Parent’s+Math+Advisory+Committee+Summary+Notes+for+November+20+Meeting

Parent’s Math Advisory Committee November 20, 2008 7:00pm – 9:00pm Summary Notes  Parents were divided into four subgroups and asked to define perceived points of concern with the both the elementary and middle school mathematics programs.  __General Topic 1: Communication __ ·  Parents feel there is a lack of effective and consistent communication between parents and teachers. ·  Parents would like greater involvement of the guidance counselors in communication with the teachers. ·  Parents would like more communication from administration to teachers. (The parents stated that the administration reports that the curriculum is good but some teachers are sharing differing opinions.) ·  Parents would appreciate a grading system that provides more honest communication of their child’s strengths and weaknesses based on a standard and objective system of evaluation and reporting. ·  Parents need more detailed information about how to help with Homelinks. ·  Parents want communication about other assessments (e.g. CogAT, IOWA Algebra Aptitude Test, Continental Math League) to help them participate appropriately. ·  Parents want explicit communication about enrichment opportunities. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Some parents would like parent-teacher conferences to be mandatory. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents would like the website(s) to be updated more frequently with teacher information. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents want to be informed about the differentiation strategies teachers use to scaffold instruction for their students. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents feel that some external websites provided for home use are not user friendly. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">General Topic 2: Meeting the Needs of All Learners __ ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents want each child to develop at his or her own pace, including motivating the “bored” students and challenging the high achieving students. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents are concerned that students who are doing more advanced work might earn lower grades. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents want the evaluation of students doing more difficult work to be weighted so that there is a higher value in the more difficult tasks. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents believe that the math is not challenging enough for all students. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents would like to have all students leave 8th grade having successfully completed Algebra 1. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents are concerned that not enough enrichment opportunities exist. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">General Topic 2: Assessment __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents want information about their child’s comparative performance through a nationally-norm referenced standardized test. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents need confidence restored by having more openness about scoring and progress on assessments. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents would like more information about the in-house, district wide assessments that are administered each quarter or semester. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents need more information in order to understand the NJ ASK as an assessment tool and how to interpret their student’s results. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents are concerned about the assignment of group grades and group testing. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents need more information about performance assessments. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">General Topic 4: Skills and Concepts __ ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents believe that the current method teaches concepts more than computational skills. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents are concerned about the transition from Everyday Mathematics/Connected Mathematics to a traditional program. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents believe that fundamental math skills need to be mastered through uniform reinforcement by teachers at each grade level for accuracy and efficiency. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents believe that the standard algorithms are not taught. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents believe that precise definitions for mathematical terminology are not given. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents feel that the program lacks repetitive practice. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents feel that topics are introduced by a single mathematics problem. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents believe that the probability and data booklet spends too much time on an “esoteric” method. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents are concerned that the calculator is substituting for computational proficiency. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents wonder if the basic drilling of arithmetic facts is to be done only at home. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">General Topic 5: Professional Development __ ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents want professional development for teachers based on data and to be continuous. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents want there to be articulation about curriculum and instruction to occur K-12. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents perceive a lack of higher level math teachers. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents perceive a need for establishing a process for uniform implementation and evaluation. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents are concerned that teachers need to be more prepared to differentiate for the various levels of students they are expected to teach. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents would appreciate parent workshops related to Everyday Mathematics and Connected Math that is grade specific for the things they need to help their child learn that year. Parents want more hands-on, action training and less theory. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents could better assist their child if a workshop was held to help them know about their child’s learning style. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';"> __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">General Topic 6: Instructional Strategies __ ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents want to know about “tracking” at LVMS. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents believe there could be math groups to help provide challenge. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents do not like peer tutoring as an instructional strategy. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents would like some level of teaching to different strengths. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents want to know that differentiation based on the skill level of students is happening frequently enough to positively affect individual students’ learning. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents are concerned that not enough modifications are being implemented for Everyday Math and Connected Math. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents would like more use of software games, web-based tools, and explanation of how to use them. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents would like to know that appropriate supplementary materials are being used to ensure appropriate instruction for all students. ·  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Parents want to be certain that the emphasis is on curriculum requirements. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">