October 3, 1997

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Kroemer) RE: EXPERT PANEL MEMBERS REVIEW ACADEMIC STANDARDS A series of meetings on proposed new academic standards features a special panel of experts at a special Board of Education meeting scheduled for Oct. 7, from 3-6 p.m. in the auditorium of the school district headquarters, 4100 Normal St. The standards are at all grade levels in six areas: language arts (reading, writing, and speaking), mathematics, science, social studies, applied learning (using knowledge to solve problems and workplace preparation) and visual and performing arts. The standards were developed by a committee of more than 150 teachers, parents, administrators and community representatives. They will be presented to the Board of Education over three meetings in November and December, with adoption scheduled in January. The new standards are designed to clearly define the knowledge and skills students should have at each grade level. They also will serve as a measuring device to assess student achievement, and will complement the districtıs testing program and new accountability program. The Oct. 7 panel will include two leading experts in education. They include: Edward Reidy, Ph.D Dr. Reidy has most recently served as the deputy commissioner of education for the State of Kentucky. He has overseen the standards development process in Kentucky and has been primarily responsible for the Kentucky state assessment system and the accountability systems. His special expertise is in the area of mathematics. Warren Simmons Mr. Simmons is the executive director of the Philadelphia Education Fund, the Annenberg arm of the School District of Philadelphia. In that capacity, he was responsible for the development of standards in Philadelphia, and is now planning their implementation. His special expertise is in the area of language arts. Two other experts unable to attend the special meeting will review the standards and submit their findings. They are: John Murphy, Ph.D Dr. Murphy is currently an education consultant with the Arvida Corporation, a real estate development firm in Florida. He recently served as a consultant to the Chicago Public Schools in their standards development process. He has also served as superintendent in Prince George's County, Maryland, and Charlotte-Mecklenberg, North Carolina. Dennie Palmer Wolf, Ed.D Dr. Wolf is a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, specializing in curriculum and assessment issues. She is a five-year grantee of the Rockefeller Foundation and conducted the Harvard Performance Assessment Collaborative in Education (PACE) project. San Diego City Schools is a member of the PACE consortium of urban districts. She has published widely in the area of linking curriculum to standards, and assessment to standards.