Former gubernatorial hopeful Jonathan Pelto has spent a lot of time researching the Common Core curriculum and program of standardized testing being rolled out in Connecticut, and suffice it to say he doesn’t like or trust it.
The former state legislator-turned blogger, a harsh critic of the State Department of Education, was invited to speak about this recently to parents at the Westport Library, and his hour-long presentation, arranged by parent Caroline Iannucci and others, was recorded by parent Jill Mann. The invitation to Pelto was extended after school officials told parents that their children were required by law to take the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium test and could not opt out — a statement they felt was untrue and a violation of their parental rights.