Why ‘I believe all students should have the same standards’ — principal who backs Common Core
In this photo taken Feb. 12, 2015, students in Carrie Young’s sixth grade class work through an exercise on their laptops during a practice session to prepare for the the Common Core State Standards test at Morgan Elementary School South in Stockport, Ohio. (AP Photo/Ty Wright)
This is the eighth in a continuing series of letters between two award-winning school principals, one who likes the Common Core State Standards and the other who doesn’t. The debate over the Common Core State Standards has become so polarized that it is hard to get people who disagree to have reasonable conversations about it. The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news Web site focused on inequality and innovation in education, is hosting a conversation between Carol Burris of New York and Jayne Ellspermann of Florida (in a format that Education Week once used with Diane Ravitch and Deborah Meier as the authors). The Report’s editors as well as both principals have given me permission to republish each letter.
Burris has served as principal of South Side High School in the Rockville Centre School District in New York since 2000. In 2010, she was recognized by the School Administrators Association of New York State as their Outstanding Educator of the Year, and in 2013, she was recognized as the New York State High School Principal of the Year. Ellspermann is principal of West Port High School in Ocala, Florida. She has served as a principal in elementary, middle, and high schools for the past 24 years and is the 2015 Principal of the Year for the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
The first letter was written by Burris, a Core opponent, to Ellspermann, a Core supporter. Burris explained why she once liked the Core but changed her mind after New York State schools began to implement them several years ago. You can read her letter to Ellspermann here. Ellspermann’s reply letter,which you can read here, explained why she thinks the schools in her district benefit from the Common Core. In the third letter, Burris explains why she thinks Core testing hurts disadvantaged students. The fourth, by Ellspermann, says that critics should not blame the Common Core standards for bad implementation and she writes why she likes the English Language Arts emphasis on reading text rather than allowing students to rely on personal experience. In the fifth letter, Burris asked Ellspermann why she thinks she needs the Core. In the sixth letter, Ellspermann responds by discussing why she opposes the opt-out movement and how the Core is working in her school. Burris came back, in a seventh letter, explaining why she doesn’t think the Core will do for students what supporters say it will. Here’s the eighth letter, from Ellspermann, originally posted on May 21 on the Hechinger Report. Burris’ reply is in the post above this one.
Dear Carol,
In your last letter you asked if I support the Common Core because I “believe that all states should have the same standards?” Actually Carol, I believe all students should have the same standards. Where a student lives should not determine educational expectations. As educational leaders, we need to assure the public that we understand the challenges students face after graduation and that we are preparing them for college and the work place. College and career ready standards must be a part of K-12 education. Whether Why ‘I believe all students should have the same standards’ — principal who backs Common Core - The Washington Post: