DECATUR — Common Core Standards will help students have a deeper understanding of the basics, superintendent Larry Ben told the Decatur SchoolBoard at the Nov. 21 meeting.

Ben reported that he, along with elementary school principal Leslie Sharp, federal programs coordinator Mitch Wilbur and math and science teacher Jacque Smith, had attended a Nov. 17 workshop by DavidColeman, a leading author and architect of the Common Core State Standards.

The Common Core State Standards are a set of shared learning expectations from state to statein English Language Arts and Mathematics, according to the Arkansas Department of Education website, ArkansasEd.org.

The Arkansas State Board of Education voted to join 43 other states and adopt the Common Core in July of 2010, replacing the Arkansas Frameworks. The move began this school year with kindergarten through second grade.

Ben said the group of Decatur staff members learned the new standardsare simpler than they first seem. The Common Core Standards will be fewer but deeper than current Arkansas State Standards and fluency in the essentials, such as adding and subtracting or multiplying and dividing, will be stressed.

“Some things are nice to know but not essential,” Ben said.

Fluency means knowing something without having to think about it, Ben said, explaining that it takes fluency in the basics to understand more complex ideas.

While the United States is no longer rated at the top of education internationally, many countries that have earned an A+ rating have a simpler curriculum, according to Ben.

Two thirds of A+ rated countries teach three math topics in the first grade compared to 14 topics taught in two-thirds of 21 U.S. states, he said, describing the current curriculum as “a mile wide and an inch deep.” Graduation Date

In other business, the school board voted to set May 11, 2012, as the graduation date for Decatur High School seniors.

The commencement ceremony will be held at7:30 p.m. in the Lloyd Peterson Gymnasium. The last day of school is set for May 15, unless it has to be rescheduled because of an excessive number of snow days.

There are a number of scheduling conflicts in May, Ben said, including Gentry High School’s graduation ceremony planned for the same night and a potential state soccer tournament.

Board members Ike Owens and Darleen Holly agreed they did not like to see the graduation date overlapping Gentry’s graduation but said May 11 was the best time for the ceremony.

News, Pages 1 on 11/30/2011