Education Commish Reschedules Common Core Forums

A county-wide forum on the new Common Core standards was abruptly cancelled earlier this month after emotions ran high at the debut town hall meeting in Poughkeepsie.

The round table, with New York State Education commissioner John King, was to be held at Garden City High School Oct. 15 and was open to all Nassau County residents.

King, however, "suspended" the forum, and three others scheduled around the state, because too many disruptions caused by the "special interests" deprived parents of the opportunity to listen, ask questions and offer comments at the Poughkeepsie meeting.

Parents across the state blasted King, calling him a coward who couldn't face the criticism. Merrick Mom Kellie Shuart was insulted King claimed "special interest" groups hijacked the meeting.

"It was parents and educators telling him that Common Core is not working," she said. "As a parent of an eighth grader and a third grader I see a huge difference in what and how the third grader is being taught compared to when my older child was in third grade."

King, however, did an about face and has announced that he and the NYS Board of Regents will hold a dozen forums, including two each in Nassau and Suffolk counties, over the next six weeks. State legislators will moderate the events.

The first forum will be held in the Albany City School District Oct. 24. No word yet, however, on where the two in Nassau County will be held.

King also intends on participating in PBS forums that will include a studio audience. The forums will be recorded for broadcast and will also be available on the web. Four PBS forums have been scheduled so far.

"I want to have a respectful, direct, and constructive dialogue with parents," King said in a statement on the NYS Education Department's website. "More and smaller discussions will make sure there's a real opportunity for parents to be heard. This is just the first round; we'll continue to schedule forums for parents." 

King said he wants these round tables to be "regular events."

"We want the conversation to rise above all the noise and make sure parents understand the Common Core, and, just as important, we want to understand parents' concerns," he said. "We all share the same goal: to make sure our students have the skills and knowledge to be successful in a changing world."