Southwest DeKalb High does have math teachers. Just not enough.
DeKalb says it is adding two math support teachers this week at Southwest DeKalb High (AJC file)
I was puzzled when I saw the Twitter comment yesterday from a Southwest DeKalb High School mother that the school lacked math teachers, which sounded impossible. And, in fact, the high school has math teachers, 15 of them.
However, the school did not have the two math teachers needed for an elective class called math support. And that was what alarmed a mom who discovered her daughter was in PE rather than math.
(Two teachers are supposed to be starting this week, according to the county. I am now hearing from other teachers that their schools are also down math teachers and kids have been having long-term subs. Isn’t this what was supposed to be resolved by the closer alliances between k-12 and the public colleges? Can’t Georgia Tech help with math teachers?)
The mother expressed shock that a high student would go a semester without any math, but that is not uncommon in block schedule schools that follow the model in which a yearlong course is compressed into a single semester.
Under block scheduling at my local high school, my son once did not have math courses in either the spring or fall semester, which meant he went a full year without sitting in a single math class.
When Southwest lost its two math support teachers, the school switched students into another elective, said spokesman Jeff Dickerson.
But what I don’t get is how 55 Southwest DeKalb High students could have been enrolled in math support without being enrolled in a core math class at the same time.
The state Department of Education describes math support as “an elective class that should be taught concurrently with a student’s regular mathematics class.”
Purpose: The purpose of the Mathematics Support class is to address the needs of students who have traditionally struggled in mathematics by providing the additional time and attention they need in order to successfully complete their regular grade-level mathematics course without failing. Mathematics Support is an elective class that should be taught concurrently with a student’s regular mathematics class.
Who should teach this course? The course should be taught by a certified mathematics teacher, preferably one with experience in differentiating instruction to meet the needs of struggling students. The Mathematics Support teacher should work closely with the teacher(s) in the regular academic mathematics class to align content, instruction, and assessments.
What credit is earned for the Mathematics Support class? One unit of elective credit is earned for this course.
Dickerson says that the students enrolled in math support this semester were scheduled to take their regular math course next semester. Based on the DOE information about how math support is supposed to function, I am not sure about the advisability of splitting the math support and regular math classes.
Dickerson also said one of the students whose mother was upset is scheduled to take an AP math next semester. “Why do we have a student in math support class at all when she is taking AP Algebra next semester?” he said.
That ought to be a question directed to or the school counselor and the school, which I assume had to approve the student’s schedule. A reader pointed out that there is no AP Algebra so unsure what Dickerson meant. Perhaps, honors algebra?
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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58 comments Add your comment
Dekalbite@joke on us
September 19th, 2012
2:35 pm
See the video below to see how valued a Georgia Tech math major from Georgia Tech was to DeKalb. The senior official in the video is still here 3 years later in a high paying position while the Georgia Tech trained math teacher is gone from the system:
http://www.communityradar.com/story.php?title=update-on-mlk-grade-changing-horace-dunson
Miss Management
September 19th, 2012
3:44 pm
The better performing, ‘in-demand’, thus over-crowded regular high schools are suffering with the disorganized start of school this year due to the late summer budget cuts.
Have you all read Joe Reed’s letter to the Lakeside PTA posted in the “Patch”? Very uncomfortable crowing problems at Lakeside – despite the new, expanded facility … and Reed blames much of it on the fact that too many students are unable to graduate in four years…(!)
http://northdruidhills.patch.com/articles/lakeside-principal-budget-cuts-lead-to-cramped-classes
At this point we are serving an increased student body with ten fewer staff members than last year. We have been approved for the three teachers for the classes currently served by substitutes in the areas of art, science and social studies. The art teacher, Ms. Jelks, has arrived and will start her first full day at Lakeside Monday. We will be posting the other two positions on PATS and will have to interview for those teaching slots. As Mr. Clyne continues to maximize our staff, student schedules may be changed. We will also be requesting additional staffing as the needs arise.
Cherine Foutch
September 19th, 2012
8:35 pm
There are many good posts, however some are misguided due to a lack of understanding what it is like to teach the support classes. These students by definition have struggled since at least 5th grade, never mastering basic skills. In GA high schools, the lowest level of math class for core credit is what is equivalent to second semester Algebra 1.
I have an engineering degree, a math degree and certified to teach 6th – 12th grade. I taught high school math for eight years, while balancing the demands of family life. I taught the lowest level math classes, in addition to on level and honors levels. The problem with support math classes is that they are the most difficult to teach, and therefore staff. Students in 9th grade math support often have a 6th or 7th grade math ability, and they are now required to pass math topics that used to be taught in 9th and 10th grade. The class sizes are 30+ with 1 teacher for 50 minutes. The support teacher is expect to individualize the help for each student. Many of my students in the support levels were frustrated, overwhelmed, and didn’t have motivation inside or outside of class. About 80% were disrespectful, and when a teacher is out numbered 30:1, the disrespect increases as their frustration increases. It is an exhausting situation for all involved.
The school systems need to anticipate this and over plan if they want to address it right. The classes for support need to be much smaller to be effective and give these students what they need. Unfortunately, that takes money that no one has or wants to find. It is a sad fact that so many students get all the way to 9th grade without support. Until the State Board of Education allows middle school students to repeat math courses that they don’t master, and reduce the graduation requirement to finish pre-calculus (or equivalent) for all students, there will always be those set up for failure.
So while it sounds easy to say, “let’s get some GT students or staff to help out”, they wouldn’t put up with the working conditions: lack of prepared students, disrespectful students, unmotivated students, lack of resource (there are no text books for the support math – teachers need to create or use their own resources), and many times lack of support from the system and parent. I have seen several highly qualified, creative, and passionate math teachers burnout after teaching this level.
Mike Honcho
September 19th, 2012
9:19 pm
@ Cherine Foutch – That is the best description of the support classes I’ve read. They should put that on the brochure. Volunteers for teaching support classes are not plentiful.
Dekalbite
September 19th, 2012
9:38 pm
“The school systems need to anticipate this and over plan if they want to address it right. The classes for support need to be much smaller to be effective and give these students what they need. Unfortunately, that takes money that no one has or wants to find”
Small classes for struggling math and reading students is an option for use of Title 1 funds. However, the Title 1 money for DeKalb has been used to hire highly paid non teaching “Instructional Coaches”, many of them friends and family who have utterly failed to move students forward academically. This concept has left struggling students in class sizes that guarantee they cannot get the individual attention they need. Now the Race to the Top money is being spent for non teaching “Data Coaches” and clerical support for their data collections.
Until the money for coaches, coordinators, directors, etc. is placed back into the classroom, struggling students will continue to be “warehoused” in classrooms where crowd control becomes much of the teacher’s objective. The DeKalb administration simply will not invest in teachers teaching math, science, social studies and language arts to students. They have cut close to 1,000 teaching positions over the last 4 years while preserving most of the admin and support positions. It appears teachers are the most disposable employees.
Dawg67
September 19th, 2012
11:08 pm
Not sure if I understand the numbers attack on block scheduling, as the numbers seem off if a 4X4 block schedule would allow for a teacher to have (if going by the stated 3 math classes of 25 students) 75 students for the 3 fall block classes, and 75 new students for the 3 spring block classes, thus equaling what the previous poster stated as 150 students in a traditional schedule system. Am I missing something?
Murphey
September 20th, 2012
1:56 pm
Maybe our Race to the Top professional development funds could have been used to support the math support teachers, rather than paying for 8 administrators to get their PhDs. Perhaps the funds could have been used to develop a curriculum for the math support teachers to use, or to even pay for a second teacher or para to be in the classroom.
GT grad teacher
September 21st, 2012
7:03 pm
I am the AP calculus/AP physics (calculus based)/advanced physics teacher at SWD- have been since 1997. I had no ideal this blog existed until we had an “emergency math dept. meeting” today so pardon the late arrival.
I graduated from Ga Tech- MS and BS Mechanical Engineering -highest honor where i was a teaching assistant. In 2008, my AP calculus class at SWD was recognized by college board as having the most African Americans pass the AP calculus exam” in the nation. Every year- about 70-90 percent of my students pass the AP exam – except for maybe last year(off year for the students). While I won’t pretend everything is great at SWD -my classes are really overloaded (40 in AP calc class, 36 and 34 in my physics class in a science classroom that only has 24 seats/desks) Also, I am buried in useless/trivial paper/busywork that actually hinders my teaching (administrators are you listening?). And, I often consider leaving for “greener pastures”- I’ve had a few offers- twice Dekalb County would not let me leave-”contract” issues. However, I stay at SWD because of the enormous support and gratitude I get from the students and parents and usually the administration=they change often and its hard to keep track of who’s who. Also, I consider most of my colleagues knowledgeable professionals doing the best we can under difficult conditions in a system short on money. I have to buy all out of my own pocket the paper I use for tests and quizzes and also the dry erase markers I use to teach (I go through about 2 a day). Sure that sucks, but I can’t count the number of former students who are now doctors, engineers, teachers and come back and thank me, In fact, a former student of mine -received a BS and MS in Mech engineering from GT top in his class and is now a high school math teacher-his mom told he was inspired by me to become teacher). The admissions people at G. Tech know that my students will succeed and admit them with open arms. While no doubt I could have made more money as an engineer, I have found teaching Math and Physics at SWD extremely rewarding. I welcome anyone critical of SWD to visit my class.
Eric Ritenour
AP Calculus/Physics teacher SWD