Dear Regent:

Enclosed please find copies of California's new k-12 Academic Content Standards in mathematics and in reading and writing, the text of a speech given to the California State Board of Education by E. D. Hirsch, Jr., and a review by Albert Shanker of Hirsch's book, The Schools We Need and Why We Don't Have Them.

For the past four years the grass-roots group, ESTEEM, has been monitoring the education reform movement that has been sweeping the country and the state. It has been commenting upon and offering constructive advice based on the best research-proven curricular information to the attention of our state's education leaders.

As part of our constructive agenda, in July of 1996 we delivered to Commissioner Mills an 85-page alternative curriculum document citing examples and sources of effective curricula as judged by both research and track record. We received no reply, and, judging from New York's curriculum frameworks/standards in mathematics, science, and technology, and the language arts, none of the information we supplied has affected New York's curriculum designs. We were certainly encouraged by Commissioner Mills' initiative to use Regents Exams and School Report Cards to restore academic integrity to our school system. Unfortunately, we fear that even such initiatives are showing signs of surrendering to federally-promoted guidelines that a columnist such as David Broder has proclaimed to be so "muddled" that chaos is starting to reign in American schools.

So now we bring to New York the benefit of California's last two years of soul-searching work to get out from under the federal bureaucratic maneuvering that had put that state "in the cellar." The clarity and academic integrity of the new standards are not only superior to those of any other state we have examined, but they represent a careful selection of standards from other states (including New York), districts, research models, and even other countries. (See Interim Report, pp. ii-iii)

We respectfully request two things: (1) That the Regents seriously consider adopting at least the major thrusts of the California proposal for the two major curricular areas; and (2) That ESTEEM be granted the privilege of presenting additional data to the Regents in session, and maintaining dialogue with the Regents and the State Education Department until reliable indicators of improvement give evidence that New York's curriculum is producing alert and learned graduates.

In combination with other grass-roots organizations, ESTEEM represents well over 1000 concerned citizens who wish to see New York promote a system of education second to none. We look forward to the favor of a reply. Kindly address any reply to the Johnson City address above.

Sincerely yours,

Aldo S. Bernardo, PhD ESTEEM Chairman

Charles M. Richardson Curriculum Committee Chairman

Cc: All Regents Commissioner Mills