Posted: Saturday, March 8, 2008 1:00 am | Updated: 3:45 pm, Wed Nov 25, 2009. From: Pamela J. Kaste
North East
This letter addresses the March 5 article, "Schools say they acted swiftly on math failure."
The wreck that has been the Cecil County Public Schools math curriculum could have been avoided if the superintendent (Dr. Carl Roberts) had proper respect for, and heeded the advice of, our teachers.
For years teachers (even board certified) and school principals who had taught math, tried to fix the problem, but top administrators would not listen. The teachers' concerns were validated by local college math professors who related that CCPS graduates were increasingly ill-prepared and cited data (from the MHEC) showing that math remediation rates for CCPS graduates have been increasing for nearly a decade. This occurred entirely under the direction of our current superintendent.
For the superintendent to claim that students have not been harmed is uncaring and untrue. Many CCPS graduates pay college prices to learn high school math in remedial courses, are six times more likely to drop out, and are not prepared for the job market either.
Clarification is needed - it was the board who acted swiftly to address the math failure, which the superintendent and top administrators ignored. With no disrespect to our appointed members, the elected board members have demonstrated they are capable of improving our children's education.
The board is working to select the next superintendent. Hopefully they will ensure that he/she is respectful and responsive to the CCPS staff. Those working directly with students are the real experts, and their input should count more than that of a few office administrators. Integrity and accountability in a superintendent would be refreshing. Our children deserve no less.
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