Chapter 6: The Critical Work of a Review Committee in Curriculum Adoption

As the brand new mathematics Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA) in Issaquah, WA, I was thrilled on behalf of the middle school teachers to learn that the district was approved to conduct a middle school mathematics program review. Our teachers had become increasingly frustrated with the mathematics program, our middle school mathematics scores had been rather flat, and we were overdue for new curriculum materials. Facilitating the Middle School Program Review became my main responsibility for the 2005–06 school year. In my role as a TOSA, I serve as the Mathematics Curriculum Specialist. Prior to this, I had taught in the district for seven years at both the middle and high school levels. Being new to facilitating an adoption, I asked for help from my colleagues in the curriculum department and used a model they had developed as the framework for our review of middle school mathematics programs.