Bovino is also optimistic about the common core. “I’ve been positive about the common core,” Bovino said. She said the previous ELA and Math curriculum were respectively 20 and 10 years old.

“Neither of those curricula had international benchmarks,” Bovino said.

Bovino said that the first year was difficult because the district had to recover from Hurricane Sandy and the common core was developed in a way that did not give teachers enough time to adjust to the new format.

“We’re continuing to move forward,” Bovino said. “Because overall the increased rigor is going to benefit the kids. For us, it’s never been about the state test being a single measure. Hopefully we’ll be making progress and the kids’ scores will eventually improve.”