The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education

Common Core State Standards - Letter of Explanation from Sandra Stotsky to Gene Wilhoit

To:

Members of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education

From:

Mitchell D. Chester, Ed.D., Commissioner

Date:

November 5, 2010

In the materials for the Board's June 22, 2010 regular meeting, Board members received a copy of a letter dated June 6, 2010 to Gene Wilhoit of the Council of Chief State School Officers from Sandra Stotsky as a member of the Validation Committee, explaining why she could not sign off on the Common Core's English language arts standards. The document in the Board's June 22nd binder was an accurate copy of Dr. Stotsky's letter. The same letter should have been included in the materials for the Board's July 21, 2010 special meeting but the document in the Board's July 21st binder was not the letter that Dr. Stotsky wrote. We are sorry for any confusion this may have caused. The letter enclosed with this memo is a true copy of the June 6, 2010 letter that Sandra Stotsky wrote. The correct letter also is posted on our website with the Board documents for the June and July meetings.

Enclosure: