Where are the parents?

Published September 19, 2014

by Bob Luebke, Civitas Review online, September 17, 2014.

Appointments to the Academic Standards Review Commission (ASCR) are now complete. They are:

State Board of Education Appointments

Bill Cobey – Chair, North Carolina State Board of Education

Olivia Oxendine – State Board of Education member,  Professor of Education UNC-Pembroke

Governor McCrory Appointment

Andre Peek, IBM, NC Business Committee for Education

Speaker Thom Tillis Appointments

Sara "Katie" Lemons – Stokes County – English Teacher

Dr. Jeffrey  A. Isenhour – Catawba County – Middle School Principal

Ms. Tammy Covil – New Hanover County – New Hanover County Board of Education

Mrs. Sharmel "Denise" Watts – Mecklenburg County – Area Superintendent,  Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

Senate President Phil Berger Appointments 

Dr. John T. Schieck  – Wake County – Retired Professor

Laurie McCullum  – Rockingham County – Assistant Principal

Ann B. Clark – Iredell County – Dep. Supt. of Schools, Member of Central Management Team for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

Jeannie Metcalfe – Forsyth County – Winston Salem Forsyth County Board of Education

ASCR by the numbers -

6 – number of commission members who are professional educators

4 – number of commission members  who are current State or local school board members

0 – number of  commission members who listed "parent" on appointment release.

As we feared, the final ASCR appointments are top-heavy with professional educators and administrators and lack representation by those most concerned about the implementation of Common Core Standards, parents. After a year of testimony and research, it looks like the views of parents matter little to this process.

This is not a good start.

Also is it just me or is anyone else bothered by the location of the first meeting, the State Education Building — essentially the DPI offices. Legislation establishing the Commission specified ASCR was to be administered through the State Department of Administration. If that's the case, why is ASCR meeting essentially in NC DPI's building? Yes, I know the meeting is in the Construction Room and it's technically a DOA office in the building. But I also know DOA said the meeting location was a SBE decision, and NOT a DOA decision.

ASCR is supposed to be an independent commission representing a range of interests. Looking at members' occupations, the preponderance of professional educators and the lack of parental representation, sadly, this list looks like business as usual.

Someone convince me I'm wrong.

http://civitasreview.com

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September 19, 2014 at 11:26 pm
Richard Bunce says:

The government education industrial complex is well represented... parents not so much... nothing good will come from this as proven by the last several decades.

Should be employers, non education department university/college professors, and yes parents. They are the ones who actually notice the failings of the current traditional government school systems.

September 23, 2014 at 3:47 pm
Curt Budd says:

How about actual classroom teachers? We know more than anyone the things about Common Core that were good and bad. Not a single actual teacher on the panel? There's your problem.

And Mr. Bunce for the hundredth time, you use the phrase "failing public schools" but you NEVER give specifics, and you NEVER seem willing to visit an actual school to see what is good or bad about them. Just like most of our legislature that is making the decisions.

September 23, 2014 at 11:51 pm
Richard Bunce says:

Teachers in traditional government schools have had plenty of input of the process and are largely the product of college/university education departments... I would much rather have employers, non education department university/college professors, and parents figuring out what the State education system need to accomplish.

Majority of traditional government school students not proficient at basic skills... and that is with the traditional government school system bureaucrats and officials evaluating themselves... employers, university/college professors, and parents know it is even worse than that.

September 25, 2014 at 3:33 pm
Curt Budd says:

Just as I thought. You never have actual proof. Have not visited an actual school. All you know about public schools is whatever biased media you pay attention to. Get some facts. http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/the-myth-about-public-schools-b99353789z1-275844991.html

September 26, 2014 at 11:00 am
Richard Bunce says:

The proof is in the traditional government school evaluations conducted by the traditional government school officials themselves that result in the majority of traditional government school students not proficient at basic skills. The proof is in the number of parents that apply for school vouchers whenever offered that far exceeds the supply. The proof is in the statements of employers and college/university officials about how unprepared traditional government school students are for the next phase in the lives.

September 29, 2014 at 4:11 pm
Curt Budd says:

Give specific resources. I gave you one. Did you read it? I have current and/or former students at all of the top colleges/universities in the country. Their public school education must have served them just fine. Why not offer solutions on helping improve public schools that are stuggling(as guaranteed by state law) instead of just complaining about details of which you have no knowledge? I will put my public school up against any school, private, charter, etc in the state, country. Using your argument, being govt run is not inherently "bad" no more than it is inherently "good" .

My point is that the demise of public education is greatly overstated, which the article I posted makes very clear. And again which I, as opposed to you, observe and have observed on the front lines every day for several years. Would you rate a restaurant on their food, service, etc if you have never been inside or rely on the opinions of their competitors?

September 30, 2014 at 1:55 pm
Richard Bunce says:

The question is why do you oppose relatively low income parents being provided a choice in their child's education as the relatively high income parents have and frequently exercise to send their children to something other than a traditional government school? Many of these relatively high income parents include elected officials, government education bureaucrats, and traditional government school teachers.

If your traditional government school is as perfect as you claim it is then no parent would wish to use a voucher for an alternative school system. Let's offer all parents of students at your traditional government school and find out.

I rely on the opinions of the parents who regularly apply for more vouchers than are available when offered, on employers who regularly express their dissatisfaction with the basic skills of the K-12 graduates they employ, college/university professors dissatisfaction with K-12 graduates in their classrooms who increasingly need remedial classes in skills they should already have developed, and of course the government education establishment assessment of their own traditional government schools that show a majority of students not proficient at basic skills.

September 30, 2014 at 12:02 pm
Curt Budd says:

So a report came out today that the number one user of the vouchers is the Greensboro Islamic school. While I am all for religious freedom, it is unconstitutional to use public monies to pay for schools that discriminate for religious reasons. Could you imagine the uproar if public money was used for the White Baptist charter school? Or the "No Gays Allowed" charter school?

But that's not even my favorite. The second most used vouchers is at the Word of God christian school. Word of God is a basketball factory. So now our tax dollars are being used to pay for HIGH SCHOOL basketball scholarships??!! This argument is over.

Parents being able to choose the best school for their child is a noble idea. Putting it into practice in this state is a joke.

September 30, 2014 at 1:46 pm
Richard Bunce says:

You don't have a problem with parents choosing an Islamic school for their children do you? Where they get the money from to pay for it does not change that question one bit. Since taxpayers dollars are also used to subsidize preschool and post secondary education tuition do you care that those might be Islamic schools too?

You don't care about those choices because it is not something you perceive as a threat to your funding... holding children of low income parents captive to traditional government school funding is not a noble idea.

October 5, 2014 at 3:21 pm
Curt Budd says:

If the Islamic school is denying access to an otherwise qualified low-income child, you better believe I have a problem with it. Now if they want to be a private school, go for it. And again, I wish every child could go to a high-performing school, but taking money/resources away from low-income children or any-income children to pay for others is ethically wrong. You can try to spin it any way you want, that IS what's happening.

As for your rich people sending their kids to private schools, I would argue that that has a lot more to do with societal concerns than academic.

Through all.your arguments I still get the impression that you are less concerned about the present and future of education than you are about railing against anything "govt run".

October 6, 2014 at 11:22 am
Richard Bunce says:

Money is not getting taken away... Per student funding in traditional government school systems is more then double the voucher amount. If a parent decides to use a voucher to send their child to an alternate school system using the voucher, the traditional government school that child was assigned to will see an increase in it's per student funding since it has one less student by only loses half of its per student funding.

Traditional government schools also deny access to students both directly and indirectly, particularly in high school students through direct punishment and through encouraging high drop out rates.

Whatever the reasons relatively wealthy parents decide to send their child to alternative school systems I think all parents should have that option and not sacrifice the children of realtively low income parents in the failed traditional government school annual education experiments and administration/teacher discord.