BATTLING OVER THE BASICS : MATH PILOT PLAN OK'D; SOME PARENTS PROTEST.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer

Westside Union School District trustees have approved new math teaching materials on a pilot basis in some classes, despite parents' complaints that the curriculum slights basic skills.

As part of the plan, parents, when possible, will be allowed to take their children out of the classes where the materials will be used, officials said.

``A lot of people are fearful of change because they don't know what change is going to bring,'' said trustee Larry Bosma. ``For them, basics is doing exercises we all did. We stress basics. Part of that is educating and (showing) parents that there are a lot of different ways to get exercises in that reinforce the basics.''

The board voted 5-0 at Wednesday's meeting to approve the new materials recommended by a district committee that had studied the issue for three years.

But some parents weren't impressed.

``They had no proof, no data or evaluation of the program. There isn't any,'' said Peggy Powell, who plans to pull her two children out of the district in the fall. ``They should've taken a little longer time to investigate and find out about other school districts that have used it and how they are doing.''

Powell added that the children essentially are being treated like guinea pigs. ``They are going to pilot it to see how it works. They don't know how it works,'' Powell said.

Trustee Gwen Farrell said some of the materials already had been used this school year, and she said she had not received any complaints from parents, but rather praise.

``I know that we stress the basics in the math program,'' Farrell said. ``Sometimes all of that gets lost in presenting something new along with your program.''

Bosma added that the materials will be evaluated on how well students do.

``The state is re-evaluating the math framework, so we don't have to rush to adopt (the materials),'' Bosma said. ``We could extend the pilot program or review other things. One of the suggestions from the public was that we look at materials not on the state-approved list.''

In addition to saying the materials do not address basic computational skills, Powell and other parents objected to the emphasis on word problems and journal writing, and grouping children for problem-solving activities.

``I was very disappointed with the board,'' said Rose Gaston. ``I had sent them information from the Internet, all of which proved how bad it was. They went ahead and rubber-stamped it.''

District officials said the materials are strong on basic skills and will help teachers present the basics in a way that will interest students.

Before bringing in new materials, the district had to wait for revisions to the 1992 state math framework that was used as a guide to create the new Westside math curriculum, Powell and Gaston said.

A math task force convened by state Superintendent of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin issued a report in September that said California youngsters did more poorly in mathematics than students in many other states.