Senator Carlucci Asks Commissioner King to Reschedule Crucial Town Hall Meetings

Senator David Carlucci (D-Rockland/Westchester) is calling on State Education Commissioner John King to immediately reschedule several meetings that were going to be held in collaboration with the New York State Parent Teacher Association. These meetings were organized in an effort to discuss the new Common Core learning standards that recently went statewide. Several meetings were cancelled after parents questioned the Commissioner at a meeting in Poughkeepsie over concerns over the implementation of the Common Core standards, new data collecting methods and the changes in teacher evaluations.

Senator David Carlucci said, "The decision made by Commissioner King to cancel a scheduled string of public forums on Common Core is the wrong message to send to our students, parents, and educators.  While we may disagree on the merits of an issue from time to time, I believe that injecting politics and controversy into a topic as important as this serves no one and seeks to divide us in the long term.  Now is the time to begin having an open and frank dialogue for the best course of action, particularly when discussing the critical importance of standardized testing and teacher evaluations.  

"There remains many unanswered questions regarding how we can make this system work more effectively.  In order to address these concerns, we need to solicit input from all stakeholders on these issues instead of ignoring their voices.  Today I am calling on the Commissioner to reschedule these crucial PTA meetings without delay so we can move forward on how we can improve our education system for all New Yorkers."  

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