Parents’ concerns halt Newport-Mesa plans for changing middle school math courses; more public input sought

Amid parents’ pushback against the possibility of eliminating honors or enhanced math courses for middle school students next academic year, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District asked staff Tuesday night to return to the drawing board and consider the concerns before recommending a new math pathway.

Supt. Fred Navarro said additional math forums would be held throughout the summer to collect public input.

Several parents attended Tuesday’s school board meeting to criticize the district’s plan to modify how math courses are offered in middle school with a new sequence that educators say would establish a stronger foundation for students to flourish in high school.

A district committee of teachers, principals and officials proposed eliminating enriched or honors math classes at middle schools. Instead, all students would take the same math courses until they reach their junior year in high school. Supplemental math classes are being considered for students who need extra help or show signs of quick comprehension.

Some parents contend a lack of acceleration in middle school would bore “math-focused” students and could mean less access to Advanced Placement classes in high school. Also, they argue, students may be slowed or confused if classes aren’t sorted by levels.

The district had aimed to adopt a new math pathway during a future board meeting, with changes implemented for the 2018-19 school year. It’s unclear whether the district still plans to meet that deadline.

John Drake, district director of curriculum and instruction, said the proposed changes are intended to better align curriculum with Common Core State Standards. The district’s new sixth- through eighth-grade math curriculum, Illustrative Mathematics, would be essential in applying those concepts, Drake said.

An accelerated pathway in middle school now puts seventh- and eighth-grade content into one year, he said. About 15% of students starting with the 2014-15 school year have qualified to take enhanced or honors math courses, he added.

“We’ve found and discovered acceleration currently exists covering topics at twice the speed and not even close to half the depth our standards are expecting us to,” Drake said. “This acceleration is doable if your primarily objective is to make sure kids know procedural math.”

Drake reviewed the two examples of course sequences he presented during a special school board study session June 18.

One sequence includes:

• Seventh grade: Math 7
• Eighth grade: Math 8
• High school freshmen: Math 1
• High school sophomores: Math 2

Those courses would be required, but high school juniors would have the option of not taking math or advancing to Math 3 or Math 3 with pre-calculus. Seniors could elect pre-calculus, Advanced Placement statistics or AP calculus.

The second example includes an accelerated pathway to taking calculus in which sophomores would take Math 2 one semester and Math 3 with pre-calculus the second semester.

Parents received news of the potential changes from district officials days before the June 18 study session. A special parents meeting was held later that day at Newport Harbor High School.

Based on feedback from the parents meeting, the district committee brainstormed another option for the 2018-19 school year, Drake said.

In seventh grade, students identified as “math-focused” would be clustered in classrooms where they would learn Math 7 Plus, taking them “to deeper levels and high levels of mathematics.”

Drake assured parents that students who already had completed eighth-grade math would move on to Math 1 the next year, no matter what math pathways are adopted. A new pathway would apply to incoming middle school students.

Parents criticized the school board for collecting public input late in the school year. They urged trustees to table the matter for a year.

Christy Marr said her eldest daughter completed advanced math at Corona del Mar Middle School and that she was hoping her younger daughter at Andersen Elementary School would have the same opportunity.

Her older daughter “was very successful,” Marr said. “I never predicted she’d be so motivated and excited by math and being with the same group of kids at the same level motivated her and made math fun.”

Ryan O’Grady said “it didn’t make sense” for students to slow their learning in middle school and play catch-up in high school.

Peter Boyd reminded the school board of its history of “math programs not going well,” alluding to Swun Math, which the district implemented in kindergarten through sixth grade in 2013 but gradually eliminated over the past year following complaints from teachers and parents about typos and other errors in the materials.

Board members agreed that the community should have been involved in the process earlier. Trustee Karen Yelsey said she didn’t understand that adopting new math materials also would mean modifying the math pathways.

“I think what’s best for kids is when the community and district work together,” she said. “If my kid was still in school, I’d probably be here in this audience.”

2018-19 spending plan approved

In other business Tuesday, trustees unanimously and without discussion adopted the district’s $304.6-million budget for the 2018-19 fiscal year, which starts Sunday.

The spending plan projects $318 million in revenue. The bulk of the budget — $258.6 million — is expected to be spent on salaries and benefits for employees, about $9.7 million more than in 2017-18.

The district also expects to spend about $14.8 million on books and supplies, nearly $468,000 less than in the current fiscal year.

Chief Financial Officer Jeff Trader presented the plan earlier this month, saying the district is in solid financial position now, with revenue from property taxes continuing to grow. But he said future pension costs and any economic recession could eat into that.

Newport-Mesa’s pension costs, which were $12.6 million in 2013-14, are expected to spike to $38.1 million in 2020-21, when they would consume about 11.8% of the budget.

The district’s budget forecast projects slowing of both revenue and spending beginning with fiscal 2019-20.

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