District recommends Amplify Desmos after 12‑week middle school pilot citing higher engagement

San Ramon Valley Unified School District staff recommended Amplify Desmos for middle school math adoption after a district‑wide pilot that engaged roughly 2,400 students and 20 teachers across middle schools, presenting the recommendation to the board as an informational item on May 19.

Executive Director of Curriculum Annabelle Hurlburt and math coordinator Tiffany Zammit outlined a five‑phase selection process that began with 11 materials, narrowed to five and then two finalists (Illustrative/Kiddom and Amplify Desmos). A leadership team and a pilot team conducted a 12‑week classroom trial (six weeks with each finalist). Approximately 45% of students completed pre/post surveys.

Teachers reported Amplify Desmos produced greater student curiosity (+11.2 percentage points), more collaboration (+7.4 points) and a modest increase in understanding of the lesson ‘big idea’ (+6 percentage points) compared with the alternative. Pilot teachers praised Amplify Desmos for its interactive digital and paper components, built‑in differentiation (supports and extensions), a caregiver/parent hub and alignment with the new California math framework emphasizing investigation and discourse.

District staff said if the board approves adoption at the June 9 meeting, professional development would occur in August with pilot teachers supporting site‑level rollout. Materials are on public display for review prior to the adoption vote.

Public commenters and trustees asked about pilot sampling, baseline assessment data and how the digital platform will interact with concerns about screen time; staff said the program can operate in paper‑only mode and recommended site‑level implementation strategies (for example, one Chromebook per group to support collaboration). Trustees and parents expressed general enthusiasm and emphasized support for teachers’ professional development.