The nation’s governors are giving the state some money to help the higher education department prepare its students to give elementary and secondary students a better future.
The focus is Common Core State Standards, a model curriculum setting up expected achievement levels in math and English for elementary and secondary school students so they can succeed in college and career.
But the students need teachers who know how to teach the new core standards, and that’s where the $65,000 dollar grant from the National Governors Association comes in. Assistant higher education commissioner Rusty Monhollon says the money and technical assistance will prepare future teachers to use those common core standards effectively to give students greater opportunities after they graduate from high school.
The National Governors Association calls the common core standards a major step in education reform. Monhollon says the grant will help the higher education department better align its efforts with the efforts of the elementary and secondary department. The start started moving in that direction in 2007. The commissioner of higher education says the grant is recognition that Missouri has become a national leader in this field.