A parent was in tears on Tuesday night while telling the Kansas City, Kansas, school board that her daughter had no algebra book.
Angelynn Howell said her daughter was in Algebra 2 class without any books at all. The class was just using worksheets, she said. She said her daughter’s teacher did not have a teacher’s manual earlier this year, but she bought one and gave it to her.
She said she contacted a district administrator who was able to guide her through the process of finding an online text.
However, she said her daughter also has friends who do not have textbooks.
Howell, who spoke during the community comment section of the meeting, said she was concerned that students are falling through the cracks. She wants students to be successful, but she is concerned that if they don’t have books, there will be a gap in their learning and they will not be able to get into college.
The book situation was characterized as a communications problem by administrators.
Dr. Anna Stubblefield, superintendent, said the district is trying to close gaps in the system and let students and parents know that they can access textbooks digitally and check them out. These books have been available to students, according to administrators.
She said the district will be sending out a parents’ newsletter next week describing how students and parents may access the digital textbooks. They are working to put better systems in place to make sure it doesn’t happen again, she added.