As we wait for the December pizza pics to show up on Dr. Steinhauer's blog, we can see a unique perspective of the construction, this time from the fifth floor. I didn't want anyone to miss the tweets from our super Super. He also shared photos of two (one, two) concert programs and one concert. Throw in the picture of our new school board president and vice president, and now everyone is caught up from the November pizza lunch. Oh, so powerful! It is always inspiring to hear from the professionals. Dr. Steinhauer is in his element. Let's see...$157,000 a year...six photos per month...Yes, we are getting our money's worth.
While Dr. Steinhauer is documenting his attendance at extracurricular activities, Josephine Posti updated her Center Court blog with Math FAQs. Josephine provided a link to Lincoln Elementary School's math webpage. I thought it would nice to list the other elementary schools' math webpages.
Foster Elementary School
Hoover Elementary School
Howe Elementary School
Jefferson Elementary School
Lincoln Elementary School
Markham Elementary School
Washington Elementary School
I have gotten emails and phone calls from some very frustrated parents concerning the math program. Is it getting better? Was Family Math Night helpful? Any advice from one parent to another?
3 comments:
I am a former Mt. Lebanon resident whose children were part of the first wave of implementation of the Investigations math curriculum. Our experience was that the kids who went through it first got the short end of the stick; Teachers were confused by the curriculum and their presentation of it at curriculum night was a disaster. Once we moved out of state it got worse for us. Both of our kids (mostly A students) were over one year behind in math. When I check the document "Basic Math Facts Targets" on the school website it simply confirms that the targets and pacing in the curriculum are slow.
This leaves the matter of the PSSA scores and why they are good. That is easy. The teachers definitely teach to the test there. My kids and their classmates spent weeks doing practice problems and were specifically taught to "look for problems that look like our practice problems and do those first". All learning stopped; it was all about the PSSA scores. Again, my comparison is to our new district where scores rank extremely high but the teachers virtually ignore the test. They have the confidence that if the kids are successful with the curriculum they will be successful on the state test.
Again, just one person's opinion...from outside the bubble.
Glad to see the Super attending the many superb extra curricular events in the district! It would be even better to see more Mt. Lebanon residents take advantage of these opportunities, and support the students who work so hard on them.
Mt. Lebanon parents - Please note the following news item recently published in the International Business Times:
US Students Lag Behind East Asians In Math, Science, Reading: Study
"Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei and Japan were the top performers in mathematics at both fourth and eighth grades, analyzed in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) published by the International Association for the Evaluation of Education Achievement (IEA), which conducts its research out of Boston University."
For the complete story see http://www.ibtimes.com/us-students-lag-behind-east-asians-math-science-reading-study-933853
My sympathies go out to all of you who are fighting the "TERC Wars" with the District.
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