NJ Education Report

OMG. This is so cool. Newsday reports today that “opponents of Common Core testing plan an ‘Opt Out, Shop Out’event at Roosevelt Field Mall on Saturday morning to encourage boycotts of state standardized tests being given in April to students in grades three through eight.”

I love Roosevelt Field. When I lived on Long Island during high school it was the hip place to go. What teenager doesn’t love to hang out at the mall? I’d hop on the bus and wander around what was then a sort of down-in-the-mouth collection of stores but now boasts upscale shops like  Ann Taylor and Coach and Sephora and Stuart Weitzman.

Jeanette Deutermann of North Bellmore, the founder of Long Island Opt Out, told Newsday that participants in the “Opt Out, Shop Out” will “go about their usual activities” and everyone will get a free T-shirts bearing the words “Opt Out.” Double bonus: the Stuart Weitzman boutique is having a sale on their popular “Mummy in Suede” sandals — only $465! Shoppers will be joined by luminaries like the president of the Levittown Teachers Union.  Carl Korn, spokesman for NYSUT, was fully supportive of the event, telling Newsday that “when parents make decisions in the best interests of their children, NYSUT is going to support that decision 100 percent of the time.”

Just remember to bring your credit cards!