Tag Archives: Salem

States Rejecting Common Core Standards – Will Salem-Keizer School Board Follow Suit?

Georgia: State school chief will dive into Cobb’s Common Core debate

State Schools Superintendent John Barge is coming to Cobb County on Saturday to address concerns about the controversial Common Core standards.

The announcement of Barge’s visit to Cobb comes on the heels of a 4-3 vote by the Cobb Board of Education last week to reject the purchase of $7.5 million in math textbooks aligned with Common Core. This rejection at the local level came after the state had already committed to implementing the nationwide standards under the past two governors, Sonny Perdue and Nathan Deal, even though the Legislature has never voted on the issue.

That Barge would come to Cobb to face what is likely to be a room full of fellow Republicans with deep-seated suspicions about a federal program is a sign that worry is building in Atlanta about the possibility of a grassroots revolt against Common Core.

Barge is scheduled to address the Cobb Republican Party Breakfast at 8:15 a.m. Saturday at the GOP’s Roswell Street headquarters.

Meanwhile, Republican office-holders in Cobb, along with those hoping to be elected to offices here, continue to line up against Common Core.

Read more: The Marietta Daily Journal – Schools chief to visit Cobb weigh in on Common Core

Here is SKSD’s response to a question about Common Core Standards in SKSD:

With the adoption of Common Core State Standards, we have an unprecedented opportunity to access instructional materials and innovative practices on a national level. Many of these resources are open source, meaning anyone can access the materials.

The primary responsibility of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment program assistants is to take current and innovative research and practices from the field and determine how well it aligns to and supports instruction of Common Core State Standards and promotes college and career readiness in our district. The program assistants also participate in the national and state committees for Smarter Balance, Achieve, Next Generation, South Metro to Salem STEM Hub and national language arts consortium where they are able to provide input to the development of national and state instructional and assessment materials as well learn about innovations relative to CCSS.

We currently are working with both Stanford University and University of Colorado Boulder on development and implementation of instructional practices and materials for K-12 ELL students.

Additionally, the district applies for US Department of Education grants to support expansion through pilots of innovative practices developed by teachers in the field.

Source: http://www.salkeiz.k12.or.us/inside24j/inside24j-april-24-2013/ask-24j-22-questions-answered

 

Public Education Is Costing Us Billions

We all see it.

More money being spent, more money being asked for in bond measures, and more money taken with taxes.

Massive federal mandates are being imposed on our local schools because school districts accepted federal money with little or no time to understand what strings are attached.

Example of a Common Core worksheet - coming soon to your child's school?

Example of a Common Core worksheet – coming soon to your child’s school?

And boy oh boy, are there strings attached!

School districts across the country were coerced with waivers for No Child Left Behind and federal Race to the Top grants from stimulus money that are dictating adherence to Common Core State Standards. These standards will:

  • Mandate nationalized testing
  • Implement data tracking that is a flagrant violation of privacy
  • Impose one-size-fits-all benchmarks that will drive classroom curriculum
  • Require an official observer to be present in the classroom
  • Discourage parental participation in their child’s education

As a School Board Director, I will ask questions, dig deep, and listen to the needs of Salem-Keizer students, parents, teachers, and staff. I will demand answers from the status quo that is all to often just a rubber stamp. I am running for school board because I believe that Salem-Keizer schools need balanced, sensible leadership.

If you agree, please write-in Denise Quinn Nanke for Zone 3 on your May ballot.

Blue Cover

Lynch Mob?

According to this news story, professors at the University of Buffalo compared pro-life students to a lynch mob and tried to shut them down.  Of course, it was one of the professors who was actually arrested for behaving in a lynch mob manner.

The school district had a similar reaction to us when we protested Planned Parenthood’s involvement in our schools.  While we were not the subject of profanity-laced tirades, the following meeting had a large number of security guards present as if we were some sort of threat to their safety.  But we were no such thing.  We are pro-life.  We respect others, even when they don’t respect us.

At Buffalo University, pro-abortion professors and others objected to the graphic depiction of abortion present on the posters.  If they are in favor of abortion, you would think they would be proud to have those pictures displayed.  But they are not.

In Salem-Keizer School District, a grandmother read from a Planned Parenthood website.  You would think that if they were in favor of Planned Parenthood in our schools, they would be proud to hear those words.  But they weren’t.  They asked the grandmother to stop reading from the text of the website.  I think it was called “Take Care Down There”.  Anyway, like the professor at Buffalo University who was arrested for harassing pro-life students, they are in favor of something they are not really proud of.  They don’t want it shown.  They tried to hide Planned Parenthood’s involvement, and downplayed what Planned Parenthood does.  We think its better to be in favor of something that we are proud of.

There are two candidates for the school board who are in favor of getting rid of Planned Parenthood.  Gayle Strawn is on the ballot, and Denise Quinn-Nanke is a write-in candidate.  Support them with your votes.  Just as important, support them by spreading the news on social media and telling your friends.  Like them on Facebook.  Forward e-mails.  We need everyone to know about Planned Parenthood’s involvement in our schools, and that there are two candidates who aim to stop it.

via Lynch Mob?. Fighting Planned Parenthood in Salem-Keizer

Salem, Oregon: Statesman Journal Newspaper SILENT on Gosnell Murder Trial

UPDATE: I’ve been running this search every day and the Statesman Journal is STILL SILENT as of today.

Twitter has been blazing with the #Gosnell awareness campaign, which is bringing attention to the hideous crimes of Dr. Kermit Gosnell in Philadelphia, PA. I was browsing articles on Twitchy and came across this piece on the deafening lack of coverage at the venerable New York Times. I decided to head on over to the Statesman Journal webpage and do a little search of my own.

Here’s what my search for “Gosnell” yielded today (April 14, 2013)

SJ Gosnell Search

Screen shot of search page at StatesmanJournal.com taken Sunday, April 14, 2013 at 1:00 pm

Now some may ask “why would a newspaper in Salem, Oregon cover a murder trial in Pennsylvania?” That’s a good question however, the Statesman Journal is the only major newspaper published in the capital city, it is owned by Gannett,  and it links to USA Today as it’s source for national news. So, perhaps the more troubling question is why didn’t my search yield any results from their national news affiliate?

All news starts out as “regional news”, but some events are so shocking that they transcend that status quickly and make the leap into national news. The Newtown school massacre, the Aurora theater massacre, and Super-storm Sandy were all regional tragedies that demanded national attention. The heinous crimes of Kermit Gosnell – and his murder trial – also have national significance and the massive amount of  social media attention reflects that.

There are people in communities across the country who rely on their local newspapers to give them the news: local, state-wide, and national. Given that these papers are part of a larger food chain of information, my search query should have brought up some results.

Salem mourns loss of a community leader

Mike McClaren

Written by Gerry Frank, Special to the Statesman Journal

A city is very much like an extended family.

In many cases, there is just one individual whom members of the group go to for advice, for problem solving and for inspiration. Salem just lost one of those rare individuals: Mike McLaran, longtime CEO of the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce and key spark plug for a long litany of projects and events in our area.

When Mike (formerly a resident of Albany) was hired to head this important civic group, he faced an organization that had seen its better days; the chamber was not the strong and influential voice of past years. As a matter of fact, you had to go back to the late 1950s and early 1960s, when Salem was named an All-American City, to find a time when this group was looked upon as “the outfit to be a part of.”

Read more at the Statesman Journal

Sunday news story here

Feminists and Political Candidates Kumbaya on Oregon Capitol Steps

Numerous Oregon Democratic candidates for office, union representatives, and assorted professional victims held a rally today on the Capitol steps, accompanied by an American flag, altered to proudly display the “woman” symbol. An amalgam of blatant political pandering, shrieking protests, and bad feminist poetry resounded from the Capitol block of Court Street downtown. Continue reading →