District reports early progress and teacher coaching needs for new math curriculum

District instructional leaders told the Shakopee board Monday that teachers have started implementing adopted math materials and that the work is moving from opening resources to strengthening instructional practices.

“Opening the resources is the first step and then really having those shifts…where the teacher is empowering students,” said Nicholas Summer, assistant director of LTE for elementary, summarizing elementary implementation of Illustrative Mathematics. He said teacher teams had worked for multiple years to select and adapt the materials and that early walk‑throughs show widespread use of the resource.

For secondary math, Assistant Director Sarah Larnberg said teachers adopted a new resource for grades 6–9 and that district walkthroughs focused on two priorities: whether tasks increase complexity and whether pedagogy engages students in critical thinking and problem solving. “Our sixth through ninth grade teachers are knocking it out of the park,” she said, while noting the need to fine‑tune classroom rituals and routines so all students participate during whiteboard problem work.

District leaders said they will offer two professional‑development opportunities this summer — a basic offering and an advanced “building thinking classrooms 200” — and will continue coaching in PLCs and vertical teams to improve fidelity.

Why it matters: Curriculum adoption is only one part of instructional change; teachers and leaders described a multi‑year implementation that emphasizes coaching, formative data and classroom routines to lift task rigor and student agency.

What’s next: The district plans to continue walk‑throughs, provide coaching and offer summer training to deepen teacher practice and monitor fidelity of the new math materials.