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Math, District by District
From Alsip to Zion with a hundred other towns in between,
this is the place for math news from your community!
Tell us what's happening in YOUR district!Readers: We depend on YOU for updates and corrections! Tell us what's happening in your town, school district, or school ... Thank you for any corrections and updates. Your help makes this a better information service for parents all over the area. Thanks! CITY OF CHICAGO
Also see our full page on schools and education issues in Chicago!
CPS Conventional K-8 Schools
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| K-6 schools using Everyday Math |
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| Abbott Addams Aldridge Alex Haley Acad Altgeld Andersen Comm Acad Armstrong Ashe Attucks Audubon Barnard Barry Barton Bass Beidler Belding Belmont-Cragin Sch Bethune Black Magnet Blaine Bond Bradwell Brentano Bright Brown Burke Burnham Acad Caldwell Cameron Cardenas Carter Carver Middle Carver Primary Casals Pablo Castellanos Cather Chase Chicago Academy Chopin Christopher Cleveland Coles Cook Copernicus Corkery Crown Comm Acad Cuffe Cullen Curtis Davis Davis Acad De Priest Delano Deneen Dewey DuBois Dulles Dumas Durkin Park School Dvorak Acad Ebinger Ellington Ericson Esmond Everett Fairfield Academy Faraday Fermi Fernwood Fiske Foundations Franklin Magnet Frazier Fuller Gale Comm Acad Gary Goodlow Magnet Gray Gregory Gresham Hamline Hamline Br Harte Hay Comm Acad Hedges Hedges Branch Hefferan Henderson Hendricks Comm Aca Hinton Hughes L Inter-American Jackson Mahalia Jahn Jamieson Jensen Schola Acad Johnson Jordan School King Kohn Kozminski Com Acad LaSalle Lang Acad Lafayette Lathrop Academy Lavizzo Elementary Lawndale Comm Acad Lawrence Lincoln Locke Madison Manierre Mason May Comm Acad Mayer McAuliffe McCormick McKinley Park Schl Melody Metcalfe Comm Acad Milton Brunson Mireles Mollison Monroe Moos Morgan Morrill Morse Morton Career Acad Mt Vernon Murphy Murray Lang Acad Namaste Charter Natl Tchrs Acad Neil New Field School Newberry Magnet Nicholson North River School Norwood Park Nth Kenwood Chartr O'Toole Ogden Oglesby Onahan Ortiz De Dominguez Paderewski Park Manor Parker CPC Parker Comm Acad Parkside Comm Acad Peterson Prescott Price Pritzker Pullman Ray Reavis Reed Revere Robinson Roque de Duprey Ruggles Ryder Ryerson Sabin Magnet Salazar Bil Ed Ctr Schiller Sexton A O Sherman Sherwood Shoesmith Shoop Smith Smyth Songhai Spencer Stagg Swift Tarkington Schl Taylor Telpochcalli Thorp O A Acad Till Academy Tilton Tonti Tonti Br Von Humboldt Wadsworth Wadsworth CPC Walsh Warren Webster Wells Prep West Pullman Westcott Whistler White Woodlawn Comm Woods Academy Yale Yates Zapata Academy Zapata-Good Shephd |
| K-5 schools using Math Trailblazers |
| Agassiz Ariel Comm Armour Avondale Beethoven Bontemps Boone Bouchet Academy Brownell Burley Calhoun North Carnegie Chalmers Columbia Explorers Daley Acad De Diego Comm Acad De La Cruz Dett Dodge Doolittle East Drummond Earle Emmet Fulton Galapagos Charter Galileo Scholastic Gillespie Gladstone Goethe Graham Greene Guggenheim H B Stowe Hawthorne Acad Hayt Hearst Herbert Herzl Holmes Howe Hurley Jenner KIPP Ascend Charter Kanoon Magnet Kellman Corporate Community Lara Academy Legacy Charter Sch Lewis Libby Lionel Hampton Little Village Lloyd Lovett Lowell Mann Marconi Comm Acad Marquette Mays Acad McCorkle McKay Nash Nettelhorst New Sullivan Nixon Nobel O'Keeffe Orozco Academy Overton Parkman Peabody Pershing Magnet Piccolo Elementary Pilsen Comm Acad Pope Price Pulaski Academy Saucedo Schol Acad Scammon South Loop Sumner Tanner Trumbull Ward Laura Wentworth West Park Academy Whitney Williams Multiplex |
| Grade 6-8 schools using Connected Mathematics Project (CMP) |
| Agassiz Ames School Attucks Audubon Barnard Bass Beethoven Black Br Bond Boone Bradwell Bright Cameron Carnegie Chalmers Chase Columbia Explorers Cuffe Delano Dodge Dunne Edison Fairfield Academy Fort Dearborn Foundations Franklin Magnet Fuller Graham Gray H B STOWE Hawthorne Acad Healy Hearst Hefferan Hendricks Comm Aca Jackson Mahalia Kanoon Magnet Kellman Corp Comm Lafayette Lavizzo Elementary Lawndale Comm Acad Little Village Marconi Comm Acad Mayer McCorkle McKinley Park Schl Melody Morgan Mt Vernon Nash North River School Northwest Middle O'Keeffe Onahan Orozco Academy Park Manor Pasteur Perez Perspectives Chrtr Peterson Pickard Reed Roque de Duprey Sayre Lang Acad Shoesmith Smyth South Loop Telpochcalli Thorp O A Acad Tonti Br Whitney Williams Middle Yng Women Lead Chr |
| Grade 6-8 schools using MathThematics |
| Abbott Aldridge Alex Haley Acad Altgeld Anthony Br Ariel Comm Ashe Avalon Park Banneker Barton Bethune Bontemps Brentano Brown Academy Burke Burroughs Caldwell Calhoun North Carter Cather Chavez Cleveland Copernicus Corkery Crown Comm Acad Cullen Curtis Daley Acad De La Cruz De Priest Deneen Dewey DuBois Durkin Park School Dvorak Acad Earle Ebinger Emmet Ericson Evergreen Acad Evers Faraday Fermi Fulton Galileo Scholastic Gary Gillespie Gladstone Goodlow Magnet Gregory Hamline Harvard Hayt Hedges Henderson Henson Herbert Herzl Higgins Comm Acad Hinton Holmes Howe Hurley Jenner Jensen Schola Acad Johnson Kershaw King Lara Academy Lawrence Libby Lionel Hampton Logandale Middle Madison Manierre Mann Mason May Comm Acad Mays Acad McKay Medill Elementary Metcalfe Comm Acad Mireles Mitchell Morrill Mt Greenwood Natl Tchrs Acad Nettelhorst O'Toole Oglesby Overton Parker Comm Acad Parkman Parkside Comm Acad Pershing West Piccolo Elementary Pope Price Pritzker Pulaski Academy Pullman Randolph Elementar Ray Reavis Reinberg Ross Ruggles Ryder Ryerson Sawyer Scammon Sexton A O Shoop Sumner Swift Talman School Tanner Taylor Thorp J N Tilton Wadsworth Warren Wentworth Westcott Whistler White Williams Prep Med |
Proof that being a charter is no guarantee of curriculum quality:
Read more about Chicago charter schools on our page about schools in Chicago.
Directory of CPS High Schools
Hyman Rickover Naval Academy:
Rickover's math department chair Scott Fogel told us that the school uses
Saxon Math exclusively.
Northside College Preparatory High School:
Ugh! Northside takes your fondest hopes and dreams for your kids and then crushes them
with the dreadful Interactive Mathematics Program (IMP).
Corliss High School:
Algebra classes at Corliss burden teens with the appalling Interactive Mathematics Program (IMP).
D15 does believe in truth-in-labelling, warning parents right on the its website,
The Mathematics Curriculum in District 15 is aligned to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Standards ...But our curiosity was raised by another item on the D15 website, which mentions use of Everyday Math and also a Houghton Miflin program, but also SRA Math Explorations and Applications. The SRA program has pretty good reviews from Mathematically Correct and others. We asked about this, and we were told that the SRA program is used to "provide ... students with additional problem based learning opportunities." Hmm, not quite what we had hoped for.
Meanwhile, reading is another dubious area in District 15. The "reading" page on the D15 website describes its early "word study" program as "Concept/sight vocabulary development phonics/spelling Cunningham Shanahan Gentry" (whew!). This is scary stuff!!! "Cunningham" almost certainly refers to the uber-fuzzy methods espoused by unrepentant Whole Language die-hard Patricia Cunningham. (For more, read here.) The "Gentry" most associated with reading would be J. Richard Gentry. His book Spel Is a Four-Letter Word views "good spelling" as "merely a convenience." Writes Gentry, "There are some people like secretaries, who need to be accurate, but usually even they can use a word processor with a good spelling check." Confessing to being a bad speller himself, Gentry advises students to "make an honest attempt to spell werds wright." (Palatine parents, is that what you want for your kids?) "Shanahan" is probably Timothy Shanahan of the University of Illinois at Chicago, who is (or was) a board member of the Whole Language fan club known as the "International Reading Association". For more on this group with the deceivingly pleasant name, read here.
What's a parent to do, when your school district goes off the deep end?
Well, do what so many others have done! If your school isn't teaching, and you want to keep your kids there anyway (why???), then tutoring is almost mandatory, as this article reports:
From the Chicago Tribune, September 24, 1997:
"What many schools do now with the University of Chicago-based math is cumulative; they touch on something, move on and the next time around they touch on the same topic but at a higher level," said Patt Heise, who has 175 students at her Kumon Center in Palatine. "What I'm seeing is that this doesn't work. I have a lot of kids in 5th, 6th and 7th grades who can't add without a calculator. They don't have a number sense."
James Bregenzer, a freshman at Fremd High School in Palatine, was one of those students. In 6th grade he was failing most of his courses. His mother, Candace, found a Kumon tutoring center in the phone book. Last year, James made the honor roll.
...
Marjorie James of Inverness said that her children "didn't master certain levels, but they moved on anyway" to the next grade level. "They couldn't add or subtract," she said. She put her daughter, Liz, in a Kumon tutoring center, even though she already was an honor-roll student at Sundling Junior High in Palatine.
The district imposed the dreaded Connected Math curriculum on its middle school students in 1999. According to the Daily Herald (December 10, 1999), as a result of this action "a rift has developed between some parents and Wheeling Township elementary school officials".
The district's webpage "proudly" talks about its teachers who ...
... have been involved in staff development related to the School Improvement, balanced reading instruction, writing process, University of Chicago Everyday Math, the Connected Math Program, assessment, middle schools, multiple intelligences, brain research, differentiation, technology, problem based learning, concept based curriculum, multiage classrooms, cooperative learning and professional portfolios ...Whew! Descriptions like that make us think we should provide links to real estate agents to make it easier for parents to get out.
The Arlington Heights Post (Feb 19, 1998) reported, "The parents questioned whether the curriculum Math Their Way was effective in teaching children basic skills. Some parents said their children weren't memorizing math tables or mastering addition, subtraction, multiplication and division." The article mentions parents hiring tutors to compensate for what their kids weren't getting in school.
District ignores parents, expands Chicago math: Arlington Heights Post (Sept 3, 1998) reports, "The parents argue that [Everyday Math] does not stress computational skills such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division."
The Arlington Heights Post had a lengthy report on Oct 15, 1998. Some excerpts:
Everyday Mathematics is the curriculum some parents love to hate. ... some parents in Elementary School District 25 contend that their kids aren't getting the basics. In a recent study of the program done by a consultant hired by the district, nearly 30 percent of parents of third-, fourth- and fifth-graders, said they were concerned their children were not learning basic computational skills such as multiplication and division tables.
Some harshly criticized Everyday Math and said they were paying math tutors to make up for what their children were not learning in school. "It's just needlessly confusing," complained Linda Nitch, who said her daughter is struggling in math. "It's just too complicated for what they're trying to teach. It totally messed up my daughter."
... John Underwood, who sends his children to a math tutoring center, contends that the curriculum is experimental. ... "What data can be shown that supports the math curriculum is worthwhile?" Underwood asked. "The No. 1 reason I don't like Everyday Math is it's unproven. It just floors me when I hear educators who insist it works." Underwood, who has compiled a huge binder of articles written on math education, objects to teachers introducing a concept and going on before all or most students have mastered it. Underwood called that a "chaotic approach."
What happens to parents who take an active interest in how schools are changing their childrens math instruction? Here's a report from the Chicago Tribune, October 4, 1998:
The Chicago math program still continues to provoke controversy. In its issue of April 22, 1999, the Arlington Heights Post reports that the "Everyday Mathematics curriculum [is still] controversial among parents. In particular, parents have objected to the nontraditional teaching methods and the use of calculators in the classroom." To help sell parents on the dubious practices of this program, the distrcit held an information night that attracted some 170 parents. According to the newspaper report, parents were treated to demonstrations of some of the odd algorithms thrown at kids in the program. There is no mention of whether parents were given any evidence that the program has ever been shown to produce any benefits compared to programs that emphasize mastery. The paper quotes one teacher saying that as a child she did not enjoy math, but now she "wants children to think of math as something that is fun. ... We call it mathing." Oh, good.
The Arlington Heights fuzzy math controversy continued, as reported by the Chicago Tribune, "New-New Math Causes some Division" by Lisa Black, April 13, 2000. Here is an excerpt:
Here's another district that has succumbed to fuzzy math by adopting the chatty Math Trailblazers program, spending $144,000 in tax dollars of residents to impose this on their kids. The program was installed in the 2000-2001 year, with "high praise" from the vendor of this program (well, duh!)
Also see:
Can anyone tell us about math in Northbrook D27?
Fortunately, there are a number of Kumon, Score, Huntington and other after-school programs in the area that will let parents purchase real math instruction for their children.
Have you been Delphi'ed? This district has used professional PR firm School Perceptions, LLC, for public relations efforts. To learn more about School Perceptions, and how school districts have been employing slick PR tactics, read these pages on our website:
What do you do when you find that a math program has grievous omissions? Well, if it's the oh-so-trendy Everyday Math, you retain it anyway, but then you supplement it with another trendy program. District 30 has used Everyday Math since about 1994. (In the process, business in math workbooks has boomed at the Learning Post store on Waukegan and a variety of after-school tutoring centers have opened up nearby, as parents scramble to teach their kids the math they no longer get in school.) But now (according to the Glenview Announcements of Nov. 18, 1999) the district has added a program called "Exemplars" (from the "First in the World" consortium that several other districts have pulled out of), in theory to add at least some emphasis on basic math skills. We're looking forward to hearing more about what "Exemplars" is all about.
In October 2002, we received this message from a mother in Glenview:
I thought it was just my husband and I that thought the Chicago Everyday Mathematics stunk. [Our daughter] didn't learn anything very well. ... My husband and I had her tested and the real scores indicated that she didn't have any mastery or quickness she was going to need to succeed... We have now enrolled her at our local tutoring center and her mastery and quickness have gotten better in a hurry. Thanks for bringing important information out for us parents.
In January 2006, the Northbrook Star quoted the D30 school board president, "the Board will be monitoring ... the implementation of the revisions to the mathematics curriculum." We asked D30 about this, and guess what? They honchos are just so darn happy with sticking the kids with Everyday Math that they will be making no major changes, despite parent concerns.
Have you been Delphi'ed? This district has used professional PR firm School Perceptions, LLC, for public relations efforts. To learn more about School Perceptions, and how school districts have been employing slick PR tactics, read these pages on our website:
Chicago math had been adopted, over objection and with difficulty: "West Northfield Elementary District ... felt heat when it adopted [Everyday Math]. Pioneer Press reported, "'It didn't get implemented without some pain and suffering,' Superintendent Paul Kimmelman said."
But now, a parent reports that the district has dropped the Chicago math program in favor of Harcourt Brace (grades 1-5) and McDougal-Littell (grades 6-8) starting with the 2002-2003 school year. This parent adds,
Changing math programs was in response to sustained, negative community input regarding student achievement in math. District 31 test scores in math have always been very good and even after 10 years of UCSMP were still high. Unfortunately the number of students tutored in math outside of school seemed to be increasing at an alarming rate and across all achievement levels ... and ... anecdotal evidence strongly suggested that there were gaps in math education that created a need for tutoring to insure students' success in high school (which for the most part do not use UCSMP-type programs). Parents in District 31 are well educated and involved with the schools. They were able to identify the weaknesses in UCSMP despite intense parent education when UCSMP was introduced. The community supported the decision to change math programs."
District 34 leaves a lot to be desired, especially in teaching mathematics. Numerous tutors for a now GBS junior and a college sophomore attest to that! Many parents we know are in the same boat.This should scare the living daylights out of parents in Glenview:
New School Chief Stresses Collaboration,
Glenview Journal, week of February 8, 2004. Starting sentences:
"Dr. Gerald Hill, Glenview School Dist. 34's newly appointed superintendent,
told parents and school staff gathered at Attea Middle School Feb. 9,
during his first public remarks as incoming superintendent,
that he will focus heavily on collaboration.
'Group thinking is generally better than individual thinking,' he said.
'I will embrace this collaborative environment.'"
Parents, it looks like if you want your children to value individual
thinking, you'll need to head over to one of the local Kumon centers
or pick up some Saxon books!
"Yes, I did have to hire several math tutors for my children while in Glenview grade schools. When my kids showed me how they were taught math -- with a grid showing three different ways to get the correct answer, none of which made sense to me -- I could understand why they needed a tutor. In fact, our children were penalized for doing math in their heads -- even easy adding and subtraction. Points were deducted from tests and homework for failing to show work. Why do you have to explain why you can deduct 50 from 125 in your head? This made no sense to me. Also, my children were not exposed to the classics in public school until they took a literature class in high school. My daughter now says that if she didn't take that class she would have no idea what her college teachers were speaking about when they make references to classical books."
On top of all that:
Have you been Delphi'ed? This district has used professional PR firm UNICOM-ARC for public relations efforts. To learn more about UNICOM-ARC, and how school districts have been employing slick PR tactics, read these pages on our website:
The notorious UCSMP "Chicago" math program is used in the Glencoe schools, and parent Nola Krisik is actively challenging it. Here is a report from her:
I live in Glencoe and the education problems are bad and getting worse. Our schools K-8 use the University of Chicago Math Program. The program has been used for several years. It is full of games and real world discussions and extremely weak with basics, computational skills, and clear, concise examples. The use of calculators is started in 1st grade and by 5th grade it replaces virtually all real pen and pencil computation. Long division is never really taught and practiced. A child never really learns to calculate on his own.
Parents who wish to join in the fight on fuzzy math in Glencoe are encouraged to contact Nola at Nkrisik@aol.com. Barrington, Avoca (west Wilmette), Mundelein, Oak Brook and others have beaten this thing, so can you in Glencoe!
Good Lord! Given all that, it's not surprising that the district's website says,
A curriculum that focuses primarily on the arithmetic of the past will not prepare students for their future mathematical needs.Caveat emptor!
Interestingly, a 2004 village-wide survey commissioned by the village's caucus confirms that there is substantial unhappiness, reporting that, "In writing and math, 61% and 68% of households respectively, responded that they were satisfied [or] very satified." (Source: 2004 Winnetka Caucus Platforms.) For a very upscale district that purports to be a leader in educational methods, having a third of its customers expressing dissatisfaction on core subjects is shocking.
Yessiree, as a district math facilitator was quoted in the Pioneer Press (October 12, 2006), "That whole communication thing is so important." You betcha.
Fortunately, Winnetka and the surrounding area are well-stocked with Kumon, Huntington and other after-school tutoring centers. But then again, aren't your high property taxes supposed to be paying for a solid education for your kids?
Jeff Berkowitz articles on Winnetka D36:
Partial victory!
The District had been threatening to adopt Chicago math (as of May 1999). But after several candidates in recent school board election expressed concern and desire to learn more before endorsing this move, the school backed off, and went back to "study" its options.
Instead, the district announced in December 1999 that Avoca West would adopt the merely mediocre Scott Foresman Addison Wesley "Math" program. They'll still have to suffer through the out-and-out errors, weird examples, factual errors, politically-correct sidebars and MTV-esque format, but at least it's not Chicago math.
In one twist, Avoca will accelerate the schedule of SFAW Math texts: K will use the text at grade level, grades 1, 2, 3 use the grade level book plus selected units from the following year, and grades 4 and 5 use the texts for grades 5 and 6, respectively. This may be a good thing: the Mathematically Correct review of math curricula faulted SFAW Math for missing various topics at grade level; this may help some of that. Also, with an accelerated schedule, this could be good if it forces the school to skip over some of the weirder junk in the SFAW Math books.
The Wilmette Life reported (December 16, 2004):
In Kenilworth's Joseph Sears School, teachers and administrators worked to uncover the reasons why scores in two areas fell below expectations. ... "I would say overall our scores are just fine. We were really surprised with our eighth-grade math score," said District 38 Superintendent Linda Murphy.
As of September 2006, Kenilworth D38 has a smorgasbord of programs, with a rather unusual sequence of starting the kids fuzzy, and then switching to a more centrist approach in third grade. Here's how the district lists the programs they use:
In mid-2006, the new superintendent reported that the district has taken a long-threatened plunge into happy science:
"This past year, we implemented a renewed science curriculum, which is quite different from the previous program. The new program is based in laboratory experiments and is much more 'hands on.'"(Also see our page on science teaching.)
Significant changes have also been made to the social studies programs, though no details are apparent so far.
In 2004-2005, Illinois State Board of Education reports indicate that D38 spent a breathtaking $16,300 per student, one of the most expensive programs in the state of Illinois.
Have you been Delphi'ed? This district has used professional PR firm UNICOM-ARC for public relations efforts. To learn more about UNICOM-ARC, and how school districts have been employing slick PR tactics, read these pages on our website:
Also see:
Local independent website:
60043.info.
After a seven-year odyssey trying unsuccessfully to find happiness with Math Trailblazers, the district has now (2006) decided to dump that and adopt the infamous Everyday Math instead.
The chatty Math Trailblazers program was originally announced with fanfare in 1999. The Wilmette Life (August 19, 1999) reported:
Math Trailblazers program will be adopted in grades kindergarten-fourth grade next year [1999-2000] and phased in at fifth grade starting in August. ... The materials will cost about $60,000.
... [School Board member] Eva Sorock said she is concerned that Trailblazers... may not be the best way for all children to master concepts. Sorock has said the approach had its roots in "constructivism," a ... learning approach which critics say can de-emphasize basic skills.
... "The basic question I have always asked is, let's have some evidence that this is going to improve [learning]," Sorock said. "These questions aren't going to go away. They haven't gone away in any other part of the country where it came up. I think we're sort of rushing into this." Sorock also said she had received two anonymous letters from teachers who felt they were being pressured to approve the new material.
Two years later, a Wilmette Life article on March 22, 2001 mentioned the fractious nature of the Math Trailblazers program in quoting one school board member: "The board does have very important oversight responsibilities including curriculum ... The Trailblazers program has been very controversial."
By 2005, a survey conducted and reported by the district itself raises alarm bells about math instruction in Wilmette public schools: The survey found that 47.4% -- almost half! -- of parent respondents disagreed with the statement, "I feel that the current math materials are appropriate for my child."
Additional questions in the survey indicated substantial dissatisfaction: 42.7% were unhappy with the amount of time devoted to "computation", and 38.3% were unhappy with the amount of time spent on "problem solving." Some of the survey questions are unfortunately ambiguous (e.g., when someone says the amount of time devoted to X is "inappropriate", we don't learn whether that means they think it's too little or too much). But overall, the survey uncovers widespread unhappiness about math in Wilmette. When parents are spending as much in tax dollars as they are in Wilmette, it's unfortunate that they have no options for how that money is spent on their kids, not even within the government system.
Sun-Times columnist Mary Laney wrote this in her column for March 21, 2005: "Recently a group of parents from suburban Wilmette asked me to meet with them. ... Math is taught by 'The Trailblazers Math Program.' ... The parents are angry and frustrated. I can understand why. Those I met with said they couldn't even read the Trailblazers' math book -- and that includes a parent who was a teacher. Trailblazers is in the genre of a new 'new math.' I had experience with "new math" when my eldest son was in sixth grade. He brought his math homework to me and together we worked on the problems. The next day when he returned from school he couldn't wait to see me. 'All the answers were wrong.' ... I have compassion for the Wilmette parents as they struggle to help their children learn a math system that they say is hurting their preparation for high school. ... The problem is not with the teachers, say the parents, the problem is with a school board that has programs that are not working and stays with them."
By 2006, the district had had enough in trying to salvage Trailblazers, and was looking for a replacement. But being good educrats, they couldn't bear to abandon constructivist theories and move to a program emphasizing practice, mastery and maintenance. Instead, they stuck with fuzzy math, but chose a more mainstream program, Everyday Math.
"Mathematics is merely the means to a general and ultimate knowledge of man."Huh???? But maybe that just is to warn us about the district's fuzziness about math, which soon becomes evident.
~ Friedrich Nietzsche
Around 2000, D54 promoted the use in K-5 of either Everyday Math (the classic fuzzy math program) or MathLand (a horrific fuzzy math program). At one point, four of D54's schools Blackwell, Churchill, Lincoln Prairie and Muir) used MathLand, but we can't find any evidence that this still is the case (thank goodness). D54 parents, can you tell us more?
At least one of D54's schools now uses 70 minute math classes, with the cryptic statement, "With the introduction of the Everyday Math series, we devote a large amount of time to math." We wonder if that's to make up for the confusion created by that program.)
We have no information on what math programs D54 uses in grades 6-8. For a while, the D54 website bore the bad news that they used McDougal Littell's MathThematics, but that seems to have been pulled from the site. (Mathematically Correct reviewed MathThematics and reported that it exhibited "weakness in content, weakness in presentation, and weakness in student work", concluding, "It is not possible to recommend this book to anyone for any purpose.") Parents, can you tell us more about junior high math in D54?
For a while, D54 had a "Math Task Force" to delve into the farthest reaches of constructivist wackiness. This group seemed to think they'll actually help kids learn math in some mysterious way by asking staffers to digest stuff like Teaching With the Brain In Mind (click for our review).
To add some humor to the day, the D54 website provides minutes of a group of educrats planning the development of the "social sciences" program. To preserve them, we've bundled them here: Minutes of "social sciences task force." Just imagine this assemblage of savants attending meeting after meeting on the fine points of writing a mission statement, creating a "core beliefs statement" of how classes should run, and [inevitably] breaking into small groups to prattle on to each other -- all without any discussion of the actual subject matter content of these courses. You just can't make up this kind of stuff.
Have you been Delphi'ed? This district has used professional PR firm School Perceptions, LLC, for public relations efforts. To learn more about School Perceptions, and how school districts have been employing slick PR tactics, read these pages on our website:
Have you been Delphi'ed? This district has used professional PR firm UNICOM-ARC for public relations efforts. To learn more about UNICOM-ARC, and how school districts have been employing slick PR tactics, read these pages on our website:
Hmm, sounds promising! Can anyone tell us more about math in Des Plaines? Thanks!
However, a parent in D63 told us (April 2008), "For math, they are using Math Expressions (Houghton Mifflin) and for reading, they use phonics and guided group reading."
The district website provides a sentence that encapsulates one of the key reasons that fuzzy math is so frustrating for some students:
We believe that children further develop their problem solving capabilities by orally explaining their solutions to math problems.An equivalent statement might be, "Students with limited literacy or verbal skills will find that our approach will result in lower math scores as well."
Have you been Delphi'ed? This district has used professional PR firm UNICOM-ARC for public relations efforts. To learn more about UNICOM-ARC, and how school districts have been employing slick PR tactics, read these pages on our website:
In September 2006, the Journal & Topics newspaper group reported that the D64 school board hired "Unicom-ARC to plan and conduct a program of public engagement at a cost not to exceed $40,000. This will be a public relations campaign leading up to a referendum election."
In math, District 65 is one more district that burdens its children with Everyday Math for Kindergarten through fifth grade.
An Evanston parent wrote to us (September 2007) to tell us about her family's experience:
[Our school] currently use[s] Everyday Math -- my child comes home from school with homework that I cannot even understand, and is extremely upset because he can't understand it either. It amazes me how they can adopt these types of math programs without research to back up success. I am supplementing my son's math with Saxon Math .. it just makes sense.
Cause and effect? We report, you decide:
The "Learn-While-Teaching" program would offer a series of in-service training sessions to teachers at two elementary schools (perhaps Oakton and Washington) focusing on the learning and teaching of math. The program would complement the District's plans to release some teachers a half-day a week to work on the teaching and learning of mathematics.Uh, so what does this all mean? Seems like a lot of time removed from teaching so as to study heavens-knows-what at the hands of the ed school folks.
Oakton School ... saw its passing rate in fifth grade reading take a dive from 63 to 42 percent, while its passing rate in math dropped from 87 to 65 percent. ... At Washington School, a drop from 70 to 56 percent in third grade reading and from 86 to 71 percent in math pulled down the school's overall performance.
Another tidbit from that "partnership" announced in 2000 concerns science. The same university PR said, "Innovative [how come we never hear about "better" or "more effective"?] science curricula will be used at Chute, Haven and Nichols middle schools and King and Timber Ridge magnet schools" which will install a program designed to be a "technology-infused science curricula that allow middle schol students to engage in scientific curricula that allow middle school students to engage in scientific enquiry and work with complex scientific data in much the same way real-world scientists do." What edubabble hogwash! As one scientist has noted, the most important process skill in science is reading: if we actually had kids do what scientists do, then reading and learning would be the paramount goal.
We were alerted to developments in Golf by a parent who told us,
Our [child]'s middle school, Golf, has posted information on their current textbooks. Looks like the new administration is cleaning up some old messes!(Thank you!)Thanks for a great resource, this site is wonderful.
We checked it out, and sure enough, the news was good: Hynes Elementary (K-4) uses the Silver Burdett Ginn math series and Golf Middle School (grades 5-8) uses McDougal-Littell "Math". SBG generally has been fairly traditional in its math programs, as far as we can tell. McDougal-Littell is all over the map, but we have hopes that this series "Math" is the more mastery-oriented of their programs.
Thank you for your wonderful site. Math Trailblazers has been put into the District 68 Skokie grade schools. I think just 4th and/or 5th grade at the moment. I don't know if they'll be adding it to the lower grades. I believe they will, but don't know for sure.
Have you been Delphi'ed? This district has used professional PR firm UNICOM-ARC for public relations efforts. To learn more about UNICOM-ARC, and how school districts have been employing slick PR tactics, read these pages on our website:
And the spinmeisters hit the ground running in Skokie, with a marathon training session. The district's board minutes report,
Dr. Nelson reported that on August 5, 2005, members of the referendum committee and other interested parties attended a seven-hour seminar, which was conducted by Unicom.Arc. The committee will use this information as they launch into the next level of the campaign. Dr. Nelson thanked Ann Clark for heading up the referendum committee.
Cal Skinner's blog provides these additional insights: "It is reasonably safe to say that [UNICOM-Arc] is helping pass the referendum in Skokie financed by the District 69 Referendum Committee. It has paid Unicom Arc $10,828.71 for 'consulting' since its 10/21/05 emergence. Much of the financing came from individuals, although development interests made, by far, the largest contributions."
In a classic case of spin control, the district is busy trying to explain away poor ISAT results following a switch to a new math curriculum. (Parents, what's going on there? What program is in use?) According to the Morton Grove Champion (Jan. 13, 2000), "Math scores on the ISAT test show more than half of eighth graders were below state standards. Third and fifth graders did better, but still almost a quarter of them fell below state standards. For third graders, more than a fifth fell below those standards." Superintendent James Blockinger is quoted as saying that the new math curriculum "places more emphasis on problem solving rather than computational skills."
Well, hey, Mr. Blockinger, reducing the emphasis on computation skills should help those lousy scores, eh?
Have you been Delphi'ed? This district has used professional PR firm UNICOM-ARC for public relations efforts. To learn more about UNICOM-ARC, and how school districts have been employing slick PR tactics, read these pages on our website:
Classrooms are child-centered, developmentally appropriate and focus on the process of learning and reflection about the learning process. ... Our middle school has been selected by the United States Department of Education as a 2001-2001 Blue Ribbon School.Whew!!! Don't say you weren't warned!
Younger grades may be using Everyday Math, but we have not been able to confirm that.
Grades 6-8 use Mathematics in Context (MIC). One teacher wrote to us,
My school district, District 87, in Bloomington, Illinois adopted the Mathematics in Context series, which was developed by the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, for grades 6-8 several years ago. In my opinion, this series has been a dismal failure in teaching math.
On the other hand, the website of the district and its schools is remarkably scant on telling what actually happens in the classroom. We do learn, unfortunately, that math is "taught" with Everyday Math.
We also learn that "Curriculum integrates strategies for conflict resolution and results in a 'Peaceable School' environment", whatever that's supposed to mean.
1. Incorporate DIBELS, (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills), a screening process to identify preschool through first grade students who are at risk of reading failure. DIBELS will be used as a measure of early literacy skills, a screening tool, a progress monitoring tool and a guide for intervention decisions.Cheers for Pennoyer!
In math, D79 uses the mediocre, not-great-but-not-horrible, Scott Foresman Addison Wesley Math program.
We found a remarkable quote from the Pennoyer sup in a February 3, 2005 article in the Pioneer Press Norridge and Harwood Heights News:
"Right now, the quality of your children's education depends on your address," said Superintendent Tom Zafiratos, of Pennoyer District 79 in Norridge.Very true! The obvious solution to that problem is simply to let parents choose the best school for their kids, regardless of their address. But with the true mind of an embedded bureaucrat, Supt. Zafiratos instead argues to keep the turf empires in control and give them more money.
"Welcome to the 2005-2006 school year. Student-centered instruction remains our goal for curriculum mapping ..."
Apparently this district uses the Tokyo-by-Night Scott Foresman Addison Wesley "Math" series for K-5. For "Jr. High" the district reports it uses "Holt Rhinehart" [sic] for pre-algebra and algebra.
Can anyone tell us more?
The Addison Wesley Mathematics program is our basic math series. Initial instruction is as concrete as possible, frequently incorporating manipulative materials. Much time and effort is spent in the acquisition of the basic math facts of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Extra consideration is given to problem solving techniques at all levels. Kindergarten children benefit from the Math Their Way program.
We have endured years of students using Accelerated Math as the entire math program. Imagine being a student and being in a math library that may be years below your actual grade level. You could be an 8th grader and test into a 4th grade library. Our children had little opportunity to be exposed to grade level material. Is it no wonder two of our schools are in SERIOUS trouble on the Illinois Academic Watch list?
But at least parents can be assured that teachers are learning about valuable techniques like drumming circles, according to this page on the district's website. Other in-service workshop leaders have included "one of the authors of the Everyday Mathematics curriculum" (uh-oh!) and a teacher "with an expertise in brain research" (uh-oh again!)
We love this: D95 not only uses DIBELS measurement for mastery of phonics, but reports its results! In the same year-end wrapup report, D95 tells us that 90% of its Kindergarteners and 97% of its first graders are at a stated "Meets /Exceeds" level.
We use Saxon Math, the Spalding Writing Road to Reading, the Shurley Grammar method, and teach our history timeline and daily oral Latin to students as young as Kindergarten. We have a literature-based reading program (no basal readers) so the children read unabridged versions of classical works like those written by Homer, Chesterton, Plutarch, and more.
In 2004-05, the district is implementing a new mathematics curriculum in grades K-8. For the elementary schools, the new curriculum is an updated version of the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project (UCSMP or Everyday Math). For junior high students in grades 6, 7, and 8, the 2004 editions of the Glencoe/McGraw-Hill series, Math Applications and Concepts has been implemented, along with the Algebra 1 book for eighth graders.What a shame.
Then the district jumped into the land of fuzzy math with both feet by adopting Math Trailblazers.
In May 2005, a parent reported to us that D97 "is leaving Trailblazers behind in Fall 2005 to go to Everyday Math for grades 1-6."
The district is embarked on a $80,000 program from "Reading First Academy." Also see: District 100's internal website, which includes teacher agreements, rules and salary schedules.
However, at least one 6th grade teacher's own web page refers to use of the UCSMP math program, a.k.a., Chicago math.
Aaaaccck!!
First graders who have yet to reach reading competency are stuck with Reading Recovery.
Can anyone write to let us know what math programs are actually used -- when the kids get off the floor?
"Curriculum development in District #109 has broken away from a compartmentalized, textbook directed philosophy to a standards-driven approach that actively engages students in the learning and assessment experience. This concept provides a framework from which teachers can develop robust units of study that actively involve students in real-world problem solving. ... Children learn best when they are actively engaged in what they are doing.In other words, don't say you weren't warned!
But the good news is that despite that rhetoric, the district has adopted a respectable math program as its foundation:
In February, 2003, after months of sampling the top three programs and conducting staff surveys, the committee recommended that the Board of Education adopt SRA Mathematics for grades K-5, Glencoe Mathematics for grades 7 and 8, and SRA/Glencoe for grade 6.That's a pleasant surprise (although a bit of a paradox as well).
Have you been Delphi'ed? This district has used professional PR firm UNICOM-ARC for public relations efforts. To learn more about UNICOM-ARC, and how school districts have been employing slick PR tactics, read these pages on our website:
A D113a reader of this page told us that the district hired UNICOM-ARC in June 2007 for up to $5,000 per month for the next 18 months!
Cal Skinner's blog provides these additional insights: "Citizens for North Palos School Dist 117 Schools was formed 'to pass (a) referendum for North Palos School Dist 117.' It was formed on Feb. 7, 2005, and went out of existence on April 28th. Unicom Arc got paid $4,007.95 on Feb. 11th for consulting out of a total of $17,820 spent. The committee was financed largely by vendor and the Illinois Education Association (the teachers' union)."
