The consultants kept their eyes on the target!

The grant proposal articulated high expectations for the CCUSD math departments and students. The goals were well defined, explicit, and obtainable. However, to achieve these goals, program implementation and support activities needed to be carefully planned and executed in a timely manner. The consultants were well aware of these goals and continually focused (or refocused) the group. For example, some teachers wanted to work on technology during the first year of the project. However, to achieve the long range goals, the short term goals of problem solving and cooperative learning needed to be addressed. Consultants recognized the importance of creating a plan and staying with it, and the teachers agreed to defer technology to the third year.

Culver Citys diverse population of students and parents presented special challenges for implementation. Students entered the program with a wide range of backgrounds and motivation. However, the enriched curriculum set high expectations for all students. Special programs needed to be developed to help students succeed who did not have the academic background or resources at home to keep pace. Diverse parent concerns needed to be addressed as well. Parents wanted to understand the program, reassurance that the program would be effective for their students, and practical ideas for helping their students with a curriculum unfamiliar to them.

A highly successful tutoring program provided middle school students with additional support during A three years of the grant. High school students were trained as tutors by CSUDH personnel and provided peer tutoring four days a week. This program was so successful that the teachers successfully lobbied the district for funding to continue the program after the grant funding ended. Though not as well-utilized as the middle school program, the high school also provided tutoring for students.

Teachers made themselves available for individual student conferencing and tutoring during lunch or after school. Many middle school and high school students took advantage of this opportunity to work with their own teachers on a regular basis.

Educating parents became a major challenge during the grant. At the middle school, parents of gifted students were concerned that their children would not be adequately challenged since designated honors courses were eliminated. At the high school, parents of gifted students were concerned about whether the new curriculum would adequately prepare their students for college. Some parents wondered about the difficulty of the curriculum and questioned the perceived de-emphasis on traditional mathematics topics.

To address these issues, parent nights in a variety of formats were held. At the high school, juniors and seniors monitored stations in the library as CPM students and their parents experienced activities from the CPM curriculum. A similar format was used at the middle school to introduce parents to the Math in Context curriculum. In addition, several informational meetings were held at both schools where teachers, administrators and CSUDH faculty explained the programs, and addressed questions and concerns.

Teachers, administrators, and consultants involved with the project presented reports and updates to the CCUSD Board of Education at least once a year. These reports served to inform the public about the efforts and achievements of the teachers and students.

The CAPP Grant required that partnerships be established between the school, a university, and a local business. California State University, Dominguez Hills and Hughes Electronics were partners with Culver City Unified School District.

CSUDH provided active and ongoing assistance in a variety of ways. As the fiscal agent for the project, they allocated funds from both the CAPP Grant and matching sources to provide for materials, teacher released time, and stipends. University faculty members provided staff development for the Culver City teachers. Middle school students attended summer enrichment programs at the University. In addition, the Principal Investigator for the project, a professor of mathematics, provided helpful information and support at Board of Education meetings and parent meetings.

Teachers and students learned first hand about how mathematics is applied in Industry through Hughes Electronics, the business partnet. Teachers visited the Hughes facility, and engineers visited the students. In addition, some teachers participated in the "FAX" problem solving program sponsored by the Hughes K-12 Education Program. Finally, a few Hughes engineers served as mentors to high school students during the third year of the program.

The changes that have occurred as a result of the aggressive plan implemented in Culver City Unified School District can be described as nothing short of staggering! By the end of 1996, every 8th, 9th, and 10th grade student (excluding about 40 students with special needs) in CCUSD had taken algebra, and enrollments increased in all college preparatory courses at the high school. 8th graders were better prepared for algebra than in pre-CAPP years, and 73% of all middle school students who enrolled in courses using the enriched curriculum in the 6th and 7th grades completed Algebra I (or higher) by the end of the 9th grade. In 1996, CCUSD students earned twice as manv honors on the Golden State Exam (an honors exam developed and scored by the Department of Education of the State of California) as students who took the exam in prior years. Analysis of transcript data indicates that students of all ethnicities and both genders benefited greatly from this program.

Results reported here focus on both the target group of students (6th graders in Fall, 1993 who participated in the enriched program for two full years prior to taking algebra as 8th graders) and the student population at large in CCUSD. This is done for two reasons. First, the CAPP project supported all middle school and high school math teachers making changes in their curricular and instructional practices. Second, longitudinal data helps to inform us of changes over time.

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