Springfield Superintendent Alan Ingram and Westfield Superintendent Shirley Alvira agreed with the change.
Springfield Superintendent of Schools Alan J. Ingram said the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education's 9-0 vote to join 27 other states in adopting the so-called Common Core Standards will benefit Springfield students.School superintendents in Springfield and Westfield on Wednesday voiced support for the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education's 9-0 vote to join 27 other states in adopting the so-called Common Core Standards.
Springfield Schools Superintendent Alan J. Ingram counted himself as an advocate of the change, applauding the unanimous vote and saying it will benefit the more than 25,100 students in the city.
He said his staff will aggressively pursue all training opportunities to prepare teachers for the change. All schools must align their curriculum with the standards by the start of the 2012-2013 school year.
“Today’s vote to adopt the internationally-benchmarked standards is a giant leap towards education reform in the Commonwealth,” Ingram said. “This brave move will help level the playing field for all of our students and will help us close the achievement gap and raise the bar for our kids. Most importantly, it will go a long way in enhancing college and career readiness for our students.”
Shirley AlviraWestfield Schools Superintendent Shirley Alvira also supports the Common Core system and said she believes it shows Massachusetts will continue to be a leader in education.
“If the nation is heading towards really implementing a national assessment it makes sense for them to have national core standards,” she said.
But before a national assessment is put in place, she said she believes the nation’s next step will be to create a national curriculum in the two subjects to show teachers how to implement the standards. The assessment should follow the national curriculum.
“To have a valid assessment you have to measure what you teach,” she said. “If the high expectations are there, it is a good beginning.”
Western Massachusetts students gave different opinions about the change.
Sheila S. Fallon, a senior at Holyoke High School, said she believes the current standards have been good for students.
“I think that keeping the MCAS test is the better way to go, however I do see fellow students struggle to pass the test and for it to keep them from graduating with a high school diploma is a little harsh especially for students who give everything their best effort. Downgrading to something different would most likely only hurt the education of the students in Massachusetts and keep them from expanding their full potential,” Fallon said.
Ryan R. Migeed, a senior at Cathedral High School in Springfield, said he likes the idea of the Common Core standards.
“I am all for a national standards. I think the states that feel they are doing fine on their own don’t recognize the need for improvement. National standards can pull the states forward who are not on the same pace. Because of the fact we live in such a large country, it is hard to get all states at the same level on their own, but working together we can raise our standards as a whole,” Migeed said.