District ramps up 'Building Thinking Classrooms' coaching, sets 5% annual math-growth target

Superintendent biano told the board the district is prioritizing math instruction and student engagement in its strategic plan, citing Focus Area 1B (math instruction) with a target of 5% annual growth in mathematics. Staff outlined a multi-part professional development rollout, including District attendance at a Building Thinking Classrooms keynote and breakout sessions and follow-up consulting by AIS.

Mrs Romero, director of learning services, and several principals described immediate classroom changes after attending the BTC sessions: more visible student thinking, collaborative board work, and chunking long word problems into smaller steps. Romero said AIS consultants modeled lessons in elementary, middle and high school classrooms, followed by teacher debriefs; the district plans May 1–2 and June sessions and a set of two-day cohorts (40 teachers over four days) so most teachers will have a BTC “toolbox” by August 1.

Principals stressed the implementation will be iterative: teachers are early in their BTC training and administrators expect measurable changes to accrue over multiple years. One principal said the conference “provided that spark” and described immediate application in a borrowed classroom setting, where teachers already began using BTC strategies in non-math classes.

The district’s action steps listed creation of a professional-development menu, expanded project-based learning opportunities and teacher/content-area teams for sustained PD. Staff emphasized this is a first-year districtwide rollout with plans to continue training in year two; results are expected to require multi-year fidelity and monitoring.