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Wendy Steele of Houma said her child was on the honor roll, but is now bringing home C’s and D’s because of problems with the Common Core curriculum.
“My kids hate showing their progress reports,” she said. “Since Common Core, there’s been more homework and more crying due to more homework.”
Steele was among several parish residents standing in the rain Monday to protest Common Core education standards. She said she was keeping her kids out of school in keeping with the national day of protest.
“Instead of sending your children to school on Nov. 18, raise awareness of the problems of Common Core with a public family outing,” said a flyer for the event, called the “Don’t Send Your Child to School Day.”
The rally, organized by SayNoToCommonCore.com, drew a small crowd of mothers and children who gathered outside of the Terrebonne Parish School Board district office in Houma.
“We want to make people aware that Common Core is a federal takeover of education and it’s going to strip away their rights as parents,” said Dena Chancy of Houma, another protestor. “We are demanding our state officials withdraw Louisiana from Common Core.”
Jennifer Smith, a Houma resident with a third-grader at Bayou Blue Elementary in Lafourche Parish, said she was not informed of Common Core until this year.
“I found out in passing,” she said. “A teacher apologized for not telling the parents.”
Smith said parents should have the right to vote on whether or not schools should adopt Common Core standards. She said the standards were adopted without adequate input.
“If we were allowed to vote, we would vote it out,” she said.
Smith also kept her daughter out school for the protest.
“I called the school and said she’s staying home,” she said. “A lot of people are bashing us for keeping our kids out of school, but it’s a lesson in ‘We the People.’ Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks didn’t accomplish anything by sitting around. Our kids are learning a lesson.”
Melanie Babin of Houma said her son, a ninth-grader at Houma Junior High School, wanted to go to school today.
“I told him I was doing this for his future education,” she said.
Babin said the group is also planning a silent protest at 6 p.m. Tuesday night, prior to the school board meeting scheduled for 7 p.m.
“We want to know what’s going on,” she said. “I found out about Common Core from YouTube and other social media. I want to know why the school board hasn’t informed us.”
State governors and school superintendents created Common Core education standards to ensure students in every state are ready for college or careers. The standards set what students should know at every grade level.
Terrebonne Parish School Superintendent Philip Martin said most U.S. states, including Louisiana, voluntarily adopted the standards.
“Common Core state standards were adopted by 45 states,” he said. “Louisiana is one of those states and Terrebonne Parish is in the state of Louisiana. Our students will be tested at the end of this year and the end of next year on Common Core state standards, so it’s our legal and educational obligation to the students to prepare them for that assessment.”
Carol Davis, Terrebonne Parish assistant superintendent, said the parish has been transitioning to Common Core for the past couple of years.
“This is the third year of implementation for our kindergarten students and the second year in first grade,” she said. “The State of Louisiana and Terrebonne Parish have always had curriculum standards. They were called Comprehensive Curriculum Grade Level Expectations. Common Core is a lot of the same thing, although packaged differently.”
Davis said many of the changes involve English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics.
“We have prepared our teachers for it with extensive training and professional development, and, overall our students are adjusting,” she said. “It’s a process and there will be a period of adjustment for some students. It’s not going to happen overnight.”
She said Terrebonne Parish is ahead of most parishes in preparing its students and teachers. Davis said a group of highly-qualified teachers from each of the schools spent the entire summer developing units and lesson plans to share with other teachers in the district.
“We also purchased a set of new supplemental materials for K-2 math and K-5 ELA reading,” she said.
In addition, she said each of the schools have been conducting informational meetings about Common Core and sending home handouts to parents on a regular basis.
Davis said she is aware of several rumors in the district regarding Common Core standards. She insisted that Common Core has nothing to do with sex education; and, the district will not utilize any type of inappropriate texts for students.
“High school students will be reading the same novels they’ve read in English,” she said. “There will be no changes.”
Davis said a parent called her concerned Common Core called for the school district to implant computer chips in students’ heads.
“There is a lot of stuff out there on social media,” she said, noting some parents believe it.
Another parent told Davis she heard schools were going to have students pray to the Common Core for an hour each day. She said this is untrue and most likely a political ploy used by certain groups to accomplish political goals.
“I can’t stress enough – it is not a federal curriculum, “ she said. “Common Core was developed by the National Association of Governors. It’s not a federal curriculum. States opted to adopt these standards.”
Davis said information about Common Core, including Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) can be found on its website www.louisianabelieves.com. She said there’s a link on the school district’s website.
“It tells what they are; why we need them; why we adopted them; and, who created them,” she said. “There’s also a parent’s guide.”
If parents have questions or concerns about their children’s progress, Davis said they should request a parent-teacher conference and share their concerns with the principal at the school.
“I encourage them to get involved and learn more,” she said. “They can ask to sit in class and see what’s going on. We don’t have any secrets and there’s no hidden agenda. This has nothing to do with ObamaCare. It’s not a federal curriculum. It’s been adopted by the State of Louisiana.”
Protestors stand in the rain Monday as they gather outside the Terrebonne Parish School Board district office to show their opposition to Common Core. Shown are Jennifer Smith, left, Melanie Babin, Sarah Rebert, Alexander Srevens, 7, Wendy Steele, Kaelyn Steele, 8, Jaden Underdonk, 9, and Jace Steele,11.
