Kings Park Parents Organize to Voice Concerns on Common Core

Kings Park parents are organizing via social media to make sure their questions, concerns and issues with the controversial Common Core curriculum will be heard. 

"There is a substantial number of community members now that have united, formed an organization -a parent organization - to share information and concerns because our children are coming home and melting down," said Debbie Danly at Tuesday night's Kings Park Board of Education meeting. 

Kings Park Advocates for Education's Facebook page has gained nearly 200 Likes in nearly 2 months, since it was formed on Sept. 24. Their objective is simple,"to make certain that our district continues to strive for excellence while balancing the demands of New York State’s newly adopted Common Core Learning Standards," according to their website. 

Many parents have expressed growing concerns over Common Core curriculum, increased testing and the collection of their student's data at the district's recent roundtable forums and Board of Education meetings. 

"I'm feeling a lot like I'm hearing a defeatist attitude from the school board and from our administration that we are stuck with this, there is nothing we can do about it. Then I see a lot of other school districts are returning Race to the Top Fund or opting out of the data dashboard," said Katy Cardinale on Tuesday night. "That's where my frustration comes from."

Through this new advocacy organization, parents like Cardinale and Danly are sharing the latest news and stories about the Common Core across Long Island with each other. 

The advocacy group is pointing to nearby school districts, including Smithtown and Comsewogue, who have returned funds to opt out of different Common Core measures. 

At Tuesday night's Board of Education meeting, Danly called for school administrators to take action to show they are hearing the outcry from Kings Park parents. 

"I do wish the board would consider passing a resolution against high-stakes testing like so many other neighboring districts have done as a good faith measure to community members that you hear our concerns and that you are sensitive to them," she said. 

Board of Education president Marie Goldstein said board trustees had not had time to read through Smithtown's resolution and discuss adding it to the board's agenda prior to Tuesday's meeting. 

Board Trustee Diane Nally said she would like to discuss a district policy for handling those students who do opt out of the state testing. 

To learn more about the Kings Park Advocates for Education, visit their website here or their Facebook page, by clicking here.