Jeb Bush’s Foundation Offers Online Courses on Common Core
Jeb Bush has made it clear that he has no intention of shying away from his support for the Common Core education standards, which are widely derided by many Republicans. But the education foundation he started is going further. It is offering classes in how to talk about the curriculum to policy makers. The curriculum could pose problems for the former Florida governor among conservatives in the party, who will play a crucial role in the Republican presidential nominating contest.
The nonprofit Foundation for Excellence in Education has started to offer three online courses, including one titled “Securing Our Nation’s Future: The urgent need for education reform.”
The class says that people favoring education reform should “communicate a clear understanding of why heightened accountability, standards and meaningful assessments are critical education reform initiatives.”
At another point, the tutorial says, “Any time you raise standards, it’s hard, and you need good leadership in order to stay” the course.
The classes began this month, two months after Mr. Bush stepped down from the foundation. Aides to Mr. Bush described them as geared toward policy makers and legislators in the states, but emphasized that the classes represented a small part of the foundation’s work.
Still, they could represent another thumb in the eye of primary voters, with whom Mr. Bush has a lot of catching up to do. The Common Core education standards have been reviled by conservative voters, who view them as an extension of a bloated government.
Mr. Bush’s aides have stressed as that he won’t bend to the will of the Republican base. But some in Mr. Bush’s extended circle of allies have privately expressed concern about how his support for policies such as Common Core stance would affect the campaign.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Bush, Kristy Campbell, would not say whether such classes gave insight into Mr. Bush’s own platform as an all-but-declared candidate, saying only that the goal of the foundation is “to advocate and develop proven bold education reform policies that raise student achievement.”
Still, Mr. Bush’s recent comments, in which he said standing by his support for Common Core shows “backbone,” indicate that his future views won’t diverge in a big way from what his foundation is Jeb Bush's Foundation Offers Online Courses on Common Core - First Draft. Political News, Now. - NYTimes.com:
