(Long Island, NY) New York State Education Commissioner Dr. John King will hold a forum on Wednesday, November 13, 2013 from 4 PM to 6:30 PM at Mineola High School, 155 Armstrong Road in Garden City Park for the residents of the Seventh Senate District.
Senator Jack M. Martins (R-C-I, Mineola), who coordinated the forum along with the superintendents from each of the 15 school districts in the Seventh Senate District, will moderate the discussion in order to give parents, students, and educators the opportunity to ask question and express their concerns about the New York State Education Department’s roll out of the Common Core, teacher evaluations, testing and student privacy.
“I am happy to be able to provide our parents, students, and educators an opportunity to express the concerns we all have with the way new standards are being implemented, as well as issues pertaining to student privacy and teacher evaluations, directly to the Commissioner. I expect that Commissioner King will be responding to dozens of tough questions during the course of the forum, and that our dialogue with the Commissioner will continue once the forum concludes,” Senator Martins said.
“This is a positive step in allowing the voices of our school communities to be heard in a way that will hopefully be a precursor for the change we all agree we need.”
As seating is limited, tickets for the forum were distributed to each of the 15 school districts in the Seventh Senate District so that each school district will be well represented and active participants in the forum. “I want to thank all the superintendents for helping coordinate this forum, which will give all of our school communities – from parents and students to teachers and administrators – the opportunity to voice their concerns, ask questions and make suggestions for improvement,” Senator Martins said.
Arrangements are also being made so that the forum can be watched via live stream on home computers.
The Common Core is a new set of national standards that dictate what students learn in each grade. Senator Martins, a member of the Senate Standing Committee on Education, has been an outspoken critic of the way in which the standards have been implemented at recent Senate hearings held around the state.
