SHERBURNE – In a continuing effort to help parents make sense of the Common Core controversy, the Sherburne-Earlville Central School Parent Advocate Group hosted an educational forum Thursday to shed light on the options parents have in New York’s latest attempt at education reform.

The forum, held at the S-E High School, featured an expert panel of educators and parents who argued the Common Core is pushing students in the wrong direction. But in spite of state mandated practices in the classroom, parents still have choices when it comes to their child's education, they said, and those options are worth exploring.

“We want to help parents understand the dangers of the Common Core and how we feel it is adversely affecting children,” explained Parent Advocate Group spokesperson Julie Bigger. “Our immediate goal is to have people understand that they're able to refuse these new state tests. The state has been less than forthcoming with information. We're simply tying to clear up the confusion.”

Although the mission of the Common Core standards is to make students college and career ready, Bigger says the unintentional implications for parents, teachers and students have proven unfavorable as it hinders individualized instruction for students who learn at a different pace, and ties the hands of teachers who would benefit from altering class lessons.