Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the K 5 Math Curriculum topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Kirkwood board reviews K–5 pilot of Amplify Desmos math after teacher-led evaluation
Summary
District staff described a year-long review and current pilot of Amplify Desmos K–5 math. Teachers who piloted the resource reported positive feedback; district leaders outlined assessment alignment, pacing and a three-year professional development plan but no formal purchase vote occurred.
Kirkwood School District staff updated the Board of Education on a yearlong evaluation and current pilot of Amplify Desmos Math for kindergarten through fifth grade, saying teacher feedback and early benchmark data show modest positive movement but that the district plans continued evaluation before any formal adoption decision.
District curriculum staff described why Amplify Desmos Math emerged as the committee’s top choice after a 2022–24 evaluation that reviewed six programs and narrowed options to three. Miranda Dix, a Kirkwood curriculum staff member, said teachers piloted Amplify Desmos during 2024–25: “Our teachers chose Amplify Desmos Math as their first choice,” and, she added, “The goal is to ensure that math should motivate our students.”
Board members were told the evaluation process included more than 40 teachers during the initial review phase, a research phase with a 40-person committee, and a district-wide pilot involving 71 teachers across grade levels and buildings. Dix reported 48 of the 71 pilot teachers (the survey responders) completed a multi-domain survey; of those respondents, 81.8% answered that, with high-quality professional development, the resource would be a valuable addition. Staff also reported roughly 864 students participated in the pilot across grades two through five, and noted smaller pilot-group samples for some analyses (example: 152 pilot students cited in a kindergarten–first grade comparison).
District staff walked the board through the feedback framework used in teacher surveys: seven domains including content alignment to the Missouri Learning Standards, learning progressions, pedagogy, assessment variety, instructional support, differentiation and technology compatibility with iPads. Staff said the resource is built on the Illustrative Math framework and that Amplify has packaged that framework with additional print and digital materials. Presenters emphasized that results so far show “slight increases” in winter benchmark and typical-to-aggressive growth data for pilot students, and staff described that avoiding a common initial “dip” in achievement after switching curriculums as a positive sign.
Staff described implementation work underway: teachers and administrators are writing local curriculum documents, revising report-card strands, developing pacing guides that map Amplify’s suggested sequence to the district calendar, and preparing a three-year professional development plan focused on teacher fluency with the resource and job-embedded coaching. Dix told the board teachers were given time and compensation to complete the pilot surveys and attend after-school “resource roadshow” sessions aimed at building firsthand familiarity.
Board members asked about differentiation, alignment with FastBridge benchmark assessments and how daily built-in checks in Amplify would interact with the district’s triannual benchmark “toe-dip” data. Dix said Amplify provides “support, strengthen and stretch” tables so teachers can scaffold grade-level access for students without pulling them off-grade-level work, and staff emphasized that FastBridge’s standards mapping is similar to Missouri standards and that district pacing alignment is being developed to reduce any mismatch between taught content and benchmark items.
No formal adoption or purchase vote was taken during the presentation. Staff closed by saying the district will continue curriculum-writing and implementation work and that the board would see subsequent items (pacing guides, curriculum documents, and formal procurement documents) in future meetings if the implementation plan proceeds.
Ending: Board members generally praised the depth of the pilot and signaled support for continued work; staff asked the board for time to finish curriculum alignment and implementation planning before any formal procurement request.
