This petition asks the Dover and Sherborn school committees to delay a decision to adopt new math curricula in the elementary schools until after an in-person, public forum is held. Assistant superintendent of Dover Sherborn (DS) schools, Denny Conklin, is expected to recommend that the committees adopt new math programs at a joint school committee meeting on April 2nd to be held at 5:30 p.m. at the DS middle school library. 

We believe that the new math curricula are being proposed without community involvement, without sound research and without consideration of other less costly, successful programs.  The cost of the new curricula named "Illustrative Math" and "Reveal Math" is expected to be a combined total of $180,000 for the first year.  Adoption would follow the piloting of other new math curricula over the past few years at a time when student performance on standardized tests is dropping.

The forum should include the attendance of DS school administrators, members of the DS school committees and an invitation to all interested residents. The forum should present an in-depth briefing on all math curricula being considered for the 2024-2025 school year, the length of time each has been piloted in the DS school system, scientific data to support such proposals and honest opinions from teachers who have been piloting the curricula in their classrooms. Additionally, we request that the administration present math curricula used over the past 10 years, as well as scores for standardized math testing such as from the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS). The forum should also include an opportunity for an open discussion between the public and members of the administration and the school committees. For residents who cannot attend, they should be given the opportunity to email questions to the administration prior to the forum. Moreover, the forum will be recorded in its entirety and made available to the residents via the school district website along with a list of all questions asked during the forum or sent via email and the corresponding responses.