Dozens of teachers pleaded with state school board members Wednesday to give Georgia's often-criticized integrated math curriculum more time to prove itself.
Other teachers, school administrators and parents argued for another option, saying too many students are struggling with the integrated approach and need tutors to stay on track.
"Although I believe Math 1, 2, 3 was very well intentioned, it is not serving the students," Fulton County school board member Katie Reeves said of the integrated math plan during a standing-room-only public hearing.
The state board is expected to vote Monday on Georgia school Superintendent John Barge's recommendation that systems have other options than integrated math, which blends algebra, geometry and other math concepts rather than separating them.
His plan would allow schools to use a more traditional teaching method, keep integrated math or have some combination of the two.
Barge told board members Wednesday that unless local school systems are given the flexibility to teach by more traditional methods, "we could literally be closing the door on the future of thousands of students."
"Let districts decide what's best for their students," Barge said, adding that 6,000 to 10,000 students are in jeopardy of not graduating because they can't pass the four math courses required.
"Is there harm in allowing students to take the same rigorous curriculum but in a different approach? I don't think so," he said.
Parents and teachers have criticized the move to integrated math since it was rolled out in 2008 in combination with a tougher math curriculum for high school. Barge has noted lawmakers have said they might step in if the state board doesn't do something to help the struggling math students.
Paul Horst, a math teacher from Tifton, urged state board members not to react to political pressure.
"Education leaders should be informing public opinion instead of caving to it," Horst said. "The decision to move to integrate math concepts was not a whim. It made sense."
Kelly Brolly, a mother of three from Alpharetta, said parents -- some of whom are facing tutoring bills of $50 to $60 an hour -- want their school systems to have flexibility.
"It's my view as a parent that one math course does not meet the needs of all students," she said.
Some local school superintendents expressed similar sentiments, though representatives of several math teacher organizations favored staying on track with integrated math and offered board members testing reports that they said show positive results.
"Before, my students would compartmentalize their thinking. Now, my students are strengthening their problem-solving abilities," said Debbie Poss, president of the Georgia Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Any changes approved by the board would be in place for only three years, at which time Georgia will join 40 other states in adopting a math curriculum under the Common Core State Standards, which create a uniform set of rules for states in math and English.
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