School board reaffirms commitment to Common Core standards

The Cape Girardeau School District's adherence to the Common Core State Standards was reaffirmed Monday during a special work session of the school board.

"I stand by Common Core," said Dr. Sherry Copeland, assistant superintendent. "I think it's critical to the success of students in the school district."

Adopted by the State Board of Education in 2010 and in use in 44 other states, Common Core standards replaced the grade-level requirements for English/language arts and mathematics from kindergarten through 12th grade. The standards are designed to make sure all students graduate from high school with the knowledge and skills they will need in college and in a career, and focus on critical thinking, problem solving and effective communication skills.

Copeland said English/language arts and mathematics in Cape Girardeau schools are aligned with Common Core standards and will be implemented in fall 2013.

"The standards define what students are expected to know and be able to do," she said. "They do not define how teachers should teach, nor do they describe all that can or should be taught."

Copeland responded to criticism that the Common Core standards lack rigor.

"I know some people have complained that the standards aren't rigorous," she said. "I think people who say that haven't looked at Common Core carefully."

According to Copeland, critics of Common Core point out that subjects such as algebra are not emphasized. Copeland addressed that concern during the meeting by pointing out that algebraic concepts are taught in the lower grades, with standard forms of algebra being introduced in middle school and junior high school.

"There's even more of it taught in high school, along with courses like geometry and trigonometry," she said.

Copeland said Common Core standards will be useful when it comes to taking important standardized tests such as the ACT.

"Teachers will be able to teach to the test and children will know what they will have to study in order to reach a given score," she said.

The alignment of Cape Girardeau schools with Common Core standards began in 2011, but Copeland didn't know when it would be expanded into other subjects such as history/social studies and science.

"Those subjects will be part of the next roll out, but there's no date settled for that."

Other action

The board unanimously voted to authorize superintendent Dr. Jim Welker to negotiate a contract with GovConnection Inc. of Rockville, Md., for 90 E-530 Lenovo laptop computers at a cost of $87,385. Welker will be authorized to execute the contract on behalf of the school board in connection with the district's 1:1 initiative, which was approved by the board in December. The computers will be purchased for teachers in Cape Girardeau schools, and in 2014 the district will spend nearly $1 million on laptop computers for Cape Girardeau Central High School students.

klewis@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

301 N. Clark Ave., Cape Girardeau, Mo.