WCNY to host first Common Core program with N.Y. education commissioner Nov. 7

WCNY news
by HALEY DUBNOFF
November 1, 2013

WCNY will host the first of four scheduled televised public forums on new New York Common Core education standards at 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7. The forum will be broadcast on WCNY-TV and streamed online at wcny.org as it happens live before a studio audience at WCNY’s Broadcast and Education Center in Syracuse.

New York State Education Commissioner Dr. John B. King Jr. and Anthony Bottar of the New York State Board of Regents will answer questions from parents, teachers, administrators and others who will make up the studio audience. Susan Arbetter, WCNY’s news and public affairs director and host of WCNY’s weekday “Capitol Pressroom” radio program, will moderate the discussion.

The initial hour-long program will be followed by an additional half-hour discussion with King and Bottar that will continue live on www.wcny.org. That half-hour discussion will be televised on WCNY’s “Insight” news and public affairs show at 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8.

Individuals interested in attending the forum in the WCNY studio should complete the online form available at www.wcny.org/television/common-core-forum. Seating is limited, and online registration is not a guarantee of a seat.

Common Core standards and the educational reforms that have followed since their implementation in 2012 have divided educators. The standards emphasize critical thinking and so-called deep learning. New York is one of the first states to begin testing on the benchmarks.

When the state education department fielded complaints about poor communication related to Common Core, King scheduled a series of town hall meetings for this school year. When angry parents and professionals disrupted the first event in Poughkeepsie in mid-October, King cancelled the series. The state responded by scheduling four televised public forums on Common Core.