The Joint Committee on Education has scheduled a public hearing to listen to testimony about our bill H.3929, An Act Relative to Ending Common Core Education Standards, on Monday, February 8^th at 10:00AM in Gardner Auditorium at the State House. If you wish to testify, there will be a sign-in sheet available outside of the hearing room starting at 9:30AM. Please note that under the rules of the Committee, oral testimony will be limited to 3 minutes per person.  Please contact Laina, our Volunteer Hearing Coordinator if you can attend or testify.  Laina can be reached by phone at 978-697-7972.

We got the signatures we need to continue the process!   The legislature has until May 3rd to take up our ballot question, H 3929.  If they vote against it or do nothing, we will need to collect another round of signatures (only 10,792).  Our key focus early in this year is to encourage the legislature to vote for our question. We need you to help us identify supportive and non-supportive legislators.

Please take a moment now to respond to these action items:

• If you know any teachers that have recently retired and can share how common core is changing the class room please click here to give us their name or ask them to contact Donna directly at [email protected] or 508-450-0104.
• If you’ve spoken to your State Representative and State Senator and know where they stand on ending common core click here to email Agatha.
• If you can help our fundraising efforts by hosting a house party click here to email Agatha or click here to donate online.
• If you can go door knocking to educate voters when it warms up click here to email Agatha.

Please do not pick up any more petitions from the town clerk

We’ve asked a small group of volunteers to pick up the petitions at every single town clerk’s office.  They have authorization letters to pick up without receipts. The clerks have until Nov. 30^th to finish and we have to bring these certified petitions to Boston on Wednesday, Dec. 2^nd.  We only have one day to get the petitions from the volunteers that will be crisscrossing the state so it was necessary to keep it to a small group. If you have certified petitions in your possession contact Agatha at 774-208-3480 asap.  Thank you!!

Now that we’re almost to the end we want to make sure no petitions get overlooked.  If you still have strays, certified sheets, or any petitions you won’t be able to get to your town clerk please drop them off at one of these locations Sunday:

Dennis, Super Stop and Shop 11-1 (give to Agatha)

Kingston Mall 10-5:30 (End Common Core Table)

Marlborough,Solomon Pond Mall Food Court 5:00 (give to Dan)

Peabody, Dunkin Donuts 527 Lowell St. 6:30-7 (Daniel)

Raynham Market Basket between 12-5 (give to Michelle)

Raynham Dunkin Donuts 5-5:30 406 New State Hwy (Rt 44) (give to Agatha)

Revere, Market Basket 2-4 (give to Rob)

Peabody, Dunkin Donuts 527 Lowell St. 6:30-7 (give to Daniel)

Any time before Tuesday at 9 pm

Orange, text Greenfield/Orange TC Julie Adams to arrange drop-off. Cell: (978) 846-7381

Sandwich, 6 Cardinal Rd. (Agatha’s home)

Springfield, 256 Boston Rd, (Secure with rubber bands and leave in Box on Back Steps). (Kyle Burns’ home)

Worcester, 10 Homer St. #2 (Donna’s home)

Westfield, 38 Union St, (Leave on bench in mudroom). (Dan Allie’s home)

If you left petitions at a local business please pull those back in and bring to town clerks.  If you gave any friends petitions please call them and pull those in.  Let everyone you’ve ever given a petition to know it’s time to turn them in.  For the last 3 days please continue to collect signatures at a post office, dump or local market where you can drop off the sheets to the town clerk before Wednesday at 5.  Click here for list of town clerks addresses and hours.

Do not pick up any more petitions from the town clerk unless you are a designated “sweeper”

We’ve asked a small group of volunteers to pick up the petitions at every single town clerk’s office.  They have authorization letters to pick up without receipts. The clerks have until Nov. 30^th to finish and we have to bring these certified petitions to Boston on Wednesday, Dec. 2^nd.  We only have one day to get the petitions from the volunteers that will be crisscrossing the state so it was necessary to keep it to a small group. If you have certified petitions contact Agatha, Rob, Daniel, Dan or Andrew.

Call 508-658-0223 or email [email protected] if you can volunteer to help collect signatures at one of these locations.

A group of citizen activists and legislators opposed to the mediocre Common Core standards and confusing PARCC tests launched the END COMMON CORE MA ballot question today to move Massachusetts forward and restore the pre-Common Core, proven Massachusetts Standards.

“Massachusetts is at an educational crossroads.  In 2007, Massachusetts became the highest-achieving state in the country because of the academic quality of our state standards, the state tests based on them (MCAS), and the state’s teacher licensing regulations and tests,” said Sandra Stotsky, former Senior Associate Commissioner in Massachusetts’ Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).  “With the implementation of Common Core’s standards after their adoption in July of 2010, a decline in reading achievement is now visible. We need to stop the federal push for mediocre standards for all.”

Donna Colorio, Worcester School Committee member from 2011 to 2013, and founder and leader of the advocacy group, Common Core Forum, will chair the End Common Core Massachusetts ballot question campaign.  On July 21, 2010, twelve members of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted to extensively change Massachusetts’ Curriculum Frameworks into what is now called Common Core Educational Standards.

“The adoption of the Common Core standards was wrong,” says Colorio.  “I think voters should have a choice in whether to continue with these untested educational standards. Our ballot question campaign’s goal is to give the people of Massachusetts a voice in that educational decision. We can keep our public schools #1 by returning to the pre-Common Core standards of Massachusetts, or we can participate in these very unproven Common Core Education Standards, which are, at best, a race to the middle.  It should be OUR CHOICE.”

Representative Kevin Kuros spoke at todays End Common Core Massachusetts kickoff saying “If you take a look at our student academic performance before the implementation of Common Core and PARCC tests, we led the country.  If we are already leading the nation in student performance, do we really need to change?  What happened to the old saying If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?  The PARCC Coalition has dwindled from 26 states to 8 or 9.  Why would we want to be one of the last states to be a part of PARCC?  Common Core and PARCC are being thrust upon us, and a ballot initiative is one of the tools we have that can stop it, which is why I am supporting this effort.”

Donna Colorio has heard more than 17,000 teachers, parents, administration, grandparents, and students over the last year express their frustration with Common Core and PARCC.  Colorio responded to “Why have this ballot question?” by answering “I believe the time is now; we need to have a statewide discussion about the future of education in our State.  End Common Core Massachusetts‘ goal is to give everyone a voice and a choice about our educational future.”

Watch the Video of the Press Conference Here:

On August 4th, we submitted the official language to the Attorney General’s office

Many people gathered at the Sutton Town Common as End Common Core MA announced that it has submitted it’s official language for the ballot question to the Attorney General’s office this morning.

State Senator Ryan Fattman (R-Webster) began the press conference saying that “The Commonwealth of Massachusetts adopted the Federal Standards called Common Core with no vote of the legislature and as part of the Race to the Top Federal money program.  Bringing discussion about what Common Core is (or isn’t), and making sure we have an informed discussion about the future educational standards for Massachusetts is what this END Common Core MA ballot question is all about.  It is why I have signed as one of the top 10 signers of this petition.”

Donna Colorio, Chair of the END Common Core MA ballot question states ” ‘Standards’ are what each child learns in each grade.  We had the best State standards in the country until 2010 and then the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education made a monumental educational decision and adopted the Common Core Standards, which has lowered the education standards for Massachusetts.”

“No one understands the needs of Massachusetts children better than Massachusetts educators,” said State Representative Kevin Kuros (R-Uxbridge) another of the top 10 signers of this ballot question (Kevin was unable to attend the press conference due to personal conflicts).  “This ballot initiative will allow us to return to the standards and tests which helped us lead the nation in student performance, and which were developed by our educators specifically for our children.”

Ms. Colorio added “The PARCC test which is associated with Common Core is horrific and has created turmoil within the school system and families. I have talked with so many teachers, parents and students who are frustrated with Common Core and PARCC.”

The National Education Association describes Common Core standards as “botched”. The President of the Massachusetts Teachers Association is adamantly opposed to Common Core.

“While I do believe that it is important to have assessments in place to measure our students’ success and our teachers’ proficiency, those standards already existed at the highest levels in Massachusetts,” Representative Joseph McKenna (R-Sutton) said. “By the very nature of adopting these National Common Core Standards, Massachusetts will lower our own excellent curriculum benchmarks to meet our fellow States in the middle. Furthermore, parents and teachers played zero role in developing these Common Core standards and the accompanying PARCC testing procedures and have an alarming inability to provide constructive feedback. I believe that it is imperative that we return to our own tried and successful model of standards.”

Ms. Colorio, a Professor at Quinsigamond Community College, emphasized that “Common Core/PARCC are not fully implemented yet in Massachusetts.  This is our opportunity to END it.  In 2010,  BESE made a decision for our state with no input, it is time to move forward by adopting our pre-Common Core standards.”

Senator Fattman said “It is time for the people of Massachusetts to have a voice about a decision that changes our education direction so drastically.”

Attorney Michael Sullivan, former U.S. Attorney and former candidate for U.S. Senate, is representing END Common Core MA as we move through this ballot initiative process.