Dissatisfied with a New York company's development of a new curriculum, Pittsburgh Public Schools has decided to cut $2.4 million from the contract and bring in district teachers to do some of the work.

It's a significant shift in development of the core curriculum central to Superintendent Mark Roosevelt's academic improvement efforts.

Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers President John Tarka, whose members complained last school year about the first several courses delivered by Kaplan K12 Learning Services, called the change a "step in the right direction."

In March 2006, Kaplan received an $8.4 million contract to write 27 courses and an algebra lab by the end of 2008-09, with Mr. Roosevelt hoping to create a middle-grade and high-school curriculum that would meet state learning standards and be consistent from school to school. The $2.4 million now cut from the contract will be spent in the following ways:

About $900,000 for district teachers and academic coaches recruited to work as curriculum writers. The district last week posted 40 positions, each paying $16,000 to $22,000 per course, depending on the course and amount of work involved.

The work will be in addition to the employees' regular duties. The stipends will compensate them not only for their writing services but for their attendance at curriculum-writer training and, later, for their assistance in training other teachers on the new courses;

About $1.4 million for the University of Pittsburgh's Institute for Learning, which will work with the curriculum writers and provide other services. The IFL already trains district principals and coaches;

About $100,000 for continued work of the teacher feedback committees that raised concerns about Kaplan's work. Participating teachers are paid $23 an hour, said Jerri Lippert, the district's executive director of professional development; and

About $30,000 to pay four teachers to critique Kaplan's benchmark tests, given periodically to see whether students are grasping course material. The district complained about the quality of tests last school year.

Kaplan, already paid about $4 million, will receive $2 million more over the next two school years. While its role is being reduced, Kaplan still will make important contributions to the project, said Dr. Lippert and Linda Lane, deputy superintendent for instruction, assessment and accountability.

They said the changes would enable the district to develop a cadre of curriculum writers and better link curriculum writing and teacher training. Dr. Lane said such changes are to be expected with major projects.

"There are going to be glitches," she said.

Seppy Basili, Kaplan senior vice president, said it's not uncommon for a district to "take back more of the work" in the second or third years of a contract.

"The decision to go in this direction was based on some of the feedback really all through the year from teachers who, I think, wanted a greater voice and greater stake in the process," Mr. Basili said.

The curriculum is one of several initiatives forming Mr. Roosevelt's plan for an academic turnaround. But the nine courses and algebra lab Kaplan introduced last school year drew a litany of complaints, and a Rand Corp. analysis of Kaplan's work called for "considerable improvement."

Teachers said they were forced to cover material too quickly, described their curriculum training as inadequate and said some materials, especially those for higher-achieving students, weren't rigorous enough. After initially directing Kaplan to correct the deficiencies, the district decided to shift some of the work to teachers and the Institute for Learning.

Kaplan will write the outline for the 16 remaining courses, including 12 to be introduced in 2007-08, ensure that the content meets state learning requirements and determine what students should know and be able to do after each unit of study -- the "content expectations" and "performance expectations."

The Institute for Learning, district administrators and curriculum writers will write lesson content and select techniques and activities teachers will use in the classroom. They will work on courses yet to be introduced and make revisions to those rolled out in 2006-07. The institute's work includes ensuring that a course not only has the required content, but that it forces students to analyze, discuss and apply the material rigorously.

Kaplan will continue to write benchmark tests, operate the Kaplan Achievement Planner, which posts test scores for teachers and administrators to analyze, and offer online SAT prep free to all middle-grade and high-school students. Kaplan will continue to train teachers on using the planner, but the district will train them on what to do with the data.

The changes won't correct one problem teachers cited last year -- receiving curriculum shortly before they have to teach it. Courses for 2007-08 will be written as the school year unfolds.