Fairfield parents are accusing the school district of changing an algebra textbook for eighth and ninth graders without proper approval.
It's one change at Fairfield's middle and high schools that has parents up in arms.
“The Fairfield Superintendent and his staff, implemented a text book, Algebra I textbook across all classes and impacted about 800 students without properly vetting the textbook. They've since actually vetted the textbook and have not recommended its use,” said Fairfield parent Kelly Crisp.
But not before parents say that book has been detrimental to their children.
“You've had kids who absolutely loved math, hate math. You have kids who are absolutely failing tests,” said Crisp.
Parents want to know how the Algebra I textbook even got into the schools. They say the Fairfield school district didn't go through the proper approvals. The parents traveled all the way up to the Capitol to make sure the State Board of Education heard their concerns.
“We tried multiple times, multiple avenues to get answers. We requested an open forum with all the parents and the administration, they denied it,” said Fairfield parent Tricia Donovan.
The state Board of Education has now decided to do an inquiry into this textbook to see if the Fairfield school district brought it into the classroom the right way.
“Now I'm hoping that they will find that the educational interests of that state were not upheld and that the students have suffered damages,” said Donovan.
Fairfield School Superintendent Dr. David Title issued this statement,
“In August, 2012 the Fairfield Public Schools entered into an agreement with a publisher to pilot an Algebra I textbook for the 2012-2013 school year after a committee of teachers reviewed a number of textbooks aligned to the new Common Core State Standards. The agreement allowed the Fairfield Public Schools to return the books at no charge if the book was not adopted by the Board of Education. The results of the pilot were shared with the Board and the public and showed that student achievement in Algebra I was similar to or better than student achievement in the same course in previous years. We believe this pilot conforms to the spirit and intent of state law and Board of Education policies. On May 7, 2013 the Fairfield Board of Education voted unanimously to adopt a different textbook for use in Algebra I effective with the 2013-2014 school year as recommended by the teachers and administration. We will work with the CSDE to resolve this procedural matter.”
