Andover School Committee approves new middle school math curriculum

Jul. 2—ANDOVER — The School Committee has approved a new middle school math curriculum called Desmos for the upcoming school year.

The curriculum allowed for more engagement with students than other reviewed options said the Math Program Coordinator Katherine Richard at a School Committee meeting.

Richard said that the data surrounding math skills has been "very flat" for the past couple of years, with the percentage of students meeting expectations on the Math MCAS remaining mostly the same.

"It's time for us to incorporate new curriculum, new instructional ideas," she said.

Richard said that after trying out the program with students, teachers leaned towards it due to how engaging it is. Richards said it was more activity based than the options they tried, allowing students to submit responses to questions. This she said allows teachers to better gauge how students are doing.

"The teacher and the special ed teacher both had access to that same kind of dashboard and were able to see where kids were struggling," Richard said.

She said the program includes 140 lessons, meaning teachers will have the flexibility to go back to review or pause if needed. She said there was further flexibility in the curriculum for teachers, including freedom to choose how much of the lessons to do via screens.

Richard said that it was important to have an equitable process when deciding a new curriculum and added that special education teachers had also been involved in the process. Richards said there was "strong support" from special education teachers.

"It allowed them to really pinpoint when students didn't understand something," she said.

Last summer the School Committee approved a new math curriculum for the town's elementary schools known as Eureka Math Squared.