A letter to parents and all concerned citizens across Georgia:
Dear Parents,
How is your school year going? Do things seem a little “off” in the classroom, and have you noticed anything awry with your children’s English language arts and math curriculum? When you attended Meet and Greet or Open House, did you learn for the first time that your child’s teacher(s) would be implementing the Common Core Standards?
Over the past several months, I have had the opportunity to talk with parents who are very concerned about what is happening in the classroom and in particular with the English language arts and math curriculum. When asked what they could do about it, I regrettably have had to answer “nothing.” They were shocked to learn that no longer can they take their concerns to the local school principal, school board member, state legislators, or even the governor. You see, back in 2010 Georgia’s former governor, Sonny Perdue, and then-State Superintendent Kathy Cox shackled Georgia students with the Common Core Standards by applying for and receiving the Race to the Top grant. I explained to parents that by executive fiat all local control of education was stripped from Georgia parents.
I further explained that not only are their children being shackled with nationalized standards, but by 2014 they will be tested on nationalized assessments. And if the federal takeover of curriculum and testing is not enough, their child’s privacy is now being threatened by an intrusive data tracking system known as the State Longitudinal Database System. This database system has the potential to track over 400 data points on their children, kindergarten through college and career, with the likelihood that data sharing with the federal government will occur.
Georgia should not surrender its educational standards and curriculum to Washington D.C. bureaucrats! Educational solutions for Georgia children should be made in the state of Georgia.
The federal power grab of our children must be stopped and CWA of Georgia needs your help to make this happen.
Would you please do the following:
Education:
- Download the Paren Fact Sheet and educate yourself on the dangers of the Common Core Standards.
Visit the StopCommonCore web site and read through the mounting evidence on why the Common Core is not in the best interest of your child.
Action (In this order):
- Contact Gov. Nathan Deal and Erin Hames, Deputy chief of staff for policy, today and ask them to exit the Common Core and Race to the Top mandates.
Gov. Deal: 404-656-1776
Erin Hames: 404-656-1784
Contact your state senator and state representative and ask him/her to exit the Common Core and Race to the Top mandates. Click here to find your state (not federal) senator and representative. Contact State School Superintendent Dr. John Barge and ask him to exit the Common Core and Race to the Top mandates. Phone: 404-656-2800
Pray:
- Pray that the eyes of our elected officials will be opened to the dangers of the Common Core Standards.
Pray that our elected officials will understand that parents should have the ultimate authority on how their children are educated.