District leaders urge patience with curriculum changes, stress teacher practice and personalization
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Summary
Dr. Amy Alzena and Sal Khan said rapid adoption of new math frameworks can cost districts years of adjustment; both urged focusing on teacher practice, clear instructional goals and measured pilots when scaling personalized learning tools like Khan Academy.
Dr. Amy Alzena, superintendent of Cold Spring School District and chair of ACSA’s artificial intelligence task force, told a moderated panel that districts adopting California’s new math framework should expect a multi‑year learning curve. “It takes a couple years to understand a curriculum,” she said, describing classroom work to identify gaps and restructure pacing.
Amy Alzena said her district has dug into classroom practice — hiring partners, reviewing teacher implementation and using supplemental tools — to raise student achievement. She described an approach where small groups work with a teacher while other students work independently at their level, and said students set personal goals and monitor progress: “I met this goal, and now I’m going to move on to the next one,” she said.
Sal Khan of Khan Academy said technology should be driven by instructional goals, not the reverse. “You should first take a step back and say, like, what are my goals here? What am I trying to solve for?” he said, arguing that students who get regular, focused practice in their zone of proximal development show measurable gains.
Both speakers pointed to research and classroom evidence tying teacher leadership to scalable results. Khan cited a body of third‑party studies showing that when students use Khan Academy consistently — “even 30 to 60 minutes a week” — some studies find students grow “20 to 60% more than their peers.” He said district buy‑in from superintendents or chief academic officers, monitoring and supportive accountability are necessary to replicate pilot gains across larger systems.
Why it matters: School districts nationwide are weighing new state frameworks and instructional materials while also deciding how to integrate adaptive learning tools and AI. Panelists warned that switching curricula without investing in teacher supports can delay gains and that technology alone is insufficient without strong classroom practices.
The session closed with a call for cautious, evidence‑based adoption: prioritize teacher coaching, align tools to clear learning goals and use small pilots before scaling districtwide. The panel did not record formal votes or policy actions.
