News
Extensive Media Coverage of the FSCCC Letter to Governor Scott on Standards Hearings
October, 2013The Florida and even national media has done an excellent job in covering our letter to Governor Rick Scott raising concerns about the upcoming hearings on the Common Core standards. Here is the list:
- Karl Dickey of the national website Examiner.com quoted the letter, Dr. Effrem and Randy Osborne extensively.
- Allison Nielsen of Sunshine State News did a great job of explaining our concerns and quoted Dr. Effrem
Co-founder of the FSCCC, Dr. Karen Effrem, warned Scott about the potential backlash of coming to a predetermined outcome before members of the public were allowed to give their input on the standards.
"If you really want the things you put in your order and letters to happen and be effective, the hearings truly need to be open and transparent. You need to stop supporting the corporate interests that are manipulating Florida's education system for their profit at the expense of our children," read the letter. "And you need to see that Representative Mayfield's bill, HB 25, is faithfully carrying out the concepts that you say you wanted in those documents. Otherwise, be prepared for a major backlash."
"If you really want the things you put in your order and letters to happen and be effective, the hearings truly need to be open and transparent. You need to stop supporting the corporate interests that are manipulating Florida's education system for their profit at the expense of our children," read the letter. "And you need to see that Representative Mayfield's bill, HB 25, is faithfully carrying out the concepts that you say you wanted in those documents. Otherwise, be prepared for a major backlash."
- James Call of the Florida Current mentions our concerns and quotes Randy Osborne.
"The plan for these hearings and statements by the commissioner are reminiscent of the manipulative practices employed during the education accountability summit," said Randy Osborne, director of education for Florida Eagle Forum and Heartland Research and the chair of the Marion County Republican Executive Committee.
"These actions combined with the deceptive radio ads promoted by former Governor Jeb Bush's Foundation for Excellence in Education, a foundation funded by the coporate interests that stand to profit immensely from Common Core at the expense of our children, are an insult to Floridians and an assault on our liberties," Osborne said in a prepared statement.
"These actions combined with the deceptive radio ads promoted by former Governor Jeb Bush's Foundation for Excellence in Education, a foundation funded by the coporate interests that stand to profit immensely from Common Core at the expense of our children, are an insult to Floridians and an assault on our liberties," Osborne said in a prepared statement.
- Lloyd Dunkelburger of the Sarasota Herald Tribune mentions our support of Debbie Mayfield's bill, HB 25.
- Sammy Mack of State Impact Florida lists all of our concerns about the hearings from the letter.
- Kathlyn Shirley of the Heartland Institute does an excellent article about the Florida situation while putting it in the context of where things stand nationally about Common Core:
"They will say they have made changes and that it is now Florida Standard Assessments. It's still the Common Core," said Karen Effrem, cofounder of Florida Stop Common Core Coalition. "The [assessments] really won't have changed."
- Travis Pillow of the Tallahassee Democrat not only mentions our concerns about PARCC still being on the table, but quotes another Department of Education official who admits that they do not expect significant changes to the standards after the hearings. Talk about tone deaf!
"Florida is not delaying implementation of the Common Core," Holly Edenfield, the state's Race to the Top coordinator, wrote to school district officials the next day. "We are opening up the standards for public review which might result in some changes to them, but significant changes are not expected."
