Teachers grow more unhappy with Common Core changes
Cascade Elementary students in Hilary Vargas’ fourth-grade class work on a writing assignment.
Teachers and staff in the Renton School District are expressing their frustrations about a lack of support for aligning curriculum with the new national reading, writing and math standards adopted by Washington state.
At a recent school board meeting on Dec. 10, four teachers spoke during the comment period, one near tears, addressing problems with the implementation of the Common Core State Standards. The standards are academic benchmarks for reading and math that lay out what students should know and do at each grade level and after high school.
Fighting back tears, Katie Thorleifson, a teacher at Campbell Hill Elementary, reported that 11 out of 14 teachers informally surveyed at her school said they have thought about quitting.
The teachers spoke of a lack of curriculum for the Common Core Standards, changing leadership at their schools, low morale, a lack of training on the standards, increasing teacher/student ratios, problems with technology and a lack of the teachers’ voice in major decisions.
“They are at the tipping point; there’s so much piled on them that they are at their last straw,” said Cami Kiel in an interview Dec. 16. She is the president of the teacher’s union, the Renton Education Association. Kiel also offered her testimony at the school board of what she’s hearing from teachers.
Teachers have expressed concern about their colleagues and there’s minimal and very limited tools to align the Common Core Standards, she said.
“When we finally do adopt the curriculum, there’s no time for teachers to sit down and learn it,” said Kiel.
A substitute teacher shortage is also contributing to these issues as teachers can’t break away from their classrooms to get the training they need on the new standards. However, the district administration is aware of the problems and interested in listening to the concerns, Kiel said.
“They are really interested in problem-solving, but there are so many problems where do we begin,” she said.
The district has been working with teams of teachers for many months to adjust Renton’s Teachers grow more unhappy with Common Core changes - Renton Reporter:
