How Not to Roll Out a Change in Curriculum

The manner in which Minooka CCSD 201 rolled out the new Go Math "pilot" program could be easily labeled "how not to roll out a change in curriculum."  First, the pilot program was first mentioned to the school board in May of last year (the end of the last school year).  The rush to implement the Go Math pilot was due to the anticipated arrival of the new PARCC test in 2014 (see here for more information).  This, of course, meant that parents were given no warning that the math curriculum in many of the classrooms would be different from what they were expecting it to be.  It also meant that teachers were given no advance training prior to the start of the new school year.  Okay, maybe they had one or two days of teacher institute days to get up to speed.  As a result, teachers were learning how to teach the new curriculum at the same time that they were expected to be teaching students.  Second, only after it became clear that there were issues with the new curriculum did the district send out a letter to parents notifying them of "Parent Curriculum Information Meetings" to inform them about the new curriculum.  The schedule of meetings, by the way, is as follows:

October 2nd - Aux Sable Elementary School 5:30-7:00PM (already held)

November 13th - Minooka Intermediate School 9:00-10:30AM

December 4th - Walnut Trails Elementary School 9:00-10:30AM

January 15th - Minooka Junior High School 5:30-7:00PM

February 6th - Jones Elementary School 5:30-7:00PM

March 19th - Minooka Elementary School 9:00-10:30AM

You are free to go to any of these curriculum meetings.  You do not have to wait until a meeting is held at your child's school.

Now if you are a parent and decide to go to one of these meetings be prepared to hear the following (or something like it):

1.  "There were similar outcries from parents and teachers when Saxon Math was adopted a decade ago."  This may be true.  I don't know, since I wasn't there.  But that doesn't mean that the current complaints are any less valid.  Each curriculum should be judged on its own merits.

2.   "Go Math is research-based."  This one I love.  You hear the term "research-based" thrown around quite often when you talk to school administrators.  Very rarely, if ever, do they back up that statement by citing any research.  The statement insinuates, of course, that Saxon Math (or the alternative to whatever it is that they are promoting at the time) is not "research-based."  So, what should be the relevant decision criteria when choosing a math curriculum?  Whether it is supposedly "research-based" or whether it has a proven track record of inculcating a thorough understanding of mathematics and teaching children efficient methods of solving mathematical problems?

3. The high ISAT scores that Minooka CCSD 201 students achieved during the years of being taught with Saxon Math were "phantom scores" or "inflated scores."  It is funny that this was never mentioned before.  So, either this is true and the administration has been touting "phony" scores all these years, or this is false and is a less than honest shot at Saxon Math.  Either way, it is problematic.  So, in the future when the administration touts the scores that students achieve on standardized tests (or any test for that matter), we will have to wonder if the scores mean anything or will we be told at some future date that they were "phantom" scores all along.

Now, I am not at all under the misconception that Saxon Math is perfect (no curriculum is).  What I have an issue with is choosing a mathematics curriculum because of a new standardized test (rather than the quality of the math education that it provides) and rolling it out without proper preparation.

Next Minooka 201 School Board Meeting

The next meeting of the Minooka CCSD 201 school board is Wednesday, October 23, 2013. The Committee of the Whole Meeting starts at 6:00 p.m. in the board room (the old library) at the Minooka Primary Center located at 305 Church Street in Minooka. The Committee of the Whole Meeting will be followed by the regular Board Meeting at 7 p.m. Both meetings are open to the public, and everyone is encouraged to attend. You can find the agenda for each of the meetings here.

The Myth of Untarnished U.S. Credit History

"History is the lie commonly agreed upon."  --Voltaire

"What you do in this world is a matter of no consequence. The question is what can you make people believe you have done."  --Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet

Every so often, I post about a topic that reaches far beyond the confines of Minooka CCSD 201 but nonetheless affects the district and the people that live in the district.  The current federal government shutdown, the debt ceiling debate and the trajectory of federal debt are issues that affect all of us.  No matter where a person stands on the issues, it is always a good idea to approach the issues without any myths or misconceptions about what has come before (i.e., the past).

Numerous leading political figures have been making statements about the untarnished credit history of the United States.  The following is a sample:

"There is no magic wand that allows us to wish away the chaos that could result if -- for the first time in our history -- we don't pay our bills on time."  --President Barack Obama

"No Congress in 224 years of American history has allowed our country to default, and it’s my sincere hope that this Congress will not be the first."  --Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew

"There is precedent for a government shutdown.  There's no precedent for default."  --Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs

The facts, however, seem to intrude upon this narrative of an untarnished U.S. credit history.  The United States has defaulted on its obligations many times in its history (for a sampling of articles discussing previous defaults, see here, here, here, here, and here).

The list of U.S. defaults include the following:

1.  1814 - Under President James Madison, U.S. defaults on debt payments for a few months in the wake of the War of 1812.
2.  1862 - Under President Abraham Lincoln, U.S. defaults on "greenback" demand notes by refusing to redeem them in gold as promised.
3.  1933 - Under President Franklin Roosevelt, U.S. defaults on the "gold clause" in its debt contracts and pays in paper dollars rather than gold.
4.  1968 - Under President Lyndon Johnson, U.S. defaults on "silver certificates" by refusing to redeem them in silver as promised.
5.  1971 - Under President Richard Nixon, U.S. defaults on the Bretton Woods international currency arrangement and ceases to exchange dollars for gold.
6.  1979 - Under President Jimmy Carter, U.S. defaults on certain debt obligations due to back office "glitch" at Treasury.

So, let us debate the issues regarding the shutdown, debt ceiling and the trajectory of debt.  But, let us do so without the myth of a default being unprecedented in U.S. history.

Sales Tax Redux

The Grundy Economic Development Council and Grundy County Chamber of Commerce and Industry are hosting a meeting and presentation regarding the proposed County School Facility Tax (the proposed sales tax increase which I have previously written about here and here) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 22, in the board room of the Grundy County Administration Center.  The address is 1320 Union St., Morris.  The public is welcome to attend this meeting.

The meeting will feature a presentation from representatives of Stifel, Nicolaus, an investment banking firm based in St. Louis, Missouri.  They, of course, will tell everyone that they are doing this out of the "goodness of their hearts" and have "no financial interest" in seeing a sales tax increase pass.  I find that hard to believe, when they make their money by helping school districts to float bond issuances, and there will be a lot of money to be made on those if this sales tax passes in Grundy County.  Mark my words, if the sales tax passes, and Grundy County schools float bonds based on the anticipated revenue from this sales tax, you will see Stifel, Nicolaus and their ilk collecting handsome fees from Grundy County school districts.

An additional side note:  the County School Facility Tax has been defeated twice in neighboring LaSalle County (the second time around the percentage opposed was greater than the first time around). 

A Thought Provoking Read for Parents

A thought provoking article for parents (and others).