SENATOR MARCELLINO NAMED TO GOVERNOR CUOMO’S COMMON CORE TASK FORCE

Senator Carl L. Marcellino was today named to the Common Core Task Force – a diverse and highly-qualified group of education officials, teachers, parents, and state representatives from across New York that is charged with comprehensively reviewing and making recommendations to overhaul the current Common Core system and the way we test our students. The Task Force will complete its review and deliver its final recommendations by the end of this year.

The Governor has charged the Task Force to:

1. Review and reform the Common Core State Standards;
2. Review New York State’s curriculum guidance and resources;
3. Develop a process to ensure tests fit curricula and standards;
4. Examine the impact of the current moratorium on recording Common Core test scores on student records, and make a recommendation as to whether it should be extended;
5. Examine how the State and local districts can reduce both the quantity and duration of student tests, and develop a plan whereby districts include parents in reviewing local tests being administered to analyze those tests’ purpose and usefulness; and
6. Review the quality of the tests to ensure competence and professionalism from the private company creating and supplying the tests.

Senate Majority Leader John J. Flanagan said: “The State Senate has been at the forefront of efforts to ensure that education in New York is more student-centric and parent-centric, and that every classroom is led by a professional teacher of the highest quality. Earlier this year, we passed several key pieces of legislation that addressed the unease related to Common Core and the over-testing of students – following up on statewide hearings and a report we had previously issued. In addition, Senate Republicans have worked extremely hard to completely eliminate the GEA, an unfair scheme that hurt our schools. The overall issue is worthy of additional debate and discussion, and creation of this new panel is another positive step forward. We look forward to working with Governor Cuomo, parents, teachers and other educators to address additional concerns about Common Core, and I am pleased that Senator Marcellino, a former teacher, school board member, and Chairman of the Senate’s Education Committee, will play a key role in this comprehensive review."

Senator Marcellino earned both Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science degrees from New York University and a Professional Diploma in Administration and Supervision from St. John's University. After a 20 year career as a science teacher and administrator in the New York City School system, Senator Marcellino was elected as the Oyster Bay Town Clerk, a position he held until his Senate election.

Other members include:
Richard D. Parsons, Senior Advisor, Providence Equity Partners, LLC and Former Chairman of the Board of Citigroup, Inc. 
Heather Buskirk, Mohawk Valley Master Teacher; Science Teacher at Johnstown High School 
Geoffrey Canada, President, Harlem Children’s Zone 
Carol L. Conklin-Spillane, Principal, Sleepy Hollow High 
MaryEllen Elia, Commissioner of the New York State Education Department 
Constance Evelyn, Superintendent, Valley Stream School District 
Catalina R. Fortino, Vice President, New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) 
Kishayna Hazlewood, 3rd Grade Teacher at P.S. 156 in Brooklyn 
Tim Kremer, Executive Director of the New York State School Boards Association 
Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan, Chair of the Assembly Education Committee 
Samuel Radford III, President, District Parent Coordinating Council of Buffalo
Carrie Remis, Rochester Area Parent & Founder of the Parent Power Project
Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers (AFT), AFL-CIO

Nancy L. Zimper, Chancellor of the State University of New York