We the undersigned, members of the Fox Chapel Area School District community, are deeply concerned about the recently proposed curriculum and schedule changes at Dorseyville Middle School. We believe the proposed changes represent a shift in the educational philosophy of the school that requires broad review and thorough consideration. For our public schools to succeed, we need transparency in communication and participation by all stakeholders: educators, administrators and parents. We ask for the development of a clearly defined process by which:
- Deficiencies in the current curriculum are identified and achievement data are presented to support these claims.
- Solutions are sought with early involvement of administrators, educators and parents, with a reasonable timeline for appropriate implementation.
- Evidence that the proposed solutions will remedy any deficiencies as presented to all stakeholders.
- The impact of these solutions on other curriculum areas and implications for related school instruction (such as high school and elementary school) are assessed and presented.
- A system to evaluate the efficacy of any implemented changes is put into place in advance.
We ask the administration and school board to delay implementation of the proposed schedule until the 2019-20 school year while this enhanced evaluation procedure is developed and those recommendations are considered for implementation.
