Math curriculum changes prompt development outlay

The Lawrence school district’s $319,000 investment in math textbooks will be tied to continuing education for teachers so they make the best use of new materials.

The school board is making that commitment in an effort to avoid past mistakes when expensive academic initiatives were introduced only to see them fail to live up to expectations because teachers weren’t given the necessary professional development opportunities.

“I personally couldn’t support this program unless there is a guarantee that our teachers will be fully trained,” said board member Jack Davidson.

When the board unanimously voted Monday to approve purchase of Math TrailBlazers books for kindergarten- through fifth-grade students and MathThematics materials for sixth-grade- through eighth-grade students, Davidson convinced his colleagues to dedicate $20,000 to helping teachers get started on the right foot.

It’s been eight years since the school board revamped the math curriculum at these grade levels, Supt. Randy Weseman said.

He said the district was struggling to balance the budget but couldn’t risk blowing this chance at meaningful reform even if costly.

“If we’re not going to put our resources behind teaching math and core subjects, I don’t know what we’re going to do,” Weseman said.

Lynda Allen, the district’s director of math and sciences, was given the task last summer of overhauling math instruction in the district. She formed three study groups of teachers to identify weaknesses in the district’s approach and map a plan to fill the gaps.

Study groups concluded existing elementary and junior high math materials were outdated and not well aligned with state math tests, she said. In addition, math materials in elementary schools don’t logically flow from one grade to the next. This forces teachers to compile lessons from many sources, which is a disadvantage for new teachers.

The district’s internal review culminated in selection of math programs endorsed by the National Science Foundation.

Later in the spring, Allen will return to the board and ask for $100,000 to buy manipulatives such as calculators, balances and color tiles used by teachers to explain math concepts. There is inconsistent distribution of these teaching aids in district classrooms.

The board also is expected to approve purchase of new algebra books for junior high students for $50,000.

A review of secondary math materials will follow.

Training for teachers involved with new math textbooks will likely occur at two-day sessions in June and August.

“No program in mathematics will be successful without professional development,” Allen said.

The district’s overall math scores on the 2001 state assessment were at or above Kansas averages for elementary and secondary schools.

However, there are stark differences in performance among individual schools in the district.

Composite scores increased at 11 Lawrence elementary schools tested last year but fell at seven schools.

Board member Scott Morgan said the district’s goal was to show steady improvement at each school, but there won’t be overnight success stories.

“I’ve seen firsthand some problems with the current system,” he said. “There’s years to go on this.”