Lincoln School Committee backs three-track middle school math restructuring

LINCOLN — April 25, 2013 — Lincoln endorses three-track middle school math and concedes it cannot measure its own achievement gaps. Assistant Superintendent Mary Sterling won committee support April 25 for a two-year restructuring adding Course 1 with support, standard Course 1, and an extended Course 1 in grade six, with a parallel extension in grade seven, in response to higher Common Core rigor in eighth-grade Algebra 1. Member Tom Sanders pushed back on language phasing out grade-skipping; Superintendent Becky McFall said exceptions would still be considered. In an achievement-gap report, Sterling told members the district "really can't write a report about this data — we don't have it," citing inadequate cohort-tracking tools. The committee also hired Rob Ford from Wellesley as technology director, approved accounts payable warrants of $144,166.62 and payroll of $668,163.64, and raised music instructor rates from $51 to $57 per hour.