Wake school board to respond to parent's MVP math appeal next month
One month after defending its controversial MVP math program, the Wake County Board of Education voted late Tuesday to review an appeal from a parent who has criticized the program and how the school system has handled complaints from her and others.
Board members discussed the appeal in closed session Tuesday. They plan to discuss it further and make a final decision on Aug. 6. After Tuesday's vote, board Chair Jim Martin said it's important to remember that board members do not make curriculum decisions, but they can determine whether their staff reviewed the curriculum and parents' complaints appropriately.
Parent Karen Carter said she was pleased to hear the board voted unanimously to review her appeal.
"I hope all board members come with an open mind as they read all the information sent on July 8th," Carter told WRAL News by email. "Since they delayed an appeal vote for three weeks, I am disappointed that I cannot submit new materials. I had 10 days over the week of July 4th, and since that time, WCPSS has released even more concerning public records that could help paint the true picture. The truth needs to be allowed to be seen by the public. I hope the board members put every students' need for a sound education above any political, monetary or work alliances."
Carter submitted the following records for the board to review:
After months of tension between parents and school leaders over the program, the Wake school board heard results last month from a 17-page report detailing the Mathematics Vision Project, or MVP, and how it has affected students. The program encourages critical thinking by having students work together to solve problems instead of providing direct instruction from teachers.
Wake school leaders convened a committee to review the program after parents repeatedly shared their childrens' struggles to learn the material and demanded the curriculum be dropped.
The committee "determined there were no violations of school board policy and no violations of law. In addition, no member of the committee recommended removing MVP and replacing it with a new curriculum," according to the report. "While the 2017-18 results indicate a modest improvement in student performance, additional years of data will be needed to confirm details."
The committee did recommend some changes, including more professional development for teachers and support materials for students.
So far, 16 parents have filed formal complaints with the district about MVP math. But opponents of the program say many more parents have shared concerns on a Parents of MVP math students Facebook group, which has nearly 1,400 members.
Wake schools has invested more than $1.4 million in MVP math since the program launched last year. In a previous statement, Utah-based MVP said its materials "have received top marks in unbiased curriculum reviews, have been selected by numerous school districts and schools for classroom use and have been deployed with great success in the United States and internationally."
Wake school leaders say they hope to share more data about the program this fall, when new numbers come in. They also plan to have a separate, third party do an audit of the program this fall.
