Cuomo names Common Core critic to key education post
Governor Andrew Cuomo today announced that Jere Hochman, a school superintendent and former English teacher who has been a vocal critic of the Common Core, was named deputy secretary for education.
Hochman since 2008 has been the superintendent of the Bedford Central School District in New York. He also served as a teacher, principal and superintendent in school districts in St. Louis and Amherst, Mass.
He in 1990 obtained a doctorate in education from Teachers College of Columbia University, after obtaining a bachelors and master’s degree from the University of Missouri in St. Louis.
“We are certain that our state and all our schoolchildren will be well-served by Jere Hochman’s efforts in his new position,” New York State Council of School Superintendents Executive Director Robert Reidy, Jr. said
While his experience in education itself might make him a timely choice, Hochman also has been outspoken about his concerns regarding the Common Core and its implementation.
“The whole accountability, ‘gotcha’ culture is so out of control that we need a fresh start,” Hochman told Lohud.com when he was president of the Lower Hudson Council of School Superintendents. “The standards are OK, but every problem is connected to the Common Core. New York needs to take a bold stance so we can focus on educating kids.”
Cuomo said Hochman “has spent his career working to strengthen learning environments and make schools a better place for all. But he also has been critical of many actions.
Diane Ravitch, a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education who now teaches at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, called the appointment the “best thing Andrew Cuomo has done in education.”
Hochman in a response to a column by Tom Friedman in The New York Times criticized a long list of measures by the federal government that, he said, have failed to work.
“They put in annual high-stakes testing – that didn’t work. They labeled districts – that didn’t work. They tried small high schools – that didn’t work. They diverted funds to charters – that’s not working,” Hochman wrote. “They beat up on teachers – that didn’t work. They’ve prescribed curriculum, scripts, and more testing – that’s not working. So – why not blame parents until that doesn’t work?”
Hochman brings 40 years of public education experience, including 20 years as a superintendent in
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