Urbandale teachers report early gains from two-year rollout of Illustrative Mathematics

District curriculum staff and classroom teachers reported to the board that the two-year implementation of Illustrative Mathematics (district materials and routines often referred to in discussion as "IM" or "Illustrative Math") has produced increased student engagement and rising assessment results in several grades.

Bridal Sharp Parker of teaching and learning led the presentation and introduced teachers from multiple grade bands who described classroom practice, professional learning and early assessment trends. "The learning we've done over the past 2 years has helped us plan better, assess better, and have better conversations surrounding student learning," said a third-grade teacher from Olmstead, describing coaching cycles and video-based reflection.

Presenters described the district's implementation timeline: an initial intensive three-day workshop in June 2023 followed by summer planning, late-start planning sessions during the year, extended professional learning days and regular "deep dive" planning sessions in year two. The district aligned that work with the Iowa math standards released in 2024, emphasizing focus, coherence and rigor.

Classroom teachers gave concrete examples of routines and student work. Fifth-grade teacher Abby Cazzoni described warm-up progressions that build from fractions to decimal work and classroom games called "target numbers" that encourage strategic thinking. Middle-school presenters said end-of-unit data are moving closer to proficiency benchmarks; one seventh-grade teacher reported that 83% of seventh graders in a recent unit met the assessment proficiency standard for that unit.

High school staff described professional development in "building thinking classrooms" and reported that classroom routines encourage students to explain reasoning rather than only compute answers. Presenters said the district has adjusted new-hire orientation (New Teacher Academy) to include an abbreviated math planning deep dive and follow-up coaching so newly hired teachers receive foundational training ahead of fall.

Teachers and administrators described next steps: more peer observations, coaching cycles, embedded PLC (professional learning community) lesson study, and targeted use of assessment data (ISASP and internally scored items) to identify misconceptions and focus instruction.

Presenters said they will continue monitoring assessment outcomes and refining intervention and extension strategies for students who need additional support or accelerated work. Board members praised the cross-classroom collaboration and asked for plans to support new hires and to ensure assessment scoring differentiates math reasoning from language ability.

The presentation included video excerpts and classroom examples; teachers emphasized that the curriculum's routines (explain-your-reasoning prompts, visual representations, partner talk and games) have increased student discourse and helped teachers identify misconceptions earlier.