Video: Miss. High Schools to Transition to Common Core Next School Year

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LOUISVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Classes may have just started back, but state and local school leaders are already looking ahead to the next school year.

That’s when the Mississippi Board of Education says all high schools will start the transition to the Common Core standards.

They were implemented in Mississippi schools back in 2010 in phases, but state education officials say most high schools still haven’t implemented them.

That will change starting this fall.

“Our kindergarten through second has been fully common core for the last three years, and we’ve implemented third through eighth this year,” said Penny Hill, curriculum director with the Louisville Municipal School District.

Now all high schools will begin the transition to the Common Core state standards next school year.

But some parents say they still have reservations about the new standards.

“I believe it’s going to put too much, too fast,” said concerned parent Shawn Sudduth. “It’s going to cause a lot of kids to fall behind.”

Common Core is aimed at improving reading, language and math skills in Mississippi classrooms.

High school students will face more challenging courses that education officials hope will better prepare them for college and the workforce.

“It’s more problem solving, understanding the math, being able to explain that to someone else. It’s a much deeper understanding,” Hill said.

The state board of education hasn’t approved a formal plan for the high school courses. After the state lays the groundwork, the responsibility returns to individual districts.

“School districts will have the responsibility of choosing their own textbooks, their reading assignments, curriculum,” Hill said. “Teachers in the classroom will have flexibility to determine how they want to teach something, and what they’re going to use to teach it with.”

The new standardized tests aligned to Common Core will start in the spring of 2015.

Hill says she’ll hold another Common Core information session for parents next Thursday at 5:15 p.m. at the Family Center in Louisville.