West Islip District Leaders Lobby to Fix Common Core Flaws

The West Islip Board of Education and School Superintendent, along with district PTAs and union groups, are petitioning Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Dr. John King, the New York State Education Commissioner, for a “clear, concise and realistic plan” regarding the hotly debated Common Core Curriculum and endorsing the recommendations by the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association regarding the curriculum mandate.

The letter dated December 13, and signed by School Superintendent Dr. Bernadette Burns, as well as the leaders of the SEPTA, PTA Council, Teachers’ Association, Board of Education and Association of School Administrators, states that while the groups support the Common Core Learning Standards as a way to ensure all students receive “a content-rich education,” the methodology of its implementation is “seriously flawed.”

It also requests that “all new layers of reform” be curtailed.

Several lawmakers, including Senator Phil Boyle, are copied on the letter.

In its letter, the Suffolk County superintendents’ group advocates five steps to a better implementation of the curriculum standard, first of which is to slow down the implementation of exams. The second suggestion is to reduce “over testing,” and the third is to reassess and re-evaluate student test scores, teachers’ scores and teacher performance scoring per the Annual Professional Performance Review.

The letter recommends that the state rescind the requirement to provide the composite score of a teacher and principal to a parent requesting such information, citing “a performance rating has to be placed in context to its meaning.”

Currently parents can request the APPR rating of a child’s teacher and school principal. A Brooklyn lawmaker has proposed a bill that would rescind that information access. That bill currently is in the state education committee of the Assembly and has no Senate sponsor.

The APPR score data provided is the overall composite effectiveness score (a 0-100 point score result) and the final quality rating which ranges from highly effective, effective, developing or ineffective, which is called the HEDI score.

Parents have access to their child’s teacher(s) and building principal score data and separate forms are required for each child enrolled in the district. Photo identification is required, and other identity verification may be required as determined by the district.