> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # It figures! Schools eye math coordinator - URL: https://www.smdp.com/it-figures-schools-eye-math-coordinator/ - Published: 2005-11-03T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T08:06:40.000Z - Author: Ryan Hyatt - Tags: Education, Malibu, #archive-import *Math coordinator’s salary could add up to $110,000* For the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, it’s as easy as one, two, three. The board of education is set today to approve plans to hire a coordinator who will oversee the development of a math curriculum for the entire school district. While the district currently has a literacy coordinator to assist with developing its language arts program, district officials have been looking forward to being able to afford a similar position for math. “We have been seeing increases in scores for both reading and math, but it has been less for math,” said Emily Bloomfield, board president. “The overview and coordination of math for K-12 would be a big part of the job, and we would expect to see improvement in scores across the schools.” According to the job description, the math coordinator would be responsible for developing the math curriculum instruction and assessment at all grade levels. The coordinator also will work closely with principals and teachers to determine appropriate intervention and support for students struggling to master mathematics standards. The position would likely command a salary and benefits package worth between $100,000 and $110,000, said Michael D. Matthews, SMMUSD assistant superintendent. Matthews didn’t discuss the financial details of how the district intended to pay for the position, except to say the district has a balanced budget and its needed 3-percent reserves. John Deasy, superintendent, was unavailable for comment. However, Deasy has previously indicated that despite an ongoing budget crisis, the district has managed to place itself in its strongest financial position since he assumed his position more than four years ago. In Santa Monica, students’ overall math skills hover around 50 percent proficiency or above for elementary school students, according to the most recent results of the California Standards Test (CST), which is used to evaluate student performance in language arts and mathematics statewide. There were no district math statistics provided after eighth grade. It becomes difficult to interpret the statistics for middle school math students, Deasy has said, where students begin to differentiate between the kinds of math they are able to perform. In particular, 600 of approximately 1,000 Santa Monica eighth graders took the algebra CST, 50 percent of whom scored at the proficient or advanced levels. Seventy-two eighth graders took the geometry CST, of whom 96 percent scored at or above the proficient level. More than 300 eighth graders took the general mathematics CST, and just over 20 percent of them scored at a proficiency level. More than half of the eighth graders who are economically disadvantaged took the algebra CST. Of those 122 students, 39 percent scored at or above the proficiency level. Focussing on elementary schools, math results for black students show general improvement, peaking at fourth grade, performing at 55 percent proficiency. After that, there is a significant drop in proficiency, by as much as 20 percent in fifth grade. However, fifth, sixth and seventh grade students are seeing improvement within all of their grade levels. The most significant are the sixth graders, who went from 15 percent math proficiency in 2003-04 to 30 percent last year. Focusing on elementary schools, math results for Latino students peak in second grade, where last year students were 55 percent proficient. There is a negligible change in performance from third to fifth grade. Then in sixth grade, there is a noticeable drop, a change in 20 percentage points. That picks up in seventh grade, while not returning to previous plateau levels. Last year, Latino seventh grade students achieved 32 percent math proficiency. Focusing on elementary schools, whites continue to have higher proficiency as compared to other groups. Their tendency is toward decline between second and seventh grade. In second grade, white students peak, at 82 percent proficiency. By seventh grade, their proficiency decreases to 68 percent proficiency. However, whites at all grade levels average nearly 20 percent in improvement from the prior year. Special education students peak in second grade proficiency, at nearly 50 percent. By eighth grade, their proficiency is negligible. Their biggest improvement is in second grade. Last year, they were 50 percent proficient, an improvement of 10 percentage points from 2003-04. Board of education member Oscar de la Torre said he is optimistic the math coordinator will help. “Math is critical for success in almost every area of the economy and we trail behind many other industrialized nations in mathematics achievement, so this position is a good idea,” de la Torre said. “I’m always concerned about being administrator top-heavy in our district, but this is one position essential to the success of our program.” De la Torre said one aspect missing from the job description is that the coordinator needs to be familiar with the latest technology which will enable students to learn math outside the classroom. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 3, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/110305.pdf?ref=smdp.com)