Governor Cuomo offered some support to top state education officials, who are getting blow back for a rough start to the implementation of the new Common Core principles in schools.
State Education Commissioner John King’s been criticized for canceling a series of forums for parents around the state to talk about the new Common Core standards for school children, after the first meeting in Poughkeepsie turned confrontational . His office has since rescheduled the forums in a different format. Some parents are angry because two thirds of the state’s students initially failed the new tests for the Common Core.
Governor Cuomo says he understands that change can be difficult, even, he says, when it’s the right choice.
“When you come in with a big change, there’s normally fits and starts, and it’s a little jerky, so that’s to be expected, “Cuomo said. “But Common Core curriculum, nationwide that’s where the country’s going, that’s the state of the art.”
There have been calls for Commissioner King’s resignation. The governor says he doesn’t think that should happen, and says anyway, it’s not his place to decide whether King stays or goes. The education commissioner is chosen by the State Board of Regents, who are appointed by the legislature.