Despite millions in public funding and years of planning to implement the new Common Core State Standards, nearly two-thirds of teachers surveyed by the Maryland teachers’ union said last month that they were not ready to teach the Common Core curriculum that will be in effect statewide during the 2013-14 school year, prompting the union to warn of a “direct, negative impact on students.” Levels of teacher preparedness in Harford County Public Schools were among the lowest reported in the state.
Conducted by the Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) in early May, the online survey of over 500 teachers in 21 Maryland counties showed 64% felt inadequately prepared to implement the Common Core next school year, and 82% saw “significant challenges” to understanding and implementing the Common Core in their respective school.
The state-mandated Common Core curriculum for students in grades K-12 is based on the Common Core State Standards for math and English language arts, which were established via the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, and have been adopted by 45 states. Considered by Maryland educators to be more rigorous than the existing state curriculum, the goal of the Common Core is to improve college and career readiness among high school graduates.
In addition, 72% of teachers surveyed told MSEA they felt inadequately prepared for the state-mandated evaluation system for teachers and principals, which is also set for implementation in the 2013-14 school year. Under the new system, 50% of evaluations must be comprised of various measurements of student growth, including state test scores.
The overall survey results in Maryland mirror teacher opinions nationwide on Common Core readiness, and follow years of planning to implement the new standards and evaluation system, adoption of which helped the state win a federal Race to the Top grant in August 2010. The grant totaled $250 million over four years.
What difference does teacher preparedness make? According to a statement by MSEA President Betty Weller, “If teachers don’t receive the support they need to implement these changes successfully, it will have a direct, negative impact on students. We can’t close our eyes and hope for the best. This survey should be a wake-up call for more focus, more professional development, and more consideration of how to implement these changes successfully.”
Maryland Schools Superintendent Lillian Lowery acknowledged problems with teacher preparedness in response to a question at a conference held in Harford County last week. Citing professional development efforts to prepare teachers, Lowery added, “The devil is in the details.” Readiness within each county, she said, was “about leadership and how aggressive it was.” Rather than “admire the problem,” Lowery said, “at some point you have to get started.”
In Harford County Public Schools, the small group of teachers who responded to the MSEA survey reported readiness levels that were among the lowest in the state. Of the 36 survey respondents from HCPS, only 22% felt adequately prepared for the Common Core, and 6% said they were adequately prepared for the new evaluations.
Related professional development was reported as either completely lacking in HCPS, or rated below the state average for both initiatives. The full survey results appear below.
Harford County Public School officials didn’t directly contradict the survey findings, but instead offered a review of preparation activities.
The Dagger posed the following questions in late May to Superintendent Robert M. Tomback and associate superintendent for curriculum, instruction and assessment, Bill Lawrence. A copy of the exchange appears below:
The Dagger:
“Have Harford County teachers been adequately prepared for Common Core implementation next year?
To date, have all teachers received professional development on the Common Core?
What are the plans for [professional development] and other preparation between now and the start of school next year?
Regarding the new evaluation system, the vast majority of those surveyed say they have received no [professional development] on the new system and are not adequately prepared. Would you please explain how HCPS has prepared teachers for the new evaluation system?
Finally, why might the teachers surveyed think, by an overwhelming majority, that they are unprepared for initiatives that have been in the works for several years?
Any other statement you would like to offer would be welcome.”
The Response, provided via Teri Kranefeld, HCPS manager of communications:
“On February 11, 2013 and then again on March 11, 2013, the Board of Education received a presentation regarding Common Core State Standards and the Teacher/Principal Evaluation system. I am linking you to those Board exhibits because I believe they will answer majority of your questions.
• February 11, 2013 Presentation of Common Core State Standards (Part One)
• March 11, 2013 Presentation of Common Core State Standards (Part Two)
In addition, you will read in the exhibits that a conference is scheduled for this summer called Shifts in Education. It is a three-day conference focusing on:
• Teacher Evaluation Process
• Student Learning Objectives
• Charlotte Danielson’s Framework for Teaching Self-assessment
• Common Core Basics
• Common Core Mathematics
• Common Core English/Language Arts/Reading
• Common Core State Standards in Unified Arts and Physical Education
• Disciplinary Literacy 101
• Disciplinary Literacy in the Social Sciences
• Disciplinary Literacy in Science
• Accountability Basics
• Moving Forward with Universal Design for LearningWe currently have 80 teachers across the county piloting the teacher evaluation system.”
Asked whether teachers in HCPS were adequately prepared for the new initiatives next year, Ryan Burbey, president of the Harford County Education Association was more direct: “We’re totally unprepared,” he said. “Prepared means understanding what you need to do and having the time to do it.” Speaking of Tomback and Lawrence, Burbey said, “They feel like we are more prepared than I feel we are.”
While Burbey said that Tomback, as superintendent, was ultimately responsible, he saw plenty of blame to go around. First, Burbey said, Race to the Top money, some of which trickled down to HCPS, paid for positions to execute the new initiatives, but the money came before the recession hit. Then, the county executive took money back from the schools budget, money that Burbey said came from professional development. Plus, HCPS was trying to get by “on the cheap” with the Common Core, he said, using a strategy that trained selected individuals, such as principals, instructional facilitators, and department chairs, who would then train everyone else.
The strategy was ineffective, Burbey said, in part because the quality of the training varied from person to person and from school to school.
Below is a link to more information about the MSEA survey, followed by the survey results: http://harfordcea.org/commoncoresurvey2013/
Ick, the only consequences for non implementation is that kids will be taught to think for themselves, and not be part of the collective. No wonder Commissar Burbey is displeased.
Actually, kids will not be taught to think for themselves. Since 50% of evaluations will now be generated through standardized test score results, teachers will ditch the curriculum wherever possible and teach directly to the test. The state can say all they want about how great the Common Core is and how well it will prepare our students for their future, but if you want to know what they *really* think is important all you have to do is look at what they are holding teachers accountable for.
First everyone has to agree what to teach or what is being measured. Do teachers use the curriculum written by the county using materials we have or spend more money to rewrite curriculum using the common core? Which is going to be used in evaluation? Some individuals say one for one post evaluate conference only to change to the other the next conference. Then they say they don’t know what the curriculum is, how to use common core, or what rigorous is.
Well if you don’t know what a test looks like you can’t teach the test. I predict that until the parcc assessments come out, teaching will be a free for all. Everything will have to be taught no matter how insignificant because no on knows.
Burbey says teachers need raises because they spend so much time at home writing lesson plans, then wants to implement this crap, which writes the lesson plans for them, and takes the teach out of teaching. You cant have it both ways dipshit.
You do not know what you are talking about!
You’re right, T! Gasp, I know you’re wrong because I’ve been working on frameworks for CCSS for HCPS. We will have more opportunities for creativity, adding our own ideas, and it won’t be the same old same old! If you have read any about the CCSS, you would know that it states “what we should teach”, but not HOW!! Get those lesson plan books ready!
Readiness within each county, she said, was “about leadership and how aggressive it was.” Rather than “admire the problem,” Lowery said, “at some point you have to get started.”
Quality leadership is something that has been missing over the past four years. The failure to adequately prepare for Common Core is just one example. The departure of Tomback and Lawrence can’t come soon enough. I fear the negative effects of their tenure in HCPS will be felt for many years to come.
Evaluations will be based on common core with only one training given to teachers this summer. As of yet, my school has had only lip service about it. Leaders should understand it well enough to teach their staff beforehand. This is like trying to play a game where only one person knows all of the rules, the other players have an idea of how it is played but can’t win since they don’t know the objective in how to win.
Sounds like playing a game of Mao.
No instructional leadership at Aberdeen Middle! Not prepared AT ALL!
Not only are teachers not adequately prepared for the Common Core standards, the new evaluation system will slap them in the face based on whatever whim of rules some administrators decide to implement on any given day. Based on their mood, whether they dislike the teacher, or what their OWN interpretation of the evaluation process is, the teachers will either pass or fail. Please, Barbara Canavan, take some initiative and crack down on some of these school leaders. Restore this county to the level the teachers and students deserve!
So Concerned, I agree with you 200%!!!
I am with you. Some individuals have been moved up in position but lack the ability to be a true leader. While others in lower positions have great ideas and leadership skills but are ignored because they don’t have a masters in admin and never been given a chance to do great things. Some have been lower admins for so long and have done a great job that they should receive the promotion.
Only 36 respondents? Out of almost 3,000 teachers! I would think if I was was ill-prepared and was given an opportunity to voice my opinions/concerns I would. Maybe Burbey needs to quit complaining about how the county took “his” money away and realize the decisions to spend, not spend and how the training is implemented is the decision of the Superintendant. Put the blame where it belongs and get a better handle on the concerns of the teachers you’re supposed to represent!
Did you look at the number of respondents from the other school systems? Maybe the survey wasn’t well advertized. Maybe teachers were too busy preparing lessons or grading papers. Just because the Superintendent made a decision does not mean it was the correct one.
concerned parent: I’m no Burbey fan, but if you look at the survey participation numbers, we were above average. 500 respondents statewide averages out to about 21 per jurisdiction. Even after allowing for the wide range in size of the jurisdictions, harford county’s participation of 36 is better than average. Let’s focus on something we can all agree on: Wolkow, Rich, Hess and Co.’s hiring of Tomback which also resulted in the hiring of Bill Lawrence (both of whom are embarrassments who went nowhere in Baltimore County) was a disaster and will take a lot of hard work by the new board and the new superintendent to repair. This implementation was a huge failure on the part of Lawrence, and judging by the insulting response to the Dagger’s questions, he obviously doesn’t give a damn. And Lawrence and Tomback’s effect on the morale and teamwork of the administration is an outright professional disgrace.
Let’s all do what we can to help the board and new administration to get HCPS right again. We have great teachers, students, parents, staff, and communities. And we have a board that finally listens to inputs from all stakeholders. I’m very optimistic about the future.
Do not forget current school board member Krchnavy was also responsible for bringing Tomback and company to Harford County. No board member votes more frequently to support recommendations made by Tomback and Lawrence then she does. If Krchnavy decides she wants to stay on the school board voters need to remember these things during the next election.
The confidence interval (at the 95% level) for 36 participants from 3000 is +/- 16.24%.
You also must consider that this was a self-selected survey vs randomly selected; I bet the true numbers would be very different if the entire population of teachers were surveyed.
You would be wrong.
Some are afraid to say anything because there are favorites at school and if you aren’t in that group you end up without higher level classes or electives. If you don’t agree with management they make you uncomfortable enough to make you leave.
anyone…you are correct about this for sure.
You would be very wrong.
It makes sense…..since Harford County receives the least amount of the “Race to the Top” money….we should be the least prepared to teach it……
I am with you. Some individuals have been moved up in position but lack the ability to be a true leader. While others in lower positions have great ideas and leadership skills but are ignored because they don’t have a masters in admin and never been given a chance to do great things. Some have been lower admins for so long and have done a great job that they should receive the promotion.
I think we are beyond the time to find out who is to blame….We need to be focusing on how to fix the problem. If people only look for blame you will not solve the problem!
Accountability and causation may not mean much to you in your simple little dreamland cdev; but they come in real handy out here in the real world.
Accountability is fine. But it does not , in this case solve the problem. Playing Monday morning quarterback has not ever won an NFL team a game! When you are on a tight deadline you do not worry about assigning blame until you solve the problem. Than we can run around and blame people!
cdev: If you understood football, you’d realize that MOST games are won by monday-morning-quarterbacking from previous weeks’ games. and if you understood the real world, you’d realize that accountability is much more than “fine”; it is critical. What the real world calls causation, you choose to call “blame”. let’s not make anyone feel bad… lets not ever get to the bottom of things….. let’s all kumbayah ourselves to the bottom of the educational heap. By the way, your excessive use of exclamation points is a sign of insecurity!!!!!
Reflection is good but you can’t win or even play the game if you don’t know what the rules are.
The teachers are NOT prepared to implement the Common Core. In addition to a new curriculum, the new teacher evaluation is being initiated. Look out teachers, the administrators and Instructional Facilitators are lining up their victims for Plans of Assistance. Let’s make those issuing these Plans accountable for the improvement and remediation of those teachers that don’t make the grade. Then, and only then, we will see a reduction of these Plans. Thank you Mrs. Canavan for taking on the challenges of HCPS. You are very brave.
Well said, Carol Webster! Someone needs to be reviewing these plans to see what is being checked on the evaluations. Some of the items are absolutely ridiculous, and they are changed with each evaluation. There are definitely hit lists and it’s a popularity contest in some schools. Some teachers can do no right and some can do no wrong no matter what they are doing.
They have already started the weeding process.
The plans that are created to be vague so that if admin doesn’t do its part, nothing is wrong. You can bet that if you didn’t jump through their hoops with smile onyour face you will end up worst off. This is a exercise in control and futilism. If you ask for help it os not given, if you ask for a model, you wont get one. All of your lesson plans have to be approved. The comments during post lbs are vague and not helpful. When vlarication is asked for you will be treated as a bother.
“So Concerned” is the most factual comment I have read in a long time. There are “hit lists” at some schools. Look at the principals at Edgewood Middle, Church Creek, Abingdon……not good situations in these buildings.
I can tell you that there are many teachers who are not prepared for the Common Core transition. A group of teachers were talking in the faculty lounge today about how they have no idea what they are teaching when they come back to school in August. The math professional development for 4th grade teachers last month was an absolute joke. It taught us absolutely nothing about what the expectations are. We played 3rd grade math games, then proceeded to look at a sheet of paper for 45 minutes, looking at the changes from grade 3-5. An absolute joke and waste of time. Everyday Math does not align with the Common Core. The reading and writing is changing, yet nobody has told us anything about what to expect. My own principal who I like and respect, has told us that she has no idea either. I am not opposed to the change to these standards at all, however, I wish this county would get it together and notify the teachers about what the expectations are. Please do not justify the math supervisor’s six figures by pulling me out of my classroom for a half day and wasting my time.
There is a high school principal who has said he doesn’t know what cc or rigor is. How are we to be evaluated by someone who doesn’t know these things?
Problems at the top such as Tombeck and Lawrence tend to feckless down to become law. Individuals are not questioning why changes are happening out of fear of the ax or being observed during a non-observation year which in turn would lead to a plan of assistance with no real measurable objective in writing but a great deal of vague generalities written instead. The loophole is made so that administration can get rid of non-favored teachers. They can be great teachers, just not administrations favorites.
I’m curious how many parents even know that Common Core will be implemented this Fall. After reading all the comments plus speaking to a variety of teachers at different schools I am very scared and concerned for the school age children, K-12, in Harford County. How in the name of Heaven can a person be held accountable for something they are unfamiliar with? More specifically, how severe will the negative impact be on our progeny? Does this happen frequently, an acute curriculum change and those who are expected to transfer the knowledge to others be so in the dark? What in the Hell is going on?
Exactly how is Common Core such a problem?
Does 2+2 not equal 4 under Common Core?
Is the square root of -1 no longer i?
Did Socrates not revolutionize philosphy?
Were Lewis and Clark responsible for scouting Alaska instead of the Midwest?
Did Rembrandt sculpt instead of paint?
Is H2O now a non-polar solvent?
So many people are wailing as if they’ll face a firing squad if they do not teach exclusively in Swahili next school year.
I know that many of the teacher friends I know have said they felt they same as me-totally bewildered about what direction they should be going in when they plan their lesson. One friend that teaches art says they’ve been told they need to incorporate math, English and science into their lessons. What about just teaching art? You know, the area they actually have expertise in? One friend says her school is thinking of having math Mondays, English Tuesdays, etc where the first 20 minutes of every class, regardless of subject must teach Math on Mondays, etc. Would you really want the social studies teacher tackling math with your child? Is that really going to make them more successful in college? I doubt it. And we’ve all been told that the new PAARC tests are going to take 2 1/2 times longer than the HSA’s and must be taken on a computer. So. My school already knows that means pulling kids out of other classes on a rotating schedule to test because there’s no way there’s enough computers in our school to seat every child in a grade to test at the same time. So that scheduling nightmare will mean missing time out of their other classes. This has the making of huge disaster.
Math is a critical component in architecture, which is a form of art.
The Golden Rectangle is used throughout both visual art and architecture because it is considered pleasing to the eye, which relates closely to the Fibonacci sequence.
Perspective is important if you want to present anything beyond a flat two-dimensional picture, which requires a working knowledge of geometry.
Language is important to art because the artist is trying to convey a message, be it an appreciation for beauty, a political statement, etc.
Science relates to art due to the chemical changes undergone during creation of the piece and the importance of the underlying material. Chemical changes within clay during firing become ceramics, paints dry to become different colors, welding and brazing require an understanding of metallurgical compatibilities to prevent corrosion in a sculpture. Many ancient sculptures have degraded over the years due to reactions with the environment and the piece. Even the Statue of Liberty’s green patina is a result of a chemical reaction between its copper skin and the air.
Suffice to say, “just teaching art” is very short-sighted.
add the rule of thirds in photography and drawing
Oops, got ahead of myself.
Language in art is important because different cultures interpret symbols differently.
For example, an arrow drawn on a wall, to a hunter-gather society (such as ours) shows direction of travel (as a spear or arrow in flight), but to an agrarian society it would be meaningless because they did not develop such implements. Art also is a critical component of children’s books, bringing the words into a visual medium that a beginning reader can understand. Graphics in journals, presentations, etc, can easily convey a large amount of information with just a glance, and students should learn how to make them both visually pleasing and useful, not just a jumble of information on the page.
Here’s my issue with your broad generalization of the problem– as a mathematics teacher, I am not qualified nor have I been trained to teach English. Even moreso, most English teachers I have encountered in my career not only are unqualified to teach mathematics, they are terrified of the subject. In elementary schools, where teachers are more likely to be well versed in multiple subjects, this approach is warranted, and some cases is already in practice. In middle and high schools, where teachers are certified in subject areas and not as general educators, this approach is suspect at best and potentially disastrous at worst.
While current staffing philosophies may not consider the ability to tie multiple subjects together when selecting candidates, such an understanding is important for daily life and should be included in our schools.
A high school graduate should be able to tie together the biology of farming wheat and raising an apple orchard, the mathematics of harvest, the business of wholesale/retail, the history of the spice trade, the chemistry of cooking and the home economics of the nutrition that all go into a simple apple pie. Unfortunately, today’s students rarely see such connections between their classes, and their teachers miss numerous opportunities to enrich their students’ lives.
At the moment there are no clear directives, most of the teachers I talk to say they’re not being directed to teach how the common core is supported in their area but that they are to support the common core testing platforms. So. Even though the art teacher can talk about perspective, the rule of thirds or the language of art, (and most already do!) it’s that the mixed message directives coming to them from administration are that they are to support the math that is on the HSA’s and soon to be PAARc tests, not how it relates it to their subject. So every class is going to be responsible for incorporating algebraic problems, etc.
No high school graduate in the United States should be able to do all those things because that is not what our educational system is set up to do. The overriding goal of our educational philosophy is that every child must go to college (regardless of aptitude, interest, or preparedness). Therefore, very little of what you think should happen does; in fact, it is near impossible for it to happen because our students are not taught in an integrated, worldly curriculum. In fact, I would be surprised to find that this form of education exists in any part of the world. Perhaps you should found a school based on this philosophy. It is an intriguing idea, even if it does seem incredibly idealistic.
Few people apply such thought to everyday life nor do they need to given the easy availability of instant gratification, food, entertainment, political chicanery and all other manner of modern diversions.
Short of reverting to a classical Greek school in simpler times no institution or society could manage it.
Parents really need to become informed on “Common Core Standards. It is the Federal government taking over the education system. It will state that states signed on, yeah if they don’t there goes federal money. They will hide behind that it will bring more rigor, no it means that the kids are being led to water and can’t think for themselves. That way they have to rely on the government for assistance and won’t question when the government is taking away their rights. More testing comes with Common Core too. Teachers are being turned into facilitators since group work seems to be the buzz as to how kids learn. No real instruction just games and ways to get them to score well on tests. Curriculum was lost when we went to block schedule, more curriculum will be lost now since they say it is “focused rigor”.
Parents around this country need to really wake up. What was really wrong with how we were taught in school? Really ask your kids what their days are like, how they view education and how they really learn the material.
Looking at the common core standards is not the issue. The general objectives are fine. The issue is the unpreparedness. I encourage you to look at them and find an objective that indoctrinates kids into some level of thinking. I think the big issue is that teachers are not adequetly prepared for them and the time for alligning curriculum to it is woefully inadequate because this county sat on it’s butt.
sounds like monday morning quarterbacking to me cdev.
The school board and elected officials are planning a roundtable discussion on the Common Core and other topics. The meeting is Monday, June 17th and open to the public. It will also be live-streamed on the HCPS Web site. More info here: http://www.daggerpress.com/2013/06/03/board-of-education-schedules-roundtable-session-with-elected-officials-common-core-state-standards-parcc-assessments-other-post-employment-benefits-on-agenda/
I have been reading as much as possible about the CC and would like to share that this is not a local problem. The sentiment can be seen across the nation. Experienced teachers should not feel insecure about the CC standards. But it is overwhelming because it has not been presented in a systematic easy to apply manner. Educators have too many questions that are not being addressed.
Sure their will be some anxiety when their is a shift in what people are asked to do. That happens in all jobs. We are not throwing away the existing curriculum but rather emphasizing more rigorous thinking in lessons. There has been ongoing professional development for the past two years, and if teachers took these sessions seriously, they will be better prepared. This is a continuous process for professional development. For some teachers this may be a big change, but I would like to think that most of our teachers are already doing many of the things expected by the common core. Teachers are resilient and have the ability and experience to make the transition to the Common Core.
Big Man…..In the 22 years I have been teaching I can count on my hand the amount of meaningful in-services I have attended. Taking me out of my classroom and away from students to play math games does not teach me about the upcoming Common Core Standards. The math supervisor is a complete joke. Always has been. Should have been fired after she shoved the Everyday Math program in our faces. Her in-services are a complete joke. My own principal at my school even hears from other principals how teachers complain year after year about the elementary math in-services. I cannot speak for the Language arts in-service. I actually heard they are meaningful according to 5th grade teachers who just went to one for the common core standards. I however, get stuck going to math in-services instead of language arts for some reason. Yes many teachers are already doing the things in Common Core, however, we have a math program that is not aligned, a writing program that is not aligned, and a reading program that is somewhat aligned. How do I know what skills I need to teach when in order to be able to meet the demands of the new tests. According to the Maryland State Education Website, everything is still in draft form. I am all of a sudden told I will teach grammar. Thank goodness, however, to what standards will I do it? To my principals satisfaction, or to the instructional facilitators satisfaction? These are the things that teachers need to know. These are the things that are lacking with this county’s implementation of the new standards. We are not stupid idiots. We have an evaluation system riding on our backs now. This is no time to mess around and get our feet wet. I have a roof I need to keep over my head and hundred of students to educate and set out into the real world.
You must either be an administrator or aspire to be one.
Yes this does seem like an administrator. Who know how to campaign themselves to a higher position. Get those figures up anyway you can. Even if it means getting rid of go teachers and keeping general and cc students there and the Honor’s and rigorous are removed, AP classes have to be larger just to find room to teach. This also causes the cc classed to become Huge with no co teacher petmanantly assign at work with the class and truley teach classes and act as a team from day one. Thete is no communication save emailing ppt back and forth with no comments being made until class starts. Currently it is difficult to keep coteschers in the room during the assigned period
Anyone using the word ” rigorous” is definitely an administrator!!
there not their.
The results of this survey are accurate. As a teacher, I can tell you that I have had no inservice training on common core or the new evaluation system. There are plans for training over the summer but it is limited and scheduled at the last minute so many teacher have other classes or summer jobs already lined up and therefore, can’t take these classes. We have not been notified of any inservice training during school hours. I have watched friends in other school systems teach with the common core draft for two years while we have done nothing. When I have asked, I have been told not to worry, we are not behind. That was a lie. After speaking to other teachers in the county, I have discovered that my school is not in the minority. The survey mentioned in the article was not made available to anyone I know of in my school.
HCPS Teacher, where have you been? In the last two years teachers from every school (3) have attended the summer CCSS sessions that MSDE had in C. Milton. Then each school wrote a plan, submitted it and were supposed to go back and conduct presentations/sessions throughout the year. Our school did 3 – one on math, one on ELA and STEM and then at the end of the year we did the “shifts” coming down the pike. Grade levels also had county PD (on those dreaded days) with content supervisors who had to present CCSS.
You are mistaken if you think that every school administrator shared this information with faculty. We have had no presentations/sessions throughout the year. We rarely have meetings during the year at all. No one I aksed knows anything about a school plan. We don’t also don’t meet as grade levels on professional development days, we meet as departments. My department did not work on common core as there is no common core for my subject area, although my curriculim will be changing as well. Are you elementary school? I hear things are different over there. I am not elementary school but I sincerely hope elementary teachers are being better prepared for this curriculum than they were for the last one. It amazes me how kids spend 6 years focusing on reading and math but can neither read nor calculate after leaving the elementary grades.
Testing and training. What is the cost of both? Education changes a great deal. You can start college with one theory being the flavor of the month, then graduate and be behind because it has changed again. The cycle keeps going. Our children are being tested to sheer apathy.
Even more detrimental that the MANY issues related to CC and receiving very little attention is the highly concerning fact that due to budget cuts many teaching positions are going to be cut. The numbers for class sizes at my school are through the roof; eight teachers from our school are potentially going to be sent packing, AND we have a brand new standards and evlauation systems with little understanding from anyone at the top (nevermind those of us at the bottom) as to what is expected.
The huge class sizes should be causing more alarm than any of this. What I can do with 22 kids is far more than what I am humanly capable of getting done with 45. As a parent, the loss of programs, staff and resulting huge class sizes is the most concerning aspect of all of this, yet no one seems to care.
Schools are beginning to tell teachers that their positions are cut for next year.
Thank Mr. Craig and the County Council. Remember them at election time.
Yeah, HCPS has to find 18 million$$$!!! How many of you have found out that there are cuts at your schools? I heard that each administrator has a 20 min. session with the supervisors this next week. Just like last year when people found out the last day of school! No way to treat people or run a school system!
It will take Craig until November to find out…
Maybe earlier. The primary election is in June.
Here’s a novel concept, forget common core. Let each area come up with its own standards and school plans. What works for a school system in California does not work here. The federal government really has no business dabbling in education. Lets let teachers teach, not bureaucrats.
Nice thought but local school systems to not have this authority. The State Board of Education (a group appointed by the governor) signed on for Common Core and we are stuck with it. The only way to get the feds out of local education business is to abolish the U.S. Dept of Education – even Reagan couldn’t get that done.
My high school was told it’s losing another 2 teachers this year on top of the 3 we lost last year. (Everyone thinks high schools only lost 1 last year but they initiated the dept chair program even though the plan initially stipulated hiring staff-the additional planning periods dept chairs were given is equivalent to another 2 positions) The math department has already been told one is from them. So class sizes go up again in classrooms that already have desks crammed too close together.
And to speak to some of the comments above about the art department…Ours has also expressed some concern about the lack of direction about integrating Common Core into their lessons. Said there’s no clear direction from the supervisor…they were told it will be addressed at in-service in August (really? 2 days before you start teaching?!)
Our school’s intent seems to be heading in the direction of wanting everyone to directly support the testing program, not integrate common core into your subject area (like No Longer Amazed talks about above). According to No Child Left Behind, children are supposed to be taught only by “highly qualified teachers” (which is what brought CC classes into being) yet my friend’s school is considering having teachers spend the first 20 mins of their class addressing various HSA tested material. Why would you want a certified English teacher or PE teacher (=highly qualified) reviewing math concepts that are on the HSA/PAARC for 20 minutes? Another friend is National Board Certified in English and passionate about literature yet will admit without apology that math is mind boggling and a struggle for them. Do you want them fumbling through a review of algebra concepts for 20 minutes?
I’ve heard that other schools have been doing some preparation for next year, not mine. We heard that each school is supposed to have a Student Learning Objective (SLO) that helps guide the SLO’s the teachers are to write for their subject area…since we haven’t even done that yet, how am I supposed to know how to adjust my lessons and planning? We haven’t even been told if there’s yet another new format for writing lesson plans…what the documentation process is….or seem the new evaluation form. There are several teachers at our school who could have retired years ago but stay on because they love what they’re doing and are still on top of their game. All have said that depending on how all the common core/testing/new evaluations impacts their teaching time vs. an increase in unnecessary paperwork it may be their last year after all. What a loss.
Here’s a novel idea. How about the middle and high schools give up one of their 2 planning periods and teach an extra class. That would help to not increase class sizes. If the elementary teachers can survive teaching 5-6 different subjects a day with one planning period, I am thinking the secondary teachers could do the same.
Or just pay the elementary teachers more.
Here’s a better idea, Pointless. Why don’t we go back to having Content Area Supervisors and put Dept. Chairs in each building back in the classroom for full time teaching positions. You know, the way we did it for all those years before Tombeck came in with his new great plans. While we are at it, let’s do the same with teacher mentors. An experienced classroom teacher can serve as a mentor for a new teacher (again the way we used to do it) without taking any classes away. And what about the days central office had one person in charge of secondary education and one person in charge of elementary? We seemed to do just fine with the structure we had when I started 16 years ago, when education in HC was still a priority, and there was, and continues to be, no need for twenty wasted positions at the very top, and that many people in charge and assisting in central office while we take teachers out of the classroom and make class sizes to big. Teachers need planning time to meet the needs of the new demands- nevermind the actual needs of planning actual instruction and grading. They need class sizes of 30 or less to make the most impact on kids. There have been numerous studies pointing to class size as an effective determining factor on student success- but…after all, we really DO need 50 people at the top doing…..well… I have no idea what they are doing to support me.
Most high school teachers in Harford County don’t have 2 planning periods? Stop stealing your son’s weed and think before you post here. Your posts really are pointless.