Alabama Senate votes to end common core; bill heads to House
“We will have another year we will be staying with our old standards and it will be next year before anything will be actually done and then that pushes every other course back another year,” is how Escambia County (Ala.) School Superintendent John Knott predicted Bill SB 119, that just passed through the Senate to abolish any mention of Common Core standards will effect education at the Escambia County (Ala.) School Board meeting last Thursday.
The bill was introduced into the Senate last week by Sen. Del Marsh and would terminate the adoption and implementation of the standards commonly known as the Common Core Standards, also known as the Alabama College and Career Ready Standards and require the State Board of Education to replace the Common Core Standards for Math and English Language Arts with the courses of study for Math and English Language Arts in place immediately prior to adoption of the Common Core Standards, pending the adoption of new standards by the board.
“This particular bill is ill-written,” said Knott. “It doesn't identify what we would do if we repealed it. I feel strongly about this legislation hurting education at this time. I encourage you to reach out to our legislators.”
Knott said the Alabama Association of School Boards, the Alabama Education Association and the Alabama Superintendents Association, the State Board of Education were all in very strong opposition to the legislation. Knott said Alabama Rep. Alan Baker is also opposed to the legislation.
Knott predicated that some of the issues that would be left in limbo if Bill SB 119 passed that education would result in no provision for funding for any materials or professional development supplies, testing and assessments, such as the new Alabama Comprehensive Assessment, and other issues that will effect education across the board.
“We need to make sure that what we do and what we put into place that is going to carry us through the next decade is well thought out. This is probably one of the most surprising pieces of legislation I've seen since I've been a superintendent. It is bad politically-motivated legislation that will hurt us,” said Knott.
In other business, Knott told the board that the Escambia County School System is one of six Alabama School systems that has been given the opportunity to receive a continuous grant to bring the Jobs for Alabama Graduates (JAG) Program to the county. The program will supply $55,000 a year in funding and additional monies up front to help promote graduation among students who may be considered 'at risk' for not graduating.
“The program has been very successful in Alabama,” said Knott. “Ninety-nine percent of students aligned in that program graduate and go into the job market or into careers. It tickles me that we can offer this program to our students.”
Winners announced
Students from all over Alabama, including Escambia Career Readiness Center, participated in the South District Skills USA Contest in Birmingham on Friday, March 15, and won a total of 15 total medals, six gold, eight silver and ones bronze in the competition, more than any other school in the competition.
Knott said that students from the Escambia Career Readiness Center participated in the first annual Escambia Career Readiness Center System Skills Contest for students in seventh and eighth grades in the area of business applications. Winners included Flomaton High School's Adelyn Bethea for first place in word processing, W.S. Neal Middle School's Autumn Burkley for first place in desktop publishing and Escambia County Middle School's Gavyn Fails for first place in speed typing.
Student Spotlight
Next, three students from W.S. Neal Middle School were the subject of Student Spotight.
Eighth graders Gunnar Parker, Laiken and Harley Wilson were introduced by Principal Laura Leigh Rambach to the board members. Each student represents the school in various competitions, excels in sports, or participates other scholarly programs offered by the school.
Rambach said the seventh grade teachers are planning a trip to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery at the end of April to see Romeo and Juliet and the eighth grade teachers are planning a trip to Monroeville to See To Kill a Mockingbird, which will cost each student only $5 instead the usual $20 student price, thanks to a grant from the Greater Brewton Foundation.
“I feel like that is such a great opportunity for our students to take a part in,” said Rambach. “I was very proud that we were able to get that grant.”
In other business, the school board:
-Approved to revise a Board Procurement Policy increasing the simplified acquisition threshold from $150,000 to $250,000 for federal programs (Per ALSDE memo dated September 12, 2018)
-Approved to open a new payroll holding checking account with Trustmark Bank to facilitate the new Retirement Systems of Alabama's software program payment requirements
-Approved authorization to sign a contract with the Brewton Area YMCA for the use of a bus during the YMCA Summer Day Camp Programs
-Approved of Summer Maintenance Custodians
-Approved to hire students for summer work '
-Approved of Jump Start Programs for Escambia County Schools
-Approved of Title I Summer Programs for Escambia County Schools
-Approved of 21st Century Community Learning Center Summer Program for Escambia County Middle School
-Approved of Dependent Care Summer Program for Pollard McCall Junior High School
