Public education continues to come under fire from various lawmakers and politicians at the Federal and State levels! On behalf of our students and staff, Dr. James and the Board of Education continue their advocacy efforts urging elected and appointed officials to, among other things:
· Stop prescribing one-size-fits-all Common Core Standards and testing protocols which strip local control, particularly in districts like Commack that already have a robust individual student academic and social growth model in place; and
· Stop overtesting young students and withholding critical testing data from schools.
Further, we urge lawmakers and politicians to:
· Assure proper funding of public schools;
· Assure funding is not stripped from public schools in support of charter, “choice” and/or school voucher programs; and
· Assure that communities retain control of their local schools.
Please see the linked letters from Dr. James (below). The letters written to Senators Gillibrand and Schumer indicate our strong opposition to a voucher system, choice/charter schools, Common Core standards, federally‑mandated testing protocols, and the need to support a “well-rounded, developmentally‑appropriate education (D. James).” The second is a letter to Board of Regents Chancellor, Betty Rosa, urging the Board of Regents to consider alternative means of testing students.
Letter to Senator Gillibrand Letter to Senator Schumer Letter to Chancellor Betty Rosa
If you would like to contact your elected officials regarding these matters, please visit:
http://www.commack.k12.ny.us/YourGovernmentRepresentatives.aspx