NYC Community School Board District 10
Math Final Resolution, Aug 15, 2002

(Please see also the associated NYC HOLD Press Release and the NYC HOLD main web page.)

The following resolution was approved by unanimous vote of the board of CSD-10, August 15, 2002.

WHEREAS Community School Board 10 intends that all district 10 students meet city and state performance standards in mathematics, and

WHEREAS Community School Board 10 intends that all district 10 students be prepared for advanced study in mathematics in middle school, high school, and college, and

WHEREAS the members of Community School Board 10 have dedicated significant time to understanding the goals and processes of the teaching of mathematics in District 10 having held two committee meetings dedicated solely to this topic over the last six months and having discussed this topic at briefing sessions and District Comprehensive Educational Plan development meetings, and

WHEREAS the members of Community School Board 10 have completed research beyond district 10 having availed themselves of the writings of college and university mathematicians as well as professionals in the fields of education at the primary, middle, and high school levels, therefore,

1. BE IT RESOLVED that in order to promote the achievement of educational standards and objectives relating to the instruction of students, Community School Board 10 establishes the educational policy of Community School District 10 in Mathematics to be as described in sections 1.A. and 1.B. below, and in sections 2., 3., 4., and 5. below, effective for the 2002-2003 school year:

A. Community School District 10's High School mathematics programs will be skill-based, college preparatory similar to those used by Stuyvesant High School, Brooklyn Technical High School, and Bronx High School of Science and the new high schools located at City College and Lehman College.

B. Community School District 10's Kindergarten through 8th Grade programs will emphasize the teaching of standard arithmetic skills. In particular, the standard algorithms for multiplication and division as well as the standard methods for computation with fractions should be taught. Classroom instructional time will include sufficient computational practice for all students

2. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Community School District 10's mathematics policy includes that all students should receive textbooks that support the teaching of mathematics consistent with the policies listed in 1.A. and 1.B. above. Mathematics homework will regularly be given with problems and computational practice assigned from these textbooks along with accompanying notifications to parents describing the assigned homework. And,

3. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Community School District 10's mathematics policy includes that Community School District 10 will demonstrate that its mathematics programs align to New York State and New York City curricula and standards by publishing a document for each grade that describes the math topics, schedule, resources, and homework to be assigned to support the year's instruction. A complete set of these documents will be provided to the board by December 31, 2002. They will also be provided to students and their families, as applicable. The District 10 Mathematics Framework, other District 10 publications, and the District 10 web site should be revised to explain the alignment of instruction consistent with this policy and the document described in this section. And,

4. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Community School District 10's mathematics policy includes that constructivist programs, if used, will be supplementary to topics described in 1.A. and 1.B. above. If constructivist programs are used, their relevance to state and city curricula and standards will be demonstrated in the listing required in 3. above. And,

5. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Community School District 10 Community Superintendent report to the Community School Board by its September Briefing Session, currently scheduled for September 12, 2002, of the district's plan to implement this resolution as the policy of the district for the 2002-2003 school year and report monthly at each briefing session regarding the district's progress in implementing its plan consistent with this resolution.

EXPLANATION
The board has received near-unanimous comment from parents about their dissatisfaction with mathematics as it has been recently taught in Community School District 10. We have received information from senior officials at some of New York City's finest public high schools that constructivist programs do not sufficiently prepare students for advanced studies at their schools. The board provided Community School District 10 with a volume of criticism regarding constructivist programs. These criticisms were not sufficiently answered by district staff nor were satisfactory answers found among the information available on the topic.

Community School Board 10 wishes that the district's mathematics program be as direct and comprehensible as possible by students, parents, teachers, and principals. The board wishes that the program aim to prepare students for the most advanced mathematics study within their potential. The board also desires that all students master the basic arithmetic skills we believe are necessary to survive and prosper in American society


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