Welcome to the POB MATH website! We are making progress!

The Short Story

A presentation was made by the Math Committee of their recommendations for math, including K-8 and 9-12 Regents changes. Administration, teachers and parent members on the committee participated in the discussion.

The meeting was held in the comfortable Mattlin auditorium with the backdrop of the scenery of the upcoming Fame musical. News 12 was there for part of the time and everyone was dressed for success. An interested audience including parents, teachers, building principals, PTA presidents, teacher union representatives and other concerned citizens settled in for a 4 hour meeting comprised of the Math Committee report, question and answers from the BOE and public participation.

Main Recommendations

• September 2007 will bring newly written curriculum including an emphasis on math facts and recognizable algorithms. Test prep and supplemental materials will be chosen prior to the start of the new school year and implemented district-wide.
• From May 2007 forward various math programs will be considered and piloted by teachers and by January 2008 a new math program will be chosen to be implemented in March 2008.

The BOE did not vote as yet to adapt these recommendations. They asked specific questions regarding implementation and accountability. read more...

Spring is here and so is budget time, the primary focus of two Board of Ed meetings this week (Monday was a general meeting and Wednesday was budget-only). It was no surprise that Monday night’s Public Participation predominantly addressed math concerns, which still weighs heavily on most parents’ minds.

Is administration’s role on the Math Committee one of the fox guarding the chicken coop? Can they present an unbiased view of the very program that the superintendent feels so strongly about? Actions speak louder than words. Administration has been sending mixed signals of blended approaches with obvious favoritism towards Investigations’ side of things. So far, only Investigations’ publisher has made a presentation to the Math Committee.  The teacher’s union position is clear about that: don’t buy it. Don’t purchase the second edition of Investigations but rather use what we have and look into purchasing traditional materials and texts. Almost one thousand concerned parents have signed a petition demanding we remove Investigations and bring back direct instruction of proven math facts and time-tested algorithms to our classrooms. Read more...