Yesterday, April 19, the Senate Education Committee chaired by Senator Pavlov held the first hearing on S 826 to Repeal and Replace Common Core. Senator Colbeck, the sponsor of the bill, was the only testimony heard by the committee. Using slides, Colbeck spoke for about 20 minutes on the history of Common Core in Michigan, why swtiching to Massachussets is the right choice, the flexibility of ESSA, and more. Senator Knizek and Senator Knollenberg asked a few questions and then the meeting was adjourned.
The team at Stop Common Core in Michigan would like to thank Senator Colbeck for his sponsorship and his thorough presentation to the Committee. Board member Tamara Carlone attended the hearing and added,
“ Colbeck is working to stand in the gap for Michigan’s children who are suffering under Common Core, the related testing, the related data collection, and federal overreach.I was disappointed to learn from others in attendance that the MI Department of Education’s two staff members laughed at and mocked Senator Colbeck during his entire presentation, and Q & A with the Committee. These are the people that we entrust with educating our most precious little ones. “Their behavior was extremely unprofessional” said a parent that was sitting near them. Ironically, it is the MI Department of Education that is largely to blame for the failure in Michigan schools – not Senator Colbeck.”
We were able to speak with Senator Pavlov after the meeting and he indicated that he supports the bill and wants to end common core. That’s a hopeful sign! Pavlov also said that he expects more hearings, perhaps even next week April 26. He indicated it could be at the earlier time of 8:00 AM. Stay tuned. No hearing is scheduled in the House Education Committee. Please contine to contact the Senate and House Education Committee members and tell them to vote YES on S 826 or HB 5444 (House version.) For contact information please click here.
Many concerned parents and citizens attended the pre-hearing meetup that we held in the lobby of the Anderson Building. Lending their support of the bill were members of our team, along with former State Representative Tom McMillin, Mike Winter (INCH- Homeschool), and Betsy Prested with her son Cody, a second grade student in Livonia. I invited Cody to speak at the meet-up after learning how devastated he was told he would not be allowed to speak at the hearing. He did a marvelous job! Due to a camera glitch I missed the first few seconds of his remarks but I posted his remarks in their entirety below the video.
“Hi my name is Cody Prested. I’m in second grade at Botsford Elementary School in Livonia, Michigan. My favorite color is red. I’m here to tell you about my friends and myself. School is different for all of us. Everybody is NOT the same. We all learn in different ways. My friends and I work hard and try our best in school. Some things come easy to me but are hard for my friends. I’m a little nervous for the test at the end of the year. I’m worried because I might get the anwers wrong. I might not know the answer or forget what I learned. If I don’t get a lot of right answers I’m afraid I will not pass the test. In the middle of the school year I took the NWEA test for the second time in second grade. When I took the test I was very frustrated not knowing if I asnwered the questions correct. It even asked me questions I had not learned in school yet. That scared me because I didn’t know if I was going to pass the test. I’m in second grade. I’m seven years old. These are feelings I should not have in school. I’m asking you to please support to repeal and replace common core. My teachers and parents should have a say in my education. My voice is little but I’m the future. Thank you for listening to me.”
Well done Cody! We listened and we hope lawmakers will listen too!
We have created a two-page FAQ to help parents, educators, and lawmakers understand why we should replace the Common Core with Massachusetts.
More on Massachusetts Education Success
We are eager to get this bill passed and get back to real learning in the classroom. It is time this failed experiment in education ends in Michigan.