The newly created math task force and math leadership team will be meeting throughout September and January to discuss how to implement Common Core standards for the 2015-2016 school year.
The task force consists of parents, teachers, administrators and students. Teachers have nominated two students each from PHS, Millennium and PMS to serve on the team. The leadership team is comprised of math department chairs and administrators on the school and district level.
The task force is currently focusing on asking questions, playing around with curriculum pathway models, and gathering professional feedback from a variety of educators to look into what is best for Piedmont students, said Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services Randall Booker.
“There isn’t a best model because different school districts are developing models that fit the needs of their students,” Booker said.
The leadership team will serve as a resource for the task force, answering questions and providing information about what is going on in the classroom.
“The math leadership team will also do more though,” Booker said. “They’ll investigate textbooks for adoption, curriculum instruction, best practices and professional development for teachers.”
One of the goals is to decide where there might be compressions or opportunities to move ahead in the curriculum, math department chair Doyle O’Regan said.
They must also evaluate the pros and cons of staying with a traditional layout, for example progressing from Geometry to Algebra II, versus implementing a more integrated curriculum.
O’Regan said there are two main factors that will drive this decision.
“One, philosophically, is [an integrated curriculum] a better way to do things,” O’Regan said. “But then also if we’re going to compress, does it make more sense with an integrated curriculum or does that make compression more difficult.”
Parents Club President Katie Korotzer said she thinks it is important to have a variety of perspectives on the task force because the curriculum affects everybody.
“It’s important for students to have a voice because they’re the ones who are going to be using the curriculum,” Korotzer said. “Obviously teachers have to teach it and they have the experience of their profession to know what’s good or bad as far as curriculum goes.”
Parents have a voice because they have experience with their students and see how they manage time, Korotzer said.
Based on the collaboration of both groups, Superintendent Constance Hubbard will ultimately make the recommendation to the school board in January or February.
“I think the goal is for everyone to be in agreement with what they find out,” Korotzer said. “Hopefully when they do all the research, it’ll become obvious what the right choice is going to be.”
