As parents, students and educators continue to raise concerns around Common Core and high stakes testing, a Community Forum will be held Saturday afternoon. Educators will help lead a discussion starting at 12:30 p.m. on the SUNY Buffalo State campus.
One of the key speakers will be Jamaal Bowman. He is a founding principal at the Cornerstone Academy for Social Action. Bowman tells his school, of about 250-students, supports the whole child and features wrap around services.
“And it’s about doing the best job we can at meeting the individual needs of students - both social and emotionally as well,” said Bowman. “It’s about meeting the needs of their families as best as we can through services we have in school and connecting with community based organizations, so for us it’s about keeping students and families at the center of the work.”
Bowman said he is not in favor of standardized testing. He said at his school it's 'near the bottom' of their priorities.
“Students aren’t standardized so I don’t believe in standardized testing, especially in alignment with the high stakes nature and annually how we do it in New York State,” explained Bowman. “We focus on the individual child.”
The Community Forum will also feature Buffalo School Board member Barbara Seals Nevergold, a D'Youville College education researcher and union leader from Hudson Valley. It will include a discussion about receivership for city some Buffalo schools.
“We need to revisit what receivership really means,” noted Bowman.
