HALF HOLLOW HILLS Copyright © 2015 Long Islander News
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LongIslanderNews.com VOL. 16, ISSUE 37
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2015
24 PAGES
HALF HOLLOW HILLS
Teacher’s Rep.: Cuomo Adds To Common Core Chaos awroblewski@longislandergroup.com
In calling last week for the second review in less than two years of New York’s implementation of the Common Core program, the president of the Half Hollow Hills Teacher Association said Friday he believes Gov. Andrew Cuomo is “leaving public education in a sense of constant turbulence.” “The governor can keep calling for review, after review, after review, and we’ll continue to go through this chaos,” Richard Haase, president of the association, which maintains more than 1,200 members, said Friday. “But, at this point, we already know where we should be going. The governor is just reluctant to admit that.” Haase sensed that reluctance when, in a statement released Sept. 3, Cuomo maintained his support for the “goal” of Common Core standards, but also admitted implementa-
tion by the state Education Department has been “deeply flawed.” In an attempt to remedy that, Cuomo said a “comprehensive” review of the state’s implementation will be conducted by a panel consisting of the new state Commissioner of Education MaryEllen Elia, education experts, teachers, parents and legislative representatives in time for the governor’s State of the State Address in January. The call is similar to that of one Cuomo made in his 2014-15 budget presentation, released Jan. 21, 2014, where he cited Common Core implementation as flawed and called for a review by a panel of legislators and education experts. “We must have standards for New York’s students, but those standards will only work if people – especially parents – have faith in them and in their ability to educate our children,” the governor said the Sept. 3 release. “The current Common Core pro-
SPOTLIGHT
Long Island’s Oogee Wawa A14 To Make History
gram does not do that. It must.” Haase agreed that the program isn’t accomplishing what it’s set out to do and, instead, said it’s putting a stress on students by forcing them to sit “in a room for six hours at a time, for an assessment that has no benefits and never gives useful data.” “No one can possibly say that’s good for the students,” he said. “We need to take a serious look at the length and usefulness of these assessments.” In examining figures provided by the Half Hollow Hills School District earlier this year, it appears parents across the district agree with Haase. During the 2014-15 school year, Half Hollow Hills saw 1,689 students, or about 45 percent, refuse state ELA testing and 1,814, or 48 percent, refuse state math testing. According to documentation on the district’s website, as of June, the district enrolled 3,780 students in
Gov. Andrew Cuomo grades 3-8, the grades eligible for state testing. Haase suggested that altering the tests might help ease concerns. “We can have rigorous, shorter as(Continued on page A22)
Long Islander News photo/Andrew Wroblewski
By Andrew Wroblewski
Field Of Honor 2015 Huntington Town Hall’s lawn turned into a sea of red, white and blue on Monday as part of the the sixth annual Field of Honor organized by the Kiwanis Club of Huntington, in which hundreds of American flags were donated for $35 each to benefit Huntington’s children and veterans. For more information, visit buyaflag.org.
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