Letter: In Kearsarge, unnecessary controversy over Common Core
Thank you to the Warner residents who voted for me on March 11. I enjoyed serving as a Kearsarge School Board member for the past three years.
The Common Core educational standards became a controversial issue during the election. Fear of a new educational standard and supposed federal overreach and a promise to reduce tax burdens seemed to resonant with voters. But Common Core has unfairly become a wedge issue created to rally a political party behind a common cause.
On March 26, the New Hampshire House defeated legislation introduced to dismantle Common Core. School districts can customize these standards to fit their educational vision, although the Smarter Balanced Assessment test will be used as the standard for all districts. This makes sense because it prepares our students for the SAT test and college assessments which are being aligned with this standard.
We may not like tests, but they serve as an effective gauge for identifying inconsistencies and realizing student skills. The best way to know if Common Core is truly working is to test the results. We need to be sure to identify areas of improvement and adapt curriculum to help kids improve and teachers teach.
I hope Kearsarge will move past the distraction and unnecessary nature of the Common Core argument. We need to reasonably move forward with this program to improve our student’s education. I enjoyed serving our school community and hope to continue to represent Warner in some capacity in the future.
JANICE L. LOZ