One upstate New York private school is trying to use public opposition to the Common Core to its advantage.
The Common Core State Standards are new education benchmarks adopted in 45 states. New York was one of the first states to start implementing the standards, which are supposed to emphasize deeper learning and critical thinking. However, the standards have drawn fierce opposition from some New York parents, teachers and education advocates, who charge that the implementation has been rushed and opaque.
Only New York public schools are required to use the standards –- a message the private Allendale Columbia School in Rochester wants to send to parents.
When advertising for an open house in January, the private school called itself, “The cure for the Common Core.”
Discover @ACSRochester—the Cure for the Common Core at our Jan. 15 Open House for Grades N-12: http://t.co/TEuhn8bo0Y pic.twitter.com/sIh34IBb8k
— Allendale Columbia (@ACSRochester) January 6, 2014
Similarly, the school's website reads:
“We don't teach the common core and as a result our students and teachers are motivated to do more than master content.”
In late January, school leader Ryan Burke explained his opposition to the Common Core to the Rochester newspaper, Democrat & Chronicle.
"We want to educate kids as individuals. We like to say we are the cure for the Common Core," Burke told the paper. "When kids do something that really matters to them, it doesn't take much for them to keep motivated. We want the students to be prepared."
In January, New York’s largest teachers union voted to withdraw support for the Common Core as it is being implemented in the state and declared “no confidence” in the state education commissioner, John King. King has repeatedly expressed support for the Common Core.
(Hat Tip, @ The Chalk Face.)