Assemblyman O'Neill hosts Common Core curriculum forum Tuesday in Carson City
Submitted by editor on Mon, 01/12/2015 - 10:52am
Newly elected Assemblyman Phillip "PK" O’Neill, R-Carson City, will host a forum Tuesday in Carson City at the Legislative Building for lawmakers and citizens. The forum is being led by opponents of Common Core State Standards.
Citizens for Sound Academic Standards welcomes the public to participate in the program which it says it will present both sides of the issue. The Common Core State Standards Initiative is an educational initiative in the United States that details what K-12 students should know in English language arts and mathematics at the end of each grade.
The initiative is sponsored by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers and seeks to establish consistent educational standards across the states as well as ensure that students graduating from high school are prepared to enter credit-bearing courses at two- or four-year college programs or to enter the workforce.
The Carson City event is Tuesday, Jan. 13, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Legislative Building, 401 South Carson Street, Room 1214. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Guests are advised to use the rear entrance. It will be live streamed to the Grant Sawyer Building in Las Vegas.
The program features Professor James Milgram and Professor Sandra Stotsky, experts in the field. Dr. Stotsky and Dr. Milgram were members of the “Common Core Validation Committee” created by the partnership of The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and The Council of Chief State School Officers.
These two educators are the only two on the committee who are content area specialists, and who have written the nation’s strongest K-12 standards, said Ann Bednarski, chairwoman of Citizens for Sound Academic Standards. After their careful review and attempts to improve the standards, Stotsky and Milgram, along with three others on the committee, would not sign off on the Common Core standards.
Pro Common Core advocates to appear Tuesday include Nevada Department of Education's Steve Canavero, deputy superintendent of student achievement; Cindy Sharp, director of NDE’s Office of Standards and Instructional Support and Assistant Director Dave Brancamp.
Assemblyman O’Neill minimizes his role as just providing “a name” to assist organizers with getting the legislative building site and live streaming to Las Vegas. However, he tells Nevada Journal that he “felt there [were] some legitimate questions not being answered,” and that these forums would “provide an opportunity to finally have questions answered by the Nevada Department of Education.”
On Wednesday, Citizens for Sound Academic Standards will host a lunch at Kings Buffet in Reno 3650 Kietzke Lane from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. The lunch is being hosted by Carole Fineberg. Lunch is $12 and optional.
On Wednesday night, Jan. 14, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. the group will lead a discussion at the Fallon Convention Center, 100 Campus Way in Fallon. It will be moderated by Bus Schamann, Churchill County Commissioner. There will be a question and answer following the panel discussion.
All events are free and donations are welcome. If you have questions, call Ann at (775) 882-3854.
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