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District 58 board adopts Amplify Desmos for middle-school math after public concerns
Summary
After public comment raising concerns about students struggling with the Amplify pilot, the Downers Grove GSD 58 board voted to adopt Amplify Desmos for middle-school math (5‑year cost $299,146.20) and said vendor training and parent resources will be provided prior to full rollout.
The Downers Grove GSD 58 Board of Education voted April 13 to adopt Amplify Desmos as the district’s middle-school math curriculum, approving a five‑year contract quoted at $299,146.20.
The decision followed a public comment from Gwen Box, a retired tutor, who said the pilot version of Amplify left some students without easily accessible supporting materials. "Amplify has been really challenging because there just doesn't seem to be the materials that support what they're doing available to the kids," Box told the board during public comment.
Administrators acknowledged implementation challenges during the pilot and said a structured rollout will follow. "Amplify has all of those [support tools] available," said an administrator involved in curriculum rollout (speaker 12). He said the district will provide vendor training for staff, unit previews for parents and links to parent supports so students who miss class can access materials.
Board members thanked the curriculum committee and teachers who piloted competing resources and pressed administrators to ensure family-facing communications and catch-up supports are robust. Chair (speaker 2) noted the district received a letter ahead of the meeting and that administrators will increase outreach to families.
The motion to adopt passed on a roll-call vote with members present voting in the affirmative. Administrators said they will finalize training schedules with the vendor and publish parent-preview materials before the next school year.
The board’s next procedural step is to manage the curriculum rollout and monitor implementation data; no changes to the adoption decision were announced at the meeting.
