Tulsa Schools and New Standardized Testing & Common Core

[AquaMan]

The House over rode the governor. As of yesterday the Senate had not. I guess they're feeling a bit testy with each other.

[sgrizzle]

The House over rode the governor. As of yesterday the Senate had not. I guess they're feeling a bit testy with each other.

The senate voted and overrode it within minutes of the house vote?

[AquaMan]

Yeah. Just saw that. Fast work for such slow minds!

Fallin thinks they all just reinforced a failed system. Isn't that our way? Statist indeed.

[guido911]

Yeah. Just saw that. Fast work for such slow minds people  feeling a bit testy with each other!

Fallin thinks they all just reinforced a failed system. Isn't that our way? Statist indeed.

Makes more sense.

[AquaMan]

You must have a higher opinion of the state legislature than I do. Occasionally they surprise me but for the most part, I think that the skills, mentality and guts necessary to get them in their positions aren't the ones needed to manage the state's business. They are too easily swayed by the ideology of the money that got them there. Not the people, the money.

[Conan71]

House and Senate vote to end common core in Oklahoma.  Fallin signing off on it doesn't appear to be a slam dunk:

OKLAHOMA CITY — Concerns about federal overreach, frustration with the state Department of Education, United Nations conspiracies, Bill Gates and Hillary Clinton trumped Oklahoma's Common Core standards in the Legislature on Friday, the last day of the 2014 legislative session.
With about a dozen anti-Common Core activists in the visitors' gallery, the House voted 71-18 to end the state's brief experiment with national academic standards for K-12.

The bill then passed 31-10 in the Senate. To become law, it still would have to get the signature of Gov. Mary Fallin, which is no sure thing. Because the Legislature adjourned Friday, she could let the bill die by taking no action.

Fallin said she had not seen the legislation but said she will review it over the next several days with input from parents and educators.

"I certainly have heard the concerns about people worried about federal intrusion," Fallin said.

Common Core occupied the House for about two hours on an unusually uneventful last day of the session. A bill that would put additional restrictions on abortion clinics, left to third from last, went through 60-8 after having set off considerable fireworks earlier in the session.

House Bill 3399, which replaces the national Common Core standards with what likely will be similar ones developed by the state, was originally authored by Speaker Jeff Hickman, R-Fairview, but was carried in its final form by Rep. Jason Nelson, R-Oklahoma City, and Sen. Josh Brecheen, R-Coalgate.

Opponents of the measure warned of the potential for dire consequences, primarily in the form of federal intervention into most of the state's schools. Repealing Common Core could cause the state to lose its waiver from the No Child Left Behind program, which in turn could cause schools to lose control of about $27 million in federal aid and state or federal takeover of hundreds of Oklahoma schools.

Nelson agreed that it is possible and perhaps likely that the state will lose its waiver, but he said, "I don't think it will be as bad as (others) think it is.

"To say we have local control right now (because of the waiver) is an illusion," Nelson continued. "Today is a day we can begin to get it back."

Rep. John Bennett, R-Sallisaw, said Common Core was "getting its claws" into Oklahoma's children in order to indoctrinate them in a U.N.-led agenda of "a sustainable world without borders."

God, he said, "is being replaced in our schools by Darwin and Marx."

"Common Core is the most dangerous Trojan Horse ever brought to our gates," Bennett said.

"Don't let the federal government come in and spoil our children and turn them into little drones," he urged.

On the Senate side, Brecheen quoted some sexually explicit passages from a Toni Morrison novel and implied that it would be required reading for all Oklahoma school students if Common Core remained in place.

Most of the rhetoric, though, was more reserved, with opponents saying rejecting Common Core would be the first step toward weaning Oklahoma public education from federal aid.

Rep. Todd Thomsen, R-Ada, said Common Core is "politically dead," and he blamed the state Department of Education, which he said had alienated parents at a time it needed to be winning their trust.

"My trust level is at an all-time low," Thomsen said. "I'm voting no because I'm cutting ties with Common Core, not because anyone in the gallery asked me. I don't trust them, either."

Rep. Emily Virgin, D-Norman, said she was "flabbergasted by the misinformation on this subject. I understand not thinking these standards are inappropriate. ... (But) this is not a federal conspiracy."

Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, begged to differ. Speaking next, she said Friday's vote was a "battle for the hearts and minds of our children," and she proceeded to read from a letter she said was sent to Hillary Clinton in 1992 and which she said proved that Common Core is a federal conspiracy.

The letter described something it called a "national human resources system."

Rep. Jerry McPeak, D-Warner, said he was one of 12 members to vote against Common Core when it was first approved by the Legislature in 2010 but that he was voting to keep it now because of the uncertainty HB 3399 would create and because educators need to be left alone to do their jobs.

He also ridiculed those who said they want to refuse federal money.

"Forty percent of our state budget is federal money," he said. "What are you going to do? Send it back?"

Among those critical of the bill was Tulsa Regional Chamber President Mike Neal, who urged Fallin to veto it.

"By reversing three years of work by Oklahoma's educators to implement Common Core State Standards, HB 3399 represents a costly step backward — not just for students and teachers, but for taxpayers, who would foot the bill for the additional time and work needed to create and implement new standards," he said in a statement.

Other bills: The House rejected two bills late in the day, one that would have made it easier for municipally owned utilities to collect delinquent bills and another that would have required child-care centers to carry a certain level of liability insurance. It was the second-straight year the latter bill has failed on the final day of session.

The House did approve Senate Bill 1848, which places additional requirements on abortion clinics and gives the board of health responsibility for licensing and inspections.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/homepage1/repeal-of-common-core-standards-sent-to-governor/article_ea3ad9b1-cdac-5c7c-8057-df65b650898b.html

[patric]

Rep. John Bennett, R-Sallisaw, said Common Core was "getting its claws" into Oklahoma's children in order to indoctrinate them in a U.N.-led agenda...
God, he said, "is being replaced in our schools by Darwin and Marx."
"Don't let the federal government come in and spoil our children and turn them into little drones," he urged.

Must not interfere with the school-to-prison pipeline... they are job creators, after all...   

[Gaspar]

Must not interfere with the school-to-prison pipeline... they are job creators, after all...   

I think the educational opportunities are probably better in prison.

[Conan71]

Of course "The Kern" had to weigh in:

Rep. Emily Virgin, D-Norman, said she was "flabbergasted by the misinformation on this subject. I understand not thinking these standards are inappropriate. ... (But) this is not a federal conspiracy."

Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, begged to differ. Speaking next, she said Friday's vote was a "battle for the hearts and minds of our children," and she proceeded to read from a letter she said was sent to Hillary Clinton in 1992 and which she said proved that Common Core is a federal conspiracy.

The letter described something it called a "national human resources system."

[nathanm]

Someday we'll stop electing people that think Alex Jones' paranoid rants have any basis in reality.

[swake]

Somewhat related I had the "pleasure" to hear Janet Barrisi speak yesterday at a function at TU. She read her maybe five minute speech from a paper that she obviously didn't write and didn't even bother to read beforehand and that had little to do with the event for 7th grade and younger kids. The point of the speech to middle school students seemed to be what job opportunities there are in Oklahoma and that kids should major in STEM. I'm not sure she really knew what STEM means.

A lot of those middle school kids and parents were from Jenks where Barrisi is in open warfare with Rob Miller, the Jenks Middle School principal and is running for reelection against  Joy Hofmeister, a former Jenks Schools Foundation board member. To say she got a chilly response was an understatement. With all the people around me laughing at her weak speech I was a bit afraid she was going to be boo'd when she finished. To add fuel to the crowd she was late and caused the whole event to be delayed. She weakly blamed it on car trouble.

[Gaspar]

To add fuel to the crowd she was late and caused the whole event to be delayed. She weakly blamed it on car trouble.

Actually her mechanic was quite efficient, it just took a while for her to figure out the bill with common core.

$645 Labor
$234 Parts

So

|645| - |40| - |5| = 600
        ^        ^
|234| - |30| - |4| = |200|
        ^        ^
|600| + |200| = |800|
         ^
|30| + |40| = |70|
        ^
|5| + |4| = |9|
     ^
|800| + |70| + |9| = |879|

Subtotal = $879
Tax = 8.517% x $879
|.1| x |900| = |90|
      ^
|.02| x |900| = |18|
        ^
|.008| x |900| = |7.2|
          ^
|90| + |18| + |7.2| = |100| + |10| + |5| + |.2|
       ^         ^                     ^        ^       ^
(|100| + |10| + |5| + |.2|) - (|20| + |1|) =|90| + |4| + |.2|
                                        ^
(|90| + |4| + |.2|) - (|10| + |9| + |.3| + |.03| + |.006|) = $74.87
                       
Total =
|800| + |70| + |70| = |940|
         ^         ^
|9| + |4| = |13|
     ^
|.80| + |.07| = |87|
Total Due = 953.87

[heironymouspasparagus]

Someday we'll stop electing people that think Alex Jones' paranoid rants have any basis in reality.

No.   We won't.

[Townsend]

GOP Legislator Calls for Barresi's Resignation



http://publicradiotulsa.org/post/gop-legislator-calls-barresis-resignation

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A freshman Republican legislator from Stroud is calling for State Superintendent Janet Barresi and two top-level education officials to step down after the department announced the hiring of a new assistant superintendent.

Representative Jason Smalley issued a statement Wednesday calling for resignations from Barresi, new assistant superintendent Larry Birney and the department's general counsel Kim Richey, who is married to Birney. He also wants a hiring and firing freeze at the Department of Education.

Smalley referred to Birney as a "good ol' boy hire."

Department spokesman Phil Bacharach says Birney is well qualified for the $90,000 a year position, with a background in law enforcement and a doctorate in education.

Bacharach says the three officials have no plans to resign and said Smalley's comments were "grandstanding, with all due respect."

[Townsend]

Oklahoma School Officials Frustrated with Changes

http://publicradiotulsa.org/post/oklahoma-school-officials-frustrated-changes

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma school administrators remain frustrated by the Legislature's decision to repeal rigorous Common Core academic standards for public school students weeks before they were to go into effect.

Their frustration intensified when federal officials denied Oklahoma the authority to decide how to spend millions of federal education dollars. Federal officials said Oklahoma could not demonstrate its current standards help students become college- and-career-ready.

State education officials now plan to conduct a series of town hall meetings statewide to allay the concerns of parents, educators and others.

Oklahoma Education Association President Linda Hampton says the turmoil reflects management of the state's public schools by politicians instead of teachers who know what's best for students.

Some legislators say Common Core gave too much power to the federal government.