King, Commish of State Education, Comes to Putnam Valley
Putnam Valley Elementary School students and staff welcomed a special guest Monday morning, a man that has been the center of the controversial new Common Core standards.
New York State Commissioner of Education Dr. John King walked the halls of the elementary school within the Putnam Valley school system, observing students and teachers during classroom time after he was invited to witness the district’s firm commitment of “raising student expectations and achievement,” according to an email from superintendent Fran Wills to staff about King’s impending visit.
Taking time to talk with multiple reporters in the middle of the visit, King said he tries to visit schools around the state to see firsthand how teachers and staff have been implementing the Common Core.
“I like to see the work schools are doing on the new standards,” King said. “See how they’re supporting their students in reaching college and career readiness.”
King, along with Putnam Valley administrators like Wills and elementary school principal Margaret Podesta, toured the building and went into multiple classrooms. Though only in each classroom for a few minutes, King said he saw students “thoughtfully reading challenging text” and discussing it with fellow classmates and teachers.
He added that it’s not just about adopting the mandated standards, but ensuring those standards are successfully implemented to best help students, despite there being public backlash over Common Core from students, teachers, administrators, and lawmakers.
“Change is definitely a challenge, it’s always hard and we are at a point now five years into this work where we are really seeing the fruits of the labor that people have amassed over the past five years,” King said. “And real change in classrooms and therefore greater opportunity for students.”
Wills, who became the superintendent of the district last year, said in an interview, the visit was a way to “honor” and “celebrate” teachers and students who are pushing the Common Core standards forward.
“There is an honor, there is a dignity when the highest educator in the state of New York comes to the school to say, ‘I am interested in connecting with the teachers here and seeing what they are doing and understanding how the difficult work of the Common Core is being translated into classrooms with students and seeing it come alive’” Wills said.
Wills sees the Common Core as a positive trend and approach to learning because it teaches analytical thinking, preparing students for a 21st century economy that is more complex than it was in the past. Wills did caution though, the emphasis on standardized tests and evaluations is something that school officials must get past to reach the “real work.”
King and Wills have met on numerous occasions at conferences. She said there is an important dialogue taking place that focuses on the future of education and King is a critical part of that discussion.
Wills said, “He’s involved in that dialogue and he’s willing to come into the schools to address that.”
