Antonia Cortese

Antonia Cortese, CO-CHAIR OF COMMON CORE and SECRETARY-TREASURER OF THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS (AFT). Overseeing the development of the organization’s education policies, Ms. Cortese chairs the AFT Task Force on No Child Left Behind. Among her professional activities, she serves on the board of the Learning First Alliance, a national coalition of major education organizations. She is also co-chair of the Child Labor Coalition, a member of the Freedom House board of trustees, and a member of the United Way of America board of trustees.

Ms. Cortese was appointed to the American Bar Association’s Commission on Civic Education and Separation of Powers. Previously, she served on the executive committee and as a member of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, which develops and administers assessments leading to the certification of accomplished teachers. Ms. Cortese has served as an appointee of the U.S. Department of Education to the National Assessment Governing Board, which is responsible for the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Ms. Cortese has served as an officer of the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), an organization that represents more than 575,000 people in New York’s public schools, colleges, universities, and health facilities. She was a vice president of NYSUT’s predecessor, the New York State Teachers’ Association, where she oversaw the union’s bi-weekly newspaper and was responsible for NYSUT’s wide-ranging, nationally respected Division of Research and Educational Services. She also served as a vice president of the New York State AFL-CIO.

A graduate of Utica College of Syracuse University, Ms. Cortese began her education career in her native Rome, New York, as a fourth-grade teacher and school social worker. Her teacher union involvement originated as a building representative for the Rome Teachers’ Association, for which she later served as secretary, vice president, and two terms as president.

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Why we disagree with P21

(and you should, too)

Spring 2010 • The new issue of the AFT's American Educator shines a light on 21st century skills, featuring contributions from Common Core's Lynne Munson and Laura Bornfreund, eduwonk Andy Rotherham and UVA's Dan Willingham, Diana Senechal, and Diane Ravitch.

December 4 • EdWeek profile questions motives of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.

November 10 • You can now read Diane RavitchÕs op/ed on 21st century skills in the Boston Globe, Providence Journal, Metro West Daily News, Lowell Sun, and Quincy Patriot Ledger.

November 3 • Education Week highlights Common Core's concerns about the appointment of a P21 leader to a key Dept. of Education post.

November • Lynne Munson and Richard Kessler explain why arts education is vital in the November 2009 issue of Parenting magazine.

October 10 • Diane Ravitch's recent op/ed on 21st century skills has been reprinted in the Providence Journal.

September 16 • A group of prominent scholars, teachers, education reform advocates, and union leaders issued a statement today expressing concern about the program put forth by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) and calling for its revision. Press Advisory (pdf)

September 15 • Common Core’s Diane Ravitch shows how dated the idea of “21st century skills” really is in the Boston Globe

July 13 • Common Core’s Lynne Munson raises concerns about national standards at convention of the American Federation of Teachers. (PDF document)

July 9 • In USAToday Common Core’s Lynne Munson argues that a comprehensive education is more likely than a STEM education to produce new scientists.

July 2 • A USAToday editorial cites and links to Common Core’s “Still at Risk”" study which showed how little our 17-year-olds know about history and literature.

June 2 • Common Core releases Why We’re Behind: What Top Nations Teach Their Students But We Don’t, a report showing that the nations that consistently outrank us on international comparison tests provide their students with a fulsome education in the liberal arts and sciences. Why is this news? Because the U.S. is moving further and further away from this model. Read brief excerpts from the documents featured in the report here.