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October 24, 2013:

Mr. Bailey,
I commend you on pressing elected officials and State Education Department  officials to address the CCLS (Common Core Learning Standards). While I am not at the level of the individuals you spoke with and received the standard stock answer, I will say this to you: Interview the field: teachers, administrators and parents to get the “feel” of what this movement means. 
Then I’ll say to you, going back to Goals 2000  (initiated) by President Clinton, we have shifted from states running schools to the feds (Federal Government) running schools. Please keep in mind that the CCLS is a result of school districts across the country qualifying for federal money–a ton of money, unprecedented money–if they–

1. Support and open a plethora of Charter Schools

2. Adapt their performance metrics to federal requirements thus the APPR which hold principals and teachers to unprecedented and unrealistic accountability standards.

Susie Oppenheimer authored that bill to satisfy the feds request….and then she retired……………

We’ve lost the point of education because the children are “measures” interpreted by data that holds their performance directly related to the professionals in their lives; and we have dismissed childrens’ affective growth, maturity etc as incidentals that are not figured in the equation. 

IN NYC I can not tell you how many fragile lives have been disrupted because of DATA for  one or two points between a summer vacation with parents or a sweltering classroom with marginal remedial programs.

I share this with you because I know you care. There is no hidden agenda here.

The Educator

(Editor’s Note: the writer agreed to the publication of this letter with the understanding their name would not be published for fear of professional reprisal.)