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Did you know that the new Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has cited a piece of legislation co-authored by Frank Riggs, as the reason that recently enacted federal education regulations under the "Every Student Succeeds Act" could be nullified?
Frosty Taylor carried the following post in Sunday’s MCRC Briefs.
Read moreAn article published on April 28, 2017 in the Arizona Daily Independent, reports on a recent vote by the Arizona State Board of Education to use the results of Common Core-aligned AZMerit high stakes test to grade public schools.
Arizonans Against Common Core, Mommy Lobby AZ, and Opt Out AZ, released a statement after the vote: “Parents advocating for their children and teachers are dismayed by the A-F Accountability plan adopted by the Arizona State Board of Education. One high stakes test now accounts for 90% of a school’s letter grade. This decision reveals the SBE believes parents are incapable of selecting schools on their own. Few other factors matter to the state; however, parents make thoughtful school choices based on their own values, research, and judgment.”
So, the AZ. State Board of Education is using the controversial, unvalidated, one-size-fits all, secretive, high stakes AZ Merit to “evaluate” every public school in Arizona. The only people who have seriously donned their thinking caps are SBE board member Jared Taylor, Choice Academies president Ms. Lisa Fink, and commentators “Listen to a Mom” and Edward Cizek. The letter grade a school receives using AZ Merit scores as the most critical criteria, will be useless to parents. Do the board members actually believe otherwise? What a waste of time, effort, and money. Ms. Fink, who is quoted extensively, uses Consumer Reports as an example of what truly passes for an evaluation of a product. I would add that we use far more criteria evaluating the nutritional value of canned soup and cereal.
Read morePlease enjoy a St. Patrick’s Day luncheon and an enlightening speech on "Ensuring a Great Education for All Kids," presented by Frank Riggs, Scottsdale businessman and former U.S. Congressman. Mr. Riggs is also the former CEO of Charter Schools Development Corporation and the founding president of Arizona Connections Academy.
This event will be held at the Sabbar Shrine, 450 S. Tucson Blvd., Tucson, AZ. Tickets are $20 per person. For more information and to purchase tickets, contact Debe Fleenor, debefleenor@allstate.com or text Debe at 520-250-1755.
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Golly, I don’t know who to believe. Diane Douglas or my own lyin’ eyes?
(Slide of the above image provided by Robert Michael.)
To read the Common Core Math Standards compared to the "Replacement," click HERE.
To read the Common Core ELA (English/Language Arts) Standards compared to the "Replacement," click HERE.
You don’t need a college degree to see that Arizona hasn’t "replaced" Common Core. All you need is the ability to put on your thinking cap and read.
See Also:
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Please take action on the SB1314 ‘Student Data Privacy’ Bill. As written, it is not a good Bill. Members of the Mommy Lobby are working with House Education Committee members to get an amendment to get our 3 concerns addressed.
Right now, we OPPOSE SB1314 as written.
SB1314 will be heard in the House Education Committee Monday, March 6 at 2pm. Click HERE to see the agenda.
HERE ARE THE 3 MAIN OBJECTIONS TO SB1314:
Read moreWouldn’t you think that, by now, most Arizonans know that Superintendent Diane Douglas is lying when she repeatedly tells people that Arizona’s "new standards are ‘No way’ Common Core-like"!! I guess she thinks that, if she repeats the lie often enough, people will believe it.
Gilbert Watch has published two side-by-side comparisons, which were put together by a mother with the Mommy Lobby: 1) The old Common Core Math compared to Arizona’s New Math Standards, and 2) The old Common Core English/Language Arts standards compared to Arizona’s New English/Language Arts standards.
Recently, a mother with the Mommy Lobby produced a simple, two-sided flyer that you can distribute to your friends, family, legislators, parents, children, by-standers, curiosity seekers, etc: "How Much of the Common Core Standards Really Changed?"
For anyone who wants to know everything there is to know about Common Core, so you, too, can be sick to death of it, see below. As for me, I’m researching homeschooling.
Read moreAs clearly shown in a previous article titled Arizona’s Newest K-12 Math Standards No Different than Common Core, the same is true of the English/Language Arts (ELA) Standards.
One of the mothers with the Mommy Lobby has completed a 93-page side-by-side comparsion of the old Common Core K-12 ELA Standards to Arizona’s Final “repealed and replaced” Draft.
Click HERE to see with your own eyes how the Math Standards compare.
Click HERE to see with your own eyes how the English/Language Arts Standards compare.
So, the next time you hear someone say how Arizona’s Common Core standards have been repealed or eliminated, you will know it’s a lie.
You have the evidence at your fingertips.
Read moreSci-Fi Author Jerry Pournelle recently re-published a sixth grade reader from 1914. In his latest FIREWALL, Bill Whittle explains how full comprehension of a single paragraph from that hundred-year-old elementary school textbook eludes virtually all of today’s college graduates; shows why it is such a sin, and reveals the Progressive Struggle for Stupidity in all of its undeniable venality.
Read moreLast Thursday, Oct. 10, the Heber-Overgaard School District Governing Board took a stand. They unanimously refused to sign the Common Core Declaration that was “required” of them by the Arizona Department of Education (AZDOE). Agenda Item 8.02 Approval of Declaration of Curricular and Instructional Alignment to the Arizona Academic Standards was not approved.
The room was full of parents, teachers, and other members of the community. Many spoke out against Common Core. Senator Chester Crandell (LD6) spoke about his concern that, with the exception of the Superintendent, all of the members of the State Board of Education are appointed by the Governor, not elected by the voters. That needs to change. He also voiced his concerns about PARCC testing, stating that he was in favor of college entrance exams.
The board understands that they still have to abide by the Common Core State Standards, because the state law requires it. However, this vote should send a message to the Administration, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal, and the AZDOE that the Heber-Overgaard Schools Governing Board and community are not in favor of Common Core.
You may think that this board vote was the big story. It isn’t.
The big story is what parents, teachers, and a governing board member had to say during this meeting.
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Some time ago, a Wyoming school teacher revealed that she had been told by her school district that she was not allowed to speak out against Common Core.
There are many teachers in Arizona who are afraid to speak against Common Core, fearful of retaliation from their Superintendents, who could target them as first in line for a lay-off, or reassign them to an undesirable teaching position.
I’ve spoken with teachers who hate Common Core. They talk of children hating school, because of all the testing, testing, testing. Even in the first grade, there is little time for anything resembling fun. Everything is uniform, and schools, more than ever before, are turning into "test prep factories."
These teachers feel like slaves to an insufferable system that deadens the joys of teaching, and they are afraid to speak out publicly! Please send Gilbert Watch your story. I will not reveal your name! Send to anitalchristy@gmail.com.
Here is the article titled A Wyoming School’s Common Core Gag Order.
The article begins "I received this email from a 6th grade teacher in Wyoming whose school placed a gag order on her regarding her opposition to the Common Core State Standards. I’m withholding her name to protect her privacy (and career)."
Here is the email from the Wyoming teacher:
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