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Common Core, the set of nationwide academic standards, is viewed as either a way to help standardize and improve teaching or an intrusion by federal government into education. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will continue its in-depth coverage of the standards and the arguments as state officials undertake a review and invite comments. Read more about Common Core at our premium website, MyAJC.com
Current and retired educators spoke out in favor of Common Core during a hearing Tuesday at Alexander High in Douglasville.
The educators, not often heard from during what has become an incendiary political debate, urged state leaders not to move away from the standards, which have been in place in Georgia for a couple of years.
“Our students will be better prepared,” said Denise Grentz, a retired teacher from Douglas County. “The Common Core will benefit students with high mobility. Let’s embrace the Common Core.”
Tuesday’s meeting, where most of the roughly 25 speakers who spoke support the standards, was the first of several that will be held in congressional districts throughout the state over the next few months as part of a review ordered by Gov. Nathan Deal.
State Board of Education members are holding public feedback sessions and will send what they hear to the University of Georgia for compilation. That information, combined with data from teacher surveys on the standards, will then be reviewed by the board.
If board members make changes, they could come by the end of the year.
The standards have drawn strong opposition from tea party activists and other conservatives, who see them as a federal intrusion into state control of public education. Supporters, including officials from the military, business and higher education, see the standards as an improvement that increases the rigor of academic material and harmonizes when students across the country are introduced to that material.
As the Common Core debate has unfolded in Georgia, much of the heat has come from opponents of the standards.
Some of that passion was on display Wednesday evening.
“I’m totally against Common Core,” said Patricia Hay, who described herself as a parent, voter and citizen. “It’s not what we need. We’re being sold a bill of goods.”
State board member Mary Sue Murray, who hosted Tuesday’s meeting, said she was pleased with its decorum and with the input she received from the speakers.
“Some real good points were made,” she said, adding that she believes the standards need to be tweaked.
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