NewsWest 9
ODESSA - The Ector County School District is coming under fire from their teachers. They're not too happy with a relatively new curriculum.
They claim it's just too fast paced for students but school officials are on the defensive saying it will help students.
It's called CSCOPE and at Tuesday's school board meeting, several teachers took their concerns and frustrations to ECISD trustees.
With state officials raising the bar higher and higher each year, ECISD administrators decided to take action.
"The things that we have been doing during the TAKS era have not brought success all across the district and we know it's time that we've got to try something different," Mike Adkins, Public Information Officer for ECISD, said.
In 2010, a new curriculum called CSCOPE was introduced at three ECISD schools. This year, all students are learning from it.
In fact, 74% of school districts in Texas use CSCOPE.
"It is nothing more, nothing less than the big ideas and concepts that kids have to know each year at that grade level," Adkins said.
In the past, there was no set curriculum. Teachers taught from the textbook and other resources they found but that became a problem.
"When they leave or they move, or they change campuses or retire, that consistency is gone," Adkins said.
Now they're finding kids aren't where they're supposed to be in the classroom.
Adkins said CSCOPE gives everyone the same resource and keeps things consistent but teachers said the work is too much for students to handle.
"It is difficult, it is very hard to implement, I've done it twice now," Coach, Kurt Schubert, said.
CSCOPE is also aligned to the rigor of the upcoming STAAR test.
Coach Schubert teaches geometry at Permian High School. He said although it's hard, it's what students need.
"They're building upon what they learned last year and they're taking it to the next level," Schubert said. "We want our kids to start thinking on a higher level."
Coach Schubert admits his first year with CSCOPE at another district was tough but he wants teachers and students to know, it gets better.
