New Math Curriculum Implementation Underway in Scituate Schools
District focuses on professional development, collaboration to support transition
SCITUATE - January 13 - Scituate Public Schools is in the process of implementing a new math curriculum, enVision, for grades 6-12 this school year. The district is emphasizing professional development and collaboration to support teachers during the transition, while also addressing concerns about student performance and benchmarking.
At the Jan. 13 school committee meeting, Tara Szymaniak, the new math department chair for grades 6-12, and Heather Allen, the elementary curriculum coordinator, presented an update on the math program.
"One of our big beliefs is that math is more than just numbers," Szymaniak said. "There's problem solving, critical thinking, collaborating, decision making, applying the math, modeling the math, using, analyzing data, using it to make decisions."
The district is using enVision Math for grades 6-12 and Eureka Math for elementary grades, with supplemental programs like ST Math and IXL.
According to Allen, benchmark assessments show 85% of kindergarten and first-grade students met or exceeded benchmarks at the beginning of the year. However, only 29% of students in grades 3-5 are predicted to exceed expectations on MCAS based on STAR assessments.
For grades 6-8, over 40% of students were at or above grade level on beginning-of-year benchmarks. Szymaniak noted that sixth-grade students showed a 10% increase in performance after the first trimester.
School committee members expressed concern about the data, particularly the number of students below grade level. A member asked, "As in your expert sort of opinion, when you look at beginning of a year assessments and sixth grade is 58% of the students are below, below or far below, what are you thinking at that point?"
Szymaniak responded that while concerning, the data helps guide instruction and support for students. "It doesn't honestly, it doesn't really worry me. I mean, it makes me happy to see that, that, that obviously what is happening in the classroom is working as students are increasing."
The district is implementing several strategies to support the new curriculum and improve student performance. These include grade-level collaboration structures, cross-district grade level collaboration time, and ongoing professional development.
"We're excited about grade level collaboration structures, something that we're really, really pushing this year, making sure that all grade level teams meet weekly, but they also are meeting with their math and literacy specialists," Allen said.
Committee members urged the math department to consider additional measures to support students during the curriculum transition. A member suggested, "Now is the time to start asking for what are the real difference-makers that we need while we're waiting for the new curriculum to take place."
In other business, the committee discussed potential changes to the kindergarten entrance policy. The proposed changes include adjusting the cutoff date to Sept. 8 and revising language to encourage parents to enroll children when first eligible.
The committee aims to balance developmental readiness with maintaining appropriate age ranges in classrooms. Member Maria Fenwick suggested adding language stating, "Recognizing that it is generally in the best interest of a student and their classmates to maintain classes within a reasonable chronological and developmental range, the Scituate Public School District expects parents and guardians to enroll their students in kindergarten for the first year they are eligible to attend."
The committee also discussed how to handle situations where a child is eligible for first grade but may be more suited for kindergarten. They agreed to revise the policy language to allow for collaboration between parents and school officials in making placement decisions.
The school committee voted to approve the revised kindergarten entrance policy with the discussed amendments.
The next school committee meeting is scheduled for Jan. 27, where members will continue discussions on the budget and receive updates on various district initiatives.