At the Florida Board of Education meeting last week, board member Ryan Petty blasted a math teacher at Warrington Middle School who said he had observed teaching basic math to students in an eighth-grade Algebra class without using textbooks.
Principal Denny Wilson set the record straight on the blog last night:
I walk the halls of Warrington Middle School every day. I look into the eyes of our students every day. I also observe teachers teaching almost every single day. I observed the exact same lesson at the same time Mr. Petty did on August 17, 2022. This teacher was well-planned and was providing the content and instruction these students required.
Mr. Petty walked into an 8th grade math classroom, sat down, and observed. Mr. Petty did not review the teacher’s lesson plans. Of course, he did not participate in planning with the teacher and District Mathematics Specialist. The teacher and students that were observed were in a Pre-Algebra class and not an Algebra class. 8 of the 10 students in the class came in with an achievement level 1 in math from the previous year.
On February 12, 2020, Florida’s Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T) Standards for Mathematics were adopted by the State Board of Education. During the 2021-2022 school year the Warrington Middle School students were taught based on the Math Florida Standards (MAFS) because the 2022 Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) assessed the Math Florida Standards and not the B.E.S.T. Standards. Beginning this school year, Warrington Middle School has shifted to the B.E.S.T. Standards for Mathematics.
Why is this information regarding the change in the standards important?
The instruction that Mr. Petty observed and seemed to perceive as poor or lacking was exactly what should have been covered that day.
The 8th grade Pre-Algebra students observed were missing 7th-grade B.E.S.T. Mathematics benchmarks because these benchmarks were not taught in 7th grade in the previous Math Florida Standards.
The District Mathematics Specialist developed an instructional guide for teachers to follow to address identified gaps caused by the transition to new standards.
The teacher observed was following this instructional guide. The students were not working in books at the time of Mr. Petty’s visit because with the shift of the benchmark being taught not being in the 8th grade B.E.S.T. aligned book, but still needed to be taught to fill the gap and build the foundation for their success.
There were Algebra books on the bookshelf because the teacher does in fact teach a section of Algebra but that is a different period of the day so, rightfully they should have been on the shelves.
So, this teacher who teaches her 8th grade students “basic arithmetic” was actively recruited to Warrington Middle School because of her effective VAM rating. The state paid her an additional $7,500 per year to serve at Warrington Middle School the last two years. Of all the teachers teaching 8th grade Pre-Algebra, the teacher observed by Mr. Petty was the 2nd highest for the entire district for the percentage of students scoring proficient in 8th grade Pre-Algebra.
This would not have happened by teaching “basic arithmetic” to our students. It amazes me how a person can make such disrespectful remarks about a uniquely gifted and respected educator based on an observation that was less than 10 minutes.
Judgment was made with no understanding of what was actually being observed.
This teacher who exemplifies our motto, Every Student…Every Day…Whatever It Takes, was called out in a public meeting by someone who knows nothing about the teacher or the students in the class. I just can’t figure out why we have such a teacher shortage.