Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush (R,C,I-Black River) reacts favorably to the governor’s statement today acknowledging the poor implementation of Common Core standards, which parents and educators have been raising concerns over. Blankenbush, who held a public forum on public education, has spoken against the way the State Education Department (SED) has handled the process.

“Since the beginning, parents and teachers in my district have been speaking out against the way Common Core was rolled out by SED, and I appreciate the governor’s recent acknowledgement of the problem and their concerns,” said Blankenbush. “My Assembly Minority colleagues and I have been working on this issue since day one, and we offered solutions that are ready to be adopted by our school system to ensure our children are getting the best education possible. I encourage the governor to again look at these solutions and to act on them.”

Blankenbush and his Assembly Minority colleagues developed the Achieving Pupil Preparedness and Launching Excellence (APPLE) Plan, which addresses many of the concerns that have developed from the poor implementation of the Common Core Standards in New York. Blankenbush has written the governor and the commissioner of SED to act on the presented solutions. The plan centers on a developmentally-appropriate curriculum for students, would ensure better teacher training and funding for schools, and limit the amount of high-stakes testing on children.

Blankenbush continues to advocate for these positions. More on the APPLE Plan can be found at tinyurl.com/nyappleplan.