PFMC IMPORTANT UPDATES
Updated 5/12/2009
Presentations from the Board Meetings are included on the “Communications to the Board” page.
May 7th Board Meeting
On Thursday, May 7th, the Tigard-Tualatin school board voted 3 – 2 to bring back a more traditional structure for mathematics. Beginning in the fall of 2009, the math curriculum for grades 6-10 will use Holt textbooks as the primary curriculum with supplementation from CPM. This option will allow for every student to take home the Holt book. It is our understanding that the district curriculum department will be working this summer to create a complete program that can be consistently implemented throughout the district.
PFMC believes this option, if designed and implemented as presented, addresses the issues brought forth by the community and brings a strong math curriculum back to TTSD. While CHOICE was the desired goal of PFMC members, the district representatives felt that a single curriculum was preferable.
We are grateful to everyone who continued to advocate for a strong math education in this district. Your dedication to your children and your passion for education had a large impact.
We are especially appreciative that the school board members were receptive to listening to parents concerns and did their own research to understand the issues.
Undoubtedly, the debate over math curriculums will continue in districts throughout this country and perhaps return again some day to ours. As parents, we must remain diligent in ensuring that we stay involved in our children’s education.
April 23rd Board Meeting
Despite the opposition from parents on the district resolution committee, the district made a recommendation to the board that TTSD continue with CPM as its principal math curriculum. The recommendation included an additional, though incomplete, proposal that teachers supplement with traditionally based materials.
PFMC does not support this recommendation as it does not adequately address the concerns brought forward by parents. It does not address the coherency issues, the concerns of inadequate content, the issues surrounding using the textbook as a resource, the issues with the overuse of group work or group grading, the issues relating to different learning styles, or the concerns regarding loss of teacher instruction. And it essentially ignores the unease surrounding a curriculum that has not been shown to improve performance or adequately prepare students for higher level math. This recommendation essentially said “Let’s keep everything the same.”
NEW CPM INFORMATION
View UW Math Professor Letter, written by Dr. John Lee on March 9, 2009, to the Seattle School District and School Board. The letter summarizes several concerns with the CPM textbook.
CPM CONTENT REVIEW
View the CPM Content Concern Review, presented by Dr. Wu-chi Feng, at the February 25th Parent-District Resolution meeting. The review identifies several content concerns with the CPM curriculum. This file is password protected. Please contact PFMC for the password to view this document.
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