to boost math education

By Jennifer Moody

Albany Democrat-Herald

LEBANON - After-hours tutors and more basic classes are now available to Lebanon High School students having trouble with math.

On the horizon: new textbooks, exit exams and parent "portals" to check student progress online.

Those are some of the strategies in the works to help lift math scores at Lebanon High School as soon as possible, acting Superintendent Steve Kelley, has told the Lebanon School Board.

A new master class schedule has been proposed by teacher Kim Fandiño as an additional strategy. Board members set a work session for 6 p.m. Nov. 17 to talk more about the proposal and other improvement issues.

The math failure rate at the high school caught the public's attention after 47 percent of third-trimester students last year failed Algebra I.

Students already have begun taking advantage of the new before- and after-school tutoring sessions, Kelley said, and more adult volunteers are needed.

A "math intervention team" made up of instructional coaches and consultants is helping in math classes and calling parents of students at risk for failure to let them know about the tutoring program.

Starting in December, parents can use secure codes to go online to track attendance, grades and assignment information, Kelley said. The district also has begun two new basic classes, "Elements of Algebra" and "Elements of Geometry."

Several students are having trouble getting the math classes they need, said Fandiño, a Spanish teacher who put together the schedule proposal and said she'd like it to start in December.

Fandiño said she has built master schedules many times and felt compelled to act for students who kept bringing scheduling conflicts to her. She received permission from her academy principal, Tami Volz, to draft a plan that would spread core classes more evenly through the schedule.

Kelley said issuing a new master schedule in the middle of the year could cause a host of issues, particularly for parents who have already made schedule arrangements and teachers who have planned their year.

By contract, Kelley said, teachers are to receive notice before their assignments are changed. The district is obligated to make sure all teachers in core classes meet the federal "highly qualified" rating.