Schools chief announces new set of forums — two in Suffolk
One week after being criticized for canceling his only forum to discuss Common Core curriculum and state testing on Long Island, the state’s chief of schools has announced a new series of forums on the topic.
New York State education commissioner John King announced Friday that he will partner with the state’s Board of Regents to host a dozen forums across New York State, including four on Long Island. While the exact date and location of the events have not yet been announced, the Department of Education has said two of the events will be held in Suffolk County and two more in Nassau.
“I want to have a respectful, direct, and constructive dialogue with parents,” Mr. King said in a press release. “More and smaller discussions will make sure there’s a real opportunity for parents to be heard. This is just the first round; we’ll continue to schedule forums for parents. We want these to be regular events. We want the conversation to rise above all the noise and make sure parents understand the Common Core, and, just as important, we want to understand parents’ concerns. We all share the same goal: to make sure our students have the skills and knowledge to be successful in a changing world.”
The events will be moderated by state legislators and held in school auditoriums. Regents are expected to attend, the press release states.
Mr. King said the forums will be scheduled over the next six weeks; details for all the events will be finalized early next week. So far details have only been announced for the first forum, which will be held Thursday evening in the Albany City School District.
Additionally, four forums will be recorded in front of a studio audience and broadcast on Public Broadcasting Stations across the state, according to the release.
Mr. King had been under scrutiny this week following the suspension of four Common Core forums sponsored by the New York State PTA. The PTA announced the suspension of the forums in a message on its website and Facebook page.
“While our goal was to provide an opportunity to learn and share, based on review of the initial October 10 meeting, the Commissioner concluded the outcome was not constructive for those taking the time to attend,” the PTA’s Facebook announcement read.
The commissioner said in a statement that the first two forums on the topic — held in Poughkeepsie and upstate Whitesboro — had been “co-opted by special interests whose stated goal was to ‘dominate’ the questions and manipulate the forum.”
“The disruptions caused by the ‘special interests’ have deprived parents of the opportunity to listen, ask questions and offer comments,” his statement continued.
The commissioner’s statement and the cancellations were met with sharp criticism from parents, educators and media outlets across the state.
