Our neighborhood schools will take a more hands-on approach to teaching math and science this upcoming school year than they have in past years.

A new curriculum has been written by DISD to close the performance gap in math and science that has historically existed between white and minority students and boys and girls, says Gail Chandler with DISD public relations.

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Computers will be used more in classrooms and math and science will be taught together, rather than as separate subjects.

The curriculum change has been made possible by a $15 million dollar grant DISD was awarded last year by the National Science Foundation for its Urban Systemic Initiative.

“We’re trying to change the ways teachers present math and science,” says Linda Johnson, who is heading up this initiative for DISD. “We’re trying to get science and math into the real world. Students won’t just open a text book and read about magnets, but actually do something with magnets.

“They’ll participate in hands-on, practical activities, rather than just memorizing some facts.”

DISD was one of nine urban districts nationwide selected last year to receive a $15 million grant.

The grant money, however, is not being used to buy new computers or scientific equipment. Most of the money is being used to re-train teachers and school administrators, and a portion is being used to pay people to rewrite DISD’s math/science curriculum.

“It’s a grant meant to improve teaching,” Johnson says.

The grant is being dispersed over a five year period. Last school year, DISD received $1.85 million to devise its new math/science curriculum. This upcoming year, the district plans to receive $2.5 million, Johnson says. The final grant disbursement will be made in the 1998/99 school year.

Teachers at Woodrow and the elementary and junior high schools that feed into Woodrow underwent curriculum training during the 1994/95 school year. The Woodrow cluster was one of three in the district to undergo training last year. Most schools will start training this fall.

This puts Woodrow ahead, Johnson says.

Several projects are being conducted by the district in conjunction with the grant-funded initiative to improve the technological training DISD students get, including efforts to get new computers, Chandler says.