By Andrew Hackmack
Forest Road kindergarten teacher Jessica Mitchell is a member of the pilot committee which includes one teacher from each grade level at each building. She said they are looking for a program that is organized by topics, combines traditional math skills with conceptual skills and is easy for parents to use at home with their children.
Superintendent Dr. Elaine Kanas said it is important for students to learn basic math skills as well understand math concepts. "What you really want to do is find a program that focuses on both and ties them together," she said.
The current program used by the district, Kanas explained, is focused more on concept understanding than basic math skills. What skills lessons are included in the program are not organized by topic. A common complaint among parents is that they cannot help their children with math at home using this program.
AIS math teacher Joanne Lufrano said with this understanding, the committee has narrowed down the search to five programs. Representatives from each publishing firm will visit the district on Sept. 29 to make a presentation on their respective programs before the math pilot committee. On Oct. 2 at 7:30 p.m., parents will be able to review materials of the five programs at Shaw Avenue School and give their feedback.
Lufrano said that on Oct. 10, the committee will meet with its consultant to narrow the five programs down to two. The pilot will run from Oct. 20 to Dec. 5. The district will have one class from each grade level at each school pilot both programs. Lufrano said this is different than how the pilot worked last year with some classes testing one program and some using the other.
Clear Stream Avenue teacher Richard Mansfield said that with a committee of 30 people, it will be tough to find a program that everyone agrees on, but they will work hard to reach a consensus. He encouraged parents to attend the Oct. 2 presentation and give their feedback. "Learn about the programs that we're going to learn about," he said.
Margie Lugo, a parent member of the committee, said that parental input is very important to this process. She suggested that the district have field visits to schools already using these math programs before making a final decision. "That way we can see the program being used by real teachers, administrators and staff," she said.
Board member Cristobal Stewart echoed Lugo's concerns about parental involvement in the process. There is one parent per building on the committee but he noted that many more want to be part of the process. He also expressed disappointment with the scheduling of meetings, saying they are not "working-parent friendly."
"I think parents have a lot to say," he said.
Kanas said that when the pilot takes place, a weekly survey will be sent home to parents of students in participating classes.
Board member Maria Fletcher said in doing research on the five programs, she found concerns with four. Two, she said, only go up to fifth grade, yet this is a K-6 district. Two other programs, she said are not based on current New York learning standards.
Fletcher said that valuable time of teachers, students and parents is being used as the district continues its pilot and she wants it to be a success this time around. "I don't want this to have a conclusion that none of us can live with," she said.
When a program is recommended to the board for adoption, Fletcher said she wants to see concrete data that the program is right for the district, and not just hearsay about why people like it.
Some parents said they were concerned that the pilot would interfere with math instruction, in turn negatively impacting student performance on the state tests. Kanas tried to alleviate those fears, saying that the same topics are taught no matter what and every class will stay on schedule whether it is taking part in the pilot or not.
Kanas explained that the state has guidelines as to what topics need to be taught in each grade level, and at what time during the school year. She also noted that the driving force behind instruction is the teaching staff, not the textbooks. "Whatever New York State says we should be teaching, we're teaching it," she said. "No program that we purchase is going to be our math curriculum."
Kanas said the district was also piloting programs last year and student performance was not negatively affected. "The students did very well on those assessments," she said.
The criteria for selecting a new math program, as well as the superintendent's Sept. 18 newsletter, are available on the district's Web site at www.valleystream30.com.
