Submitted by: Pat Higgiston

We opened the meeting by discussing the revisioning that is underway in the high school math department. We reviewed some of the materials that came out of our workshop day on Wednesday 10/13, focusing first on the potential we see for a variety of exciting math electives for 11th and 12th graders.

From there, the conversation pivoted to what such a slate of electives would require in the 9th and 10th grade core sequence, how that could be organized, potential obstacles, and finally what the changes would mean for our colleagues in the middle school. We discussed how math as a secondary school subject is perceived by our students and their families, and what structural tensions we have to address when considering a revision to our approach. While the original agenda had included some activities related explicitly to DEI principles, several were addressed in our conversation about the organization of the high school program, including equity considerations by race and by learning difference, and the challenge of meeting the needs of diverse learners in both heterogenous and tracked math classes.

Next meeting we will explore the work being done in the middle school on standards-based grading, get a brief update on the high school’s work, and revisit the activities on the agenda for this past meeting.