Education has been formalized as a state function since the tenth amendment to the United States Constitution was passed. The amendment stated “powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” States, as long as they comply with the United States Constitution, remain in charge of education.
So how did the Federal Government gain such overreaching power with their implementation of the Common Core curriculum and evaluation of both teachers and students in public schools? The Federal Government under President Barack Obama in his initial year as President used his Race to the Top initiative to encourage States to raise standards for student achievement. His administration has initiated Race to the Top grants, including one received by New York State. Mandated standards are established for assessing both student growth and teacher effectiveness when this money is accepted
As part of this process, Common Core State standards will determine by grade what students “should understand”: by the end of that grade. These standards are anticipated as “guidelines” that teachers will use to help their students achieve. While many states, including New York, have welcomed this money, there has been some backlash against this program. The Republican National Committee in April said these standards “were an inadequate overreach” to control children with a “preconceived normal.” A few districts (e.g. in North Carolina and Massachusetts) have even dropped out of their State’s Race to the Top.
American Federation of Teachers leader Randi Weingarten felt many teachers will be unfairly judged by these new criteria and more time is needed to evaluate the tests. A backlash could occur against the Common Core. This transition to new standards should be given adequate time and resources.
Common Core standards were not brought up in New Rochelle during the recent school board election. This year’s election became extremely political as three Democrats, Mayor Noam Bramson, Councilmen Barry Fertel and Jared Rice, openly supported the school board candidate who won, Pamela Davis. The other candidate, Robert Cox, had no political backing in this low turnout election. The motivations of these three Democrats are not clear, but their open support of a candidate this election may cause future New Rochelle school board elections to become more politicized.
