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NJ Spotlight - Critics from Both Sides of Aisle Find Common Ground About Common Core…Republican, Democrat both urge NJ to go slowly on tougher standards and testing, but Christie administration proceeds with implementation.'New Jersey -- one of 45 states on board joined the initiative two years ago as a condition of receiving federal funding under the Race to the Top grant program...[Commissioner] Cerf took some time at the state board meeting yesterday...saying that the state remains deliberative in the process even as it moves ahead.“This enterprise presents enormous opportunity for politicking and myth-making and dis-information, and a lot of it has become a point in the current election cycle,” Cerf said. “But it is important to note that we are stepping into this gently, with field testing and sharing of information..." '
The Record - On first day of school, students' anticipation met by teacher's high expectations...'Some parents “are thinking of old-fashioned kindergarten where it was play time all day long,” Veloz said. “If children are not here they’re missing the beginning of learning routines and already starting off behind.” '
NJ Spotlight - Critics from Both Sides of Aisle Find Common Ground About Common Core…Republican, Democrat both urge NJ to go slowly on tougher standards and testing, but Christie administration proceeds with implementation.
John Mooney | September 12, 2013
New Jersey's decision to implement the federal Common Core State Standards and to move on the new exams that are part of the package has never lacked critics, but it hasn't met with much outright resistance.
Until now.
While still very much a minority voice, a collection of strange bedfellows is increasingly speaking up against New Jersey’s adoption of the new, more rigorous standards and testing.
Yesterday, it was Steve Lonegan, the conservative Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, who held a press conference in front of the state Department of Education to decry the federal standards as another power grab by Washington.
While outnumbered by journalists, Lonegan was nonetheless joined by a half-dozen other conservative and Tea Party activists.
“No one-size-fits-all model will serve these children, nor will it serve our nation,” Lonegan said. “We should not allow the federal government to take over our children’s lives.”
But questions are also coming from more liberal voices, too, as a bill is expected to unveiled today by state Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D-Cape May) calls for a task force to study the new standards and testing and to delay their imposition until the task force’s work is completed.
“I’m not saying it’s entirely the wrong path, but it does affect how we educate our children,” Van Drew said last night. “”I’ve heard from enough corners that I want to ensure we at least take another look at this.”
Meanwhile, the new president of the New Jersey Education Association said he also is worried about the new testing, which is scheduled to start in 2014-15.
“I’m worried about the alignment,” said Wendell Steinhauer, who started this month as president of the state’s largest teachers union. “There is nothing wrong with having the standards, but it’s the implementation of it.”
Some critics say the Common Core and the accompanying exams are the latest example of over-testing of students, and they worry that they are being imposed too rapidly and could have a negative impact on students and teachers.
The Education Law Center, the Newark-based group that has led the Abbott v. Burke school equity litigation, has been among the most vocal critics of beginning the new testing next year.
Backlash to the Common Core has surfaced in Georgia, Indiana and Pennsylvania, where some political leaders seeking to limit the use of the new testing and in a few other states where foes are seeking outright repeal of the new standards.
Nonetheless, New Jersey is moving forward on implementing the standards and testing, with the State Board of Education hearing testimony yesterday from the Christie administration about the new field testing planned this spring.
Close to 1,000 New Jersey schools have been asked to participate in the field testing, which was developed under the auspices of a national consortium of 20 states known as the Partnership for the Readiness of College and Careers, or PARCC.
“It has been a phenomenal and exhausting summer in the development of PARCC,” Bari Erlichson, the assistant education commissioner overseeing the effort, told the board yesterday.
“We have sent invitations to schools to participate, and the response to our outreach has been very positive,” she said. “The schools do want to participate in this.”
New Jersey -- one of 45 states on board joined the initiative two years ago as a condition of receiving federal funding under the Race to the Top grant program. State Education Commissioner Chris Cerf has been an enthusiastic supporter, including serving as a member of the PARCC executive committee.
Cerf took some time at the state board meeting yesterday to shoot back at critics, saying that the state remains deliberative in the process even as it moves ahead.
“This enterprise presents enormous opportunity for politicking and myth-making and dis-information, and a lot of it has become a point in the current election cycle,” Cerf said. “But it is important to note that we are stepping into this gently, with field testing and sharing of information.
“There are those worried about cost, worried about time and generally concerned about tests,” he continued. “But I want to assure the board that all of these thoughts are being carefully considered.”
Nonetheless, Lonegan said he and others hope to persuade Christie and Cerf to at least slow down.
“I think the governor is open to listening,” said Lonegan, who was endorsed by Christie last month. “The governor supports me, and I support him, but we differ on some issues, and I plan to work hard to persuade him on this issue.”
Van Drew, in an interview last night, said he appreciated the irony of being aligned with a conservative like Lonegan on this issue.
“I get a kick out of that,” he said. “It’s what makes our country great, doesn’t it?”
The Record - On first day of school, students' anticipation met by teacher's high expectations
BY LESLIE BRODY
Noreen Veloz worries when the children she teaches are absent, hungry or struggling to write their names. And within the first few hours of kindergarten at School 15 in Paterson on Monday, she knew that some of her new charges had arrived poorly equipped for the jam-packed year ahead.
When she asked the 11 eager-to-please children in her sunny homeroom to color in a square on a worksheet, four of them filled in triangles. When she told them to use a green crayon, one girl had to check what a neighbor picked. And when Veloz said to write their ages, most put down “5” but one left the space blank. Two drew a bunch of sticks.
As 1.4 million New Jersey public school students headed back to class over the past week — some kids excited, others full of dread, and many parents choked up at sight of their children boarding school buses — teachers have been busy getting to know their skills, behavioral quirks, allergies and needs.
Many students arrived behind grade level. Statewide, less than two-thirds were proficient last year in language arts at the critical benchmark of Grade 3, for example; the statistics were worse among the poor, blacks and Hispanics.
Veloz said she thinks about how to help her students on weekends, in the car and in the shower. To improve her craft, she earned master’s degrees in reading and special education. “I’ve had gifted children in my class and those with special needs,” she said. In Paterson, “I love the energy and the potential. You see that desire to learn and do well.”
A Hackensack mother of two with a husky voice and an easy smile, Veloz is one of many believers in effective preschool as a tool for narrowing the achievement gap by teaching letters, social skills and discipline early. Like her colleagues, she said she can usually spot students who attended preschool and those who did not.
“You need a quality pre-K and not just day care,” she said. If children don’t arrive in kindergarten “prepared with the school foundations, we have to start from the beginning instead of building on them.”
President Obama has proposed dramatically expanding access to preschool by giving states financial incentives to add seats for low-income children. Skeptics doubt that his 10-year, $75 billion proposal will gain much traction in an era of across-the-board federal spending cuts.
His administration quotes research saying that in the long term, strong early education leads to higher achievement, persistence in attending college, finding jobs and avoiding crime. Critics argue that the academic benefits of preschool often fade over time, and that early learning is a parent’s responsibility.
New Jersey has been a leader nationwide in providing preschool to at-risk children; a 1998 state Supreme Court mandate required the state to offer free, quality preschool to all 3- and 4-year-olds in 31 cities, including Paterson. State data showed about 50,000 children attended in those districts last year, but about 10 percent of eligible children didn’t go. The state paid for preschool for about 7,500 more needy children elsewhere, and advocates are pushing for more slots.
Veloz, who has taught for 16 years, used to teach first grade but wanted to catch children even earlier. She is such a believer in the milestone kindergarten year that when her college-age son calls on her cellphone, his kindergarten graduation photo pops up on the screen.
The anticipation was palpable outside School 15’s big brick building at 8:15 a.m. Monday, as parents brought their children to meet Veloz and her instructional assistant, Sara Dale. Veloz asked a mother to hold up a giant poster announcing the gathering spot for her class. Giving parents such assignments aimed to spark their involvement from the start.
Jahira Nievez, a nurse, was not the only mom holding back tears while waving goodbye. Her son Fernando, whose impish grin revealed a missing a front tooth, was busy showing off his new blue sneakers with neon green laces. “It’s sad but I’m excited,” she said. “He’s so small … but he’s already all grown.”
When the class arrived in Room 106, colorful alphabet posters decorated the walls. Like many teachers, Veloz said she spent her own money on supplies like pencil boxes for all her students. “We hope we make an impression that school is important,” she said. “School is to be taken seriously. Saying ‘I can’t’ is not an option.”
Veloz planned to survey parents about their children’s past schooling but wanted to get to know them first without presumptions about their proficiencies. “I’ve had children who didn’t have pre-K and blossomed,” she said. “But they had a lot of help at home.”
One Hispanic girl seemed to struggle with English, and Veloz thought she would probably need extra support. Some students at School 15 have dealt with family instability, hunger and multiple moves. “I try not to let those outside factors affect the children’s learning,” Veloz said. “I have to address them and do the best I can.”
From the get-go, there were signs of the difficulty of her mission. Five of the 16 children on her roster were absent. Her fellow kindergarten teachers had similar numbers of no-shows. They said this was typical of the first days even though a robo-call went to families about the opening date. Maybe some children had transferred or were sick, but teachers said they worried that some parents did not realize the importance of daily attendance at this age.
Some parents “are thinking of old-fashioned kindergarten where it was play time all day long,” Veloz said. “If children are not here they’re missing the beginning of learning routines and already starting off behind.” She planned to track down parents of any chronically missing children to explain this urgency.
It was a whirlwind day. The children were told to use honorifics such as Miss and Mrs. for grown-ups and speak in complete sentences. They learned to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, to line up to go to the bathroom, to sit still for story time and clean up after snack independently. “I am your teacher, not your mother,” Veloz told one little girl taking off a sweater, “so you hang it up please.”
Overall they behaved well, with a minimum of squirming. “They’re in shell shock,” Veloz said. “Give them a few days. Once they feel more comfortable they will be a little more fidgety … By the last day they will have the skills to not only succeed in first grade but to soar. It’s amazing to see them grow.”
Just before the bell rang for dismissal at 3 p.m., she polled the class.
“Thumbs up if you’re tired!” she said.
Every thumb went up. Including the teacher’s.
Email: brody@northjersey.com. On Twitter @lesliebrody
