Common Core cont.

BlueStone Press, May 1, 2015 , Page 11

Memoriam

Pot Luck in celebration of the life of Daniel Tolchin

from previous page predeceased by her husband, Anthony Wade on Jan. 29, 2011. Flo was a communicant and devoted member of St. Peter's Church in Rosendale. She was employed as a secretary at Benedictine Hospital in Kingston for 26 years until her retirement in 1995. She also worked part-time for the Town of Rosendale as a deputy clerk. She is survived by five daughters, Karen Wade Johnson of Rosendale, Deborah Purvin and her husband, Theodore of Myrtle Beach, SC, Patricia DeFelicis and her husband, Jerry of Myrtle Beach, SC, Lynn Mary Waddell and her husband, John, of High Falls and Kathleen Wade and her husband, Jeff Decker of Rosendale; two sons, Anthony Wade and his wife, Debbie of Pleasant Valley and Joseph T. Wade of Rosendale; three sisters, Marie Beck of Rockford, IL, Beatrice Pratt of Manalapan, NJ and Joan Pigford of Bath; brother, William Miskowitz of Colonia, NJ; nine grandchildren, Keebie Edenholm, Lisa McDermott, Dacia Waddell, Jeffrey Waddell, Melissa DeFelicis, Jerry DeFelicis, Trina Beer, Angela Wade, Alyson Wade; great-grandchildren, Brandon McDermott, Connor McDermott, Alexa Rose DeFelicis, Jerry DeFelicis, Kory James DeFelicis, Landon Waddell, Liam Beer, Jayden And Mya Melendez; many nieces and nephews; her loving nurse, Irene Hodder of Tillson; her Eucharistic Minister, Pat Merck of Tillson; the Bruderhof Community of Rifton for their kindness and compassion and many dear friends. She was predeceased by her son, William Joseph Wade, grandson, Robert Anthony Waddell, great-grandson, Christopher Huckell, her son-in-law, Burton Johnson, sister, Dolores Perry and brothers, Robert J. and Stephen Miskowitz, Jr. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on April 21 at St. Peter’s Church, located at 1017 Keator Avenue in Rosendale. Burial followed at St. Peter’s Cemetery in

Tests from page 1 in-writing, in advance of the assessment, of their intent to have their child refuse the assessment. He went on to say if the school did “not receive written notification from a parent/guardian, our procedure was to contact the parent/guardian to confirm.” According to the New York State Allies for Public Education, as of mid-April, over 177,000 students opted out of taking the ELA test in New York State. This number comes from 64 percent of state schools giving information. Agostaro said that these numbers are possibly reflecting the notion that some parents are in opposition to the way students are tested in general. The description of the common core is outlined on corestandards.org. “State education chiefs and governors in 48 states came together to develop the Common Core, a set of clear college- and career-ready standards for kindergarten through 12th grade in English language arts/literacy and mathematics. Today, 43 states have voluntarily adopted and are working to implement the standards, which are designed to ensure that students graduating from high school are prepared to take creditbearing introductory courses in two- or four-year college programs or enter the workforce.” Agostaro said that the nature of the assessments is more challenging than they were three years ago. “A couple of years ago when the old assessments were given out by the state, grades 3-8, many of our grade levels were performing very high,” said Agostaro. “We were at a 90-95

STONE RIDGE—Daniel Tolchin of Boca Raton Florida, formerly of Stone Ridge died at home on Dec. 11, 2014 after a long battle with cancer. He was 51. He was born in New York on April 15, 1963 to Harold Tolchin and the late Christa Tolchin. A resident of Florida for the last 14 years, he was employed by Bath Fitters and had previously worked at Mohonk Mountain House. He enjoyed taking walks Tolchin on the beach, playing golf, photography, Lord of the Rings, anything Rosendale. Arrangements were made under the direction of Copeland Funeral Home, Inc., located at 162 South Putt Corners Road New Paltz, NY 12561. Memorial donations can be made to St. Peter's Church 1017 Keator Avenue Rosendale, NY 12472.

to do with the history channel and his dog, Irie. In addition to his father Harold, he is survived by his wife Devi Podes-Tolchin; his daughter Madison; son Trevor; granddaughter Kayla Tolchin; his sister Doris Hartman of Colorado; brothers Louis of West Hurley and brother Rainer Berbig of Smithtown. A memorial service was held on the beach in Boca Raton Florida. A Pot Luck will be held on Saturday, May 16 at Tongore Park in Stone Ridge from 2 to 5 p.m. to Celebrate Dan's life. Memorial contributions can be made to assist with his daughter's college to Devi Podes-Tolchin 1945 NW 4th Avenue, Boca Raton, FL 33432.

Jeanette Madera-Dupree

OLIVEBRIDGE—Jeanette Madera-Dupree died at home on April 15. She was 54. She was born in the Bronx on June 8, 1960 to Raphael & Natividad Casanova Madera. She was a Self-employed Attorney in Hyde Park. She was married to Timothy J. Dupree. He survives at home. She was a member of Regina Coeli Church in Hyde Park, Hyde Park Zoning Board, Hyde Park Democratic Committee,

Board member of the Dutchess County Interfaith Council and A.A.U.W. Survivors include her sister and husband; Agnes Madera & Vincent DeRosa of Red Hook; niece, Caitlyn DeRosa; nephew, Joshua DeRosa; step-children, Stephanie Dupree, Timothy J. (Melissa) Dupree, Jr., Justin (Melissa) Dupree and granddaughter, Julia all of Olivebridge. Visitation was held on April 20 at Wm. G. Miller & Son FH, Inc., located at 371 Hooker Avenue in Poughkeepsie. A Mass Of Christian Burial was held at Regina Coeli Church, located at 4339 Albany Post Road in Hyde Park. Burial followed in the family plot in St. Peter's Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to: The Hudson Valley Food Bank at 195 Hudson Street Cornwall On Hudson, NY 12520 or The family Partnership of Poughkeepsie at 29N Hamilton Street Poughkeepsie, NY 12601.

percent achievement level. Well, here’s the dilemma: The expectations before the exams are even given, were that 70 percent of our kids wouldn’t pass. If I was a teacher and I was designing an assessment that only 30 percent of my kids were going to pass, I’d have some concerns about the nature of the assessment.” The common core program isn’t a complete bust, however. Agostaro said that the focus on greater reading in non-fiction and primary resource usage is important. One of the biggest complaints amongst students is the way math is being taught. “The math is very different from what I was used to when I was learning and even teaching math,” said Agostaro. “It’s a different approach. Is it better or not? I think time will tell. Do I agree with the way assessments are built? I’m not strongly supportive, but I think the jury is still out.” Parents have several viewpoints on the common core testing system. "My husband and I made the decision together to opt out our daughter," said Marbletown Elementary School parent Kathie Hikade. "We feel the tests should not be given to all students, and should not be used as a way to evaluate teachers. It is our way of saying 'stop this madness'! Megan Snair, president of the Parent Teacher Association let her child take the test. “Although I completely understand and respect parents decision to "opt out" their child(ren), personally I felt that I did not have enough information that would convince me otherwise that we should refuse the tests for our daughter,” she said. “It's a real personal decision. I spoke to many parents and educators, as well as administrators, and at the end of the day my husband and I were not prepared to have our

daughter refuse the tests at this time.” The superintendent said that it is important to understand what exactly the students are having trouble with. “Is it that they can't read the questions? Do they not understand the content? Is it a good question?” he said. At the federal level, schools are expected to reach a participation rate of 95 percent. “We are obviously not going to reach that,” said Agostaro. These numbers could prove troublesome according to Agostaro. “The U.S Department of Education has made it clear that when a district fails to ensure that students participate in required state assessments, the state education agency is expected to consider imposing sanctions on the district -in the most egregious cases- withholding programmatic funds.” The state education department also takes schools who do not meet the required participation numbers and declares them as a “School in Need of Improvement” before imposing an “improvement plan” which would require the school to set aside financial and education resources to comply with such a plan according to Agostaro. Agostaro said that if a student doesn’t take a test, then it doesn’t provide the school with the progress of the student. However he asked, “the real question is if the test is a good one or not.” In the long run, students will always have to take tests. “They take them all over the place whether it be the SATS, the ACTS, whether it be for a civil service exam or a drivers test. You take a lot of tests. The question is if it is good testing or not and I’m not sure if I’m convinced yet.” For more information, contact Agostaro at 687-2400 ext. 4802 or 4803.

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