News Brief
State Schools Superintendent to Teachers: 'Purge' What State Has Told You for Past 25 Years
AL.com (08/12/13) Thornton, WilliamSpeaking before teachers and employees of Etowah County Schools, Alabama Superintendent of Education Dr. Tommy Bice urged them to "purge all that the state department has told you over the last 25 years," meaning that they have trained students to pass accountability tests long enough and should feel free to adopt innovative strategies to teach children the critical thinking and problem solving skills they need in the 21st Century. The goals set forth in the state's Plan 2020 includes a 90 percent graduation rate for students within seven years, and he said the state has re-evaluated how to prepare students by talking with business, industry, and higher education leaders. He indicated that one of the keys to student success is "allowing them to tell their stories, finding out the things that make them tick," and finding out how to make them curious and eager to learn. The state's new goals will increase the graduation rate and ensure students are better prepared for jobs and degree programs. "We can show the Legislature that if they will fund these things we have in place, we can be the solution to all our own budgetary problems," Bice noted.
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