Transitioning to a new math curriculum in Littleton Public
Schools will likely take several years, according to Mollie
McDonald, the district’s director of curriculum and
assessment.
At a school board workshop last Thursday, McDonald said the
district will ease into the curriculum, focusing on helping
teachers, students and wary parents adapt to the new program in the
first year. In the years that follow, the schools will slowly
integrate students into the new system and make changes to their
programs as they see fit.
“It’s a years-long process,” she said.
School board members voted to change the district’s math
curriculum last October to bring it in line with state standards
despite the protests of several parents. Instead of using
traditional math, which introduces concepts in steps, schools will
teach integrated math, which teaches all concepts at once and then
builds on them. The new curriculum also emphasizes problem solving
and group work.
McDonald said schools will work on developing “professional
learning communities” next year, where teachers compare notes about
what works and what doesn’t in the new programs. Schools will also
gather data from a variety of sources such as CSAP and MAP scores
to gauge students’ progress.
“What’s most critical is that teachers clearly understand what
students are supposed to know and what they are supposed to do,”
McDonald said.
Under a plan recommended by McDonald at the workshop, all of the
district’s elementary schools will use the Everyday Mathematics
program and middle schools will use the Connected Mathematics
program next year, while high schools will offer their choice of
program.
Littleton and Heritage high schools are both planning to use the
Interactive Math Program, or IMP, and Heritage will continue to
offer a traditional math track. Arapahoe High School wants to offer
a modified version of the traditional math, using a program by
McDougal-Littel. Options High School would like to use Core Plus
while continuing to allow upper-level students to take classes at
the other high schools.
The board will discuss the recommendations at its next meeting
on Jan. 26 and plans to vote on the proposed materials at its Feb.
9 meeting.
Several parents and teachers at the meeting said they couldn’t
wait for the changes to begin.
“We’re so ready to move into this new phase,” said Bryan Skarda,
chair of the math department at Heritage. “It’s going to be
great.”
A few, however, said they were still concerned about the change.
Teachers are worried about being adequately prepared for the new
programs, while some parents are worried their children will fall
behind.
Teresa Tucker, whose daughter is in the sixth grade at Euclid
Middle School, said her child struggled with a pilot program of
Everyday Mathematics in elementary school.
“She’s in the traditional now and loving it,” she said. “And I’m
really afraid. I just question whether this is the right approach
for everyone.”