District reports early gains and staff training plan for I‑Ready classroom math rollout

Concord School District administrators reported to the Instructional Committee on the first-year rollout of the I‑Ready Classroom math program for grades K–6 and outlined professional development and family engagement already completed and planned.

Chantelle Dunapley, who led the presentation, said the district implemented a multi-stage professional development plan that began with voluntary summer cohorts and continued with half‑day PDs in September, October, November and March. "We had 45 teachers attend across all five schools this summer," the presentation said, and subsequent PD sessions included teachers, interventionists, tutors and administrators to build common practice and expectations.

The nut graf: District leaders said they prioritized administrator involvement, grade‑level professional learning communities (PLCs) across schools and classroom learning walks to build a common understanding of the instructional shifts that I‑Ready asks of teachers—particularly focusing on student discourse and a "try it, discuss it, connect it" routine where students grapple with problems first and then share strategies. Dunapley said teachers and administrators reported increased student collaboration and more consistent districtwide practices as a result of ongoing PD and PLC work.

Presenters said the district used multiple implementation supports: facilitated PLCs with lesson videos and collaborative planning time, learning walks using a vendor rubric to align feedback, project‑based integration (Project C) to sustain sessions within schools, ed‑assistant trainings to support small‑group work, and family nights that drew more than 580 attendees across five elementary schools. The family letters and lesson summaries are distributed with take‑home activities; classroom materials include both physical manipulatives and online tools for some grades. Dunapley said online tools are used selectively and classroom math is not computer‑based for the entire period.

Committee members asked how the program fits middle school and high school pathways. District leaders said K–6 adoption comes with a five‑year contract for K–6 materials and PD; sixth-grade teachers and middle‑school leaders asked for a seventh‑grade pilot to explore coherence into grade 7. Staff said seventh grade would pilot the I‑Ready grade‑7 classroom for one year at no cost, and district leaders will crosswalk pre‑algebra skills to determine whether the I‑Ready sequence supports algebra readiness in eighth grade.

Presenters addressed special education and intervention questions: with I‑Ready the district is using the program’s intervention resources rather than a separate supplemental special‑education curriculum. Leaders said that approach requires training and data‑driven decisions: use the program with fidelity first, then identify students who need supplementary supports. Dunapley said midyear diagnostics show special‑education students required significant growth, and staff plan targeted interventions informed by I‑Ready data.

The ending: District staff said year‑two planning includes an August full‑day PD for new teachers, continued grade‑level PLCs, ongoing learning walks and a possible study committee to compare Open Up Algebra and other algebra pathways in secondary grades; no new contract request was before the committee for the coming year.