Contact: Nat T. Bender 908-377-0393, nbender [at] aftnj.org
We agree with NJ Education Commissioner David Hespe that the process of crafting educational standards is fluid and ever changing so it necessitates widespread educational community input to be done well. The voices of informed parents and articulate students, along with teachers and all educators need to be considered if New Jersey is to develop effective new standards.
In the meantime we call on the Governor, Commissioner Hespe and the New Jersey legislature to issue a moratorium on using PARCC scores for high stakes decisions; opening the door to allow teachers to bring the joy of learning back to our classrooms. The Governor’s statement that the Common Core is not working for New Jersey sends a message to districts to spend less resources, time and effort to maintain standards that will soon be superseded. How then can we continue to make critical decisions that impact students, communities, neighborhood schools, and teachers on the test specifically designed to measure progress using these standards?