School officials unveil new math curriculum

A new era in K-12 math instruction is coming to the Canton Public Schools following the completion of a two-year, coordinated program review that drew on input from several teachers and department heads across the district.

School Superintendent Derek Folan, Assistant Superintendent Sarah Shannon, and Deb Rooney, CPS director of teaching and learning, unveiled the new curriculum at the School Committee meeting on Thursday, April 28. Also announced during the presentation was the receipt of a new state grant from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) that will finance the first-year materials for the new program (K-12), resulting in more than $100,000 in savings for the school system.

Rooney said the curriculum team has identified the McGraw-Hill Reveal Math curriculum as a resource that will help improve math outcomes across grade levels, and officials are currently working with McGraw-Hill to secure quotes for materials and for professional development resources to aid in the transition to the new curriculum. She added that administrators are gathering quotes for updated resources to support instruction in AP Statistics and AP Microeconomics, which will be purchased through district funds.

CPS has developed an initial plan to formalize its curriculum review cycles so that each curriculum is examined every six years. The math program review began in the summer of 2021 and included input from a number of administrators, department heads and staff members. Assisting with Thursday’s presentation were GMS Math Department Chair Kelsey Cummings, CHS Math Department chair Don Devoid, and PreK-5 STEM Coordinator Sara Donovan.

Rooney said teachers will receive an initial training in May and June to learn how to access the new online resources and prepare for the implementation starting in September. Additional professional development will continue through the 2022-23 school year and beyond.

Rooney said many of the findings/recommendations of the math review have already been addressed while others are in process, including:

* Development of a new accelerated learning pathway for grades 9-11

* Revision of math courses in grades 7 and 8 and Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra II courses at CHS (traditional pathway)

* Implementation of benchmark assessments using STAR Math in grades 1-5 and IXL in grades 6-12

* Revision of intervention cycles in grades 1-5 to better support students who have not met benchmarks.

In other news from the April 28 meeting:

* Just days after announcing the appointment of Saundra Watson as the new JFK principal, Folan reported that the Galvin Middle School principal search was nearing its conclusion, with a formal announcement expected in the coming days. The two finalists for the job are current GMS Assistant Principal Jim Spillane and Jonathan Mulhern, associate head of school at Boston Latin. Site visits for both finalists were due to be held this week, and a decision could be made as early as tomorrow, May 6. Folan said CPS Technology Director Julie Shore has “masterfully facilitated the [search] process and engaged all stakeholders …

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Posted by Mike Berger on May 6 2022. Filed under News, Schools. Both comments and pings are currently closed.