By Carol P. Bartold

Nov. 25, 2015: The Bronxville Board of Education marked the substantial completion of The Bronxville School's new auditorium by holding its November 19 meeting in the lobby.

Underlying the discussions and presentations during the meeting was the Common Core--its complications, how it is perceived, and how The Bronxville Promise aligns with its goals and standards.

"We are staying the course," Superintendent Dr. David Quattrone told the board. "I applauded the introduction in 2011 of standards that were clearer and higher." He added that The Bronxville School is "embedded in the Common Core" and continues to value high standards.

Quattrone acknowledged, however, that the state's rollout of the Common Core created complications in terms of time to prepare and train teachers according to its standards.

"The tests associated with those standards have been questioned both in terms of the length of time for developmental appropriateness and the relationship between those tests and teacher accountability," he stated.

Quattrone urged parents and teachers to participate in the survey being conducted by the New York State Department of Education on various standards of the Common Core. He noted that the survey was triggered partly by the large percentage of students throughout the state, 20 percent, who opted out of testing associated with the standards. "I believe the state is trying to understand why," he said, "and how that is related to the expectations of the Common Core."

The Board of Regents of the New York State Education Department has agreed to reconvene a panel to re-study the teacher evaluation component of the Common Core.

Superintendents in the four-county Lower Hudson Valley have contracted with a firm to perform an analysis of Common Core testing data to determine the stability and fairness of its measurements from year to year. Quattrone pointed out that a study of Common Core data last year showed wide variations in teacher assessments from district to district and year to year. He noted that such wide data fluctuations raise questions about the validity of the measurements.

"We are still in the beginning stages," Quattrone said, "and the whole approach gains credibility the more data you have over time."

Quattrone explained that complaints and anxiety surrounding the Common Core have obscured the guidance it was supposed to provide to schools in designing better instruction for students. "As it is now, the kids are lost," he said.

The Bronxville School continues to examine the Common Core standards through the lens of The Bronxville Promise and its tenets of creativity, communication, critical thinking, and collaboration to ensure that curriculum goals, district assessment practices, and technology are all aligned with that promise.

The Bronxville Board of Education will meet on Thursday, December 17, at 7:00 pm in the school's multipurpose room.

Pictured here (L to R):  Dr. David Quattrone, Denise Tormey, and Jeffrey Rohr at the November 19 school board meeting. 

Photo by A. Warner