Newport-Mesa to use Swun Math curriculum again, despite concerns over errors

June 29, 2016 2 PM PT

For the fourth year in the row, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District plans for its elementary schools to use Swun Math, a curriculum taught with materials that some teachers and parents say contain errors and typos.

Newport-Mesa trustees approved an agreement Tuesday with the Cypress-based company to use the curriculum in 22 elementary schools during the 2016-17 school year.

But trustees decided to hold off on approving a program the company provides to coach teachers on Swun Math.

The board plans to meet in August to discuss the matter.

Trustees said the delay would allow them time to speak with principals and teachers about how the curriculum is performing at their schools.

At Tuesday’s school board meeting, parents urged the trustees to look at other Common Core-based math programs that might better serve students right away.

Supt. Fred Navarro said it would take a lot of time to investigate the alternatives, which drew sighs from the crowd.

“I’m not arguing with what’s being said,” Navarro said. “We’re just asking for that professional opportunity to really take time to study this. I’m saying if you want to take another direction, we’d be happy to explore that.”

The district began using Swun Math in 2013.

Sixty to 90 minutes of instruction takes place each school day for students to work on the Swun Math materials, according to district spokeswoman Annette Franco.

Last year, the district requested that a panel of 11 teachers perform what administrators called “edits” to the materials to fix mistakes.

Amy Peters, a parent of three students, said she has encountered mistakes while helping her children with their math work.

“My favorite correction, by far, in fourth grade was ‘Divide using multiplication,’” she said. “It’s as if it’s not math. … My kids have all done very well in math because we have made an effort as parents. Not every family has that opportunity.”

Mariners Elementary School kindergarten teacher Cara Boyd said she has seen repeated errors in the materials.

One was a mistake in a sequence in which students were asked to fill in the blank space in a line of numbers with 17, 18 and 19. Boyd said the line should have read 17, 18, a blank space and 20 so the students could fill in the number 19.

Another question had her students match quantities – represented with pictures such as five cars or eight rocket ships – to numerals.

“They had counted 15, but there was no [numeral] 15,” Boyd said.

In the Monrovia Unified School District in Los Angeles County, which also uses Swun Math, sentiments toward the curriculum are different.

“We are thrilled with the curriculum because of the alignment [with the Common Core] and the professional development,” said Sue Kaiser, assistant superintendent of education services at Monrovia Unified.

According to Kaiser, Swun Math coaches go to campuses to guide teachers on lesson design and how to teach the curriculum.

But the teachers have run into errors, she said.

“When an error happens, it’s frustrating for the teachers, but Swun Math works with us to eradicate it,” Kaiser said. “I think that happens because as the knowledge that kids need to know changes, Swun Math needs to change the curriculum.”

Alex Chan, [email protected]

Twitter: @AlexandraChan10