“Barbarians at the Gate” Press On in Arizona
John Huppenthal
Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthalyesterday compared opponents of the Common Core State Standards to “barbarians at the gate.” He then vowed to fight them to preserve the Gate-funded, top-down, data-less, subpar standards.
The Arizona Capitol Times reports:
Huppenthal said Arizona cannot allow a repeat in Arizona of what happened in Indiana, which pulled out of the association of 45 states that adopted the standards. The U.S. Department of Education has warned the state it is at risk of losing waivers from No Child Left Behind, which effectively means fewer federal dollars.“I have put my career on the line to stave off the barbarians. I very likely could lose this election,” Huppenthal said. “I’m okay with that because I felt I did the right thing for this education system.”Huppenthal spoke on a panel at the Arizona Capitol Times’ Morning Scoop. His chances of losing the election do not appear high: He said he conducted his own poll from his home of 417 highly likely voters and is up 72 percent to 28 percent on his primary election opponent.
Diane Douglas
The news article went south from there describing the fight between moderate Republicans/Democrats against conservatives. When will these journalists learn this is a non-partisan battle? They also rehash the tired talking points that Arizona and local school districts will retain control of their own curriculum…. Sure, curriculum that is aligned to the Common Core. I digress.
Huppenthal is running against Diane Douglas in the Republican primary. She is a former member of the governing board of the Peoria Unified School District. She is “Barbarians at the Gate” Press On in Arizona | Truth in American Education: