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Council Reviewing Common Core Educational Standards Holding First Meeting

Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin heads the Common Core task force.
Michael Hibblen
/
KUAR News
Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin, who is leading the Governor's Council on Common Core Review.

A group put together by Gov. Asa Hutchinson to assess Common Core educational standards in Arkansas will hold its first public hearing Thursday in Little Rock.

Over the next two months, additional hearings will be held in eight other cities around the state to get public input and hear from educational leaders.

The standards detail what students should know by the end of each grade, but some have criticized Common Core, saying it enforces a “one-size-fits-all” curriculum that ignores cultural differences among students. Critics also say it relies too heavily on standardized testing and won't do enough to correct systemic problems within the education system.

Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin, a Republican of Little Rock, is leading the Governor's Council on Common Core Review. He says it will take time to consider competing arguments. 

"We’ve just got a lot of facts to gather. We’re not going to rely on myth and rumor and innuendo, we’re going to stick with the facts and it’s going to take some time to sort of sift through that because, as you know, there’s a lot of conversations both for and against. Some of it’s rooted in reality, some of it’s not," Griffin said.

The debate has critics on the right calling Common Core an overreach by the federal government, while some on the left have said it's a source of profits for testing companies. Advocates say it will ensure students are prepared for college and careers.

The council will eventually make recommendations about whether Arkansas should continue following the standards.

"We’re really approaching this with an openness. We need to get to the bottom of this, know what the facts are, so we can draw some conclusions that’ll be helpful to the governor," Griffin said.

All hearings are to be streamed live here.

Thursday's hearing begins at 8 a.m. in the Old Supreme Court room at the state Capitol and four panels are scheduled to take part.

Panel #1: 

1. Deborah Jones, Ed.D.: Assistant Commissioner, Learning Services, Arkansas Department of Education
2. Stacy Smith: Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Learning Services, Arkansas Department of Education
3. Tom Kimbrell, Ed.D.: Superintendent, Bryant School District

Panel #2:
1. Clara Carroll, Ed.D., NBCT: Professor of Education, Assistant Dean, College of Education, Chair of Graduate Studies in Education, Harding University
2. Jason Endacott, Ph.D.: Assistant Professor of Secondary Social Studies Education, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Arkansas
3. Chasidy White: 2015 State of Alabama History Teacher of the Year, Brookwood Middle School, Alabama

Panel #3:
1. Michele Linch, Ph.D.: Executive Director, Arkansas State Teachers Association
2. Ouida Newton: 2015 Arkansas Teacher of the Year, Poyen High School
3. Ken James, Ed.D.: President, Arkansas Advanced Initiative for Math and Science

Panel #4:
1. Sarah McKenzie, Ph.D.: Executive Director, Office of Education Policy, University of Arkansas
2. Gary Ritter, Ph.D.: Endowed Chair in Education Policy, University of Arkansas

That will be followed by a listening session at 5 p.m. at Pulaski Technical College Little Rock-South in the Community Room of the Transportation Technology Center at 13000 Interstate 30.

Other hearings at the Capitol :

Wednesday, April 29, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Bureau of Legislative Research, Room 151
Wednesday, May 6, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Old Supreme Court
Wednesday, May 13 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Old Supreme Court
Wednesday, May 20 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Old Supreme Court

Public listening hearings:

Thursday, April 23 – Little Rock
5 p.m. – 7 p.m. Pulaski Technical College Little Rock-South
Transportation Technology Center, The Community Room
13000 Interstate 30, Little Rock, AR 72210

Thursday, April 30 – El Dorado
5 p.m. – 7 p.m. El Dorado Conference Center
SouthArk Community College
300 S West Ave, El Dorado, AR 71730

Tuesday, May 5 – Texarkana
5 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Four States Fairgrounds Fine Arts Building
E 50th St, Texarkana, AR 71854

Thursday, May 14 – Bentonville
5 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Bentonville Public Library
Walmart Community Room
405 S Main Street, Bentonville, AR 72712

Tuesday, May 19 – Jonesboro
5 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Arkansas State University
Cooper Alumni Center
2600 Alumni Blvd, Jonesboro, AR 72401

Tuesday, May 26 – Hot Springs
5 p.m. – 7 p.m.
National Park Community College
Fred Dierks Building, Eisele Auditorium
101 College Dr, Hot Springs, AR 71913

Tuesday, June 9 – Batesville 
5 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Lyon College
Edwards Commons, Maxfield Room
2300 Highland Rd, Batesville, AR 72503

Tuesday, June 16 – Pine Bluff
5 p.m. – 7 p.m.
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
L.A. Davis, Sr. Student Union
1200 University Dr, Pine Bluff, AR 71601

Thursday, June 18 – Fort Smith
5 p.m. – 7 p.m.
The Blue Lion at UAFS Downtown
101 North 2nd St, Fort Smith, AR 72904

Michael Hibblen was a journalist for KUAR News from May 2009 — December 2022. During his final 10 years with the station, he served as News Director. In January 2023, he was hired by Arkansas PBS to become its Senior Producer/ Director of Public Affairs.
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