Author: sugihs

Due to higher-than-expected demand, we’ve moved the Parent Information Session – Is Everyday Math Good for La Cañada? talk by Professor James Milgram of Stanford University to a new, larger location:

Lutheran Church in the Foothills
Fellowship Hall (just west of the nave or main worship hall)
1700 Foothill Blvd
La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011

Date: Thursday, May 26, 2016
Time: 5:00-7:00PM

We will have pizza and drinks for those who are hungry. After the talk we will have a Q&A session, and then head over to the District Office Board Room for the official Board Workshop on Textbook Adoption.

On Wednesday, May 18, 2016, the Board hosted a Parent Math Night at the LCUSD District Office. This was the first of two special events organized by District Staff in response to a directive from the LCUSD Governing Board to better inform parents about the Elementary Mathematics Textbook Adoption Committee’s decision to recommend Everyday Mathematics for all LCUSD elementary schools in grades K–5. Parent Math Night left parents with more concerns than before – see the History page for an account of that event. It is imperative that parents attend the events below, including the special Board meeting afterwards where a vote will be made on the candidate textbooks, to help become informed about Everyday Mathematics and let your opinions be known to the LCUSD Governing Board:

• Parent Information Session – Is Everyday Mathematics Good for La Cañada? – Thursday, May 26, 2016 at 5:00PM (Lutheran Church in the Foothills Fellowship Hall (just west of the nave or main worship hall), 1700 Foothill Blvd, La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011) – Parents, and other interested parties are welcome to attend and hear Professor James Milgram speak.  Professor Milgram of Stanford University was the only mathematician on the Common Core State Standards Mathematics validation committee. He was one of the four authors of the previous 1998 California Mathematics Standards, and the main reviewer of the NCTM’s Curriculum Focal Points. Additionally, he served on the National Board for Education Science that oversees the IES – the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education, and he also served on the NASA Advisory Council. He will share his experiences and assessment of Everyday Mathematics and answer questions.

• Board Workshop on Math Textbook Adoption – Thursday, May 26, 2016 at 7:00PM (LCUSD District Board Room, 4490 Cornishon Ave, La Cañada, CA 91011) – Teachers, administrators and a representative from McGraw-Hill will attend the workshop to answer parent questions, explain the textbook selection process and reasons for the selection of Everyday Mathematics (and presumably Math In Focus for 6th grade.) The Governing Board will be present at this meeting. This is the first opportunity parents will have to question the textbook selection committee as no parents were on the committee and it has never published minutes, proceedings or reports from its meetings.
• Special Board Meeting – Thursday, May 26, 2016 following Board Workshop on Textbook Adoption (LCUSD District Board Room, 4490 Cornishon, Ave, La Cañada, CA 91011) – The Board will meet after the Board Workshop to make a final decision on the textbook series recommendation. Note also that the Board can vote to further delay the vote, start the process over, or do whatever it wants.

In the meantime, parents should inform themselves about the textbook selection process and about the recommended curricula, particularly Everyday Mathematics. In the two years this process has gone on, until recently the only opportunity parents have had to review textbooks under consideration are when and if their own child was in one of the classes piloting a textbook, or during the three-hour parent review session that most parents missed on Tuesday, May 03, 2016. At the Tuesday, May 10, 2016 Board Meeting, the Board agreed to make Everyday Mathematics available for parents to review at the District Office by appointment only. If you would like to review the material for itself, please call Kris Mueller at (818) 952-8395.

If you are bothered by the manner in which this process has proceeded, you are encouraged to write to the Governing Board or contact them in person and share your concerns. You are also encouraged to sign the latest petition to the Board here:

http://bit.ly/everydaymathno

There are only a few days remaining for parents to review the materials under recommendation, and the Thursday, May 26, 2016 Board Workshop seems to be the only venue where the textbook selection committee will make themselves available to explain their reasoning and answer our questions. If you want more time to revisit the decision you can ask the Board to further delay their vote. Remember that the Board has been asked to allocate $500,000 on the initial purchase of materials from the two chosen textbook publishers. Additional funds will be spent in the future on teacher training and purchase of additional supporting materials. Once a textbook is chosen, our kids are stuck with the choice for years to come.

The District announced on May 13, 2016 that two additional events have been scheduled to “educate parents on Everyday Math curriculum.” Click here to read the email announcement in its entirety. It is imperative that parents attend these two events, plus the special Board meeting afterwards where a vote will be made on the candidate textbooks, to help become informed about Everyday Mathematics and let your opinions be known to the LCUSD Governing Board:

• Parent Math Night – Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at 6:30PM (LCUSD District Board Room, 4490 Cornishon Ave, La Cañada, CA 91011)  – A representative from McGraw-Hill Education, the publisher of Everyday Mathematics, will make a presentation to parents, answering questions and addressing concerns. Please attend, listen, and ask questions.
• Board Workshop on Math Textbook Adoption – Thursday, May 26, 2016 at 7:00PM (LCUSD District Board Room, 4490 Cornishon Ave, La Cañada, CA 91011) – Teachers, administrators and a representative from McGraw-Hill will attend the workshop to answer parent questions, explain the textbook selection process and reasons for the selection of Everyday Mathematics (and presumably Math In Focus for 6th grade.) The Governing Board will be present at this meeting. It is even more important that you attend the Workshop to ask questions of the textbook selection committee. Remember that this is the first opportunity that parents will have to question the textbook selection committee as no parents were on the committee and it has never published minutes, proceedings or reports from its meetings.
• Special Board Meeting – Thursday, May 26, 2016 following Board Workshop on Textbook Adoption (LCUSD District Board Room, 4490 Cornishon, Ave, La Cañada, CA 91011) – The Board will meet after the Board Workshop to make a final decision on the textbook series recommendation. Note also that the Board can vote to further delay the vote, start the process over, or do whatever it wants. Please read the History page to understand that contrary to what was asserted by Staff and the Board at its Board Meeting on Tuesday, May 10, 2016, the District retains the sole authority on textbook selection, not the teachers. That means the District Board makes the decision and the Board should represent the interest of parents and most importantly, students.

In the meantime, parents should inform themselves about the textbook selection process and about the recommended curricula, particularly Everyday Mathematics. In the two years this process has gone on, the only opportunity parents have had to review textbooks under consideration are when and if their own child was in one of the classes piloting a textbook,  or during the three-hour  parent review session that most parents missed on Tuesday, May 03, 2016. The Board has agreed to make Everyday Mathematics available for parents to review at the District Office by appointment only. If you would like to review the material for itself, please call  Kris Mueller at (818) 952-8395.

If you are bothered by the manner in which this process has proceeded, you are encouraged to write to the Governing Board and share your concerns. At least we now have approximately two additional weeks to review the materials under recommendation and we have been promised that the textbook selection committee will make themselves available to explain their reasoning and answer our questions, but if you want more time to revisit the decision you can ask the Board to further delay their vote. Remember that the Board has been asked to allocate $500,000 on the initial purchase of materials from the two chosen textbook publishers. Additional funds will be spent in the future on teacher training and purchase of additional supporting materials. Once a textbook is chosen, our kids are stuck with the choice for years to come.