Dear Commons Community,

On a day that saw his neighbor, ex-Governor of New York, George Pataki, enter the race for the GOP presidential nomination, Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie, is ready to abandon the Common Core in New Jersey. As reported in the New York Times:

“Gov. Chris Christie said yesterday that New Jersey could abandon Common Core education standards, changing his position as he tries to reconcile policies that he embraced as the moderate governor of a blue state with his bid to win over conservative voters in the presidential contests.

Mr. Christie, who two years ago proclaimed himself among the governors “leading the charge” for the Common Core, is widely believed to be preparing to run for president and is seeking to gain traction after the George Washington Bridge lane closing scandal.

In his comments on Thursday, Mr. Christie appeared to be trying to straddle both sides of the issue, one that has become unexpectedly thorny for Republican presidential hopefuls.

While once pushed by the party as an important element of accountability in schools, the Common Core has come under increasing opposition from conservative parents who see it as another example of big government excess.

Speaking at Burlington County College, Mr. Christie called for new standards to be developed by New Jersey parents and educators, which should appeal to Republicans who have long called for local control of education.

“We must reject federal control of our education and return it to parents and teachers,” Mr. Christie said. “We need to take it out of the cubicles of Washington, D.C. …”

I agree that we should return the control of education to parents and educators. Fifteen years of Washington, D.C. political and ideological education policies under No Child Left Behind and Race To The Top have been disastrous for public education.

Tony