by Gretchen Logue of Missouri Education Watchdog
From CE White in Alabama:
As you may know, Alabama has two identical bills to repeal Common Core. House Bill 254 and Senate Bill 190. There is a public hearing on Wednesday, February 27th at 3pm at the State House. I feel we have the votes for this to pass in the Senate, but the House is dealing dirty politics. One superintendent (who is connected to Broad Foundation and has invited Pearson to his district next month) wrote an article last week in a newspaper, claiming that Alabama would be “an island” if we withdrew from Common Core. Since that article, legislators have started to question why we need to pass these bills. In fact, they are using the same terminology that we might be “an island” if we pass this bill. I will be speaking at the public hearing Wednesday. However, we really need to get the word out to our legislators that we will not be “an island.” We need them to know that we are not alone in our fight. We need them to know that other states are also fighting against Common Core. Could you please help us get the word out, by having your organization and other states contact our legislators and tell them to please pass HB 254 and SB 190, and we will not be “an island.” We need to flood them with calls and emails. They need to know they have the support of the country. Here is the link to our Alabama legislature page, with links to contact information:http://www.legislature.state.al.us/senate/senators/senateroster_alpha.html
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Contact Alabama legislators and let them know that Alabama is not an island, but is a state joining in reclaiming state academic freedom with these states who have various anti-Common Core State (sic) Standards pending legislation:
- Missouri
- Indiana
- Oklahoma
- Michigan
- Georgia
- South Carolina
- Florida
- Idaho
- Utah
- Colorado
- Kansas
- South Dakota
These states did not adopt Common Core State (sic) Standards:
- Nebraska
- Texas
- Virginia
- Arkansas
This state adopted ELA standards only:
Alabama is NOT an island and legislators are being misled if they refer to the state in this manner. This is from the article in which superintendent Casey Wardynski refers to Alabama as an island:
The proposed bill - cosponsored by Sen. Bill Holtzclaw of Madison, Sen. Paul Sanford of Huntsville and Sen. Clay Scofield of Guntersville – would repeal the state’s adoption of those standards and prevent the state school board from adopting them a second time.
“If it was to pass, immediately we would no longer be allowed to be aligned with anything that is going on in those other 47 states with regard to this common core curriculum. That would be devastating. Alabama would become an island,” Wardynski said.
Wardynski has mixed reviews as a superintendent and his association with The Broad Foundation in geekpalaver.com and Eli Broad’s Return On Investment:
So let’s recap:
- Wardynski has recommended, and the board has approved hiring PROACT Search (with direct ties to The Broad Foundation) for $110,000 to hire approximately 10 new principals.
- He has recommended, and the board has approved hiring SUPES Academy to provide professional development to new Principals for $300,000 for two years.
- He has recommended, and the board will likely approve the hiring of 110 Teach for America (supported by The Broad Foundation) for $550,000 a year.
In five months, Dr. Wardynski recommended spending just shy of one million dollars on programs supported by The Broad Foundation.
That’s not bad for a five month tenure, is it? While it’s not clear how much The Broad Foundation has spent “training” Dr. Wardynski, if the “training” for Teach for America is any indication, it’s likely in the $20,000 range. In exchange for this investment, Dr. Wardynski has already returned $410,000 in five months. In all likelihood at some point in November the rubber stamp board will approve spending $550,000 for Teach for America to hire 110 teachers who haven’t been trained to teach.
If you’d like to read more about The Broad Foundation’s “commitment” to education, take a look at “How to Tell if your School District is Infected by the Broad Virus.” You might also consider following, “The Broad Report.”
$960,000 for five months work. Not bad. Not bad at all. I wish the ROI for Huntsville’s kids were as high.
The Broad Foundation is proud of Wardynski via its twitter feed:
Congrats to #broadacademy grad Dr. Casey Wardynski, named “Outstanding Superintendent of the Year” by Alabama PTA! http://blog.al.com/breaking/2012/04/alabama_pta_names_huntsville_s.html …
It’s no surprise that the Alabama PTA would name him “Outstanding Superintendent of the Year”. The PTA has received a million dollars to support CCSS (even before they were written) via The Gates Foundation and $240,000 from the GE Foundation for CCS support. See here.
It should matter to Alabama legislators that Wardynski is wanting to implement standards that are unproven, untested and underfunded. It should matter to these legislators he is supporting/promoting The Broad Foundation agenda while using taxpayer money. It should matter to Alabama legislators that the PTA has been persuaded by Bill Gates and GE to support an agenda that does not protect teachers or students or parents from a vast public/private partnership that negates any local control.
Calling Alabama an island is a technique to take legislators’ eyes off the pertinent facts of Common Core State (sic) Standards. Once you examine who is behind them and why, there is no question they should be rescinded. They are not for the “kids”. They are for organizations like The Broad Foundation, Bill Gates, TFA, PTA, etc to make money.
Contact the Alabama legislators and tell them the truth and the facts about Common Core State (sic) Standards. Tell them how private outside companies are trying to direct the educational delivery and direction for Alabama students and schools.
