Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Curriculum topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Middle-school schedule and Bridges math: administrators describe benefits of longer blocks and positive assessment gains
Summary
The district presented a detailed middle-school daily schedule and an update on the Bridges third-edition math curriculum; administrators emphasized 70-minute core periods, 35-minute EXCEL intervention blocks and reported improved assessment outcomes at lower grades tied to Bridges implementation.
District staff gave the board a detailed walkthrough of the Ken Rockport Middle School daily schedule and a separate presentation on elementary Bridges math outcomes.
In the schedule briefing, Jake said each day begins with home room and CREW and ends with a 30-minute Schooner period for homework help and enrichment. Core instruction occurs in four 70-minute blocks each day, with ten weekly 35-minute EXCEL blocks for interventions, Spanish, guidance, PE and sectionals. Jake and staff described the scheduling as complex but pedagogically intended to provide deep instructional time and integrated planning for cultural-arts teachers.
On Bridges math, district presenters explained the curriculum's three components (number corner, problems & investigations, workplaces) and reported year-over-year gains on state-aligned assessments in lower grades: third-grade students meeting math expectations rose from 76% to 82% and fourth-grade students from 82% to 86% at the elementary school after Bridges implementation and coaching support. The administration cited stronger mathematical discourse and expanded differentiation as drivers of the improvement.
Administrators highlighted implementation supports including district-employed coaches and a push-in interventionist model (Jenny Gold) and answered board questions about family-facing materials, online resources, and scheduling trade-offs that can affect access to arts or interventions.
Board members asked how PBLS (project-based learning) and PBLS-related staff (special-ed teachers, edtech) integrate with the schedule; presenters said the long blocks and coordinated EXCEL rotations create explicit windows for interdisciplinary project work and teacher co-planning, but that staffing changes may require schedule tweaks in future years.
