Area Educators React to Departure of State Ed Commissioner
As a soft-spoken and mild-mannered figure, New York State Commissioner of Education Dr. John King seems like an unlikely candidate to be right in the middle of controversy. But with the rollout of the new Common Core standards, heated debate followed King wherever he’s been.
Now, King is leaving that controversy behind after it was revealed the he would be departing the state Education Department to take a federal position in the Obama administration. King, just like the Common Core he’s overseen, received a mixed review from school officials, school board members, and lawmakers regarding his tenure presiding as New York’s top educator.
Mahopac Superintendent Brian Monahan described King’s tenure as “tumultuous.”
He added if King were a “more careful listener” it would have made rolling out the new implementation more effective.
“I attended many events at which thoughtful suggestions were made by educators and parents, but those making the suggestions often felt they had little or no impact because decisions had already been made,” Monahan said in an email. “I wish Dr. King well in his few federal roll.”
Outgoing Putnam Legislator Sam Oliverio, who is also an assistant principal at Putnam Valley High School, said while he likes the Common Core, he added King hurt the idea of higher standards by the way he “tried to shove it through the system.”
“He made a lot of mistakes while commissioner,” Oliverio said. “At the same time, I give the man credit for being brave, standing by his principles and trying to push forward what he believes.”
King recently visited the Putnam Valley School District where he observed teachers and students at Putnam Valley Elementary School as they learned under the Common Core guidelines. During the visit, Superintendent Fran Wills, who previously was the school chief at Briarcliff, said it was an “honor” to have him.
When approached after a board meeting Thursday night, Wills said she thinks King “can bring his ideas and his principals to the federal government.”
“I would like to see the new commissioner bring people together and create a more united sense of progress going forward,” said Wills.
Pleasantville Superintendent Mary Fox-Alter and Board of Education President, Shane McGaffey both said that during King’s time as education commissioner he was not as collaborative as they would have liked, noting he did not seek advice from local superintendents or board of education members, an approach Fox-Alter said made local-level educators feel irrelevant.
McGaffey expressed concern that King would now be working at a national level after making so many mistakes with the implementation of the Common Core and was worried about the larger scale implications of his promotion.
“If you look at his track record in New York, it certainly wasn’t great,” said McGaffey. “It’s kind of scary, in a sense, to see someone get rewarded for that really poor level of implementation and my only hope is that he’s learned a lot from his experience in New York.”
Going forward, McGaffey and Fox-Alter stated that they hope King’s replacement is more willing to seek input from more stakeholders at the local level to create a stronger education system.
“I would hope that the new commissioner would be a real practitioner, someone with solid experience in public education who knows how to collaborate with school boards, who are the elected officials of their local communities and superintendents, who are responsible for executing the law,” said Fox-Alter.
