The Common Core is Coming!

I hope everyone is off to a great start in 2012!! Time goes so quickly and planning for next year has already begun. The changes we are facing in education are the most challenging and most exciting of my 27 years in education. The new common core standards are receiving a lot of attention and the uncertainty of how they will be measured is causing some added "stress". In Illinois, Senate bill 7 revamped the way teachers are dismissed, evaluated, and earn tenure. It created more emphasis on the use of student performance in the evaluation process and has caused administrators to sharpen their classroom observation practices. Many of the reforms are positive- it is just dealing with the rapid pace of change that is tough.

I attended a workshop on Monday that explained the NCLB waiver process and the direction Illinois was headed in attempting to measure growth- something many of us have been wanting since the "100% by 2014" arbitrary goal inched closer and closer. I was encouraged by a draft document that illustrated the various factors that will go into this new measurement of "an effective" school. I am confident that we are headed in the right direction with curriculum and assessment development, increased rigor in the classroom, and the use of our data management system to help us monitor progress and improve instruction. It will be interesting to see if Illinois is granted a waiver.

An added stress for our system has been the implementation of a 7 period day- a move away from the four block structure. I have been impressed with how the faculty, students, and staff have attacked this shift and hit the ground running. As with most new things there will be some growing pains- but it appears with some improvements here and there we will be stronger as a result of change. Time will tell.

The next three years may prove to be very interesting- and it will take a team effort every step of the way!!