Assemblyman Marc W. Butler (R,C,I-Newport) unveiled the assembly’s new APPLE Plan to local educators at the Herkimer BOCES, on Wednesday, January 29.
APPLE stands for Achieving Pupil Preparedness and Launching Excellence, and has been crafted as a counter-measure to the Common Core, the state’s controversial education standard that was introduced last fall.
The APPLE plan was conceived after 11 public hearings throughout the state on Common Core Standards and their impact on New York’s students.
Butler co-hosted two of these meetings, one in New Hartford and one in Lowville.
The APPLE Plan contains workable solutions to improve our educational system and reform Common Core, according to Butler.
It is the result of listening to and working with parents, students and educators to fix the problems created by Common Core and to ensure our children receive the best education possible, he said.
“We gained invaluable insights on how our schools are operating under Common Core. We are confident the solutions in the APPLE Plan, if adopted, will result in meaningful reform of our educational system. I look forward to hearing input from our educators,” he said.
Butler added that a major priority was a full evaluation of the Common Core Standards.
He noted that the abrupt implementation of the standards and testing left many schools minimally prepared.
This forced a state plan that many educators found to be flawed in significant respects, and age- and developmentally-inappropriate, according to Butler.
The APPLE plan includes:
• Evaluating state assessments and curriculum;
• Providing funding equity;
• Preparing teachers with Career Development and Training for Common Core;
• Allowing teacher involvement in approving age- and developmentally-appropriate material;
• Restricting the use of student data;
• Placing priority on a student’s individual needs, especially in the case of special needs students, requiring that their Individualized Education Plans (IEP) supersede any Common Core Standards;
• Creating a vocational and technical high school diploma; and
• Revamping the State Education Department with checks and balances from the legislature and the governor.
A copy of the recommendations is available online at: tinyurl.com/nyappleplan. The full report can be found at: bit.ly/educationalcrossroads.
