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Middle-school learning-support team recommends VMATH adoption after yearlong pilot
Summary
Three learning-support teachers recommended adopting the VMATH special-education math curriculum at the middle school after a yearlong pilot that staff said produced early growth on benchmark assessments; the board will consider the recommendation at its April meeting and the district budget includes about $4,500 for initial materials and licenses.
Three Salisbury Township School District learning-support teachers recommended adopting VMATH as the middle school special-education math curriculum after a yearlong pilot, saying the program better matches students’ instructional levels and provides built-in assessments to track growth.
Carly, a fifth-grade learning-support teacher, Ally (seventh–eighth grade learning support), and Beth Knights (sixth-grade learning support) presented the pilot at the March 11 curriculum and technology meeting and described core features that they said make VMATH well-suited for learners who receive specialized instruction. The presenters highlighted teacher materials with scripted lessons, color-coded student workbooks, the VMath Live online practice platform, and a PAM benchmark that the team administers three times a year to estimate students’ functional grade levels.
"After researching many curriculums, we started piloting VMATH last March ... we can confidently say that we feel that VMATH is the best curriculum choice for our learning support students," the presenters told the board. They said the program’s foundation modules, predictable four-step routine (teacher demonstration, guided practice, independent work and a short exit check), and embedded visuals and "how-to" boxes help students retain skills and build independence.
Presenters said the PAM and module pre/post assessments have shown early positive growth toward students’ instructional levels, and teachers reported they are seeing more students producing work aligned with their functional grade levels and making progress on math IEP goals. One example the team mentioned was a sixth-grade student who moved into the program’s level D (functionally similar to third grade) and later showed gains on unit checks and exit tickets.
Board members asked about implementation cost and whether VMATH would replace materials already budgeted. The presenters said the district budget includes roughly $4,500 for initial materials — primarily student workbooks and VMath Live licenses — and that teacher-material purchases would decline over time as modules are covered. They also described the curriculum as flexible for mixed-level groups: higher-performing students can be given level-up extension work while others remain in the module matched to their entry assessment.
The presenters recommended the board place a formal adoption item on the April agenda. If the board approves the adoption, administrators said the program would replace the current learning-support materials at the middle school level and be phased in with ongoing monitoring of PAM and module outcomes.
The recommendation came during a broader review of intervention strategies; the board did not vote on adoption on March 11 and staff will return with an adoption motion and any final budget adjustments in April.
