How vital are the Common Core Standards to the future of public education in California schools?
So much so, that every district that made an effort to implement the Common Core State Standards (a set of academic guidelines that more or less shape all curriculums and how students are educated and tested) by the start of the 2013-14 school year will the benefit from $662 million in new state funding to support the effort, according to a recent announcement from State Superintendent Tom Torlakson.
“The start of a school year is always exciting, but this year is something special,” he said. “We’re challenging every part of our education system to remodel itself, and, step by step, give students the tools to achieve their dreams. And after years of cuts and turmoil, we’re finally able to start making the investments necessary to turn those dreams into a reality.”
Gilroy Unified School District was given a preliminary entitlement of a little more than $2.6 million. Morgan Hill Unified School District was designated roughly $1.7 million. The CDE allotted an equal per-pupil amount to districts using the prior-year enrollment data.
Gilroy Prep charter school on I.O.O.F. St. in Gilroy is set to receive $48,400, while Charter School of Morgan Hill, off Monterey Road in the northern outskirts of Morgan Hill, was designated $108,000.
School districts will have complete control of their share of the funds, which may be used to train teachers, buy new materials, and/or purchase technology to help schools adapt to the new standards.
The Common Core State Standards, which were adopted by California in 2010, are designed to provide all students with the deeper learning, critical thinking and other skills they need to prepare for college and a career. The standards also outline what students will be expected to know and be able to do at each grade level.
The $662 million represents the first half of $1.25 billion allocated for the new Common Core Standards, which was included in the 2013-14 state budget by Governor Jerry Brown and the State Legislature at Torlakson’s urging. The second half of the funds will be released in October. The total $1.25 billion amounts to $200 per student for every student in the state.
“As a teacher, I’m heartened that our Governor and our lawmakers – amid so many competing needs for resources – made our schools and the children they serve a priority,” Torlakson said. “At the Department of Education, we worked hard to honor that commitment by getting these funds to school districts as quickly as possible. Welcome back to school, California—let’s show the world what we can do.”
For more information on Common Core resources, please visit http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/cc/.
Want to learn more about the Common Core standards? View our other article attached with this story.
