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StudentsFirstNY's Director of Educator Outreach, Nathalie Elivert, gives testimony on the Common Core before the New York State Senate Committee on Education.

StudentsFirstNY's Director of Organizing, Tenicka Boyd, gives testimony on the Common Core before the New York State Senate Committee on Education.

Today, public school parents from New York City’s most underserved neighborhoods gave a loud declaration of support for the Common Core standards. The parents represent neighborhoods from East New York, Brooklyn to Jamaica, Queens and say that their communities want more rigorous standards for their children and teachers. The parents gathered before State Senator John Flanagan’s Education Committee hearing on the impact and effectiveness of the Board of Regents reform agenda, including the recent implementation of Common Core standards.

New York State’s new teacher evaluation system is a powerful tool for parents to know whether their children’s teachers are effective and for school leaders to determine which teachers need support and development to improve. Today’s preliminary results confirm that Governor Cuomo and Commissioner King’s steadfast support for aligning these evaluations to the rigorous common core standards was the right decision. However, with 84% of African-American students in New York State not proficient in reading we need to continue reform with all due speed. NYSUT's call to slow down on accountability should be met with profound skepticism.

Testimony calls for the Committee to realize impact resolutions have on charter sector and delaying closing failing schools.

"I know how difficult it is to acknowledge and accept when something is not working. But allowing it to continue and not replacing it with something better would be a travesty."

"The systematic effort to close the City's giant failing high schools and replace them with new, smaller high schools has arguably done more to improve education outcomes for more kids in New York City over the past decade than any other policy."

This post is the second in the "Op Ed: Opinionated Educator" blog series from former TFA Corps members that discusses issues and topics in education today.

"As New York's Democrats continue to throw their support behind Democratic Mayoral Nominee Bill de Blasio, we must not forget what this show of unity means for the children of New York City if voters send him to City Hall."

This post is the first in the "Op Ed: Opinionated Educator" blog series from former TFA Corps members that discusses issues and topics in education today.