BY JAY BODAS
Staff Writer
METUCHEN — Some parents who attended a recent school board meeting felt that the proposed changes to the district’s math curriculum did not add up.
“Since the program does not seem to be well-defined, the ability to implement the program will be hampered,” said resident Robert Kaplan-Sherman.
The changes would involve students in grades six through 12. The current crop of fourth-graders would be the first to be affected by the new curriculum in 2011, said mathematics supervisor Joanne Zebrowski.
“The proposed curriculum opens up more opportunities for our students,” she said.
There are currently five skill levels at the middle and high school levels: accelerated, advanced, grade level, skills, and resource. The proposed curriculum would reduce the numbers of levels to four, with the merging of the accelerated and advanced levels, school officials said.
The new combined accelerated level would begin in grade six with a course called Connected Mathematics that teaches students to link mathematics to other subject areas and helps transition students from elementary to secondary math concepts.
Students on this track would then conclude grade eight with Algebra I, and take plane and solid geometry in their freshman year of high school.
By the senior year, students in the accelerated level would have the option of taking either AP Calculus AB/BC, AP Calculus AB, college calculus or honors statistics, school officials said.
This will allow more advanced math students to take BC Calculus, it will change the point of most rapid acceleration from eighth grade to the end of the 11th grade, and it will eliminate teaching geometry to students who are not developmentally ready,” said Zebrowski.
Board of Education President Ronald Grayzel opened the meeting to questions and comments from the public.
Some township residents expressed concern that the proposed curriculum would take resources away from students.
Tracy Miller, a Metuchen resident who has two children in the school system, said the state mandates special programs for gifted and talented students.
“If ability grouping is not done, then how do we meet the needs of our children?” she said. “Why can’t we do something in the context of offering more rather than doing less? If you go through the list of what is offered to gifted and accelerated students in this district, it would be paltry.”
Kaplan-Sherman also had doubts.
“I believe the means of classification need to be more clearly done,” he said. “We say we should make these changes, but we do not seem to have a level of refinement that needs to be there. “
Metuchen High School Principal John Novak supported the changes.
“The proposed changes will protect the top end of our program and at the same time open it up to more students later on in the process,” Novak said. “Right now, it is tough for a student to advance into a new sequence.”
Jonathan Stevens, a Metuchen high school math teacher who teaches calculus and trigonometry, supported the proposed changes.
“Moving acceleration from middle school to the end of high school is better. It is better to do it when students are 16-17 years old. I believe we can make it work.”
Residents may contact the superintendent’s office with any questions or comments they may have regarding the proposed changes to the math curriculum.