The Lakeland school board sent a message to Tennessee state officials Monday night by approving a resolution that supports developing new state standards.
The board supports Tennessee-developed standards instead of the current Common Core State Standards.
The resolution encourages the governor, state legislature and Tennessee Department of Education to repeal the state’s adoption of Common Core.
Reasons for the decision
In part, the resolution says that the Common Core State Standards currently used for English and math were not developed by Tennessee educators, school boards and community members.
Per the resolution, the Lakeland School System (LSS) board urges rejection of the national Common Core because members believe it “diminishes local control of educational decisions and priorities.”
Two citizens also spoke out on the topic. Ken Glazer of Lakeland opposed the school board’s resolution, saying it is too political and the position could be harmful to the school district and its students. He said the Common Core Standards set a minimum, not a maximum.
“If we have standards in Lakeland that already are better and higher than the Common Core Standards, there should be no reason why our children, taking a national test based on the Common Core, would in fact not score or do well on it. It should be a walk in the park for them if they already know the material,” Glazer said.
Ramon Luna of Arlington, however, believes the board made the right move. At Monday’s meeting, he said he sees plenty wrong with the Common Core.
“I believe in local control, and that is one thing the Common Core State Standards does not allow you,” he said.
Board member Laura Harrison cited her own research into how the Common Core Standards were developed and said their usage doesn’t match the drive for local educational control. It’s too expensive for most school districts to develop and obtain approval for their own standards, so it’s incumbent on the state to follow the will of Tennessee school systems and reject the existing Common Core Standards.
She noted that only three Tennesseans were on the team that developed Common Core, and there are thousands of other smart state citizens.
“I found that to be problematic for just three people to know what was good for Lakeland, Tenn.,” Harrison said.
She continued, “What works in California may not work in Tennessee.”
Board member Teresa Henry said she has looked at matrices that analyze the Common Core curriculum, and the grade-level expectations are sometimes beyond what children are developmentally able to do. In particular, she sees special needs children as being overlooked by those standards.
She has also heard that some teachers interpret the Common Core as giving them the freedom to “do whatever I want,” and she said she wonders what education the children are losing.
Board chairman Kevin Floyd said he believes in Lakeland’s teachers. “I have the highest level of confidence in their ability to educate our children.”
He also said, “I just believe that having input from local educators will create better standards.”
School superintendent Ted Horrell clarified that the board’s resolution simply calls for the state to develop its own standards in lieu of the current Common Core; the resolution does not call for Lakeland to spend its own time or money on changing the standards.
State Standards resolution
LSS Resolution 2014/09-01 (the new resolution concerning support for the development of new Tennessee State Standards) reads as follows:
WHEREAS, The Lakeland School System Board of Education (LSS BOE) supports the need for challenging, rigorous standards that prepare Tennessee students for college, careers or the military and allow them to compete academically and vocationally on a national level; and
WHEREAS, The LSS BOE acknowledges that Tennessee students must be better prepared to think critically and creatively for Tennessee to develop and sustain an employable and innovative work force; and
WHEREAS, The LSS BOE believes educational standards that guide instruction for Tennessee students to accomplish the aforementioned goals should be developed by Tennessee educators and community members; and
WHEREAS, The LSS BOE desires a transparent process for developing educational standards and selecting or developing appropriate assessments that involves Tennessee educators and community members; and
WHEREAS, The Common Core State Standards in English and Math that are currently in place for Tennessee school systems were not developed by Tennessee educators, school boards, and community members; and
WHEREAS, The LSS BOE recognizes the concern of many Lakeland area citizens, educators, and legislators that the adoption and implementation of Common Core State Standards diminishes local control of educational decisions and priorities;
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Education of the Lakeland School System, Lakeland, Tennessee that the Lakeland School System Board of Education strongly encourages the Governor of Tennessee, the Tennessee Legislature, and the Tennessee Department of Education to repeal Tennessee’s adoption of the Common Core State Standards in favor of new, rigorous standards and assessments created for Tennessee students to be developed with the input of Tennessee educators, school boards, and community members.
Passed and Adopted by the Board of Education of Lakeland, Tennessee on this 13th day of October, 2014.
For more information about Common Core, check out these links that explore the pros and cons.
