Board to Vote on Several Key Policies: Next Up: Adoption of K-5 Materials
Update: I did forget to note that the adoption did include looking at equity issues, anti-bias screening, and "culturally responsive and culturally affirming SEL." I don't see CRT mentioned. (I am mentioning this in a joking manner as at least in SPS, there are not screaming matches at board meetings over these issues.)
end of update
At the Seattle School Board meeting tomorrow night, the Board is voting to introduce a BAR (Board Action Report) on adopting new K-5 math materials.
They are recommending enVision math. Costs:
I further move that the Seattle School Board authorize the Superintendent to purchase enVision Math as the core instructional material for all grade K-5 Seattle Public Schools classrooms for an amount not to exceed $4,797,867, covering licensing for school years 2022-23 through 2030-31, and an amount not to exceed $3,434,595 for in-house professional development, coordination, and collaboration (see Attachment A).
Just eyeballing those figures, just over $8M.
The Background provided is interesting reading because they talk about the last math adoption in 2014 when the district's Adoption Committee did not recommend Math in Focus and had recommended enVision. Pushback from the community led the Board to vote for Math in Focus with 75% agreement by the committee.
However, the number of schools applying for math waivers has gone up over the past eight years, with schools wanting to use other math materials. Overall, schools are spending over $250,000 for these waivers.
What is troubling is that the BAR includes that "an informal survey" shows that 69% of math educators were NOT using Math in Focus, including 44% who are not using it AND don't have a waiver to use something else.
So why bother with a math adoption at all? I mean if the district allows teachers to pick their own materials sans district blessing, what does it matter? I don't get spending this kind of money and not saying no waivers at all. Taxpayers are footing the bill for all these decisions.
Comments
Long Division
https://www.seattleschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/201819Findings_enVision_final3.pdf
These choices are so important. If the curriculum is meh, families who can/need to will supplement and those who can't or don't realize there's an issue, will fall further behind. Again.
NE Parent
They are winging it, which is apparant once you look at the district's score for math standards.
The District should adopt a system that the teachers then must use. When I ask other parents who are looking at their children's homework, it becomes obvious some teachers are lackadaisical about what they are covering math ( and pretty much every other subject as well ).
The district provides workbooks for teaching grammar for certain grade levels. As a parent of an SPS student? I have never seen a teacher do anything with those workbooks, though I do know other parents who have seen those workbooks used.