Common Core to be Subject of League of Women Voters Forum

The superintendents of the Rye and Port Chester school districts are scheduled to participate in a panel discussion, entitled “The Common Core – From Inspiration to Implementation,” presented by the Rye, Rye Brook & Port Chester League of Women Voters Thursday, May 7, at Rye High School Library.

Superintendents Dr. Frank Alvarez (Rye) and Dr. Edward Kliszus (Port Chester) will be joined by Stony Brook University Political Science Professor Dr. Peter D. Salins. They will discuss “issues that have arisen following the adoption of the Common Core standards several years ago, which represent some of the most pressing public education issues today,” according to the league.

“Proponents of the Common Core say that the adoption of the standards was an essential first step to bring truthfulness and transparency to the measuring the achievement of students in our country,” the league wrote in a press release. “The results of tests based on the Common Core standards could then be used to close the gap between socioeconomically disadvantaged children compared to non-disadvantaged kids, as well as the gap between those same non-disadvantaged kids and their peers in Europe and Asia.

“Critics complain that its rollout has been deeply flawed. These critics say that the new curriculum has resulted in students feeling bored, confused and frustrated – particularly when it comes to math - and that kids’ creativity has been stifled as a result of so-called ’teaching to the test.’ They fear that test results will take on a disproportionate importance in many areas ranging from teacher evaluation to college acceptances.”

Background on the panelists:

Dr. Salins is University Professor of Political Science at Stony Brook University and a senior fellow of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research and formerly served as Provost of the State University of New York. He is the author of six books, including most recently The Smart Society – Strengthening America’s Greatest Resource, its People – as well as numerous articles on public education in the U.S.

Dr. Alvarez is the Superintendent of the Rye City Public Schools, where he has served in that position since 2012. Prior to coming to Rye, he had held superintendent roles in various public school districts in New Jersey for the prior 18 years, including most recently the Montclair school district.

Dr. Kliszus is the Superintendent of the Port Chester-Rye Union Public School District. Like Dr. Alvarez, he held superintendent roles in various public school districts in New Jersey for a number of years, including most recently Hackensack, before coming to Port Chester.

The panelists, representing diverse viewpoints ranging from academia to day-to-day administrative responsibility for school districts, will focus on how the Common Core standards are being implemented in New York State. They will discuss the changes in classrooms and the impact of the Common Core on students, teachers and administrators and parents, specifically drawing on the experience of two of the school districts in our local LWV Chapter, which serve populations very different from each other. The event promises to offer a lively and informative dialogue.

The forum will be held at 7:30 P.M. at the high school’s library, located at 5 Parsons St. in Rye.

For more information, contact Debbie Reisner at (914) 698-7166, or at LWV.Rye.RyeBrook.PortChester@gmail.com

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