The Academic Standards Review Commission discussed Monday the updated timeline for their preliminary recommendations, as well as when they will solicit input from stakeholders.
Commission members expect to have their preliminary recommendations ready by July, and they plan to invite teachers to speak at that month’s meeting as well. Community colleges, early colleges, the Chamber of Commerce, and parents of students will have an opportunity to speak at the commission’s June meeting. Members of the commission also showed interest in hearing from principals and any other possible stakeholder group.
“There is not a constituency in our state that is not important for us to hear from,” co-chair André Peek said.
To help along the process, the Commission has hired a new executive assistant and a new editorial associate, Jocelyn Herrera and Lisa Mumma, respectively.
Herrera is primarily focusing on supporting the timeline of the commission. According to Peek, she “brings North Carolina perspective to the table,” having already worked in the state on developing educational and training materials for military organizations.
Mumma is responsible for the final deliverable materials of the commission, including all interim and final reports. Together, Herrera and Mumma will also be working on finalizing the teacher feedback process, which is expected to launch in June.
Both the English Language Arts and Math working groups were given the opportunity to share updates with the commission during the meeting. ELA working group members discussed with the full commission the possibility of using the 2007 California standards as a reference for the new state standards. During the presentation, Peek said he liked the sound of the standards, which he said may minimize what some say are “the lack of clarity and issues with being precise” of the current standards.
The Math working group expressed an interest in examining the standards of Virginia, Massachusetts, and Minnesota, which are “much looser and more simple than Common Core standards” according to member John Scheik. Sheik also voiced some complaints about the disorganized state of his Math working group, saying that he “may have to fire someone.” The group includes both current and former teachers, as well as former faculty members of North Carolina schools.
The next meeting of the Academic Standards Review Commission is scheduled for June 15th from 1 to 5 PM.
