Today Heidi Craine and I met with thirty parents to introduce common core standards and their impact on Montecito Union.  Heidi lead the group through an overview and a hands on experience, where groups attempted to recreate a device with a series of strings.  The groups of parents had to problem solve, design, document, create, and communicate throughout the task.  After a short debrief and connection to common core, we moved in to math.  I provided an overview followed by a picture of practice.  The emphasis was on addition and subtraction and how they connect to the standards of math practice.  Parents had many questions around testing, middle school, and whether MUS will be ready.  It was great to highlight that with our amazing teaching staff and work with Teacher’s College, Harvard, and ongoing professional development, we feel confident that MUS will continue to stand at the top.  It also became clear that additional workshops are needed to introduce more of the details with ELA, dig deeper into testing, and talk about the impact of common core on middle and high schools.