The Blaine County School District has acknowledged that it violated its own policy in adopting a new mathematics textbook series this year, but also defended the selection Tuesday as the best choice to help students learn "21st-century" math skills.
District Director of Curriculum Patricia McLean spent more than an hour at Tuesday's school board meeting explaining and defending selection of "Investigations in Number, Data and Space" as the new textbook series for grades K-12.
"Investigations," as it is usually called, places emphasis on teaching children math concepts, which some parents argue is to the detriment of teaching basic mathematical procedures.
Parental complaints, publicly aired first at an Oct. 18 school board meeting, continued Tuesday during the public comment portion of the meeting.
"Like several other people here, I'm concerned about how math is being implemented without an approved district protocol," said Erik Ruggeri, a consulting engineering with Power Engineers in Hailey. He further explained that his success as an engineer was the result of learning basic math procedures or algorithms.
"I can say with certainty that I would not have been able to achieve what I did with this kind of education," Ruggeri said, referring to the new district math program. "I am adamant that the standard algorithms must be learned before there is a shift to conceptual."
Hailey resident Paul Hartzell, a mechanical engineer and former Major League Baseball player, said that in both sports and in math he learned that "repetition and following procedures" is an ingredient for success.
"I'm a process-oriented guy," Hartzell said. "In the process of feeling good about learning mathematics, we've lost our way. Mathematics is not meant to be fun, and sometimes it's a grind. I think you can make a better choice for your math curriculum."
McLean argued during her presentation that children are learning both math concepts and basic procedures in the classroom, with the new district program relying on "Investigations" to help with concepts and on teachers to explain procedures.
"I believe in the teachers in this district," she said. "[District] teachers have excellent knowledge, skills and experience teaching procedural math and will have no difficulty supplementing this as part of a balanced math program."
McLean said the textbook selection process was started last year. She said seven text series were initially evaluated and three of them, including "Investigations," were piloted in district elementary schools last spring.
Twelve district math teachers were on the text selection committee, and after thorough evaluation and piloting, the committee voted unanimously to select "Investigations."
McLean said not including parents on the selection committee was an oversight. She apologized and said "I take full responsibility for it."
District Superintendent Lonnie Barber acknowledged that parents should have been included but said their exclusion was "not intentional."
Nonetheless, Barber said, the process of selecting the new math texts was done carefully and thoroughly.
Trustee Kathryn Graves said she researched the subject prior to Tuesday's meeting and found that the Aspen, Colo., school district has been using "Investigations" for 10 years.
"They're very happy with it," she said. "They said it may take a little while for parents and teachers to get used to it."
Friday, November 25, 2011
Texas School Drops Standards-based Grading
ROUND ROCK — Following controversy due to lack of communication and inconsistency in implementation, Round Rock ISD Superintendent Jesús Chavez announced Oct. 27 that the standards-based grading system would be rolled back at two schools.
Click for larger image
The system was used at Ridgeview Middle School and Round Rock High School as a way to improve commended rates and prepare students for the new State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, which will reportedly be more challenging than the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, or TAKS.
Trustees and parents alike agreed that SBG could hurt students more than help them without more time spent researching its benefits.
“We are not ready for this. The teachers who aren’t ready for this are hurting our children,” trustee Terri Romere said at the RRISD board of trustees Oct. 20 regular meeting. “The research is good. The methods are good. The implementation is horrible.”
Romere said the board had not been informed about SBG until she asked that it be added to the Sept. 29 meeting agenda. Her greatest concern, she said, was the students who were challenged by schoolwork prior to SBG implementation.
Rollback
A called board meeting Oct. 27 followed Chavez’s announcement, and parents filled the RRHS lecture hall as they had at previous meetings.
“I think Dr. Chavez announcing that they’ll quit experimenting with SBG is great. They’ll go back to the great schools they were before all this,” parent Amber Schmitt said. “Everyone is cautiously optimistic, and we are happy to have this behind us.”
Schmitt, who founded rrisdconcernedparents.com and its complementary Facebook page—both of which allow parents to voice their opinions of SBG—said she thinks parents still need to work to ensure that the school board comes up with a district-wide policy “that is consistent and equitable.”
JoyLynn Occhiuzzi, executive director of communications at RRISD, said there is a chance SBG will be re-implemented in the future, but if is, it will be a district-wide decision.
Why standards-based grading?
RRHS and Ridgeview officials used SBG to increase the rigor of assignments and tests so that students would be more competitive when it comes to going to college and starting a career.
Ridgeview Principal Holly Galloway said an SBG pilot program launched for eighth-grade students last school year following research, a seminar and book study. This school year, Ridgeview sixth- and seventh-grade students were assessed under SBG.
RRHS Principal Natalie Nichols said that throughout SBG implementation at the school, the number of students taking benchmark tests have gone up, as have scores. She reported increased commended rates and increased number of students passing.
At the Oct. 27 meeting, trustees and parents expressed concern that with the rollback of SBG, the rigor with which students have been taught may be lost.
Next steps
Parents worried that inconsistencies in grading may have caused an error in their child’s grade were urged to talk to their teacher and principal immediately.
The SBG rollback will be concluded at both schools Nov. 7. A complete timeline of the process is posted at www.roundrockisd.org.
Trustees will have a workshop meeting Nov. 29 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss grading policy. The location is to be determined.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Click for larger image
The system was used at Ridgeview Middle School and Round Rock High School as a way to improve commended rates and prepare students for the new State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness, or STAAR, which will reportedly be more challenging than the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, or TAKS.
Trustees and parents alike agreed that SBG could hurt students more than help them without more time spent researching its benefits.
“We are not ready for this. The teachers who aren’t ready for this are hurting our children,” trustee Terri Romere said at the RRISD board of trustees Oct. 20 regular meeting. “The research is good. The methods are good. The implementation is horrible.”
Romere said the board had not been informed about SBG until she asked that it be added to the Sept. 29 meeting agenda. Her greatest concern, she said, was the students who were challenged by schoolwork prior to SBG implementation.
Rollback
A called board meeting Oct. 27 followed Chavez’s announcement, and parents filled the RRHS lecture hall as they had at previous meetings.
“I think Dr. Chavez announcing that they’ll quit experimenting with SBG is great. They’ll go back to the great schools they were before all this,” parent Amber Schmitt said. “Everyone is cautiously optimistic, and we are happy to have this behind us.”
Schmitt, who founded rrisdconcernedparents.com and its complementary Facebook page—both of which allow parents to voice their opinions of SBG—said she thinks parents still need to work to ensure that the school board comes up with a district-wide policy “that is consistent and equitable.”
JoyLynn Occhiuzzi, executive director of communications at RRISD, said there is a chance SBG will be re-implemented in the future, but if is, it will be a district-wide decision.
Why standards-based grading?
RRHS and Ridgeview officials used SBG to increase the rigor of assignments and tests so that students would be more competitive when it comes to going to college and starting a career.
Ridgeview Principal Holly Galloway said an SBG pilot program launched for eighth-grade students last school year following research, a seminar and book study. This school year, Ridgeview sixth- and seventh-grade students were assessed under SBG.
RRHS Principal Natalie Nichols said that throughout SBG implementation at the school, the number of students taking benchmark tests have gone up, as have scores. She reported increased commended rates and increased number of students passing.
At the Oct. 27 meeting, trustees and parents expressed concern that with the rollback of SBG, the rigor with which students have been taught may be lost.
Next steps
Parents worried that inconsistencies in grading may have caused an error in their child’s grade were urged to talk to their teacher and principal immediately.
The SBG rollback will be concluded at both schools Nov. 7. A complete timeline of the process is posted at www.roundrockisd.org.
Trustees will have a workshop meeting Nov. 29 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss grading policy. The location is to be determined.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Penfield NY Math Success
I am very glad to say that, in the Penfield Central School District (Penfield, NY), about 5 years after generally leaving constructivist math and returning to a more traditional approach, we now have some of the best math scores in our county (Monroe County).
Attached in Appendix A is the October, 2011 newsletter from the Penfield, NY school district with some very impressive math results. For example: "...Penfield Student in grades 3,4,5, and 7 had the highest passing rates in Monroe County on the New York Math exam."
Appedix B is a review of how constructivist math came into Penfield in 1998/1999, and began leaving the district in Sept., 2006, in part with a parent group that I (Bill Munch) founded in 2005 (which is no longer in existence). At the depths of poor performance in Penfield, we had:
- Sept, 2005: 1/3 of 6th graders failed internal assessment of whole number addition, subtraction and multiplication (no division)
- March, 2006: 41% of Penfield's students failed the 7th and 8th grade math assessments
Penfield has come a long way to improve math education. I'm very glad to have been a part of that effort. It goes without saying that this change back to a more traditional approach would not have been accomplished without support of a very large number of parents and teachers in the Penfield Commnunity. I would also like to thank the help I received from Elizabeth Carson, NYCHold,l and a number of others involved with this fight nationally.....who made me and others in Penfield believe that this change would be possible.
BILL MUNCH
ex-leader of "Parents Concerned with Penfield's Math Programs"
Penfield, NY
APPENDIX A: "District Celebrates Success on Math Exams"
Penfield School District Newsletter
October, 2011
http://www.penfield.edu/files/66956/penfield%20october%202011%20final.pdf
Over the past six years, the Penfield Central School District has focused on improving and strengthening its math program. Teachers and administrators have worked together to map curriculum, examine test scores and questions, and use that data to improve instruction. It has been a collaborative, districtwide effort and the hard work is starting to pay off in a big way. The District is extremely pleased with its students' results on the spring 2011 exams.
Specifically, Penfield students in grades 3, 4, 5, and 7 had the highest passing rates in Monroe County on the New York State Math exam. Grades 6 and 8 results were also extremely strong, with 6th graders posting the second highest passing rate and 8th graders, the third highest passing rate.
At the high school level, the district also had outstanding performances on Regents exams. The District's 93% passing rate and 60% mastery rate (score of 85 or higher) on the algebra 2/trig exam were the highest in Monroe County. Penfield also had high passing rates of 94% on the algebra exam and 95% on the geometry exam.
"Penfield students in grades 3, 4, 5 and 7 had the highest passing rates in Monroe County on the New York State Math exam."
The number of Penfield High School students who were successful on college level AP exams is equally impressive. 100% of students taking the Calculus AB exam and the Statistics exam scored a passing grade of 3 or higher. In addition, 91% of those taking the AB exam and 65% of those taking the Statistics exam received the highest score of 5. Finally, 90% of students taking the AP Calculus BC exam received a passing grade of 3 or higher, with 66% receiving a score of 5.
"It's very exciting that other districts and even the state are coming to us and asking us what we are doing to help kids be so successful," said Gene Mancuso, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction.
While they are pleased with these results, District teachers and administrators are not looking at this as a task completed. With the implementation of the new Common Core Standards, there is still work left to do. Curriculum maps that incorporate the new standards have been developed for grades K-2, with full implementation across K-12 expected to occur by the 2013-14 school year.
"Our students continue to do the real work and our teachers recognize that if a student is not there yet, it means the student and the teacher must continue to work toward reaching that Penfield standard and beyond," Mr. Mancuso said.
APPENDIX B: History of Penfield Parent Group
1998/1999 - Penfield Schools begins piloting Constructivist Math program
2002/2003 – Most/all(?) math classes in all grades converted to Constructivist Math
Up until Jan, 2005 – A number of individual parents brought concerns to the district with basically no responses (other than the program is working, will work, and/or is in a trial phase). No changes occurred
Jan, 2005 – "Parents Concerned with Penfield's Math Program" was formed (founded by Bill Munch). Membership quickly rose to about 80 families, all of which expressed concerns. Petition started
3/19/05 - First official meeting of Penfield Parent group
4/26/05 - First petition to School Board (signed by 670 residents)..asking for traditional math. Petition denied.
May, 2005 – Created www.teachusmath.com to express Penfield parent concerns. Web site no longer exists, but it can be viewed using the "Wayback Machine" which records the entire internet; go to http://www.archive.org/web/web.php then enter www.teachusmath.com in the "Take Me Back" box)
Nov 11, 2005 – New York Times Article discussing concerns brought up by Penfield Parent Group: "Innovative Math, but can you count":http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/09/education/08education.html?pagewanted=all
This article drew national attention to constructivist issues, and Penfield's fight.
Sept, 2005 - 1/3 of 6th graders failed internal assessment of whole number addition, subtraction and multiplication (no division) - not shared until asked at math forum
Sept, 2006 – Constructivist math removed as only method for teaching math from Penfield High School. 9/29/06 Penfield Post: "National report backs math parents in Penfield": "…In June… Superintendent Susan Gray told members of the math parent group that Core Plus is now out of the high school, citing changing state standards and parent concerns."
Oct, 2006 7th/8th Graders from Penfield Found to have very poor basic math skills– NYS assessments for the 2005-06 school year. 41% of Penfield's students failed the 7th and 8th grade math assessments which were given in March of 2006, according to the Superintendent's Report dated October 24, 2006.
Fall, 2006 – Remediation of basic math skills begin. Despite requests for periodic math updates throughout the year, no more updates received.
Nov, 2006 - High school students assigned to AIS
April 2007 – Two voter propositions proposed for placement on May 15, 2007 school budget ballot - Proposition A demanded removal of the inquiry-based math programs and replacement with textbook-based math programs that use direct instruction. Proposition B required creation of a policy for future implementation of experimental programs in the district. Both requests were denied at the April 17, 2007 BOE meeting. April 18, 2007 letter from the BOE stated that both propositions were for items that are not within the power of the voters, and were therefore invalid.
May, 2007 – Formal appeal of the April 2007 BOE decision was made to the NY State Commissioner of Education, Commissioner Richard Mills
Oct, 2007 – Commissioner Mills denies appeal
Feb, 2008 – Parent group's website turned off
June/July, 2008 - Penfield Math Scores up significantly: June 23, 2008 D&C Article: "English, math test scores up area wide." Online table shows increase in % passing statewide tests for Penfield from 85.3% (2007) to 93.3% (2008)..an 8.04% increase (in one year)! July 3, 2008 – Penfield Post Article: ""Much-maligned math curriculum gets good results": "…the district has seen double-digit increases in students passing the state exam." Penfield Parents are convinced this increase was due to a return to teaching of basic math facts.
October, 2011: Cover story on Penfield newsletter: "…Penfield students in grades 3, 4, 5, and 7 had the highest passing rates in Monroe County on the New York State Math exam."
Attached in Appendix A is the October, 2011 newsletter from the Penfield, NY school district with some very impressive math results. For example: "...Penfield Student in grades 3,4,5, and 7 had the highest passing rates in Monroe County on the New York Math exam."
Appedix B is a review of how constructivist math came into Penfield in 1998/1999, and began leaving the district in Sept., 2006, in part with a parent group that I (Bill Munch) founded in 2005 (which is no longer in existence). At the depths of poor performance in Penfield, we had:
- Sept, 2005: 1/3 of 6th graders failed internal assessment of whole number addition, subtraction and multiplication (no division)
- March, 2006: 41% of Penfield's students failed the 7th and 8th grade math assessments
Penfield has come a long way to improve math education. I'm very glad to have been a part of that effort. It goes without saying that this change back to a more traditional approach would not have been accomplished without support of a very large number of parents and teachers in the Penfield Commnunity. I would also like to thank the help I received from Elizabeth Carson, NYCHold,l and a number of others involved with this fight nationally.....who made me and others in Penfield believe that this change would be possible.
BILL MUNCH
ex-leader of "Parents Concerned with Penfield's Math Programs"
Penfield, NY
APPENDIX A: "District Celebrates Success on Math Exams"
Penfield School District Newsletter
October, 2011
http://www.penfield.edu/files/66956/penfield%20october%202011%20final.pdf
Over the past six years, the Penfield Central School District has focused on improving and strengthening its math program. Teachers and administrators have worked together to map curriculum, examine test scores and questions, and use that data to improve instruction. It has been a collaborative, districtwide effort and the hard work is starting to pay off in a big way. The District is extremely pleased with its students' results on the spring 2011 exams.
Specifically, Penfield students in grades 3, 4, 5, and 7 had the highest passing rates in Monroe County on the New York State Math exam. Grades 6 and 8 results were also extremely strong, with 6th graders posting the second highest passing rate and 8th graders, the third highest passing rate.
At the high school level, the district also had outstanding performances on Regents exams. The District's 93% passing rate and 60% mastery rate (score of 85 or higher) on the algebra 2/trig exam were the highest in Monroe County. Penfield also had high passing rates of 94% on the algebra exam and 95% on the geometry exam.
"Penfield students in grades 3, 4, 5 and 7 had the highest passing rates in Monroe County on the New York State Math exam."
The number of Penfield High School students who were successful on college level AP exams is equally impressive. 100% of students taking the Calculus AB exam and the Statistics exam scored a passing grade of 3 or higher. In addition, 91% of those taking the AB exam and 65% of those taking the Statistics exam received the highest score of 5. Finally, 90% of students taking the AP Calculus BC exam received a passing grade of 3 or higher, with 66% receiving a score of 5.
"It's very exciting that other districts and even the state are coming to us and asking us what we are doing to help kids be so successful," said Gene Mancuso, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction.
While they are pleased with these results, District teachers and administrators are not looking at this as a task completed. With the implementation of the new Common Core Standards, there is still work left to do. Curriculum maps that incorporate the new standards have been developed for grades K-2, with full implementation across K-12 expected to occur by the 2013-14 school year.
"Our students continue to do the real work and our teachers recognize that if a student is not there yet, it means the student and the teacher must continue to work toward reaching that Penfield standard and beyond," Mr. Mancuso said.
APPENDIX B: History of Penfield Parent Group
1998/1999 - Penfield Schools begins piloting Constructivist Math program
2002/2003 – Most/all(?) math classes in all grades converted to Constructivist Math
Up until Jan, 2005 – A number of individual parents brought concerns to the district with basically no responses (other than the program is working, will work, and/or is in a trial phase). No changes occurred
Jan, 2005 – "Parents Concerned with Penfield's Math Program" was formed (founded by Bill Munch). Membership quickly rose to about 80 families, all of which expressed concerns. Petition started
3/19/05 - First official meeting of Penfield Parent group
4/26/05 - First petition to School Board (signed by 670 residents)..asking for traditional math. Petition denied.
May, 2005 – Created www.teachusmath.com to express Penfield parent concerns. Web site no longer exists, but it can be viewed using the "Wayback Machine" which records the entire internet; go to http://www.archive.org/web/web.php then enter www.teachusmath.com in the "Take Me Back" box)
Nov 11, 2005 – New York Times Article discussing concerns brought up by Penfield Parent Group: "Innovative Math, but can you count":http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/09/education/08education.html?pagewanted=all
This article drew national attention to constructivist issues, and Penfield's fight.
Sept, 2005 - 1/3 of 6th graders failed internal assessment of whole number addition, subtraction and multiplication (no division) - not shared until asked at math forum
Sept, 2006 – Constructivist math removed as only method for teaching math from Penfield High School. 9/29/06 Penfield Post: "National report backs math parents in Penfield": "…In June… Superintendent Susan Gray told members of the math parent group that Core Plus is now out of the high school, citing changing state standards and parent concerns."
Oct, 2006 7th/8th Graders from Penfield Found to have very poor basic math skills– NYS assessments for the 2005-06 school year. 41% of Penfield's students failed the 7th and 8th grade math assessments which were given in March of 2006, according to the Superintendent's Report dated October 24, 2006.
Fall, 2006 – Remediation of basic math skills begin. Despite requests for periodic math updates throughout the year, no more updates received.
Nov, 2006 - High school students assigned to AIS
April 2007 – Two voter propositions proposed for placement on May 15, 2007 school budget ballot - Proposition A demanded removal of the inquiry-based math programs and replacement with textbook-based math programs that use direct instruction. Proposition B required creation of a policy for future implementation of experimental programs in the district. Both requests were denied at the April 17, 2007 BOE meeting. April 18, 2007 letter from the BOE stated that both propositions were for items that are not within the power of the voters, and were therefore invalid.
May, 2007 – Formal appeal of the April 2007 BOE decision was made to the NY State Commissioner of Education, Commissioner Richard Mills
Oct, 2007 – Commissioner Mills denies appeal
Feb, 2008 – Parent group's website turned off
June/July, 2008 - Penfield Math Scores up significantly: June 23, 2008 D&C Article: "English, math test scores up area wide." Online table shows increase in % passing statewide tests for Penfield from 85.3% (2007) to 93.3% (2008)..an 8.04% increase (in one year)! July 3, 2008 – Penfield Post Article: ""Much-maligned math curriculum gets good results": "…the district has seen double-digit increases in students passing the state exam." Penfield Parents are convinced this increase was due to a return to teaching of basic math facts.
October, 2011: Cover story on Penfield newsletter: "…Penfield students in grades 3, 4, 5, and 7 had the highest passing rates in Monroe County on the New York State Math exam."
Where’s the math curriculum?
Currently, math teachers in the Blaine County School District are forced to construct buildings without blueprints. District administrators recently purchased new "reform math" textbooks, but failed to first write a revised board-approved mathematics curriculum—a direct violation of district policy.
Without a written curriculum there are no benchmarks of specific skills that students must master. Teachers are currently left to instruct from new textbooks that teach math concepts in depth, but do not develop computational fluency using standard methods—known as standard algorithms. These algorithms were in the first printed arithmetic book in 1478 and are the way most Americans learned to add, subtract, multiply and divide.
A balanced mathematics curriculum has three pillars: computational fluency, conceptual understanding and problem-solving skills. Take away any one of these three pillars and the structure of mathematics learning falls apart. Since the new elementary and middle school textbooks do not develop computational fluency, students cannot then develop conceptual understanding, and therefore do not develop good problem-solving skills. Problem-solving skills come from repeated practical application, rather than repeated "discovery of math concepts" that these textbooks focus on.
Was the interdependence of these three pillars considered when the School District purchased the new textbooks? Many other school districts across the country have either rejected these reform books outright, removed them from their schools after dismal results or integrated them with traditional textbooks to get the best of both worlds.
Given the questionable textbook selection process, will the new mathematics curriculum, yet to be written well into October, be balanced? Will it put the students' best interests above all else?
I would like to thank all the concerned parents who have attended a meeting or visited www.blainparents.org to get informed. Please write to your school board representative with your thoughts.
Kathy Baker
Hailey
Without a written curriculum there are no benchmarks of specific skills that students must master. Teachers are currently left to instruct from new textbooks that teach math concepts in depth, but do not develop computational fluency using standard methods—known as standard algorithms. These algorithms were in the first printed arithmetic book in 1478 and are the way most Americans learned to add, subtract, multiply and divide.
A balanced mathematics curriculum has three pillars: computational fluency, conceptual understanding and problem-solving skills. Take away any one of these three pillars and the structure of mathematics learning falls apart. Since the new elementary and middle school textbooks do not develop computational fluency, students cannot then develop conceptual understanding, and therefore do not develop good problem-solving skills. Problem-solving skills come from repeated practical application, rather than repeated "discovery of math concepts" that these textbooks focus on.
Was the interdependence of these three pillars considered when the School District purchased the new textbooks? Many other school districts across the country have either rejected these reform books outright, removed them from their schools after dismal results or integrated them with traditional textbooks to get the best of both worlds.
Given the questionable textbook selection process, will the new mathematics curriculum, yet to be written well into October, be balanced? Will it put the students' best interests above all else?
I would like to thank all the concerned parents who have attended a meeting or visited www.blainparents.org to get informed. Please write to your school board representative with your thoughts.
Kathy Baker
Hailey
Portland parent, schools clash over math, copyright
PORTLAND — The parent of a kindergarten student says she has been shut down in her attempt to understand and criticize her daughter's math curriculum because the School Department believes she could violate the curriculum publisher's copyright.
Anna Collins said she became concerned about the curriculum at Longfellow Elementary School when she realized there was no textbook.
So, Collins, who is an attorney, decided she would ask to see the texts the teachers use to prepare their lessons.
"As a parent, I didn't have a lot of knowledge. I was brand new as a parent in this school system. I just wanted the best for my child," Collins said.
She received permission to review the teachers' resource guide, which is what the teachers use to develop their lessons.
Collins said she learned the district is moving to a consolidated math curriculum, and that the programs the schools are using are considered controversial by some math experts.
"I started learning about it, and realized there was this whole national controversy about math curriculums and learned my daughter's curriculum falls under this controversy," she said.
Longfellow School uses the Trailblazers program, which is based on the Chicago Math curriculum developed in the 1990s by researchers at the University of Chicago.
Collins said she did not like what she was reading about the curriculum, which moves students away from traditional memorization of multiplication tables and learning long division, and instead encourages students to discover answers for themselves.
She said she found parts of the text disturbing, including a section of the Trailblazers Teachers' Implementation Guide that stated, "even though (the algorithms) are less efficient than the traditional algorithms, they are good enough for most purposes – any problem that is awkward to solve by these methods should probably be done by a machine anyway."
Collins said she wanted to know more about how this algorithm worked so she could help her daughter with her school work, supplement with what she felt wasn't being taught, and argue against the department implementing this program district-wide, which is under consideration.
Her request to photocopy sections of the manual was denied on the grounds that photocopying would violate copyright laws.
A letter she received from a school attorney, Elek Miller of Drummond Woodsum, said parents have a right to inspect any instructional material used as part of their child's curriculum.
"However that provision does not provide parents the right to copy such materials, nor does it preempt the Copyright Act," Miller said.
He argued that if the school were to allow Collins to infringe on the publisher's copyright, the school could be subject to hefty fines.
"She's had full access to the materials she's asked for. She carried it to the next level, saying she'd like to take if off campus and photocopy it," Superintendent of Schools James C. Morse Sr. said Monday.
Morse said Collins is welcome to review the materials after school any time, but that if she wants a copy of the full text, she should go out and buy it.
"I think the school's position in this is incorrect," said Zachary Heiden, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Maine.
Heiden said that Collins' request is protected under Maine's Freedom of Information Act, and that photocopying a public document that was purchased for public use is well within her rights.
"It doesn't seem like the copyright law is even applicable," he said.
Heiden said he would be deeply concerned if the school is denying Collins' full access to these documents because she has been critical of the curriculum.
"That would be highly inappropriate. That would be a real problem. The public records law are supposed to apply to everybody," Heiden said.
But Morse said the district has been responsive to every one of Collins' requests.
"I don't think she's been stonewalled at all. We've given her everything she's asked for. We've been open to her, we've had conversations with her. We've bent over backwards to give her access to the materials," Morse said.
Collins said she feels like she's being bullied into backing down from her criticism of her daughter's math curriculum.
"Being critical of a curriculum is not some kind of personal vendetta," she said. "Is this how the administration is going to respond when parents criticize the curriculum? It sends a negative message."
Collins said she has no intention of suing the school, because that would distract from what the district and she should remain focused on: the math curriculum.
"I want them to rethink this. I'm hopeful that they will," she said. "I'm hopeful they'll step back and realize this is not productive."
Anna Collins said she became concerned about the curriculum at Longfellow Elementary School when she realized there was no textbook.
So, Collins, who is an attorney, decided she would ask to see the texts the teachers use to prepare their lessons.
"As a parent, I didn't have a lot of knowledge. I was brand new as a parent in this school system. I just wanted the best for my child," Collins said.
She received permission to review the teachers' resource guide, which is what the teachers use to develop their lessons.
Collins said she learned the district is moving to a consolidated math curriculum, and that the programs the schools are using are considered controversial by some math experts.
"I started learning about it, and realized there was this whole national controversy about math curriculums and learned my daughter's curriculum falls under this controversy," she said.
Longfellow School uses the Trailblazers program, which is based on the Chicago Math curriculum developed in the 1990s by researchers at the University of Chicago.
Collins said she did not like what she was reading about the curriculum, which moves students away from traditional memorization of multiplication tables and learning long division, and instead encourages students to discover answers for themselves.
She said she found parts of the text disturbing, including a section of the Trailblazers Teachers' Implementation Guide that stated, "even though (the algorithms) are less efficient than the traditional algorithms, they are good enough for most purposes – any problem that is awkward to solve by these methods should probably be done by a machine anyway."
Collins said she wanted to know more about how this algorithm worked so she could help her daughter with her school work, supplement with what she felt wasn't being taught, and argue against the department implementing this program district-wide, which is under consideration.
Her request to photocopy sections of the manual was denied on the grounds that photocopying would violate copyright laws.
A letter she received from a school attorney, Elek Miller of Drummond Woodsum, said parents have a right to inspect any instructional material used as part of their child's curriculum.
"However that provision does not provide parents the right to copy such materials, nor does it preempt the Copyright Act," Miller said.
He argued that if the school were to allow Collins to infringe on the publisher's copyright, the school could be subject to hefty fines.
"She's had full access to the materials she's asked for. She carried it to the next level, saying she'd like to take if off campus and photocopy it," Superintendent of Schools James C. Morse Sr. said Monday.
Morse said Collins is welcome to review the materials after school any time, but that if she wants a copy of the full text, she should go out and buy it.
"I think the school's position in this is incorrect," said Zachary Heiden, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Maine.
Heiden said that Collins' request is protected under Maine's Freedom of Information Act, and that photocopying a public document that was purchased for public use is well within her rights.
"It doesn't seem like the copyright law is even applicable," he said.
Heiden said he would be deeply concerned if the school is denying Collins' full access to these documents because she has been critical of the curriculum.
"That would be highly inappropriate. That would be a real problem. The public records law are supposed to apply to everybody," Heiden said.
But Morse said the district has been responsive to every one of Collins' requests.
"I don't think she's been stonewalled at all. We've given her everything she's asked for. We've been open to her, we've had conversations with her. We've bent over backwards to give her access to the materials," Morse said.
Collins said she feels like she's being bullied into backing down from her criticism of her daughter's math curriculum.
"Being critical of a curriculum is not some kind of personal vendetta," she said. "Is this how the administration is going to respond when parents criticize the curriculum? It sends a negative message."
Collins said she has no intention of suing the school, because that would distract from what the district and she should remain focused on: the math curriculum.
"I want them to rethink this. I'm hopeful that they will," she said. "I'm hopeful they'll step back and realize this is not productive."
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