Sedona AZ (February 17, 2015) – Superintendent of Public Instruction Diane Douglas said she will work through legislative and judicial channels to confirm the proper oversight of two individuals working for the Arizona State Board of Education. Even though the action of the Board of Education was clearly outside of its authority, said Douglas, she sees no reason to escalate the current situation.
Douglas fired two Board employees who continued work to implement the Common Core test (AZMerit), a nationally mandated education program. The Arizona Board of Education immediately reinstated Christine Thompson, executive director, and Sabrina Vazquez, assistant executive director, and informed Douglas she had no authority to undertake the terminations.
AZ Superintendent of Public Education Diane Douglas
“For starters, the misnamed “Common Core State Standards” are not state standards,” said author Lawrence Rafferty. “They’re national standards, created by Bill and Melinda Gates-funded consultants for the National Governors Association (NGA). They were designed, in part, to circumvent federal restrictions on the adoption of a national curriculum, hence the insertion of the word “state” in the brand name. States were coerced into adopting the Common Core by requirements attached to the federal Race to the Top grants and, later, the No Child Left Behind waivers.”
Writing for the Pioneer Institute, a Massachusetts independent and privately-funded public policy organization, Sandra Stotsky defined seven major differences between No Child Left Behind and Common Core Race to the Top, the first being under NCLB schools and school districts were held accountable based on student scores while under CC/RffT teachers are to be held accountable based on varying percentage of student scores from state to state.
The Superintendent expressed a desire to resolve the termination issue as quickly as possible by directing funds in support of AZ schoolchildren and not litigation, “My focus is on Arizona’s children and providing them with the highest quality education available. Our resources are best spent supporting our children, teachers and classroom instruction.”
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