Big Changes Sweep Curricula In Central Valley District

High school math is up for major changes in the Central Valley School District, according to proposals now under study.

The changes might mean students would need three credits of math to graduate, instead the current two credits.

Also on the table are changes in high school social studies and health and fitness, more remedial resources for fourth- through sixth-graders and possibly all-day kindergarten.

“These are our recommendations. We know it’s going to cause a great deal of conversation,” said Jay Walter, director of mid-level education for the district and head of the school district’s reconfiguration committee. “But that’s OK, we think it’s healthy.”

A regular five-year cycle for re-examining the district’s academic programs is suggested, as well.

All of the ideas under discussion are just that - suggestions. Once the committee is finished polishing its recommendations, members will brief the school board. The ideas will be presented in public meetings at various schools. Once public comment is gathered, the committee may reconsider its work. Only then will the school board vote on the recommendations.

“If people have different ideas, we want to hear them,” said Geoff Praeger, committee member and assessment coordinator for the district.

What is “reconfiguration”?

The district is examining its schools as it nears September 2002, when ninth-grade students will leave the junior highs for the new high schools, and sixth-graders will leave the elementary schools for what will then be called middle schools.

Also driving this talk of change: the state assessments and new state requirements for high school graduates, including a senior project and a credit in the fine arts.

When this year’s fifth-graders get to high school, they will be the first class required to pass the 10th-grade Washington Assessment of Student Learning. In doing so, they’ll earn a certificate of mastery; the state will require that, starting with the class of 2008.

The most visible changes may be in high school math. Officials are interested in buttressing math courses for ninth- and tenth-graders, to help them succeed on the WASL.

But they also want to add math options for juniors and seniors.

Twenty percent of the Central Valley graduates who go on to college are taking remedial math classes, according to Praeger. In part, he said, that’s because many students don’t take math in their last two years of high school.

“With math, I think we all agree, if you don’t use it, you lose it.”

New math classes for juniors and seniors are likely to emphasize practical uses of math, rather than abstract math.

If the district embraces these ideas, new math teachers will be needed. That wouldn’t mean an overall increase in hiring; it would mean some teachers retraining in math.

Students also will find themselves taking fine arts classes in increased numbers, to satisfy a new one-credit state requirement. Those classes could include music, drama, art, photography and possibly others.

On the other hand, the district may ease some current graduation requirements.

One proposal would drop social studies from a current 3 credits, to 2.5 credits.

Another proposal would give students more latitude in earning two credits in health and fitness.

Students could substitute competitive sports, band, drill team or cheerleading for health and fitness classes. Central Valley could allow certain independent programs such as gymnastics, elite soccer, skating, Special Olympics and self-defense as substitutes.

Changes at the elementary level, including all-day kindergarten, specially trained kindergarten aides, and more resources for fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade teachers, would be aimed at building better reading, writing and math skills among all students.

Funding for such resources should be available next year, since voters passed I-722, an initiative aimed at smaller class sizes.

“The timing is perfect. The opportunity is there,” Walter said.

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Others gear up

Central Valley is not alone in regearing for new state education requirements.

West Valley School District is evening out the different graduation requirements now in effect at its three high schools. The school district administers West Valley High School, Spokane Valley High School and Contract Based Education.

East Valley has done ongoing work aligning its academic programs toward the state assessments. Officials are making adjustments at the high school to handle new graduation requirements.