Common Core – A Standard Not A Curriculum

As discussions continue around the topic of 'Common Core' Amy Deslatte the Instructional Strategist at Lafayette Senior High School joined us on 'Go Acadiana' to explain the standard.

We asked if part of her role at Lafayette Senior High was to implement 'Common Core' and Deslatte said,

My role is to support teachers with their curriculum and anything that helps them transition into the Common Core Standard.

Dr. John Sutherlin asked Deslatte what was the biggest obstacle she had faced so far in implementing Common Core and she replied,

Well I think not just teachers but parents also are confused about the difference between standards and curriculum and the fact that curriculum is a local decision and it is decided at the district level. Standards are the goals set at the state level.

When questioned further by Dr. Sutherlin asking what did Deslatte see as the ultimate standard Deslatte said,

Let me explain it this way. When you're building a house you have building codes you have to follow and those are the goals everyone has to follow in neighborhood or subdivision. But that doesn't mean that my house will look exactly like my neighbor's house. So the same thing is true for standards and curriculum. We all have the same standards or goals we want our students to reach but we're not going to get to those goals in the same manner. Each teacher will have to look at the students in their classrooms and determine what supports and strengths those students already have in order to get them to reach that goal.

There is quite a bit more to this conversation which you can hear by clicking on the blue arrow below.