WEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced that he will be signing an executive order that eliminates Common Core standards in Florida.
DeSantis made the announcement Thursday at a school classroom in Cape Coral.
“Today we are doing an executive order that is going to instruct Commissioner Corcoran to get to work and come up with good standards for the state of Florida, which will include eliminating Common Core and the messages of Common Core,” said DeSantis as attendees clapped and cheered.
DeSantis said he is following through on a campaign promise to phase out the long-standing standards in the Sunshine State.
Common Core is a set of benchmarks in mathematics and English outlining what students should know at the end of each grade.
DeSantis said parents and teachers have been complaining for years that the guidelines for Common Core were too strict and rigid, emphasizing standardized testing over learning and retention of lessons.
“I had a lot of parents who were very frustrated because they didn’t understand some of the math and some of these things,” said DeSantis. “Look, let’s just try to get this right.”
The state adopted the Common Core standards in June of 2010. However, those standards were later altered and renamed.
Despite that, Florida still retains many of the same concepts of Common Core.
Hours after DeSantis’ announcement, Miami-Dade Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho unveiled Palmetto Elementary School music teacher Oliver Diez as his district’s Teacher of the Year at a ceremony.
“I’m humbly honored and privileged to be part of the best school district in the nation,” said Diez as he accepted the award.
Carvalho, a longtime opponent of Common Core, said the changes were long overdue.
“I do believe that a significant review of the current standards, the Florida standards, which are very similar to Common Core standards, is appropriate and needed,” he said.
Meanwhile, Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie echoed the need for educational reform. In a statement, he said, “We need fundamental reforms in public education that will give our teachers the freedom they need to better engage students. It is time to reduce our reliance on a testing culture that is more about ranking students on their potential, when our focus should be more on developing their potential.”
Broward Teachers Union President Anna Fusco shared those sentiments.
“Thank you, Governor DeSantis, that you heard the parents, and asked from the parents and the teachers for a very long time,” she said.
But some parents expressed concern for what the changes could mean for children struggling in math and reading.
“Math was always an issue, but now it’s really an issue,” said parent Camille Graham.
Others said change was a long time coming.
“Yes, I agree with the governor’s decision, great decision,” said a woman outside a local school.
“That’s good, that’s good,” said a man.
As new benchmarks will be set, South Florida educators said they are prepared to turn the page on Common Core.
“I hope to provide input as a superintendent, as an educator, into what those new standards could be,” said Carvalho.
DeSantis said the executive order will require the Education commissioner to come up with improved standards. That process could take several months, if not a year, and it could also be costly because it might entail new textbooks and new lesson plans across the state.
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