BY LINDA BENTLEY | FEBRUARY 25, 2015
Cave Creek Unified School District administrator’s classless act
PHOENIX – On Feb. 18, during the House Education Committee public hearing on HB 2190, schools; Common Core; replacement, which proposed to ban Common Core in Arizona, Cave Creek Unified School District (CCUSD93) Associate Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Jana Miller responded to Brad McQueen’s testimony in support of the bill by sticking her tongue out.
McQueen, who has taught fifth grade in Tucson for the past 10 years, testified that anyone who speaks out against Common Core faces retaliation.
He also testified the organization that presents teachers with “Teacher of the Year” awards is affiliated with Common Core and sends those teachers out to speak in favor of Common Core.
McQueen, as a public school teacher with a first-hand account of the inner workings of Common Core after it was introduced in his district, wrote a book in 2014 titled “The Cult of Common Core: Obama’s Final Solution for Your Child’s Mind and Our Country’s Exceptionalism,” identifying all the key players behind Common Core and its true intentions for public school students and the way education is delivered.
While misinformation about Common Core abounds, McQueen counters all their talking points, one by one, pointing out the curriculum is not more rigorous, it does not have overwhelming support of teachers, it was not a state led initiative and the huge role the federal government plays in its implementation.
Miller, who later testified in support of Common Core, stating CCUSD93 has invested $3 million to adopt Common Core, seemed to punctuate McQueen’s point about retaliation with her behavior.
The bill passed by a vote of 5-2 along party lines, with the two Democrat members of the committee dissenting.
