We, the Parents, are still not being heard

At the Mattlin Middle School Parent Math Night presentation, Mrs. Hodrinsky discussed sending the district math specialists for 2 week courses at Math in the City summer institutes.

Math in the City, developed by C.T. Fosnot, is a well-established constructivist teacher-training program.

You’re reassuring parents that their concerns have been heard and are looking for their confidence. You are telling us that you are looking at solutions to fix our math problems, fill our gaps. You are claiming to be keeping an open mind and promoting a blended approach. You are waiting to hear the findings of the Math Committee on April 23. And yet, it seems like you’re already made your decisions. You are obviously heading in a direction that will perpetuate constructivist math teaching in our school district.

Are you really trying to fix the problems here or just offer a new and alleged improved version of more of the same? I don’t see a blended approach in your presentation of solutions.

What you could be doing: Enlisting the expertise of mathematicians from local universities to advise on our program, advise on supplementing and professional development

Marilyn Burn’ is a nationally recognized constructivist teacher/trainer. Do her Algebra resources reflect her ideology of stressing writing in math class? Will that be helpful for our student’s computational and fluency problems?

There is a petition with almost a thousand names demanding the removing of Investigations in our school district. Parents have concerns about the Connected Math program, as well. Despite this and prior to Math Committee recommendations, you are blatantly planning to engage the services and materials of constructivist teacher trainers, who almost exclusively work to support the very program the parents are pleading with you to dump.

I am very disappointed.

Stefanie