EdSource staff
April 2, 2015

EdSource is conducting a series of interviews featuring educators' experiences with the Common Core Land Standards. Aspire Public Schools is i of half dozen districts that EdSource is following during implementation of the new standards. For more information about the Common Core, bank check out our guide.

Elise Darwish has been on the leadership squad of Aspire Public Schools since its founding and currently serves as its master academic officer. She has worked in pedagogy for more than 25 years. Darwish began her pedagogy career as a kindergarten teacher in inner-city Chicago. She has also been a mentor teacher, assistant principal and administrator. Prior to Aspire, Elise was the instructional coordinator at the San Carlos Charter Learning Center.

She holds a bachelor's degree in Early on Childhood Education from the University of Illinois and a master's degree in Educational Administration from San Francisco State Academy.

The main reason she chose education, she said, is the students: "I only know when I walk into a classroom that it'southward going to be a happy experience. Kids will say things that will make me smile, or they're going to remember about things in ways I never idea of, that is and then interesting. The kind of joy that kids bring, you can't really get that anywhere else in the world, or in any other chore."

Darwish talked with EdSource recently almost preparing teachers and students for the Common Core standards in her organization. Here are excerpts from the interview:

You've seen reforms come up and go. How enthusiastic or skeptical are you lot about the Common Core?

I would state on the very enthusiastic side. In part because of the value it places on kids thinking deeply and problem solving.

On rolling out Common Cadre, nosotros're more similar a schoolhouse district. We accept instructional practices that we've always had, that we've refined, that align ameliorate with Common Cadre. And those are common across all of our schools. For example, guided reading is consistent across all of our schools a certain number of times a calendar week, and in that sense it'due south a mandated practise.

Our math materials are also mandated in the sense we want to be able to have consistent and effective coaching, and that means similar materials. Nosotros have common assessments three times a year that are aligned with Common Core. For this year, since the Mutual Core is such a big thing to roll out, what nosotros asked schools to do was to pick majors and minors.

We don't recall y'all can simultaneously get good at the instructional shifts in math and writing and reading all in the same year. And so we said, "We know you're still going to teach math, but if your [school'southward] major is writing, you're just going to go page by page in the new math book, yous're not going to go deep. Yous're going to go really deep on what your major is."

Would yous have given the interim assessments if their release had not been delayed?

We think if nosotros had known about it earlier, we would accept spread out the assistants of information technology. Considering I'm dying to know how our kids are going to do. Just seven hours in March is merely too much when they're going to take the actual test in ii months anyway.

What has been the virtually encouraging aspect of the implementation and then far?

So I think what's encouraging is that information technology'southward so aligned with what nosotros believe about kids and what they'll need to succeed in college. Even though teachers are killing themselves and principals and everyone's working really difficult, information technology feels productive. It feels like it's moving us forrad in the correct direction

One of the big things I'm hearing from teachers is they want more planning time. I totally hear that. And I'm likewise hearing they appreciate the planning fourth dimension they take. One of our regions in Fifty.A. wants more coaches. Oakland wants more than collaboration among secondary schools in the region.

What has been the biggest challenge then far?

The assessments we're giving to encounter if kids have mastered the standards or to inform our pedagogy — we're not sure if they're perfectly aligned with how the students will be assessed on the Smarter Balanced Assessment, and when we get the data, it's harder to do things with it because it's more circuitous data.

To what extent is there an instructional shift here? Is this a big modify?

I think it is a big modify. Information technology's easier for us to make the shift in the lower grades because learning how to read is learning how to read. Now they're going to read non-fiction, but nonetheless acquire how to read. I recall what's harder is the balance around how many times y'all take to inquire kids to read non-fiction or practice a close reading. Information technology's been a shift in balancing which instructional strategies get used and how ofttimes.

What are your concerns most what these scores might or might non say?

I want our kids to do well, considering I want them to be ready for college. But charters are under a lot of scrutiny. If nosotros didn't striking a certain level on the statewide tests, they could close us. So I think the charter world has a dissimilar level of accountability every bit measured by these tests.

The scores are expected to go down, right?

Yes. And we are talking to our parents most what I call back probably most districts are. They've gone downwardly in every other state. They're going to go downward, and hither's why.

Are you hearing from principals, nosotros don't like this, we're concerned, we need better materials, or are they doing OK?

Because they were all pretty much engaged in the process, nosotros're not hearing anyone proverb, "Nosotros hate this." We're hearing things similar around the math, secondary is very text-heavy, so how do we assistance our English learners and even so accept them get the concept? I'm pretty agnostic nearly materials. I actually think it's so much more than about the teacher and the instruction and the assessment. I don't want to say I don't care well-nigh the materials, merely I recollect yous can upgrade instruction, no matter what your materials are.

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