01/00/2015

78 FR 52467

Date

FR Cite

Government Levels Affected: State Federalism: No

Dr *******,



So from what I’ve been able to gather from todays legislative session,  every child will be classified as Title I and “at risk” under the ESEA bill, which opens the door for Arne Duncan to make states mere “administrative" agents for the government.  Am I correct?  I really want to be wrong.

  Also included are community school models, extended hours, schools for toddlers, vaccines on site for all and “wrap around services", parents have no  rights or choice when it comes to their children.   The data mining will continue and emphasis on test scores the primary focus.  

I won’t go any further, I just wanted to get your input on that development.

Hope you are having a good week!


His reply:

Title 1 students are those who are from low-income families (currently based on census poverty levels), and schools with those students receive special funding for support. Because of that, it would seem unlikely for that definition to change to include all schools. Here is a link to a Department of Education site that defines Title 1… http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg1.html

Hope that helps!

Here is a follow up email I sent regarding the meeting with the Principal and the Assistant Superintendent...

Dr. ****,

Thank you for meeting again with my husband and I last Friday.  I do have many follow up questions, but this one seems to be the most troubling at this time.   I’ve been told repeatedly not only by you, but ********  as well that the only Sexual Education Program is the FLASH program in 5th grade.  Attached is a link to the National Sexual Education Standards, Core Content and Skill K-12.  Please read it if you haven’t already.

http://www.futureofsexeducation.org/documents/josh-fose-standards-web.pdf

...before you say it is not a part of Common Core, because it is “A Special Publication of the Journal of School Health,” please go to page 6 where it says, “The National Sexuality Education Standards were further informed by the work of the CDC’s Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool(HECAT)3; existing state and international education standards that include sexual health content; the Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education: Kindergarten – 12th Grade; and the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Mathematics, recently adopted by most states.”


I know that I’ve heard, “We won’t allow it in our schools, but  local control is gone or will be gone soon. On page 6, “Specifically, the National Sexuality Education Standards were developed to address the inconsistent implementation of sexuality education nationwide and the limited time allocated to teaching the topic.” The whole idea behind Common Core is to create universal standards.

I am alarmed that my concerns as a parent are not being taken seriously and questions not answered honestly.  My husband was told by ********** that Common Core went through the legislative process…which is untrue.  She told him this not once, but confirmed it a second time.. 

I’m sure this issue would be easier on everyone if I just took what I was told at face value and dropped it, but this is my daughters future.  We only have one chance to get it right with her education.  I’ve put 100’s of hours into research on this subject and I am happy to share with you exactly what I’ve come up with.  I don’t want my daughter exposed to sexual subjects in ELA or math as it will be.  I was not concerned with the FLASH program because my eldest daughter went through it, it was fine.   I don’t want her learning about alternative families or any other topic that is inappropriate.  It is not the schools role to teach my child that homosexuality is normal or abnormal.  It is our job as parents to instill values and morals.    

As I have said many times, I really think that you care about your students, I’m not sure if you aren’t allowed to speak candidly with parents about this, or just haven’t done the research.  But I would deal much better with an honest answer than one that I know is not true.

I appreciate your time.

Wendee Hewitt

His response to my email was in the form of a call...Again, he assured me that I had nothing to worry about with the Sexual Ed standards and chuckled as he told me that he wasn't sworn to secrecy.

It's clear to me that there are one of two possibilities....either he is lying or is ignorant.  Either way, I will continue to research and raise awareness.  

More to come....