If you're a critic of Common Core State Standards, unassuming Iowan Shane Vander Hart may be the most important person you've never heard of.
The social-media-savvy family man with profound Christian values has been engaged in the 46-state fight against Common Core for more than two years, ever since he discovered the plan to shift responsibility for creativity in teaching from the classroom to educational bureaucrats.
He's a behind-the-scenes kind of guy, not so much because he's shy, but because he's busy.
Much of what you read about Common Core State Standards on the Internet and follow through think tanks has come via Vander Hart's keyboard. He has become a superman, a one-man force against thisAmerican education initiative that seeks to bring diverse state curricula into alignment with each other by following the principles of standards-based education reform.
"There's just too much wrong with it," he says, explaining how he got so involved. "There are too many reasons why we mustn't accept it. I started blogging about this, and the more I got into it, the worse it seemed. Then the nonprofit American Principles Project came along and set me up to help state groups get organized online."
Since early 2011, Vander Hart has connected with dozens of individuals and organizations actively engaged in challenging Common Core State Standards -- the most notable of which is probably the prestigious nonprofit Pioneer Institute in Boston. It's the think tanks, mostly -- engaging his services -- that have kept him stirring the pot for Common Core's grassroots opposition.
Look at FightCommonCore websites in more than half a dozen states and you'll find Vander Hart's fingerprints on every one. "I may have set these sites up template-style, but there's an army of grassroots people behind the Internet opposition to Common Core. It isn't just me."
Vander Hart, 41, is the founder and editor-in-chief of Caffeinated Thoughts, a website of Christian conservative news and commentary. He is also president of 4:15 Communications LLC, a social media and communications consulting/management firm. He is still a communications director for American Principles Projects Preserve Innocence Initiative.
Garth Johnson, retired New York University law professor, told Sunshine State News Vander Hart is "one of the best weapons for truth we've got out there."
Said Johnson, "What I like is, he doesn't engage in the crazy stuff, he doesn't try to scare people. He just deals in organized facts so state legislatures can consider them."
Before 4:15 Communications, Vander Hart spent 20 years in youth ministry serving in church, parachurch, and school settings. He has been an interim pastor and is a sought-after speaker and pulpit fill-in. He and his wife Cheryl, who live near Des Moines, home-schooled all three children, now teenagers (the family is shown in the photo above).
Asked if he would describe his politics as tea party, Vander Hart said, "I guess I'm tea party ... that's such an organic label, but OK, I'm comfortable with it."
He said he's beginning to see more Common Core blowback within the 46 states that have embraced the standards. For instance, he said --
-- In Iowa, Gov. Terry Branstad signed an executive order rejecting federal intrusion into the states education system. The order declares that the state, not the federal government or any other organization, shall determine the content of Iowas state academic standards.
-- In Wisconsin, legislators have formed a nine-representative Assembly Select Committee on Common Core Standards to listen to growing citizen criticism of the initiative. From the input they gather, the Legislature potentially could modify the standards.
-- In Indiana, Common Core is virtually on "pause." It has ceased to move forward because lawmakers are undecided how to answer questions, deal with the criticism, or consider modification.
-- In Michigan, Common Core is going ahead, but now with a number of caveats.
"Even in Florida, where popular Jeb Bush and his foundation are so pro-Common Core, people are concerned," he said.
Vander Hart has six "bones of contention" with Common Core State Standards. He rattles them off like some people do the names of their grandchildren or the batting averages of their favorite team. These are the backbone of his argument against Common Core, and the result of three years studying its genesis and progress:
1.This is dataless reform. "Advocates say it's researched, but there is no evidence that centralizing standards will raise achievement," he said. "It's never been field-tested -- it's just a grand experiment in 46 states with nothing behind it."
2.The process of adoption is flawed. "State legislatures had nothing to do with adopting these standards, they came from special interest groups. Think about it," he said. "It's sinister -- adopting education policy by bypassing the legislature."
3.It's unconstitutional. It violates the Tenth Amendment, he claims. Education is not a power of Congress. Communities and states are the only ones that should be involved. "The federal government has no legitimate role in education." Three federal laws would be violated -- if not the letter of the law, certainly the spirit.
4. Content. Debate rages in every state over whether these are the best standards out there. "Look at my website. I have links on content to several outstanding sources on this subject."
5.Data mining, or data privacy. No matter how many reassurances you hear that the problems are being addressed, "there are websites out there that show a love affair with kids' data. My question is always, 'Aren't you curious what student-level data they will want you to provide?'"
6. Cost of implementation. "In Iowa the cost of test assessment now is $3.50 per student. Under Common Core, it will be $22.50 per student. But it doesn't stop there. School districts have to purchase new books, provide teacher training ... and some schools don't have broadband yet."
Vander Hart urges Floridians to slow the Common Core implementation process down. He said theFlorida Comprehensive Assessment Test measures student achievement in grades 311 in reading, math, and science. Since 1996, the Sunshine State has spent more than $404 million to develop and maintain the system.
"Overhauling the system for unproven national assessments, which Florida has agreed to adopt, could produce significant new implementation costs to taxpayers," he claims.
Vander Hart says he talks to groups within Iowa when asked, and starting back in May traveled to speaking engagements in Illinois, Kansas and South Dakota. "I'm hoping I can even get to Florida one of these days."
(To see a video talk Vander Hart gave in Illinois explaining his opposition to Common Core, click here.)
Reach Nancy Smith at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or at 228-282-2423.
