Bill Gates extols benefits of new Common Core standards in USA Today column

Business magnet, inventor and philanthropist Bill Gates has penned a column for USA Today this week expressing support for the new Common Core instructional standards, ranking them “among the most important education ideas in years.”

“The standards," writes Gates, "are just that: standards, similar to those that have guided teachers in all states for years, except these standards are inspired by a simple and powerful idea: Every American student should leave high school with the knowledge and skills to succeed in college and in the job market.”

In addition to improving education for millions of students, he says, Common Core will promote consistency, and that's critical for children who switch schools or districts. He also dispels a number of myths in the column, which can be accessed here.

Speaking of Gates, he’s scheduled to participate in an upcoming education conference that will be attended by IUSD Superintendent Terry Walker.

Walker, who has similarly extolled the benefits of Common Core, will be a guest of Irvine Mayor Steven Choi at the “Mayors in Education Convening” forum, which will be held March 13-14 in Washington, D.C. The event is being hosted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which is also picking up the tab for travel expenses.