1995 Town Report

Northborough, Massachusetts

Mathematics Curriculum Study Team

Barbara Haig, Chair

Since its formation in 1985 the Mathematics Curriculum Team has had representation in each of the schools in Northborough and Southborough, including Algonquin. The Team and its subcommittees have been quite active during 1995 assisting in the formation of the vision as well as the direction of the paths our Districts and the Commonwealth will be taking in the near future in the education of our children and teachers.

Late in 1994 and early in 1995 the Team met as Study Groups to review and to make suggestions for improvement of the drafts of the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks in Mathematics. During this same time the members were reviewing our curriculum in light of the ideas presented in the Curriculum Frameworks, noting the topics that would need to be re-examined. The members also talked with their colleagues to ascertain their opinions and their suggestions for implementing any change.

In June 1995 the Team members met over four days and compiled a collection of information and exercises that teachers could use in the fall to assist in improving their teaching techniques. The collection was distributed to teachers in conjunction with a four-session professional development program on the use of open-ended questions in the classroom.

The Team was represented at a week long training session in August sponsored by the Department of Education in which Leadership Teams from cities and towns from across the Commonwealth developed District Action Plans to assist in the systematic changes necessary to implement the Curriculum Frameworks, the Education Reform Act, and District Improvement Plans in their communities.

This fall the Team continues to meet to identify more specifically the areas needed to be addressed in light of the Action Plan as well as to develop a document which will assist teachers in planning the mathematics curriculum as part of the interdisciplinary nature of the curriculum to come.

Mathematics Curriculum Study Team Members:
Barbara Haig, Chair Lincoln Street
Sara Deptula Peaslee
Louise Janda Proctor
Francis Walsh Northboro Middle
Susan Murphy Neary
Nancy Bauman Finn
Susan Farese Woodward
Carol Murray Algonquin
Jean Fitzgerald Algonquin
Joan MacLeod Algonquin

Parent Representatives:
Susan Hogan Northboro
Eileen Samberg Southboro
Marty Henderson Regional