Greendale School Board hears K–12 math curriculum recommendation after multi‑school pilot

Greendale School District officials presented a recommended K–12 math curriculum after a year of piloting and rubric‑based review, and set a June 15 vote to decide whether to adopt the materials.

Dr. Olsen, who led the review process, told the board the district followed a multi‑step selection process that prioritized standards alignment, teacher voice and classroom pilot results. "We make sure that our instruction is aligned to grade‑level standards," Dr. Olsen said, describing the district's emphasis on teacher involvement and a vision to build coherent math instruction across grades.

Elementary staff recommended the third edition of Bridges, reporting strong pilot outcomes. Charice Croner, instructional support specialist at College Park, said the current Bridges edition has produced results "almost 80% proficient across the grade levels that take the Forward exam," and praised its mix of rigor and multiple problem‑solving approaches. Elementary teachers also highlighted Bridges' combination of digital tools and paper‑and‑pencil follow up that allowed teachers to monitor engagement and check transfer to written work.

Middle‑school presenters described how Amplify/Desmos provides differentiated, interactive tasks that teachers can use to pull small groups and extend instruction. Jane Patterson and Lisa Dilquisto said the platform's low‑floor, high‑ceiling design engaged students and made it easier to spotlight student strategies in real time.

High‑school department leaders recommended HMH for Algebra, Geometry and Algebra II, noting that the tasks and assessments were "rigorous but reachable" and that the system includes three‑times‑a‑year growth measures to track students across the year. "Teacher voice was super important and appreciated," said Erin Schwain, instructional support specialist at the high school.

Board members pressed staff about academic integrity and the risk that students can find answer keys online. One audience member asked how classrooms would block online answer sets; staff said the district uses classroom guardianship tools and plans to keep summative tests on paper in some grade bands. Presenters acknowledged the challenge of AI and public answer banks, saying they plan teacher training, paper testing for key assessments where appropriate, and classroom practices that emphasize mastery over completion.

Staff also reviewed the professional development budget and rollout timeline: an initial "getting started" live online session for teachers, followed by in‑district training and ongoing classroom support; final adoption and formal board action were scheduled for the June 15 meeting.

The board did not take a vote at the presentation meeting; the administration will return with the formal adoption item and the associated budget and training details on June 15.