Superintendent’s Review 2017-18

Announcement of Goal

In August of 2017, LCUSD Superintendent Wendy Sinnette announced that one of her five Superintendent goals for the 2017-18 school year would be:

“On-Going Best Practices in Math Instruction and Delivery

Lead the action research to assess best practices in delivering intervention, differentiation, and acceleration in math instruction in elementary grades, with an emphasis on upper grades. Review options to provide teachers with maximum support to ensure that differentiated math instruction is provided to all rates and types of learners. Work closely with elementary Principals, Asst. Superintendent of Educational Services, Executive Director of Pupil and Personnel Programs and Services, and 5th and 6th grade teachers to complete the action research and create an implementation plan. Ensure that outcomes are tied to research based best practices in teaching and learning. Continue to collect and respond to stakeholder feedback regarding math instruction and curriculum, TK-12.“

Towards that goal, the Superintendent began meeting with select district staff and teachers during the beginning of the 2017-18 school year. Preliminary meetings determined that teachers were generally pleased with the state of mathematics instruction, differentiation opportunities and intervention resources in grades 7 through 12, so the goal was de-scoped to focus on math instruction in just the elementary grades.

Parent Elementary Math Discussion Forums

In early December 2017, Superintendent Sinnette invited district elementary parents to attend an Elementary Math Discussion Forum on January 23rd, 2018 “to join with teachers and administrators to review and discuss your child’s experiences with the elementary math curriculum in efforts to assess best practices in intervention, differentiation, and acceleration within the district.” Sinnette said she was also interested in hearing about parents’ “interests related to research-based opportunities to enhance your child’s math instruction.” 

The first meeting took place as scheduled on January 23, 2018 and is summarized below:

Superintendent’s Review 2017-18 – First Discussion Forum

The meeting had to be cut short due to the constraints of time and was continued on February 26, 2018:

Superintendent’s Review 2017-18 – Second Discussion Forum

Possible Solutions to Problems Identified at the Forums

A number of possible solutions were brainstormed at the two Elementary Math Discussion Forums. Those ideas are discussed in greater detail:

Superintendent’s Review 2017-18 – Proposed Solutions

Superintendent’s Advisory Committee

At the end of the 2017-18 Superintendent’s second elementary math forum, Superintendent Sinnette announced that she would form an Elementary Math Parent Committee to meet several times in March and April of 2018 to continue on with the work from the parent elementary math discussion forums, conduct research on proposed solutions, and advise her before her presentation to the Governing Board in May 2018.

The actions of the Superintendent’s Advisory Committee are chronicled here:

2018 Superintendent’s Elementary Math Advisory Committee

During its meetings, committee members were divided into two groups and directed to conduct research offline on the topics of in-school acceleration (Group 1) and before/after-school acceleration (Group 2) and collate results in Google docs for shared collaboration. Those shared Google docs are below:

Superintendent’s Presentation to LCUSD Governing Board

Superintendent Sinnette presented a final report on her goal to  the LCUSD Governing Board on June 26, 2018. A summary of her findings and links to her final report are located here:

Superintendent’s Final Report to Governing Board – Jun. 26, 2018