OPINION: Why the rush for Common Core in Stafford Schools?

Forty friends and neighbors have just unnecessarily lost their jobs in the Stafford School System.

Superintendent Chidiac has been quoted in articles defending
the necessity of these budget cuts to “prepare for the mandated PARCC assessments and align curriculum to the mandated Common Core standards” and “technology upgrades to help our students become 21 century learners in our global society.”

So, in order to let Common Core IN the door of our schools,  we must push COMMON SENSE in the form of dedicated greeters, teachers, staff, secretaries, teacher’s assistants OUT the door. (the foundation and strong roots of our school system)

Perhaps I don’t understand the value of this program because I didn’t grow up with it.
I grew up in a school with dedicated teachers who devoted their lives educating themselves to educate me. They taught me not just out of text books but by example, with their only goal being to open my mind and help me think for myself.

When I look back at my school years, it’s not the latest technology that comes to mind because there was none. We had broken crayons and used textbooks yet somehow we were able to produce some of the greatest thinkers of our time who have gone on to advance our society in ways we never dreamed of.

I agree that we must prepare our children for a changed world but I believe Common Core is only teaching our children that the government is reaching into their classrooms under the guise that THEY know what’s better for them...better than the person they call “teacher” or their own parents.

Our teachers already have filled classrooms. Taking away their support staff and drowning them in Common Core paperwork while dictating what they must teach is pulling the rug out from under them… and it will be our children who suffer the fall.

35 states have already rejected Common Core with pending legislation to halt it until their states can assess its value. NJ is one of them. Contrary to what many think, Common Core has NOT been officially mandated for adoption yet it seems our Stafford School system is not only acting  prematurely to acquire it…it’s being pulled in with a rope. 3 states have already repealed it completely.

I firmly believe that if our parents and tax payers knew what was coming down the pike with Common Core, curriculum wise and tax dollar wise, the Stac Center would be filled three times over
with very concerned parents and residents.

With all due respect to Mr Chidiac and the board, their own personal beliefs on Common Core should not come into play.
They should be a mirror of the will of the constituents who voted them  into their positions. 

 Parents and taxpayers should  be properly educated with workshops and seminars (as countless other state's school boards are doing)
on just exactly what to expect with Common Core, ESPECIALLY when it’s the PEOPLE who are being asked to foot the bill. 

It is worth noting that the 5 states who adopted it prematurely have already filed to repeal it. They found it was not beneficial for their students and was a severe financial burden to their taxpayers.

I think the increase of nearly 5% over last years Stafford School budget gives us a window into what to expect as each year
goes on if Common Core is implemented. But what is even more distressing is this tax hike still came after removing 40 people from their jobs. Who will be the next round of positions considered expendable at our children's expense?

Common Core did not have to be included in this budget or possibly EVER depending how legislation turns out against it. To jump the gun and invite this burden onto our teachers, students, parents and tax payers makes no sense.

No technology can or will EVER take the place of the human touch…the dedicated greeters, assistants, secretaries and non tenured teachers whose un-benefitted part time salaries were hurting no ones bottom line and whose worth far outweighed any compensation they ever received.