Common Core ‘architect’ David Coleman’s history with Bill Ayers and Barack Obama

CHICAGO – Referred to as ‘Common Core lead standards authors’ by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), David Coleman and Jason Zimba are just two in a long list of Common Core creators whose academic roots are with the education-for-a-revolution machine borne by Annenberg Institute, Carnegie Corporation, Bill Gates, et al.

INVITATION FOR SUBMISSIONS The New York State Education Department (NYSED) is seeking, from educators and other service providers at all levels of New York’s educational system, submissions of curriculum content for Grades 9-12 English Language Arts (ELA) that support rigor, quality, and alignment in the implementation of the New York State Common Core Learning Standards, and that are based on texts that have been chosen by NYSED for a contract to create a set of 9-12 ELA modules.  Background As part of the Regents Reform Agenda, New York State is leading the way in articulating rigor, quality, and alignment in school and classroom materials and practice associated with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in grades P-12 in English language arts (ELA). By the fall of 2013, grades K-12 will be in full implementation of the new standards. 

Today, Coleman and Zimba are head of Student Achievement Partners, an organization that played a leading role in developing the standards and actively supports districts and states in implementing them.

Prior to Student Achiement Partners, Coleman and Zimba were co-founders of the Grow Network (now owned by McGraw-Hill Company). Grow Network began as a pilot program in New York in 2000. Less than a year later, the Chicago Public Education Fund began negotiating a contract with Grow Network on behalf of Chicago Public Schools.

The Chicago Public Education Fund (‘The Fund’) was createdin 1998 by the Chicago Annenberg Challenge (CAC) board of directors, which included Barack Obama as board chairman and communist Bill Ayers, as co-chair.

President Obama’s recently appointed Commerce Secretary, Penny Pritzker, was one of twelve founding board members appointed to The Fund.

Obama himself worked with The Fund for the next several years as a leadership council member, alongside Bill Ayers’ father, Thomas Ayers, and brother, John Ayers.

From Catalyst Chicago, March 2000:

“The Chicago Annenberg Challenge will close up shop in June 2001, but its efforts to improve public education will live on through a new community foundation…the Chicago Public Education Fund…  >>more from EAG<<