Category Archives: June Atkinson

#DM7 Article: The NC Common Core Rebrand Attempt

Posted on August 31, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

This is a reposting of my weekly DaTechGuy article: The NC Common Core Rebrand Attempt

By A.P. Dillon

The repeal of Common Core from the North Carolina state statutes and the formation of a standards replacement commission as set out by Senate Bill 812 brought hope to the citizens who had been fighting Common Core. That hope was not without skepticism of a possible rebrand attempt, which has turned out to be justified by the comments made recently by North Carolina’s State Superintendent and Governor. Continue reading →

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Common Core, EDUCATION, June Atkinson, Pat McCrory | Tagged , | 1 Comment

NC Superintendent Holding Her Own Common Core Commission

Posted on August 31, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

CCSSO President Elect and NC State Superintendent, June Atkinson, is apparently holding her own little Common Core Commission.

“So parallel to the work of this commission, we will be looking at the standards by inviting teachers who have used the standards for at least two to three years to give us input,” she said.
– Citizen Times

Oh really? Look out, we’ve got a “bearing false witness” alert here.CC June False Witness
Atkinson can’t be on the commission, so she will make sure Common Core gets a seen as superior with her hand-picked “parallel” group.

KEEP READING Continue reading →

Posted in Common Core, EDUCATION, June Atkinson, NC DPI, NC State Standards | Tagged | 3 Comments

NC Board Of Ed Plans To Stick With #APUSH

Posted on August 29, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

Right, Left and Center, the Advanced Placement U.S. History (APUSH) rewrite has come under fire. To be blunt, this rewrite is disastrous. It’s so bad, the authors of the APUSH framework have had to write a letter explaining themselves. We have one of the authors right here in NC, Ted Dickson of Providence Day School. Read the letter they wrote, then read the take down of it by Larry Krieger, a History expert with over 35 years of experience. Krieger also earned his degrees in North Carolina — B.A. and M.A.T. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and M.A. from Wake Forest University.

The framework authors aside, we have our own disaster to deal with in North Carolina. Bill Cobey, the Chairman of the NC State Board of Education, says no one has asked for APUSH be dropped (emphasis mine):

Board Chairman Bill Cobey said no one has suggested that the state kill the course.

Teachers are forwarding an email chain with advice to contact State Board of Education members. Cobey said he’s gotten some, and wants to assure the public the course will continue. – News and Observer

In one line, Cobey says no one is suggesting they kill the course. In the next one, he acknowledges he has received emails to KEEP it. Chairman Cobey is either having his cake and eating it too or pulling a Captain Literal on the reporter for the News and Observer hoping they won’t follow up. Don’t worry Bill, they won’t.

Chairman Cobey must be ignoring the resolution from New Hanover County Schools, which asks for at least a delay for APUSH and which was sent TO the State Board of Education: Continue reading →

Posted in EDUCATION, June Atkinson, NC Board Of Education, NC DPI | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Iredell Touts Improved Test Scores With “Lowered Bar”

Posted on August 29, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

You can’t make this stuff up. The headline at Statesville.com reads, “Iredell test scores improve with lowered achievement bar”.
Excerpt:
The positive numbers, though, are partly the result of a strategic decision the State Board of Education made in March to add an extra achievement level to EOG and EOC tests. For about two decades in North Carolina, students were given either a score of 1,2,3 or 4, with 3s and 4s considered passing. But in response to larger-than-expected numbers of third-graders being likely to need summer school for lack of reading on grade level per the state’s new Read to Achieve law, the State Board voted 8-4 in March to add a fifth level, and now scores of 3,4 and 5 are considered passing. Under the new system, level 3 students have “sufficient command” of the material, but level 4 and 5 students are “career and college ready.”

Well… DUH.
Of course if you lower the bar for scores it is going to look like there was improved inigoachievement. This is smoke and mirrors, folks.

KEEP READING…. Continue reading →

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Common Core, EDUCATION, June Atkinson, NC DPI | Comments Off on Iredell Touts Improved Test Scores With “Lowered Bar”

CCSSO President Dances Around NC Superintendent Reelection Question

Posted on August 23, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

More speculation on whether CCSSO President Elect Atkinson will be running for NC Superintendent again. Host Tom Campbell falls all over himself to set her up positively in his interviews with her. Campbell mentions Cash Michael’s dropped the bomb in a past episode that Atkinson wasn’t running again.

During the brief interview segment, Atkinson says she has learned to “live with the turbulence” so our CC June False Witnesskids can have a great education.

Well, much of the recent turbulence has been self-inflicted — Oops, there I go again, bearing “false witness”.

KEEP READING Continue reading →

Posted in Common Core, EDUCATION, June Atkinson, Video | Tagged | Comments Off on CCSSO President Dances Around NC Superintendent Reelection Question

CCSSO President Elect Atkinson Tips Her Common Core Hand?

Posted on August 20, 2014 by A.P. Dillon

NC State Superintendent and CCSSO President Elect, June Atkinson, went on local politicalAtkinsonPresElect show NC SPIN to talk about “the move away” from Common Core. In the interview, the same talking points are recycled yet again. It was far easier to do with a host practically feeding her lines — It was almost embarrassing to watch.

Narratives of the interview:

Disruption and constant change
Money we’ve already spent/cost (see my note below the full video clip)
Hey, haven’t we heard these same narratives recently? Yep.

Atkinson’s remarks about “faith” in the State Board of Education take on new meaning — Did Dr. Atkinson just tip her hand? It looks like it, read more…. Continue reading →

Posted in Common Core, June Atkinson, Video | Tagged , | 1 Comment