February 4th – Do you know the real TRUTH about Common Core?

Do you know the real TRUTH about Common Core?

Alisa Ellis, Guest speaker
Megan King, Kansans Against Common Core

Tuesday, February 4th at 7pm

Antioch Library
Note from the Library:  Besides the library’s parking lot, parking is available behind Taco Bell and to the larger lot west of Taco Bell.
8700 Shawnee Mission Parkway
Merriam, KS  66202

Guest speaker, Alisa Ellis will speak on the history and truth of Common Core and its impact on our children and their education.

Alisa Ellis is a mother of seven ranging from pre-K to 10th grade. She and her husband reside in Utah. She holds a Bachelors of Science in Family, Home and Social Sciences. In the Spring of 2011, she became concerned with apparent change in her children’s curricula which prompted her to spend countless hours researching Utah’s education grants, governing documents, and the detailed development of Common Core. She could not ignore what she discovered. Alisa is now asked to speak at public forums across the nation, Utah legislative meetings, radio appearances and more.

Megan King is a Kansas mom, and co-founder of Kansans Against Common Core.  She will be presenting updates and information on the latest in the efforts to STOP Common Core (Kansas College & Career Ready Standards) in Kansas.

*This meeting is being hosted and organized by a concerned group of parents taking action in the Kansas City area.  If you would like to contact them directly, or need more information we would be happy to put you in touch with them.

Email kristin@kansansagainstcommoncore.com or megan@kansansagainstcommoncore.com to be put in contact with other Kansans fighting Common Core (Kansas College & Career Ready Standards) in local communities across the state.

Great information to read and share!

George Will – Doubts Over Common Core
“Leave aside the abundant, fierce, often learned and frequently convincing criticisms of the writing, literature and mathematics standards. Even satisfactory national standards must extinguish federalism’s creativity: At any time, it is more likely there will be half a dozen innovative governors than one creative federal education bureaucracy. And the mistakes made by top-down federal reforms are continental mistakes.”

Disturbing Testimony at Hearing Reveals What is at the Core of Common Core Support
The Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership’s promotional program began with an explanation that Common Core was the centerpiece of their effort to “match up the American educational system with the European educational system of work-ready.”

Wichita, KS Family Speaking Out – Parents homeschooling children in response to Common Core standards
They say what concerns them the most is that most parents have been told little, if anything, about the standards.
They hope no matter the conclusion parents reach, they at least take a closer look and ask questions about what their children are being taught.
“If this does nothing more than wake people up to becoming more involved with their children, that’s great,” Justin said. “But absolutely parents need to become more involved in this.”
You can contact them at truthaboutcommoncore@hotmail.com

South Carolina Governor Haley Vows State Will Ditch Common Core
In a speech to the Greenville County Republican Women’s Club on Jan. 16, according to the Anderson Independent Mail, Haley, a Republican who’s up for re-election this year, said, “We are telling the legislature: Roll back common core. Let’s take it back to South Carolina standards.” She added that if Senate Bill 300 (introduced last year for the state’s 2013-14 legislative session) reaches her desk, she “absolutely will sign it.” In that bill, there’s no pause, no mandated review period—just a straightforward move to remove the standards from the state.

Common Core’s Newer Math
“The problem with Common Core is not that it provides standards, but that, despite its claims, there is a particular pedagogy that accompanies the standards. And this pedagogy is flawed, for, just as in New Math, from the youngest ages Common Core buries students in concepts at the expense of content.”

Karen Lameroux, Arkansas mom, speaks out:
On Glenn Beck
On Fox Business

Didn’t make it to the Capitol last week?

Thank you to everyone who came to Topeka last week, sent emails, made phone calls and sent letters!
We had a great three days, and enjoyed meeting Kansans from Dodge City to Council Grove to Kansas City.  We had families, parents, grandparents and concerned Kansans voicing their opposition to Common Core!

Didn’t make it to the Capitol last week?
How about this week?  January 21, 22, & 23
Although we will not be there like we were last week, there will be some individuals and small groups planning to be there on those days.  We are happy to put you in contact with them.  Please email kristin@kansansagainstcommoncore.com for details.

Please keep up the phone calls, emails, letters and tweets to your Representative and Senator, and the Governor’s Office.

 STOP COMMON CORE – RECLAIM KANSAS EDUCATION

• The Kansas Board of Education adopted the national K-12 Common Core standards in English and math in 2010 in order to score points on a federal grant competition…a competition we did not even win….money we did not get!
• As a result we now have the Common Core standards, and they are of poor quality:
  • They fail to prepare students for studies in science, technology, engineering and math.  They put our students two years behind their peers in high-performing countries by eighth grade, and they are even worse for high school.
  • In English language arts, the Common Core severely de-emphasizes the study of classic literature in favor of drab and simplistic “informational” texts.  It does this despite the fact that the overwhelming evidence is that children should be reading more, not less, classic literature.
  • Prominent child psychiatrists and psychologists have heavily criticized the standards as being age-inappropriate for young children.
• Kansas needs to reclaim its authority over education.  It needs to get out of the standards and develop world class standards that the Kansans control.
• The state legislature can do this with passage of a simple law.  But they need to know that this is important.  This is critical.

TONIGHT! Do you know the real TRUTH about Common Core?

THURSDAY – January 16th at 7pm – OVERLAND PARK, KS
Do you know the real TRUTH about Common Core?
Blue Valley Library
9000 W. 151st Street, Overland Park, KS 66221

Dr. Mary Byrne will discuss the history and truth of Common Core, its impact on education, assessments, data collection on our children and more.

Dr. Mary Byrne has a M.Ed. in instructional design and a doctorate in special education from Teachers College, Columbia University. She has spent the past thirty-five years in education—her first 10 years as a special educator teaching all grade levels, including work as a coordinator of curriculum, assessment, and accreditation and most recently in differentiated instruction within the regular classroom.

Upcoming Events – January 2014

JANUARY 2014

TODAY!  January 11th at 3pm – CIMARRON, KS
Cimarron Library, 120 N. Main
Learn more about Common Core – KS College & Career Ready Standards, hosted by AFP KS
The guest speaker, Jenni White, Restore Oklahoma Public Education is an educator from Oklahoma with extensive knowledge of Common Core and current education issues.  This will be an excellent opportunity to learn more about Common Core!Register here: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/what-you-need-to-know-about-common-core-state-standards-tickets-9812797341

MONDAY – January 13th – TOPEKA, KS
Kansas Legislative Session BEGINS

TUESDAY, WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY – January 14th, 15th, and 16th
JOIN US IN TOPEKA!
MORE DETAILS HERE: https://kansansagainstcommoncore.wordpress.com/join-us-in-topeka/

TUESDAY – January 14th at 6:30pm – TOPEKA, KS
Education Dinner – Kansans for Liberty
Jayhawk Tower, 700 SW Jackson St, Topeka, KS 66603
click here for more information and registration
Guest speakers include:
Dr. Walt Chappell, Former State Board of Education Member
Kristin George, Co-founder Kansans Against Common Core
Rep. John Bradford, Kansas State Representative
Rep. Darlene Cornfield, former Kansas State Representative

THURSDAY – January 16th at 7pm – OVERLAND PARK, KS
Do you know the real TRUTH about Common Core?
Blue Valley Library
9000 W. 151st Street, Overland Park, KS 66221

Dr. Mary Byrne will discuss the history and truth of Common Core, its impact on education, assessments, data collection on our children and more.

Dr. Mary Byrne has a M.Ed. in instructional design and a doctorate in special education from Teachers College, Columbia University. She has spent the past thirty-five years in education—her first 10 years as a special educator teaching all grade levels, including work as a coordinator of curriculum, assessment, and accreditation and most recently in differentiated instruction within the regular classroom.

Join us in Topeka for a Day at the Capitol!

Please join us in Topeka on

January 14th, 15th & 16th from 10am-2pm

We know how difficult it can be to take a day and make a trip to Topeka – especially for our friends out west – but nothing speaks to legislators like Kansans walking around the Capitol, and stopping by their offices with concerns.
We are asking you to take just one day out of your schedule to make a difference!

We will begin by meeting at the information booth on the ground floor of the Capitol.  Visit these links for more on directions and parking, and a map of the floors.

 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Capitol Guide

Download and print our “Guide” to make contacting legislators and finding offices easier.

Letter to the Governor

Download, print, sign and deliver (or mail) a letter to Governor Brownback asking for Kansas to withdraw from Common Core.  Please remember to include your district number.

*Please remember to be courteous and respectful in all forms of communication – and stick with the facts!  If you would like more information and resources, this is a good place to start.

If you can’t make it to the Capitol next week…

We still encourage you to pick a day and visit the Capitol in person, and the sooner the better!  You can use our guide to easily find the contact information for Leadership, the House Education Committee, and the Senate Education Committee.  And don’t forget to visit with the legislators from your own district – maybe even call ahead to schedule a few minutes of their time.

Consider taking time to write letters directly to legislators.  Send with a friend heading to the Capitol or email us by Sunday, January 12 and we will print and deliver your letter(s) in person.

Print, sign and mail a copy of the Letter to the Governor.
*Please remember to include your district number.

Continue to TAKE ACTION…

Contact Legislators, Sign the Petition, and Learn & Share

Need more information?

Email us:

kristin@kansansagainstcommoncore.com

megan@kansansagainstcommoncore.com

Call to Action – Week 5: REPEAT

CALL TO ACTION – WEEK 5

REPEAT

 Happy New Year!

NEXT WEEK on January 13^th the next legislative session will begin.  We need every concerned Kansan to help spread the truth about Common Core and participate in the effort to restore local education in Kansas.

This week we want you to REPEAT the previous Call to Actions!

 CONTACT KANSAS LEGISLATORS

SIGN THE PETITION

LEARN & SHARE

JOIN US IN TOPEKA!

We will be visiting the Capitol next week to visit with legislators about Common Core!

January 14^th, 15^th, and 16^th

We will be at the Capitol from 10am-2pm

Please contact us if you have questions:

kristin@kansansagainstcommoncore.com

megan@kansansagainstcommoncore.com

**We will be posting and sending additional details later this week.**

If you can’t make it next week, please consider making a visit to Topeka the following week on January 21^st, 22^nd or 23^rd.