Mrs. Clarke with authors Natalie Pope Boyce and Mary Pope Osborne, at this year’s Pennies For Pages kickoff.

At the beginning of tonight’s Montclair Board of Education meeting, still going on now and streaming live here, Dr. MacCormack announced, among other positions, that Nishuane School principal, Mrs Gail Clarke, will be taking on the position of Chief Academic Officer.

Mrs. Clarke just sent the following letter to Nishuane families:

Dear Nishuane Families:

It is with mixed emotions that I inform you that I was approved as the district’s Chief Academic Officer at this evening’s board of education meeting and will be leaving Nishuane to begin my new position on July 1, 2013.

This was a big decision for me both personally and professionally, as I have loved my time at Nishuane.  I have been honored to be a part of the rich history that this school holds in our community and to be trusted with the growth and safety of your children and the leadership of an outstandingly talented and dedicated staff.

Although I will truly miss Nishuane, I am very excited and honored to be named to this new position and to be given the opportunity to work with district teachers, principals, and families in my role as Chief Academic Officer and to further my career experiences as an educator.

Our assistant principal, Mrs. McLaughlin, will assume the role of interim principal while the district begins the process of selecting a new principal, which is due to be completed prior to the start of the new school year.  As you know, Mrs. McLaughlin is intimately familiar with all aspects of the operation and leadership of Nishuane and she will be available to you throughout the summer.

I wish to thank each of you for your kindness to me and dedication to your children’s educational growth throughout our time together, and I ask that you share this supportive spirit as we welcome a new leader to our wonderful Nishuane family.

I look forward to working with many of you as your children grow and move throughout their educational journey in the district, and so I will not say goodbye, but simply–see you soon.

With gratitude,

Gail

To Parents/Guardians and Staff:

By now, many of you have had a chance to review the Strategic Plan either on the website, or at community forums. The plan was developed to ensure a climate of continuous improvement that meets the needs of all Montclair Public School students as we implement new, mandated curriculum and adapt to new teacher/principal evaluation models. At tonight’s Board of Education Meeting to be held at the MHS Auditorium at 7:30 pm, the plan will be presented for Board approval. We urge you to attend the meeting to gain a clearer understanding of how key strategies and objectives will lead to improving achievement for all.

The plan was developed collaboratively and reflects Montclair’s values in support of progressive, creative education that nurtures the whole child and welcomes community involvement.  It addresses areas that many in the community have identified as particular concerns and includes:

• A restoration of K-5 World Language in all K-5 schools by this fall
• Significant work to address Pre-K services for our most vulnerable youngsters
• Strategies to create more positive and welcoming school climate in our schools
• A focus on stakeholder satisfaction and input, as measured through staff, parent and student surveys

The presentation this evening will also provide further clarification on the new, common assessments:

• The common assessments have two purposes:  1) to ensure that all classrooms district-wide are covering the course content required meet the more rigorous Common Core State Standards; and 2) to inform our educators of gaps in learning so they can be addressed in real time.
• Teachers remain free to teach the material in any way they wish.  They retain control over their lesson plans, and the district will continue to value teacher innovation and creativity.
• The common assessments are not standardized bubble tests drawn up by a faceless company, but performance-based tests that will be devised by our own talented teachers here in Montclair.
• These are not “extra” tests, but will take the place of other unit, mid-term or final tests.
• We absolutely and 100% discourage teaching to the test.  Like periodic tests that your children now take, teachers are expected to adequately prepare their students, and students are expected to review and study.

I urge you to come to the meeting tonight, or watch it on ustream at http://ustre.am/REe0 .

This two-year strategic plan, developed to first and foremost meet the needs of our students, is not cast in stone. It will be revisited, reevaluated and modified as needed as we roll it out.

With this email, I am including revised FAQs on the common assessments along with the plan being presented tonight. Hope to see you there, and as always, I am interested in your feedback.

Penny MacCormack, Superintendent

Tonight’s Montclair BoE meeting at 7:30 pm will be held at MHS Auditorium at 100 Chestnut Street. See the agenda here:ow.ly/m7tJQ

This is part of Barista Kids’ ongoing  series of education discussions about what’s going on nation-wide, state-wide and district-wide. 

Education across the United States, specifically 45 states and 3 territories, is in the middle of a big overhaul. The implementation of the Common Core State Standards will begin in the 2013-2014 school year. As with any type of change, Common Core comes with supporters and is meeting resistance. As part of a series of education discussions, this article will offer a closer look at what exactly the Common Core State Standards are and what it means for our schools.

Background
Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were created by the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), not a federal mandate  under the U.S. Department of Education’s Secretary Arne Duncan. The initiative  grew out of a grassroots effort to improve our  nation’s overall education after seeing inequalities across the country. They were created to raise the bar and establish consistency in education. The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-led effort that established a single set of clear educational standards for kindergarten through 12th grade in English language arts and mathematics that states voluntarily adopt. As of this article, 48 states and 3 territories have adopted CCSS.

CCSS build upon established state standards. For example, New Jersey has had Core Curriculum Content since 1996.  The standards described what students should know and be able to do upon completion of a thirteen-year public education and were revised every five years. Schools were already supposed to be making sure that curriculum and lesson plans were tied into the Core Curriculum. In 2010, New Jersey agreed to join and adopt the Common Core State Standards, which are broken down into Mathematics and English Language Arts.

The word to focus on is “Common.” The main change is the consistency in education across the board—ensuring that each individual school, district, state in the U.S. is preparing students in the same way.

According to CCSS website, “With students, parents and teachers all on the same page and working together for shared goals, we can ensure that students make progress each year and graduate from school prepared to succeed in college and in a modern workforce.”

Supporters
Supporters of the Common Core State Standards say that it will mean more meaningful lessons that focus on critical thinking skills. That to continue to leave districts entirely to their own devices hasn’t worked and that our U.S. students lag behind their peers in other countries.

A national bookseller focusing on public library children and teens sales, in the industry for 15 years who also happens to be a Montclair parent, is excited about CCSS. “Although the roll out of Common Core State Standards has been horrific, the idea is great.” She feels that CCSS stresses critical thinking and is more of a liberal arts approach to learning. She says that teachers will have to use informational texts (non-fiction) in a more cohesive way, creating thematic units.

The national organization Students First supports CCSS as well believing there are significant advantages to adopting common standards that outweigh the benefits of maintaining separate standards:

Given the needs and dynamics of today’s workforce, students in one state are at a significant disadvantage when they cannot compete with students in another state for college acceptance, training programs, or career opportunities. Yet, what it means to be proficient in one state could actually meet a much lower  bar in another. States that currently have a higher bar are not forced to lower theirs either.

Kenny Brechner, a bookseller writes in Publishers Weekly, “The Common Core recognizes reading as the dynamic component of education, as the yeast in the dough. It affirms that reading fluency is not a mechanical process, but rather a profound event.” He adds, “In making this observation, and putting it into practice, the Common Core gets it very right.”

Kristin Fontichiaro, a longtime teacher-turned-librarian, professor of library studies at the University of Michigan, and author of Navigating the Information Tsunami: Engaging Research Projects That Meet the Common Core State Standards, blogs about education at Active Learning. She states that “The implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) calls on educators to refresh and sharpen their skills in reading, writing, math and research.” She acknowledges that the implementation and roll out of CCSS has been less than stellar, but sees benefits in the program, which she explains on her blog post “Wrinkles in Common Core State Standards’ Rollout.”  ”I believe in the power of research, of reading beyond your prescribed A.R. level, and of thinking deeply. CCSS believes in that, too. So while I see all the flaws in the CCSS, and particularly with implementation and testing, I know that I’m never going to go wrong by pushing for more holistic reading choices, empowered researchers, and deep thinking. Those are evergreen, and those are important whether framed in terms of CCSS or some other initiative.”

Critics
There are various criticisms of the Common Core State Standards.

In his article in the Boston Globe last week titled “Unfounded Fear of Common Core,” columnist Glaeser lists critics’  fears as:

• Intrusion of the federal government on states
• High costs of implementation, measured both in cash and in the time students spend taking tests
• Lowering of already high state standards in certain states
• Lack of  field-testing, meaning  we have no idea how it works in real classrooms, and how it will affect the students who are currently struggling.
• Creating more standardized testing

Some groups, who may support CCSS, feel that the implementation has been a mess. Some states have adopted CCS in 2010, yet have just started working on curriculum to align with the standards that will be used this September. That causes a huge workload on teachers.

Groups such as  The Committee to Combat Common Core Curriculum in Nj C5-NJ which describes itself as “New Jersey Parents and Educators uniting to end the federalization of our schools and protect Parental and Student Rights and Privacy,” Parents and Teachers Against Common Core, vocal education reform leaders such as Diane Ravitch all lists various reasons against CCSS.

WHAT CCSS Means to Montclair
Amid the sea of change in our state’s education system with the adoption of CCSS, Montclair has been going through it’s own changes. The district has a new Superintendent who spent her first 90 days in the district on a “listening and learning tour,” where she made daily appearances in schools, talking to administrators, teacher sand parents, as well as the press. She also held Strategic Planning forums gathering input from residents. At the completion of that time period, the district released the news of a new curriculum and assessment methods, which will create consistency throughout the district with quarterly units.

The new curriculum and assessments were created by the Montclair district to align to the new, more rigorous academic standards, or expectations of the Common Core State Standards. The assessments will be district-wide, teacher-generated that are at least 50% performance-based (i.e., require critical thinking, writing, problem-solving) so that they align with the new state-adopted assessments from the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), which will also be 50% performance-based.  The PARCC assessments will replace NJASK testing in grades 3-11 in school year 2014-15.

A Montclair teacher, while admitting to feeling a bit overwhelmed with the entirely new curriculum and assessment units, tells us that she feels confident that it’s a good thing and looks forward to working collaboratively with other teachers to create consistent and more meaningful lessons.

Others are not so confident. A groups of parents and educators calling themselves Montclair Cares About Schools have created a petition to bring to tonight’s BoE meeting, where the Board will be voting on the adoption of the new plan.

MHS seniors at junior prom last year

For Montclair High School seniors the end of the year brings quite a few exciting events, one of which is the Senior Prom; the kick off to all the thrilling things ahead for the class of 2013, which includes graduating, and the subsequent festivities of Project Graduation.

This year the senior prom will be held at the Westmount Country Club on Thursday June 20. Prom tickets have already gone on sale and despite fundraising, the cost of prom this year is $95 per person.

Some students find the cost of prom ridiculous.

“Ninety-five dollars for prom is way too much money,” says senior Phoenix Herring. “Not everyone can afford to pay that much for one night.”

Prom is a pretty expensive event. It might not have been so pricey back in the day, but today it’s quite a pretty penny. The ticket, dress (or suit), corsage, jewelry, hair, make-up, and shoes can rack up to be a small but potent fortune.

However, many seniors will still shell out the money because prom, despite the cost, is something they’re excited about.

Before going to prom, seniors must take care of a few things. For the girls, a dress and hair and make up. For the boys, a nice suit. And for both, a date.

Many senior girls have had their dresses picked out since November and to avoid any “Who Wore It Better” sort of conflicts, a “prom dress” group was created. All girls attending prom, whether they are senior or underclassmen, are encouraged to join the Facebook group and post a picture of the dress they’re wearing so that no unplanned matching will occur.

While senior prom has always been a long dress event, this year many girls are diverting from this tradition. This year there is a wide array of styles, not just long, but short and the ever so trendy short in front and long in the back.

Senior Eliana McCann Smith, who is wearing a high-low dress, thinks it’s great that girls seem to be wearing all different styles to prom.

“It doesn’t matter what length dress you wear. You should just wear whatever dress you feel best in,” says Smith. “Because it’s really just about having fun and feeling your best.”

While excitement surrounds the prom dress itself, there is little enthusiasm for the prom dress shopping process.

“Dress shopping is honestly the worst,” laughs senior Cassie Walter. “I don’t think I enjoyed anything about it. I didn’t want to endure the whole ordeal of shopping for it in the stores, so I just ordered mine online and kind of went with the idea that, if it didn’t fit, I would just have to go naked.”

Ordering online was the prom shopping method many girls swore by this year. Popular prom dress sites included Lulu’s, Asos, Anthropologie, Free People, Nasty Gal, Etsy, and others.

The ordeal of shopping is usually worth it.

“Despite the process I am excited to wear my dress,” admits Walter. “It’s really pretty and I’m so glad it fit. It was worth the search.”

After finding the dress comes hair and make-up. Many girls are leaving it in the hands of beauty experts for prom, booking appointments at salons like Bangz, Bobbi Brown, and various other places in Montclair.

“I’m getting my hair done because I want an up do and I know I couldn’t do that on my own,” explains senior Courtney McMorrow. “And I’m getting my eye liner done by a make up artist because I want it to look nice and not sloppy.”

But the girls aren’t the only ones who get excited about dressing up for the night; the boys are pretty enthusiastic as well.

“I’m incredibly excited for prom because it’s not everyday that I get to wear a gorgeous Italian suit!” exclaims senior Steven DeSalvo.

And they’re just as dedicated to the process of finding what to wear.

“I put a good amount of thought into my suit,” shares senior Nick Twomey. “I mean, I want to look nice at my last prom,”

The final element of prom preparation is the prom date.

What was once an awkward and uncomfortable aspect of prom, has become a lot more fun and easy. The idea of going with a “romantic” date is quite archaic and has been replaced with a more comfortable concept- going with a friend.

“I think going with a friend takes a lot of pressure off of prom,” says senior Nia Abram, who’s going with her friend in lieu of a date. “The pressure to go with a date sometimes causes you to end up going with someone you actually don’t enjoy. The whole friend element eliminates the awkward experience that comes with a traditional prom date. Because with a friend, you can just be yourself.”

After all the preperation, whether or not MHS seniors actually have fun at prom next Thursday, it will still surely be a night to remember because, as senior Jack Ward puts it, “It really brings us all together before graduation which is great.”

So enjoy your prom seniors, because it’s the last time you’ll be with your classmates before you collect your diplomas in the amphitheater on June 26 and leave MHS for good.

(Excerpt photo: Flickr)

Every August, we hand out school supplies; it’s one of our most popular giveaways! Please consider donating NEW notebooks, binders, pens, pencils, backpacks, lunch boxes, etc. (also useful: glue, calculators, book covers, folders).

The Human Needs Food Pantry Annual School Supply Collection
What: Donations of new school supplies for Essex County kids in need.
Where: The Human Needs Food Pantry, 9 Label Street, Montclair, NJ, 07042.
When: Every Tuesday and Thursday before July 31 from 9 am to noon.

(Photo: Flickr)

MPL Summer Reading Kickoff
Who: All ages.
What: This year’s theme is “Dig Into Reading” and Montclair Public Library kicks off its’ summer events with the deep down and groovy sounds of The Bossy Frog Band! Kids and their families will be flabbergasted by Bossy Frog Band’s high energy banjo driven show which includes a 6 foot tall dancing frog! Hop and sing along to their silly tunes as these wacky characters get you ready for a summer of reading joy. After the show be sure to enroll in the Summer Reading Club at the 3rd floor Youth Services Department!
Where: Montclair Public Library, 50 South Fullerton Avenue, Montclair, NJ.
When: Friday, June 28 at 11 am and 1 pm.
Cost: Free. No registration required. In the auditorium. Please come to one show only.

BPL Summer Reading Program Kickoff
Who: All ages.
What: The summer reading program at Bloomfield Public Library kicks off with a performance by singer/songwriter Kurt Gallagher.
Where: Bloomfield Public Library, 90 Broad Street, Bloomfield, NJ.
When: Friday, June 28 at 2 pm.
Cost: Free

GPL Summer Reading Program
Who: Children ages 2 – 12th grade.
What: This year’s theme is “Dig Into Reading” and Glen Ridge Public Library kicks off a fun summer program for children of all ages.
Where: Glen Ridge Public Library, 240 Ridgewood Avenue, Glen Ridge, NJ
When: Begins on Monday, June 17
Cost: Program registration available at the library.

West Orange Public Library Summer Reading Kick-Off
Who: All ages.
What: Kick-off the Summer Reading Program with a free concert by local kid rock band StarFish! With teh summer program you can learn about who’s been burrowing in your neighborhood, plant your own flower, visit a 15 foot tall dinosaur, enjoy a magic show, a puppet show, and take a seat in one of the trucks from the town’s own Department of Public Works!
Where: West Orange Public Library, 46 Mt Pleasant Avenue, West Orange, NJ.
When: Wednesday, June 26 from 7 pm – 8 pm
Cost: Free.

Maplewood Memorial Library Children’s Summer Reading Program
Who: Children
What: This year’s theme is “Dig Into reading” and Maplewood Memorial Public Library kicks off a fun summer program for children of all ages.
Where: Maplewood Memorial Library, 51 Baker Street, Maplewood, NJ or at the Hilton Branch, 1688 Springfield Avenue, Maplewood, NJ.
When: Signup begins Monday, June 24 at the Main Library and the Hilton Branch.
Cost: Free

For teens, Maplewood Memorial Library is throwing a big party to kick-off it’s summer program.

Reading Under the Radar – Maplewood Memorial Library Teen Summer Reading Program
Who: Teens.
What: Enjoy crafts, scavenger hunts, book groups and more n the Teen Summer reading program.
Where: Maplewood Memorial Library, 51 Baker Street, Maplewood, NJ or at the Hilton Branch, 1688 Springfield Avenue, Maplewood, NJ.
When: Signup begins Monday, June 24 at the Main Library and the Hilton Branch.
Cost: Free

Book Stores and Other Programs

Watchung Booksellers 2nd Annual Family Book Club
Who: Families with children ages 6 – 9
What: Families will read Mrs Piggle Wiggle by Betty MacDonald together, discuss, do activities and enjoy pizza.
When: Wednesday, July 10 at 6 pm
Cost: Free

Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program called Imagination’s Destination will give your child a free book when they read 8 books and log them in a reading journal.

1. Read 10 books this summer. See suggestions.
2. Print out the Summer Reading Form
3. Write down the names of the books they’ve read
4. Take the form to the nearest TD Bank
5. Watch $10 be deposited into a new or existing Young Saver Account

And don’t forget to check out our great summer books for kids for all ages.

I just invoked “Father’s Day Week” to get Peanut to do what I wanted. #it’sthenewsanta

— Daddy Knows Less (@DKLblog) June 9, 2013

Someone tell me that my cub will start sleeping past 6 am one day. #parenting #sleepdeprived

— Montclair Bear (@MontclairBear1) June 11, 2013

Sometimes even #TheBestDayEver starts with you stepping barefoot on a Lego.

— Words 2Describe Kids (@KidDictionary) June 11, 2013

Field Day at the kids school is further reminder that there are no winners and losers. Boo.

— John Willey (@DaddysinCharge) June 12, 2013

Is it abusive to play Dread Zeppelin for your kid?

— Brian Glaser (@bsglaser) June 14, 2013

most of my parenting technique comes from Beasts of the Southern Wild

— Thom Powers (@thompowers) June 15, 2013

Oh good, you want to wake up and bang on the piano at 6am on Sunday. Happy Father’s Day. http://t.co/jPfUiDgYar

— Jim Gaffigan (@JimGaffigan) June 16, 2013

In honor of Father’s Day, we’ve put together 10 quotes about fathers and fatherhood: 

“My father didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.” ~Clarence Budington Kelland

“The older I get, the smarter my father seems to get. ~Tim Russert

“My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.” ~Jim Valvano

”When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.” ~Mark Twain

“We never know the love of a parent til we become parents ourselves. ” ~Henry Ward Beecher

“Love and fear. Everything the father of a family says must inspire one or the other.” ~Joseph Joubert

“There should be a children’s song: ‘If you’re happy and you know it, keep it to yourself and let your dad sleep.’” ~Jim Gaffigan

“Dad taught me everything I know. Unfortunately, he didn’t teach me everything he knows.” ~Al Unser, Jr.

 Happy Father’s Day!

Concerns About Montclair’s Strategic Plan
One group, under the name “Montclair Cares About Schools,” has created a petition asking the Board of Education to defer the adoption of the Montclair Board of Education’s new Strategic Plan, which will implement district-wide quarterly assessments, at the meeting this Monday, June 17. The district recently announced new curriculum and assessments procedures for the upcoming 2013-2014 school year and the groups’ concerns are that questions still remain about the plan.

The petition states:

We are parents and community members of Montclair, New Jersey. We write because we believe in Montclair’s identity as a community of intellect, courage, collaboration, creativity and dedication to equity, and we believe that these values are reflected in a nationally respected, exemplary and desegregated school district. We understand that our district must comply with state and federal testing requirements. However, the Strategic Plan currently under consideration puts an undue emphasis on data-driven instruction above and beyond these requirements at the expense of the creativity and energy that are at the core of Montclair’s personality.

The Strategic Plan calls for the imposition of four district-wide common tests each and every year. These tests would be imposed on every child from kindergarten to 12th grade, and would impact math, reading, writing, science and social studies (See Goal 1, Objective 3). It calls for data from these tests to be used to shape instruction in ways that jeopardize teacher autonomy and student engagement (See Goal 1, Strategies 10 & 11).

This raises serious questions about the future of teaching and learning in the school district we love:

• Will the imposition of these tests undermine the unique personality of each magnet school?
• Will the imposition of these tests undermine the initiative and creativity of our best teachers?
• Will data review geared towards competition undermine authentic teacher collaboration?
• Will data review damage authentic learning opportunities for a wide variety of students?

To that end, we, the undersigned, urge the Montclair Board of Education to defer the adoption of district wide quarterly assessments that go above and beyond those mandated by the State of NJ for compliance with Common Core Curriculum for the 2013-2014 school year.

A parent who signed the petition told Barista Kids that she is concerned that the Strategic Plan will have short-term and long-term consequences on Montclair’s Magnet School System. She feels that we need more than 90 days (the amount of time the district’s new Superintendent, Dr. MacCormack, spent on a “listening tour” before she began to implement a Strategic Plan) and more than 12 weeks for teachers to implement the changes and create assessments for the 2013-2014 school year.

Elana Halberstadt has a child in kindergarten. She signed the petition because she’s concerned about the Strategic Plan. ”Montclair has had an excellent reputation, has been a leader in desegregation, and has been recognized as a top magnet school district that thrives on its diversity and strengths of its citizens who believe in democracy in our town and in our public schools. Do I believe there is much to change and improve upon? Of course, and there always will be room for improvement. However dismantling everything is counter- productive and destructive.”

She adds, “The Strategic Plan as it is currently written is a disaster for our school district and will be harmful to our students, teachers, and entire community. It represents a gutting of core values, it won’t close the achievement gap, won’t inspire our teachers or students to have meaningful, authentic learning experiences that really could prepare our students for the world we live in now and in the foreseeable future. The Plan must be rejected.”

John Wodnick has concerns about meaningful educational lessons being pushed aside with the new plan:

Thursday night, I attended a Toast for my son’s second grade teacher.  I had just cleaned some papier mache out of my son’s hair that had come from a project she had designed to encourage the students to connect with endangered species across the globe. The host’s children were so enthusiastic to see chicks hatch in their classroom that they had emailed the teacher begging to take the chicks home as pets.  This is the sort of enthusiasm for learning that I fear we are putting at risk if we place too much emphasis on testing in the coming strategic plan.

Despite the superintendent’s assurances that creative approaches to education will be celebrated in this new system, a great deal of Goal #1 of the Strategic Plan remains dependent upon district-wide common assessments.  These tests cannot help but interfere with the independence and creativity of the most energetic and engaged educators we have here in Montclair.  I do not want my grade school children subjected to a battery of tests every ten weeks in the coming years.  I do not want their success measured merely by data—I want them coming home eager to return to school the next day, eager to learn more, eager to explore and connect and imagine. Common assessments imposed district-wide will not have the same power to inspire my children as inspired teachers do.

Montclair Cares About Schools will be presenting the petition at the Montclair BoE meeting on Monday, June 17 at 7 pm at MHS Auditorium, 100 Chestnut Street.

This petition is just one way Montclair parents are becoming active and vocal for education reform.

Opt-Out Movement
There were two fewer Montclair students taking the NJASK standardized tests a few weeks ago. The middle school students were kept home by their parents who have joined the “Opt-out” movement happening nationally.

Rachel Egan got her first taste of the NJASK tests this year. As a mother to a recently adopted tween, she hadn’t given NJASKs much attention since her other children haven’t started 3rd grade yet, which is when NJASK annual testing begins. But this year, her middle school student, who is a recent English speaking student, was being prepared to take the yearly standardized test and Egan didn’t like what she was seeing. After learning more about the Opt-Out Movement and listening to leaders in educational reform, Egan decided to have her daughter “Opt-Out.”

“This system of testing has already failed, it is the old way, it costs a fortune, and it doesn’t work. We need to evolve and find a new, more sophisticated way—just as we have evolved and found that there are better ways to discipline our kids, other than spanking them,” says Egan.

Egan said she discussed it thoroughly with her daughter, who didn’t want to take the tests and was comfortable with her parents’ decision.

Egan learned that there isn’t a clear method of Opting-Out, but there isn’t a legal obligation to have your child take the test either. Keeping your child out of school for the entire testing and makeup period (8 days) is illegal, but Egan took her daughter in at 11 am daily, after the tests were administered. When the school tried to get her daughter to take the tests during the makeup period, Egan went in and demanded that they stop. They did, but her daughter was marked late for the testing days.

Egan will have a 3rd grader next year and plans to keep her from taking the NJASK as well.

“Even though we are concerned about the younger children’s reaction to possibly being treated differently during NJASK week, we always stress in our family that it is important to try to activate change when you believe in it. I feel that most kids deep down get that these exams are wrong, and I want to support my children and stand up for them too. I want them to know when they are older that we did not comply with things that were harmful to them in the long run, simply to ease their short term fears.” Egan explains.

She added, “We want to teach them to be strong and to understand the power that people have in this country. We cherish democracy. It is natural for us all to try to make our children’s lives as smooth and happy as can be, but as you made that great point about classroom competition being like real life, it can be a bumpy road, and in real life you do also have to some times say no to the status quo, which can be uncomfortable. I am confident, however, that more parents are joining us and that this will become easier, and that we will create a better assessment process. I hope that my kids will feel great pride that they took part in this opt out movement, making schools better for all children.”

Edgar Aracena is against what he feels is an overload of standardized testing, which causes teachers to teach to the test, rather than teach in a meaningful way. He recently hosted a leader in New Jersey’s education reform movement, Jean Schutt McTavish, at his Montclair home to discuss the Opt-Out movement.

“Jean and her sister, both principals in NYC, came to our house for a discussion. My friend, Mary Adams, who is on the Rochester, NY School Board  and a Rochester teacher, joined us via Skype,” says Aracena. It was after that meeting that Aracena decided that his middle school daughter would “Opt-Out” of taking the NJASK.

“NJASK/Common Core have nothing to do with educating our children. This is part of a corporate-mad dash for our shrinking education cash,” he added.

Jean Schutt McTavish is a principal of Edward A. Reynolds West Side High School in New York City, and the mother of two children in Ridgewood, NJ Public Schools—two very different school settings, with very different performance ratings. She  notified the public schools that both her children would stay home during NJASK testing.

McTavish wrote a  post on the “United Opt-Out” website explaining her decision, in which she begins, ”I do not permit my children to participate in the NJ ASK or any other standardized testing for state report cards and NCLB/RTTT accountability. I believe that this kind of testing is, at best, counter-productive and perhaps even harmful to my children’s education and development.”

McTavish spoke to Barista Kids about her leadership in the reform movement. “I thought that No Child Left Behind, and the recent Race to the Top waiver, were only an urban problem. I was wrong. It’s making my hair stand up at the amount of test prep students are going through.”  She’s not feeling any more confident with the newly adopted Common Core State Standards (adopted by 45 states and three territories) and the upcoming PARCC assessments, that will replace NJASK.

“You can’t assess deep understanding with bubble tests. PARCC is not much better than NJASK,” says McTavish. She says the new assessments will require 8 1/2 hours more test time, roughly three more hours per year than current tests require. And that’s only the test time, not the time teachers will spend prepping students for the tests.

McTavish feels that as more parents and educators join the reform movement and stand up against data-driven education, change will come.

Since getting out of school on May 17 many Montclair High School seniors have been participating in the high school’s Career Internship Program otherwise knowing as “CIP” or “Senior Option.” During CIP the participating seniors are required to do an internship in their field of interest and report back to the school for weekly check ins and seminars. The program runs from May 20 to June 14.

MHS senior Nora O’Leary decided that for her senior option she would make a documentary with a local media company. O’Leary will be attending Middlebury College in Vermont in the fall where she may possibly major in English. O’Leary will spend the rest of her summer life guarding at the Montclair Golf Club where she will also coach their swim team.

O’Leary took the time to tell me a little bit about what she’s been doing since their CIP began.

Barista Kids: So what exactly are you doing for senior option?
Nora O’Leary: I’m working at Talking Eyes Media, a non-profit documentary filmmaking studio in Montclair. I’m making a documentary of my own and helping them with social media.

BK: How’d you get involved with Talking Eyes Media?
NO: At the beginning of senior option I contacted my former AP Lang and Comp teacher, Ms. Rembert, because I had made a documentary as the final project for her class. I wanted to see if she would be my mentor for the project. She said she would, but offered other people who she felt would be more qualified. She recommended Talking Eyes. The woman I’m working with is the mother of a boy in my class.

BK: How many days at week do you spend at Talking Eyes or working on your documentary?
NO:  I’m working four days a week. Most of the time, however, I’m at the YMCA where I’m filming my documentary. Not a lot of my time is really spent in the office.

BK: What is the documentary you are making about?
NO: It’s just a short video on the Strong Community Campaign at the YMCA. I wanted to highlight the program because it raises money to give scholarships for people to join the Y, go to summer camps, take swim lessons, and other great enriching activities.

BK: What are your day-to-day tasks like?
NO: I have to update both their Facebook and Twitter pages, transcribe interviews, film my own interviews, and edit clips.

BK: Do you enjoy working on the documentary and at the studio?
NO: Yeah I’m enjoying it very much. It’s great to watch all the other filmmakers at work because they have so much knowledge of the technology that’s being used, what looks good, and what sounds good. They’re all such creative people.

BK: What’s your favorite thing you’ve done so far?
NO: I would have to say my favorite thing would be learning how to film and come up with ideas for interviews, shoot, set up, and transcribe. It’s stuff you don’t think about when you’re watching a movie, but it’s really important to the project.

BK: Do you think you might want to pursue a career in media or documentary filmmaking?
NO: I don’t really know if I’m planning on pursuing this as a career, but it’s definitely something that’s interesting to me. I felt like it was a really great opportunity to do something creative and try something new.