By Harrison Blackmond, DFER MI State Director
In an unprecedented display of unity, business leaders, educators, and advocates have come together today to support the implementation of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in Michigan. The standards, which will ensure Michigan’s children are prepared to compete in a global economy, are set to go into effect at the start of the 2014-15 school year.
Despite bi-partisan support for the CCSS in our state, a radical group of CCSS opponents have been operating behind the scenes and using inflammatory rhetoric in an effort to halt implementation. They have succeeded in getting the Michigan House of Representatives to adopt an amendment to the Michigan Department of Education 2013-14 budget prohibiting the Department from expending funds to implement CCSS and the Smarter Balanced Assessment aligned with the Common Core. They are attempting to undo years of work supported by a broad array of organizations and parents designed to develop nationwide standards for an increasingly mobile student population.
Groups such as the Detroit Regional Chamber, Business Leaders for Michigan, Michigan Association of School Boards, Michigan Association of Public School Academies, the Education Trust Midwest, StudentsFirst, Democrats for Education Reform, and the Great Lakes Education Project, along with a score of other organizations, have come together to push back against the misguided and shortsighted efforts of a few ideologues to ensure our kids are college and career ready.
Read a copy of the letter here.
For more than 35 years, Harrison Blackmond has dedicated his life towards helping children achieve the education they deserve. Harrison has served a multitude of roles within Michigan’s education system, including Chair of the Marygrove College Board of Trustees, President of the Business/Education Training Alliance, Vice Chairman and member of the Executive Committee of the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, and President of the Detroit Black Alliance for Education Options. Read more about Harrison here.