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North Country assemblyman supports Cuomo’s call to review Common Core standards, says more needs to be done

Posted 9/4/15

North County Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush (R,C,I-Black River) is supporting Democratic Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s plan to review Common Core standards. The Common Core program has drawn a lot of …

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North Country assemblyman supports Cuomo’s call to review Common Core standards, says more needs to be done

Posted

North County Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush (R,C,I-Black River) is supporting Democratic Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s plan to review Common Core standards.

The Common Core program has drawn a lot of criticism in St. Lawrence County where a large percentage of students opted out of taking the tests last school year.

Blankenbush represents the 117th assembly district, which includes the St. Lawrence County towns of DeKalb, Gouverneur, Hermon, Russell, Edwards, Fowler and Pitcairn.

Blankenbush has spoken against the way the State Education Department (SED) has handled the process.

“Since the beginning, parents and teachers in my district have been speaking out against the way Common Core was rolled out by SED and I appreciate the governor’s recent acknowledgement of the problem and their concerns,” Blankenbush said. “My Republican colleagues and I have been working on this issue since day one, and we offered solutions that are ready to be adopted by our school system to ensure our children are getting the best education possible. I encourage the governor to again look at these solutions and to act on them.”

Blankenbush and his Republican colleagues developed the Achieving Pupil Preparedness and Launching Excellence (APPLE) Plan, which addresses many of the concerns that have developed from the poor implementation of the Common Core Standards in New York.

Blankenbush has written the governor and the commissioner of SED to act on the presented solutions. The plan centers on a developmentally appropriate curriculum for students, would ensure better teacher training and funding for schools, and limit the amount of high-stakes testing on children.

Blankenbush continues to advocate for these positions.

More on the APPLE Plan can be found at tinyurl.com/nyappleplan.