As Glenview School District 34 implements its new math curriculum, a dispute lingers between officials who say the new program is more rigorous for all students and some parents who say it’s limiting their children’s options for advanced classes and honors classes at Glenbrook South High School.
The new middle school math curriculum “raises the bar for all” while keeping opportunities for advanced math courses, Beth Tsoumas, assistant superintendent for curriculum, assessment and instruction, told Board of Education members Nov. 16.
But Anitra Nelson – who with her husband Lars launched a petition at Change.org opposing “these radical changes that affect District 34 students and their families” – said the new standards are not giving District 34 students the same opportunities as other school districts.
“Why are District 34 students being denied opportunities for advancement and enrichment in mathematics?” she asked board members.
As of Nov. 20, the Nelsons’ petition had gathered 445 signatures (of a targeted 500).
The math curriculum is evolving as District 34 continues to implement the Common Core program into its classes.
In a presentation to board members, Tsoumas said that previously, District 34 had no grade-level math curriculum; all middle school students were essentially in accelerated classes learning algebra or geometry in eighth grade, but 25 percent of them were repeating “Algebra I” during their freshman year at Glenbrook South.
Now the district has grade-level Common Core math classes in sixth, seventh and eighth grades and accelerated courses teaching algebra (singly advanced) or geometry (doubly advanced) by eighth grade.
The grade-level classes teach plenty of algebra and geometry, however, because high school-level work in those disciplines is being pushed down into the middle schools, “increasing the learning expectations for students, and changing the profile of the type of math student eligible for advanced math courses,” Tsoumas said.
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Moreover, she said the new textbooks and teaching programs are harder and more challenging than what teachers used previously because the pace of learning during a school year – and during individual 45-minute classes – has increased.
“A grade-level course is a great thing,” and still allows students access to upper level math courses at Glenbrook South, she added.
District 34 is also staying flexible about student placement, using a new “matrix” or system to identify students who may be eligible for the advanced tracks (or vice versa) that includes test scores, teachers’ observations and input from parents, she said.
For example, Tsoumas said, District 34 recently asked parents of middle school students whether they wanted their children’s math placement re-evaluated, and 146 requested it. Teachers then re-evaluated all middle school students, and as a result, more than 250 will have their math course placements change when the second trimester begins on Dec. 7, she said.
“Moving forward, the matrix will continue to evolve, and may move to a propensity/projection model for identifying students based on math outcomes of interest,” a press release distributed at the board’s Nov. 16 meeting said. “More information about this will be communicated as those improvements are introduced.”
Parents and district officials also discussed the new math program at a Nov. 10 PTA meeting.
Glenview resident Margaret Latreille, who has one child in middle school (and two at Glenbrook South), isn’t convinced the district’s new approach is better. She said she worries the district is under-performing compared to neighboring elementary school districts in Northfield Township, and is determining students’ educational destinies based on test scores from earlier grades.
“I’m not an expert on this by any means; I’m not an educator, but I feel it’s a shame when you don’t give children the capacity to learn at different times … It’s not right,” she said.
Jon Davis is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.