The General Assembly decided earlier this year to pause further implementation of statewide Common Core standards beyond second grade. A committee was formed and lawmakers approved a decision for a year of public feedback on Common Core before the Board of Education decides what the state’s standards will be.
West Central School Superintendent Charles Mellon said his corporation is moving forward with what Common Core standards have been approved and he said this delay is just to make sure students are getting what they need to learn before they leave the school system.
“It’s really not that much of a different approach, it’s just a separation of some of the thoughts as far as keeping up with the times and what are the most important things that the students need to move forward in their education,” stated Mellon. “It kind of goes back to the old saying, ‘we keep doing what we’ve been doing and we’ll keep getting the same results’ and that’s not going to be keeping up with the global economy when these kids get out of school. I think both organizations kind of supported that thought. Some people have different thoughts and are dragging their feet with it.”
He believes everyone has taken a step back to determine what it really means. Common Core standards were adopted in most states as a building block of what students should be learning in subject areas.
“It just takes each subject area and these are the things we should be teaching in English/Language Arts, Social Studies and Science because these are the important things, according to the experts, that students will need to succeed in down the road,” said Mellon.
