District reviews Bridges math adoption; teachers praise conceptual gains but flag pacing and assessment length

Kenosha Unified School District curriculum staff presented findings and teacher feedback on the elementary K–5 math adoption during the Curriculum and Program Committee meeting on Nov. 1, saying the district's resource‑review team recommended continuing with Bridges in Mathematics while addressing known implementation issues.

Stacy Cortez, elementary math coordinator, summarized teacher and principal feedback collected through district surveys and review panels: teachers praised Bridges for emphasizing conceptual understanding, number sense and student engagement through routines like Number Corner and "workplaces," but many teachers and parents reported challenges with lengthy, scripted lessons, intense pacing and long assessments.

"Lessons are lengthy, over scripted, and often difficult to complete in the allotted time," staff read from teacher feedback while also noting positive outcomes: where Bridges had been implemented with fidelity some schools saw improved forward assessment results and stronger student reasoning. The district showed cohort‑level data tied to implementation timelines (some students had full elementary exposure to Bridges since 2020, others had partial exposure because of pandemic disruptions) and explained how a cyclical curriculum revisits standards across units.

Reviewers described supports the district is providing, including lesson study, voluntary professional learning for middle and high school teachers to prepare for students coming from Bridges, and a phased approach that uses a teacher guide and pacing map to highlight when particular standard elements should be mastered rather than expecting mastery in the first exposure. Staff noted that a third edition of the curriculum addresses many teacher concerns, with shortened assessments and condensed lessons.

Parents and students spoke during committee discussion: some parents described individual students who fell behind because of pacing; students asked how elementary visual models connect to more efficient high‑school procedures for standardized tests. Staff replied that the district is expanding professional learning, lesson study, and opportunities for teachers to observe and share best practices.

Next steps: Curriculum staff will continue phase‑2 and phase‑3 review procedures, gather additional disaggregated data (including results for students with special needs and multilingual learners), and present a formal adoption recommendation for board readings and a final decision later in the cycle.