Tackling Common Core

By:  Michael Duncan, Superintendent

 I have been asked many times about my opinion of the Common Core. My answer is usually guarded because the question is typically asked by those with hyper-partisan views who get their talking points from talk radio, but, honestly, I don’t have a big problem with it.  Common Core is much more rigorous, requiring greater levels of critical thinking, so from this perspective, it is a better curriculum. Is it perfect? Not by a long shot.  It’s too broad. Critics have argued it would take more than 20 years to teach the Common Core to deep levels of understanding; that is, the ability to apply knowledge and skills independently to real-life situations and solve real-world problems.

Recognizing the need to increase the level of rigor and develop 21^st Century Skills (critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration), we must find time to focus on depth of learning, not just coverage.  To this end, we are working to identify the most impactful curriculum standards and eliminate redundancy.  Our goal is to align the Common Core from kindergarten to twelfth grade, reducing the curriculum, hopefully, by 40%.  This will afford teachers and students the time to engage truly authentic intellectual work which require 21^st Century Skills.  The impact will be significant-more reading, more writing, and more thinking.  It’s really that simple.

The challenges ahead are clear:  creating processes whereby teachers can do the intellectually heavy lifting of evaluating the effectiveness of the curriculum and instructional practices in light of student achievement data; investing in high quality textbooks (Yes, I said textbooks); and maintaining a laser-like focus on professional development in 21^st Century Skills.

What does this look like for students?  I know this is profound, but hang in there with me:  More reading, more writing, more thinking.

District Announces Opening of Agriculture STEM Academy

The Pike County School System is dedicated to preparing students for 21st Century careers by providing high quality educational opportunities in STEM. STEM represents the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. STEM education encourages a curriculum that is driven by problem solving, discovery, exploratory learning, and student-centered development of ideas and solutions. The saturation of technology in most fields means that all students – not just those who plan to pursue a STEM profession – will require a solid foundation in STEM to be productive members of the workforce.

Pike County High School will welcome students to the first STEM Academy in the fall of 2013.  The high school’s approach to STEM education will integrate Geometry and Biology with Agriculture.  All three will be Gifted/Honors courses scheduled during first through third periods.  Three sections of students in the STEM Academy will take these three courses to start each school day. This schedule will provide the opportunity for flexible grouping, multi-period labs, guest speakers, field trips, and common planning for STEM Academy teachers.

While the Science and Mathematics components of the academy are self-evident, you may have some questions about the rest of the STEM Academy.  Where are technology and engineering? What does Agriculture have to do with STEM?

Agriculture is the vehicle providing technology and engineering to the STEM Academy.  Agriculture is also the perfect subject matter to bring relevance to the STEM Academy in Pike County.  The school system is located in the heart of Georgia’s agricultural economy, and it is within minutes of the University of Georgia’s Agriculture experiment station at the Griffin campus.   These resources will provide outstanding resources for students to experience firsthand how science, technology, engineering, and mathematics impact agriculture and everyday life.  This academy isn't just for students pursuing careers in agriculture, but for students wishing to engage in a rigorous course of study in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.