State ed department highlights Common Core changes in new video

The State Education Department is hoping to end the year on a positive note with a new video that extols the Common Core standards.

In the seven-and-a-half-minute film, posted on the state’s EngageNY website, educators from several upstate school districts describe the ways they have changed their teaching because of the new standards and the benefits they’ve seen in their classrooms as a result.

Backlash against the new standards has mounted across the state and in others that have adopted the Common Core. This year’s state tests were the first aligned to the tougher new standards, and while scores aren’t out yet, teachers and officials alike said they expect scores to drop.

“When teachers do it, when they’re totally committed to it, and they’re not going at it with doubts, and they’ll see some of the benefits, I think they’ll be convinced,” said Stacey Brotherton, a seventh-grade teacher, says in the video.