Common Core debate continues

SIKESTON --Whether for or against Common Core, one thing both sides agree on is they want parents and community members to educate themselves about the issue.

"Part of the confusion is from how schools are going about the implementation, and there's confusion about how to implement these standards," said Angie Hanlin, teaching methods coach for New Madrid County R-1 School District. "How you implement the standards is by changing your instructional practices."

Hanlin has worked with Common Core standards over the past five years. She was brought in on a team of teachers through the U.S. Department of Education to pilot the standards.

"I worked and gave feedback on if it worked and if there were any troubles -- before (Common Core) went into effect," Hanlin said.

The Common Core standards, which are known as Missouri Learning Standards in Missouri, have come under increasing scrutiny since last year. Opponents argue its about loss of local control and minimum standards, among other things.

Common Core was developed by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. It is a set of goals for students, but it's not a curriculum.

For Heather Drury of Sikeston, concern with Common Core stems from how the standards were adopted. A mother of three children, Drury said she began researching Common Core months ago to develop her own opinion on the subject. She's since decided against the standards.

Development of the standards began in 2009, when Gov. Jay Nixon signed a memorandum of agreement for Missouri to join the initiative to develop the common Core Standards, according to a news release issued June 26, 2009.

"The legislature was not involved in the approval process," Drury said.

According to the official Common Core website, the project was a joint effort of governors and state education commissioners from nearly all states.

Last month, Indiana became the first state to withdraw from Common Core, dropping the number of states with the standards down to 44. Bills in many other states, including Missouri, call for similar actions.

Currently in Missouri, the standards are set to be fully implemented during the 2014-2015 school year.

Drury, who appeared on Fox News' The Glenn Beck Program last week to speak out against Common Core, said a growing number of people are coming to realize more about Common Core.

"Teachers and parents still haven't heard of it and they'll say, 'Well, we've always had standards.' But when you actually get into it, it's not just standards," Drury said. "I have three children, and I'm scared about how this is going to affect them. We're losing control of our kids."

Drury said school districts that say they won't lose control are naive.

"If you look at other states, they're losing the say over what happens to our children," Drury said.

Opponents to Common Core also have concerns of student privacy, and say the standards are developmentally inappropriate for children.

"If there's ever a time an issue that parents need to speak out against, this is the issue," Drury said.

Hanlin said school districts use Common Core to create their own curricula.

"Let's put trust in the school system and give them support because every school system and teacher can do this if given the right information and right support system," Hanlin said, adding ongoing professional development for staff members is needed.

She said she thinks Common Core is the deepest, most thorough teaching she's ever seen.

"Common Core is the first set of standards where every grade builds upon the previous grade. We've never done that before," Hanlin said.

Students in Missouri will have the same educational opportunity as their peers in other states, Hanlin said.

"As a parent, that excites me," Hanlin said. "Our students in Southeast Missouri can have the education students are getting in Boston, Mass. We've never been in that category, and we are now."

Most schools have already begun implementing the standards this school year.

"It's a lot of work, but we've had great success from our students. We have great data now to back up what we're doing is working," Hanlin said.

For example, an R-1 kindergarten teacher said this year's students are further along right now than some of the kindergarten classes were at the end of last school year, Hanlin said. This year's seven kindergarten rooms are also mastering 3-D geometric shapes and the number of vertices and edges, she added.

Hanlin also serves as an education consultant for Gibson, Hasbrouck and Association -- one of leading groups for professional development for education, and she does professional development for McGraw-Hill.

"I've led other districts in other states through their implementation of the standards," Hanlin said.

Hanlin said she can relate to educators who may feel overwhelmed with the implementation of Common Core.

"If I was in the classroom and handed the standards -- which fill two binders -- and not had the time and experience I've had, I would have been so lost," Hanlin said.

She reiterated the first place for districts to look in their implementation process is at their instructional practices.

"That's where some districts are making the mistake," Hanlin said. "If you keep teaching how you're teaching and just change what you're teaching, it won't work. It's how you teach that you have to change."

It isn't necessary to buy a new book series or Common Core materials or even have the latest technology, Hanlin said.

"All you have to change is instruction," Hanlin said.

New Madrid County R-1 chose to use four of Dr. John Hattie's instructional practices, Hanlin said, adding Hattie spent 20 years studying education with more than 1 million students involved.

"This is what I want everyone to know: even if the standards change tomorrow, I will be fine with that because the instructional practices we've changed -- we will stay with because those changes are so good," Hanlin said.

To learn more, visit Missouri's official Common Core website: www.missourilearningstandards.com or the official website against Common Core: www.moagainstcommoncore.com.