TPSB nixes Common Core opt-out request

The Terrebonne Parish School Board struck down a resolution which would have requested a district-wide opt out of Common Core State Standards and the related exam, at last Tuesday night’s meeting.

Had it passed, the resolution would have asked Gov. Bobby Jindal and Louisiana Superintendent of Education John White to request members of the Louisiana Legislature to use their authority to remove Terrebonne Parish from the programs until they were thoroughly reviewed and understood by teachers, parents and community leaders, subject to School Board approval.

The School Board also shot down a substitute resolution from the floor requesting that the district be exempt from any penalties if parents decide to opt their children out of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exam. The test is a year-end math and English language assessment.

Both votes failed by a 6-2-1 tally. School Board members Vicki Bonvillain, the representative who brought the original resolution to the table, and Debi Benoit, the representative who brought the substitute resolution to the table, voted in favor of both. Roosevelt Thomas, Richard Jackson, Dr. Brenda Leroux Babin, L.P. Bordelon, Roger Dale DeHart and Donald Duplantis voted against the measures. Gregory Harding was absent.

With students slated to begin taking the PARCC assessment March 16, board members said passage of the resolutions would be distracting and confusing to parents and students. Adjustment to yet another new curriculum, they said, would also be problematic.

“When I ran for school board, one of the things that I came out publicly and said is that I believe one of the biggest problems in education today is that the people who are making the decisions about education are not listening to the educators in the classroom who are on the front lines day to day educating our children,” said Babin, who added that she received many calls supportive of Common Core and none in opposition. “My opinion in this case really does not matter so much. What matters is what the educators are telling me, that they believe is the right thing to do for this resolution.”

As mandated by state government, Terrebonne Parish adopted Common Core standards in full during this school year.

During public comment portions of last Tuesday night’s meeting, a large group of parents and community members spoke out against Common Core, and several others, including some employees of the school district, spoke out in favor of the changes.

Members of the anti-Common Core group said the district should have a voice in its curriculum. The new curriculum, they said, teaches test-taking skills rather than critical thinking, and requires too much homework. One parent likened Common Core State standards to “pushing a socialist agenda.”

“As a whole, Common Core is insidious propaganda to shape our children into being good, obedient citizens, non-thinkers in the socialist collective,” said Darryl DiMaggio Sr., a concerned citizen whose child is home-schooled. “Most of the reading assignments are pure evil propaganda aimed at undermining the American way of life.”

Terrebonne Parish School District Social Studies Curriculum Specialist Myles Barr disputed the anti-Common Core group’s socialist claims.

“As a parent, don’t bring my kids back. Push them forward. Dealing with the grades and the stress, that’s my job as a parent to help my kids work through that stuff. That’s not your job as a government,” Barr said to the school board, urging them to vote against the proposal. “That would actually be closer to communism.”

Another speaker, David Mounts, said he has held many town hall meetings in which Common Core has been discussed.

“I continually hear about how these children are being taught about taking a test. Many have stated that from Christmas until Mardi Gras their kids are being prepared for a test but are coming home with record amounts of homework,” Mounts said. “ … Many [parents] are so frustrated to see their children crying every night doing homework later and later each night while their grades are dropping. I have several parents who have stated to me that their children do not want to go to school anymore.”

Common Core supporters said much of the push against the standards are driven by what they call misinformation or issues that are not taking place in Terrebonne Parish. They said Common Core curriculum actually creates more critical thinking and added that they have seen a positive difference in schools since the change.

“Common Core Standards represent nothing more than a more rigorous shift in academic standards so that our students will become critical thinkers, problem solvers and be able to graduate and compete on a global scale for a positive future. Every day we see students successfully adjusting to the standards and solving complex problems in the classroom,” said Terrebonne Principal’s Association and Schriever Elementary Principal Melynda Rodrigue.

One parent within the anti-Common Core group, Candace LaJaunie, stated that she would opt her child, a Lisa Park Elementary student, out of PARCC testing. Parents may opt their children out of the PARCC assessment, however the child would receive a zero grade and the full ramifications of parents choosing to opt their children out is not yet known for the children, the school, the teacher or the district as a whole, according to BESE 3rd District Member Dr. Lottie Beebe. All that’s known at this moment is that the child will receive a zero on the exam, and that zero will count against the teacher, the school and the district. Any potential financial ramifications are unknown.

“I do fear for those school systems where there is going to be a large number of parents opting their children out,” Beebe said.

Terrebonne Parish Superintendent of Schools Philip Martin said he hopes no parents opt their children out. If they do, he said, the school district would not fight their decisions.

Benoit said her substitute resolution – similar to that of five other nearby school districts – would protect the district if a large number of parents opt out.

“There’s still so much that we don’t know, and I think that’s the overall, general fear of all this,” Benoit said. “We can’t do anything about the standards now and maybe the standards are not something as offensive as some people think, but certainly these other attachments are very much a concern for me.”

Some anti-Common Core speakers said they feel teachers have been instructed with fear of consequences not to say anything negative about the standards, an allegation Martin denied.

“No one has ever been threatened you’re going to lose your job if you say you don’t like Common Core, ever, by me or any of my staff members,” Martin said. “I’ve heard that thought so many times. That simply is probably some more of the Internet lore and Internet myth connected to some of the misinformation.”

Bonvillain said that while failure of the resolutions might be a blow to local Common Core opponents, three of the four major candidates for governor are against the program, providing additional hope. Republicans Scott Angelle and David Vitter and Democrat John Bel Edwards are outspoken against Common Core. Republican Jay Dardenne remains a supporter.

Candace LaJaunie (at podium) speaks out in favor of an anti-Common Core initiative at last Tuesday’s Terrebonne Parish School Board meeting.

RICHARD FISCHER | THE TIMES