Schmidt said he sent six emails last year to the chairs of the math departments of six universities — Michigan State University, University of Michigan, Harvard, Stanford, Purdue and Notre Dame — as part of an effort to learn from experts about math curriculum and how changes can lead to resistance from some parents.
Schmidt sent the emails “after several months of the board being battered by a small but very vocal and angry group of honors parents, who viewed the change as inappropriate,” he said in his statement to the Free Press. “They were concerned that the caliber of education would decline for their students if they were no longer segregated from other high-level math students. They did not agree with the research that demonstrated we had been tracking students too early. In fact, multiple national studies showed that later success in advanced math and STEM fields in college was best predicted by a student getting a deep, robust education in arithmetic and pre-algebra math concepts in middle school with a focus on learning how to apply techniques to real-world situations — and not by simply accelerating into advanced math sooner via a traditional ‘drill and kill’ computational emphasis.”
Facing some opposition, Schmidt turned to experts for advice.
“In desperation, I reached out to six university math departments, explaining the district’s rationale and plan as well as detailing these parents’ objections based on hours of meetings with them, and asked the professors to weigh in,” Schmidt said.
He said the University of Michigan and Purdue “provided written responses in support of our change” and that he spent an hour on Zoom with a Stanford professor, who “was completely supportive of our proposed change.” The other universities did not respond.
Schmidt and his supporters said the criticism may be partly rooted in campaign politics.
“All four challengers have used the honors shift as a wedge issue in their campaigns,” he said.
Schmidt is running on a slate along with another board member, Nicole Wilson. Board member Gary Hauff is also running for reelection. Karpowitsch is running on a slate with Audra Melton and Stephanie Zendler that supports the restoration of math honors; if they win, they could ally with Anne to vote to restore the honors classes. Ayesha Potts, the only Asian American candidate on the ballot, is running for a seat; Anne is currently the only Asian American on the board.
Karpowitsch criticized the emails, telling the Free Press he “thought it was incongruent with the interests of the community. I do not believe that the community feels that … honors courses are strictly for bragging rights. I do not feel that students and their parents are interested in taking these courses to go faster as opposed to deeper.”
In a statement to the Free Press, Potts also appeared to criticize Schmidt’s reference to “bragging rights,” saying she strongly supports “bringing honors courses back.”
“As an Asian American parent myself, I know that parents’ motivation for restoring honors is simply to provide opportunities for students to excel,” Potts said. “I have been deeply involved in education in Troy for almost twenty years and I know that this community just wants what is best for students.”
Suril Patel, of Sterling Heights, who is building a home in Troy, expressed concern at the Sept. 17 board meeting that Schmidt’s emails were making Asian American students look bad to universities.
“Your role as a board is not to judge us, and certainly not to disparage us to universities across the country,” said Patel, who supports Karpowitsch’s slate. “A lot of districts have no problem making sure that there are educational options and children are met where they are, whether they’re special ed, whether they’re advanced, with transparent monitoring of both growth and achievement, and they’ve done this without being racist. I am genuinely curious how such individuals were promoted to be president or even serve a community that” has a high percentage of Asian American students.
Troy superintendent said letter was ‘hurtful’ Machesky, the superintendent, said Thursday in an email “the comments made in Mr. Schmidt’s email are his own. They do not represent the Troy School District. Mr. Schmidt recognizes that his comments were hurtful to some, he has apologized and has offered to meet with anyone that he offended.”
Machesky, who supported the removing of math honors in middle schools, stressed that Troy schools still offer academically rigorous programs.
“We support every member of our learning community in their academic journey,” he said. “Our primary goal is to ensure that all students and their families feel prepared to make informed decisions about taking accelerated, honors, AP courses or testing out of a course when the time is right.”
Anne said in a statement that Schmidt’s views “do not represent the position of the Board of Education. He has acknowledged his mistake and offered a sincere apology to those affected. As a Board, we are deeply committed to valuing every student and ensuring that they receive a high-quality education that prepares them for future success.”
Schmidt said with the election coming up soon, the issue is now up to the voters.
“The middle school math controversy will ultimately be settled on November 5,” he said. “Regardless of whether I am able to retain my seat, I am still convinced this shift in the way we teach math was the right thing to do for our kids.”
Below is the email sent May 9, 2023, by Troy School District board president Karl Schmidt to the chair of a math department of a university. At the bottom of page 3 is a section mentioning Asian Americans that has drawn criticism.
Contact Niraj Warikoo:nwarikoo@freepress.com or X @nwarikoo
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