A school survey that asks about tutoring

The problem of schools failing to account for the effects of outside tutoring when boasting about their test scores has frequently been brought up on KTM, and it came up again in the comments section of this post.

Well, the Bridgewater-Raritan school district in New Jersey has a survey out that asks several questions about outside tutoring. Here are some:

11. Does your child receive any form of tutoring extra help in math by someone other than a family member?

12. Why do you get extra help in math? a) My child is doing fine in math, but I want her/him to do even better. b) My child has difficulty with math and needs extra help. c) I’m dissatisfied with the math curriculum, and the tutoring makes up for that.

(Question 12 is important in order to learn if tutoring is being used primarily to help kids to gain an edge in competitive environments, as many schools claim.)

13. What type of tutoring/extra help do you utilize? a) Kumon, Huntington Learning Center, Sylvan Learning Center, or other professional tutoring service. b) Paid private tutor c) Extra help from classroom teacher

(In some school districts, it might be advisable to add a fourth option for question 13: Paid private tutoring from teachers in my child’s school. I was amazed to learn that this occurs; it doesn’t seem ethical.)

15. About how much does it cost you a month?

16. Does the tutor provide different techniques and strategies than those your child is learning in class?

Parents who post on this B-R forum are dissatisfied with their school’s choice of Everyday Math. This survey seems like it will capture important tutoring information for them. I would love to have my school send out something similar.

Isn't it ironic?

My district has paid a conflict resolution facilitator to meet with several math focus groups. Why? Because parents from two of the six schools have voiced various concerns over their schools' math program, TERC aka Investigations in Number, Data, & Space. The focus groups consist of parents from the district. The district has a total of six elementary schools, two middles schools, and a high school. The focus groups have put parents from two elementary schools together.

What's ironic?

Tonight was the focus group meeting of parents from the two elementary schools with the TERC math curriculum. Too bad the facilitator did not show up.

Do you think petty cash can pay for the sitter?

Can I Record School Board Meetings in New York State?

I'd like to express my gratitude at the opportunity to post here on KTM - as a long-time reader of this site, I'm honored.

So, let's get down to business and address a question that pops up so often that I've decided to cross-post the answer on my own site.

Can an interested party record a school board or school committee meeting in New York State? [NJ and PA are touched upon as well.]

The short answer: Absolutely, provided that the recording process and its devices don't disrupt the proceedings.

Remember, a public meeting constitutes quorum gathering to discuss issues. This means that you're free to record regular school board meetings, budget hearings, committee meetings, etc. - any time there's quorum/over half the official body in attendance with the intent to conduct public business, go ahead.

But school boards aren't always into public records and accountability. When your New York State school district denies that you're allowed to tape a meeting, cite the following precedents:

• Mitchell v. Board of Education of Garden City UFSD, 113 A.D.2d 924 (2nd Dept. 1985). This established that unobtrusive, handheld tape recording devices were acceptable.


• People v. Ystueta, 99 Misc.2d 1105 (District Court, Suffolk County, 1979). Established that prohibiting recording devices violated public policy.


• NYS Dept. of State Committee on Open Government OML-AO-3037, June 18, 1999. Backs up People v. Ystueta.


• Feldman v. Town of Bethel, 106 A.D.2d 695 (3rd Dep't 1984). Use of recording device may not cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or disturb the meeting.

Then there's Csorny, et al. v. Shoreham-Wading River Central School District, et al. (Index No. 31583/00) which not only upholds the above rulings, but cites supporting precedent in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey:

The overwhelming weight of authority from other states likewise supports our holding herein. In Hain v Board of Directors of Reading School Dist. (163 Pa Commw 479, 641 A2d 661), the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania struck a school board rule prohibiting the videotape recording of public meetings as violative of Pennsylvania's Sunshine Act. In Maurice River Tp. Bd. of Educ. v Maurice River Tp. Teachers Assn. (193 NJ Super 488, 475 A2d 59, affg 455 A2d 563), the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, similarly held that a school board could not enact a blanket prohibition against videotaping of public meetings, as such a rule violated New Jersey's Open Public Meetings Act (NJSA 10:4-6 et seq; see also Sudol v Borough of North Arlington, 137 NJ Super 149, 348 A2d 216 [NJ Super]).

There ya go, kids. Record at will.

And when the Board members freak out, hand them a sheet of paper citing these precedents and make it very clear that their ignorance of the law in no way supersedes either statute or precedent.

Common Algebra II Test

Nine States announced that they will give a common test for algebra II starting next year. Achieve.org is helping design the test.

Arkansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island will share standards and the tests, and are expected to release scores on the test to colleges.

Apparently, this is being driven by the recent research that showed students that pass algebra II are more likely to succeed in college. U.S. News carried this article today.

This seems like a great idea. Now I need to lobby my State Dept of Ed to join in. If the colleges find it useful, I hope it puts pressure on many more states to join the group.