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Published: 7/31/2012 | Updated: 5/18/2013
By EDWARD HUSAR
Herald-Whig Staff Writer
The Quincy Federation of Teachers has been awarded a $75,000 grant to develop a communications campaign about the new "common core" educational standards and what they will mean for teaching and learning in the Quincy School District. The grant from the American Federation of Teachers was announced at the AFT's annual convention last weekend in Detroit. The grant was one of five "Innovation Fund" grants totaling $750,000 awarded to AFT-affiliated teachers unions across the country. It was the only grant given to an Illinois group. According to Scott Stephens, assistant director of public affairs for the Washington, D.C.-based AFT, the Quincy grant will be used to develop "a top-to-bottom communications campaign for parents, businesses and local institutions about common core state standards." The campaign will strive to explain the key changes in state standards resulting from the adoption of common core. Stephens said it also will explain to community members how they can best support students to help them reach the new standards. The campaign will be led by teachers in cooperation with the Quincy School District. The campaign will feature public forums, public service announcements and the distribution of literature. In March, the Quincy School Board authorized the filing of an application to seek up to $550,000 in funding from the AFT for three years of training programs in connection with common core standards. At that time, school officials said if the grant was approved, the first year of training would get teachers up to speed on what the standards will be and how they will affect instruction. The next two years would then involve a series of forums to inform parents and students about the changes and to help students get ready. Valarie Bordenkircher, president of the Quincy Federation of Teachers, said the $75,000 grant announced last weekend is for one year only. "We may have the opportunity to reapply, which is how it is done," she said. "It is done one year at a time." Illinois is among many states adopting new learning standards and related testing. The new standards are slated to go into effect in the 2014-15 academic year, but many school systems, including Quincy, are already incorporating some elements of common core standards into their curriculums. Common core standards have been in development nationally for several years. The aim is to establish a common set of academic guidelines that any state could choose to follow. In the past, every state had its own set of standards, so students in each state were learning at different levels. The Illinois State Board of Education in 2010 adopted a revised set of learning standards for K-12 education based on the national common core. At that time, the ISBE said it was adopting the standards to better prepare Illinois students for success in college and careers. The new state standards, to be phased in over several years, will replace standards developed in 1997. The new standards will define the level of knowledge and skills that students should possess at each grade level in a variety of different subjects. More information about common core standards is available at: www.corestandards.org/. -- ehusar@whig.com/221-3378
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