1. Kristie Renzi

2. Federal gov’t is now in control of education. Creativity? Nationally uniform standards will rob educators of their inventiveness and ability to individualize their creativity. How do we get everyone to settle? Agree? Too many hands in the pot making decisions. Is it possible to bring everyone on board and keep them there? Will we be able to come to an agreement, nationally? Pre-K needs to be aligned Pre-K? There aren’t standards for pre-K, but what we teach and learn in pre-K is directly connected to what we do in K, 1, 2, and beyond.

3. National gov’t didn’t fund Money? The Common Core is an agenda of the wealthy and corporations looking for a profit. States are losing control Power? We are decreasing the power of the states and giving too much power into one government body. $3.4 billion “Race to the Top” Race? States that adopted the common core standards by a certain date won points for a share of the money.

4. Rush of states to sign up Backfire? Obama’s “Race to the Top” could backfire if states do not have the money to put the standards in effect. Can we effectively implement? Resources? If the states adopt these thoughtful new standards and don’t implement them, teachers won’t know how to meet them, yet they will be the basis on which kids and teachers are judged. Carrying out standards Incentive? Those states that are not winners in the “Race to the Top” competition may have less incentive to follow through in carrying out the standards.

5. What if the state standards are stronger? Stronger? Research shows that the new common core standards are not stronger in all the states that have adopted the standards. What do we do with the state that are “coming down” in their standards? Research from pilot schools/districts? Evidence There is little research or evidence to prove that establishing national academic standards for K-12 schools will improve the quality of American public education. Content is lacking specificity Lacking? Common Core Standards are broad and general instead of being specific in content.

6. “Common” and “Core” Wording Many parents hear “Common Core”, and they are relating the word “common” to mean low and “core” to mean basic. Asking too much of our students? Readiness? 8-9 year olds are going to be expected to “describe the relationship between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect”. How will we accommodate? Referrals Students are not developmentally ready to meet standards that do not pay attention to child development, so we should prepare for more students to be referred for special services.