ATHENS-An open letter from the president of Athens State University on Core Curriculum and Career Readiness Support:
Alabama’s colleges and universities often find themselves in an academic quandary when they accept students through the admissions
Robert K. Glenn- President of Athens State University
process who aren’t quite prepared for college level work. These students typically require some type of remediation as they work to put themselves in a position to pursue their college degree. Regardless of the skills that need refining, these students find themselves behind their peers and having to spend more time and money as they struggle to catch up.
As a University President, it is my desire to see students well prepared and qualified to meet the necessary standards for completing a college education. The State Board of Education also recognized this issue as it relates to elementary and secondary education. The Board believed it had to address this problem and developed a state-led effort to create and establish consistent and clear standards for our students. The result was the approval of the Alabama College and Career Ready Initiative for mathematics and English in 2010. More than 40 states have adopted similar, but not identical standards.
These standards came from the collaborative work of the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers more than a decade ago. State leaders from across the country, and across party lines, saw the importance of creating standards that put students on an even playing field in an increasingly global arena. Parents can now have clear expectations about what their child should be learning as they move from elementary school to high school, or as they move from one community to another. The common sense of the standards is reflected in the fact that 45 states have adopted standards similar to Alabama’s.
No outside force has coerced our State Board to adopt these guidelines. The State Board of Education used a reasoned approach that now allows Alabama’s children to compete with, and be as prepared educationally as any other student from Maine to California. No longer is our sphere of influence only in our own communities. Technology and transportation has changed our world and we are now engaged in a global economy. The College and Career Ready Initiative set standards that allow us to truly evaluate our educational competitiveness. The standards set by the State Board of Education also clearly retains control – local control on content and curriculum.
Athens State University has a long tradition of educating and preparing teachers for the classroom. Each year, more than 300 students graduate from the University with their teaching credentials. Each has gone through a curriculum that sets standards and a benchmark of expectations. We believe that the State Board of Education has taken an important step in adopting the Alabama College and Career Standards. These standards have coalesced the education, business and military communities because they understand how our state benefits when students meet and exceed high standards. Dr. Bice and our state school board have set us on a powerful course and I commend them. Let’s stay focused on making our great state even better.
Dr. Robert K. Glenn , President
Athens State University
