Duxbury Middle School teachers report higher engagement, more planning time needed after year-one switch to Illustrative Mathematics

Duxbury Public Schools received a midyear update on the first year of implementing the Illustrative Mathematics (IM) curriculum at Duxbury Middle School, where teachers said the program has increased student talk and strategic thinking but requires more planning time and targeted supports for students with language and reading disabilities.

The presentation to the Duxbury Public Schools School Committee described IM as “a research‑backed, student‑centered curriculum” that emphasizes problem‑based learning, collaborative student discourse and conceptual understanding rather than teacher‑led procedures. Dan Whelan, a Duxbury Middle School teacher who helped lead the update, said the work requires teachers to “anticipat[e] what strategies students might use,” and described planning as “a little more like improv. But you do have to go in for sure with a plan.”

Teachers and special‑education staff told the…