Muscogee County School District reviews K–12 math rollout with state officials; district cites mixed early results
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Summary
District math leaders and a Georgia Department of Education official reviewed implementation of the 2021 K–12 standards and state 'INSPIRE' resources, noting instructional changes, embedded diagnostics, some grade-level test declines and cohort gains in middle school.
Quindell Loach, the district’s K–5 mathematics content specialist, told the board the district is implementing a student-centered instructional framework—engage, explore, apply, reflect—aligned to Georgia’s 2021 K–12 mathematics standards and to state materials known as INSPIRE.
Loach said the approach emphasizes mathematical discourse and tasks that require reasoning, not rote procedures. “The resources are intentionally built around Georgia standards based instructional framework,” Loach said, adding the materials are designed to move students from engagement to deep understanding.
James Special, the district’s 6–12 mathematics content specialist, said secondary cohort data show signs of recovery and growth: middle-school cohorts rose in several measures (for example, sixth to seventh grade showed a 7% gain; seventh to eighth increased 10%), though some elementary grades saw small drops from 2024 to 2025 on Georgia Milestones.
Dr. Leah Snell, mathematics program manager at the Georgia Department of Education, described the state’s role in producing and distributing free, open-access instructional units and learning plans and said teachers statewide were trained to use those resources. “All of the basic curriculum materials, parents, community members, teachers, students, anyone can have access to this,” Dr. Snell said, noting the state absorbed development costs so districts could use the materials at no charge.
Board members pressed presenters on how teachers identify gaps and accelerate students who have already mastered standards. Dr. Snell and district staff said each learning plan includes a diagnostic assessment and teacher-facing “student reproducibles,” and that teachers form flexible groups based on diagnostic results; companion resources provide scaffolds for students with disabilities and English learners.
Members asked whether after-school partners and community organizations could access the materials. District staff said they would pursue sharing resources with rec centers and local partners so that those programs could help students access classroom work and family-engagement tools.
The board did not take any formal votes during the presentation. District staff said the updates and classroom videos are available in the meeting materials for further review.