>Friends and neighbors please join us for a Math Chat on Thursday, August 9th at 7:30 P.M. at The Unitarian Society of Ridgewood. Over the past several months, parents have been expressing their concerns over the math programs in our village schools to educational administrators and the Board of Education. This issue is an old one for Travell School. Parents have been voicing their concerns since the inception of TERC Investigations more than 5 years ago. What is new is an organization of parents called VORMATH who are providing an opportunity for parents of school age children and concerned tax- payers to be involved in an open forum discussion. Did you know…
· The 6 elementary schools in Ridgewood use 3 different math programs.
· Four of the six schools use reform math- also known as fuzzy math, constructivist based math, or standards based math.
· These reform math programs have been abandoned by hundreds of school districts across the nation because they fail to prepare our children for math at the high school and college level
· Over 200 math professors, 4 Nobel Laureates and 2 Fields Medal winners signed a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Education back in 1999 asking the government to remove these reform math programs from their list of exemplary programs
· A Stanford mathematician stated that TERC Investigations is the “2nd most mathematically illiterate program” he has ever seen. TERC Investigations is the program currently used at Travell and Orchard Schools.
· The district just purchased the newest version of the Investigations program for both Travell and Orchard.
· Benjamin Franklin Middle School has averaged a rank of 21 out of over 200 middle schools in mathematics statewide for the past 7 years using traditional math.
· CMP2 (another reform math program for middle schools that is controversial) has been implemented for 6th graders last year and will follow them into 7th grade this September; why change a math program that has proven itself a success for the students?
There is substantial information available for concerned parents to read. How the math issue affects all taxpayers is simple. Sixty-six percent of every tax dollar feeds into Ridgewood’s $82,000,000 school budget. Are we getting a good return of our investment? Ridgewood’s reputation for excellent schools has kept the value of our homes high. There must be fiscal responsibility and sound choices made for educating all the children in our village. We love Ridgewood and want to keep it the wonderful community that it has been for many generations.
There will be a presentation followed by a Q & A period. Hope you can make it and take advantage of the opportunity to share your concerns and thoughts. TOGETHER WE ADD UP!
Dont Forget Math Chat Tonight!
10 thoughts on “Dont Forget Math Chat Tonight!”
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>I’ll be there!
>Congratulations. I heard that the new interim superintendent is showing up for the chat.
>Great job, Math Moms. Your presentation was wonderful.
Keep up the good work.
>The Math Chat was very informative and helpful. I hope this is just the beginning of the end for TERC and CMP2. I wonder why the parents of the children at the other elementary schools aren’t holding meetings asking why they can’t have TERC for their children. These parents are in for a rude awakening when their children experience CMP2 in BF and GW. They will think it is a joke when their children’s first hoemework assignment involves scissors and their first exam requires essay writing.
>He showed up and seem surprised by all the parents who were there who were quite articulate on their concerns. Kudos to Brennen, let’s see what he does in the next few weeks to address this.
>Charles Reilly showed up, too. So did Jim Bombace.
>Math Moms – You are truly assets to Ridgewood. Thank you for the thorough and informative session. I only wish that more of the less informed parents were there to hear your presentation. It succinctly and factually demonstrated why we NEED to have choice in our schools.
While I was familiar with some of the programs being used in Ridgewood, having the opportunity to exam the workbooks and textbooks from Investigations, Everyday Math and Sinapore Math was a very powerful eye opener. Clearly, Investigations is substandard. Singapore, on the other hand, covers grade level math in a clear and concise fashion using fun and and informative textbooks and workbooks. I think my child would really enjoy the Singapore program and I’ll be buying the books for next year (if been investigating several programs but I really liked what I saw in Singapore last night).
For parents not concerned with your childs math program, I urge you to look at the Math Moms presentation available on their website and to get a look at the Investigations, Everyday Math, and Singapore Math materials.
Perhaps our BOE should be given copies of books from the three progams! It’s kind of a no-brainer after you see the materials and leave no doubt as to why TERC fails.
>”Perhaps our BOE should be given copies of books from the three progams! It’s kind of a no-brainer after you see the materials and leave no doubt as to why TERC fails. “
Our BOE can get copies of other curriculum for FREE. Any one of the publishers will provide samples to our BOE and District.
Our District only speaks to the Pearson salesperson.
>”Our BOE can get copies of other curriculum for FREE… ”
Absolutely agree. My point was that they seem to be avoiding obtaining and reviewing the materials for themselves (and we can’t expect our curriculum gurus to provide it to them). Perhaps they need to have it physically placed in their hands at a BOE meeting?
>o mr harlow.helo