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STEM director lays out 3×5 math plan, 5E instruction and targeted benchmark work to raise Regents scores
Summary
STEM director Asa Shikapashwa told the board the district will use a 3×5 math framework and the 5E instructional model plus frequent benchmarks and PLC item analysis to lift proficiency, with algebra and Regents coursework identified as high priorities.
Asa Shikapashwa, the district’s director of STEM, told the Board of Education on Feb. 4 that a districtwide instructional strategy—framed as the "3×5 math plan"—and a renewed emphasis on the research‑based 5E lesson model will guide efforts to raise mathematics proficiency across grades PK–12.
"We strive to be a model education system that puts equity in the forefront," Asa said, and described three instructional priorities: the 3×5 math plan (three dimensions of instruction by five student proficiencies), the 5E inquiry model (engage/explore/explain/elaborate/evaluate), and a stronger cycle of data PLCs and benchmark analysis. He framed the 3×5 plan as a way to make instruction consistent across classrooms and to target conceptual understanding, fluency, adaptive reasoning, strategic competence and productive disposition.
Asa explained how the district is using released New York State items to create local benchmarks and to compare fall and winter administrations. He showed item‑level analysis the district uses to distinguish guessing from misconception and to shape reteach plans. "Curiosity comes before instruction," Asa said, demonstrating the 5E approach with a classroom prompt about how doubling a square's side affects area.
On Regents and algebra outcomes, Asa showed the district's most recent comparative figures: a June baseline of about 58 percent algebra‑I proficiency (district projection) compared with recent state/regional numbers. Noting this year's test changes, he said teachers identified high‑priority standards (below an 85 percent proficiency threshold on interim assessments) and are designing targeted 0.5‑period algebra lab interventions and shared lesson plans.
CodeHS and computer‑science pathway work were also discussed: the district plans to align PK–12 computer‑science sequences, introduce CodeHS as a secondary resource and expand elementary robotics and engineering exposures to strengthen the pipeline to high‑school STEM courses.
Trustees asked for clearer maps of how early pipeline exposure (elementary robotics, science research) will feed into high‑school course access and what metrics will be used to measure success. Asa said quarterly assessments will initially target Regents‑aligned courses (algebra I, Earth and Space Science and biology) and will expand to include chemistry and physics in the fall.
Next steps: the district will continue quarterly PLC data reviews, develop enrichment and targeted reteach lessons based on item‑level diagnostics, and return with updated projections for Regents and algebra proficiency later this semester.
