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District 57 recommends i-Ready for K–1, Math in Focus for grades 2–5 after year-long pilot
Summary
After a year of pilots, District 57instructional leaders recommended adopting i-Ready for kindergarten and first grade and Math in Focus for grades two through five, citing equity, conceptual understanding, and student engagement; the board asked about transition alignment and implementation supports.
District 57 staff presented the outcomes of a year-long elementary math curriculum pilot and recommended two materials sets: i-Ready for kindergarten and first grade, and Math in Focus for second through fifth grades.
Dr. Vonderhaar and members of the elementary math committee said the committee piloted three curricula (i-Ready, Illustrative Mathematics and Math in Focus) in classrooms across the district, ran teacher coaching cycles, surveyed students and families, and observed lessons throughout the year. "We compared the programs to our math belief statements and the Illinois math standards," the lead presenter said, explaining the committee prioritized equity and access, conceptual understanding, student-centered learning, collaboration and growth mindset.
Kindergarten and first-grade teachers who piloted i-Ready reported strong engagement and routines that supported a "low floor, high ceiling" approach, with weekly family communications in multiple languages and hands-on end-of-unit projects. "It was the one where they were most excited for math, and it's the one they missed the most when it was gone," a Westbrook teacher said about i-Ready. Presenters highlighted i-Ready's differentiated games, warm-ups, and "math in action" projects for younger learners.
For grades two through five, the committee recommended Math in Focus (a Singapore-math–based approach) to strengthen conceptual problem solving and the concrete–pictorial–abstract progression. Presenters said the 2–5 recommendation intentionally embeds more number talks and language routines than previous implementations of Math in Focus to ensure stronger math discourse and alignment with district Portrait of a Graduate outcomes.
Board members asked how students would transition between K–1 i-Ready and 2–5 Math in Focus. District staff said they are mapping standards and embedding common instructional practices (number talks, language routines, collaborative strategies) to smooth transitions. The team also committed to family-facing communications and coaching for teachers during implementation: "We're starting professional learning in April and will focus on those number talks and language routines," the curriculum lead said.
Presenters noted cost information is provided in a board memo and that the purchase described is for a six-year subscription that includes manipulatives and digital resources. The memo will be used to finalize the procurement timeline and to plan professional learning and classroom supports.
No formal adoption vote for the K–5 recommendations appears in the meeting record; the presentation concluded with board questions and an agreement to continue planning alignment and implementation steps. The board did move and approve other consent and staffing items later in the meeting.
