Math Curriculum Revision Narrative

MATH CURRICULUM REVISION NARRATIVE

Background
The Colchester Board of Education last approved a PreK-12 Math Curriculum in 2007. The
following minor updates to the Math Curriculum have occurred since then:
            ● In 2010, the State Board of Education adopted the Common Core Standards,
               and Colchester participated in a grant-funded pilot of a model Algebra I
               curriculum.
            ● In 2015, grades K-5 adopted the Eureka Math program, and around that same
               time, WJJMS adopted the CMP3 Connected Math program.
            ● In 2016, secondary education teachers of math met for one day to align the
               grades 6 through Algebra I content standards and units.
The Colchester Public Schools Math Curriculum Committee met for four days in June of 2021 to
review and revise components of the PreK-12 Math Curriculum. Composed of teachers from
each grade level, instructional math coaches, administrators from each building, and the
Director of Teaching & Learning, the Committee reviewed student learning data, performed a
program evaluation, and sought to vertically align math curricula supporting grades PreK-12.

Targets for Improvement
       In general, the Committee focused their efforts for redesign on supporting students to
develop math fluency skills at CES and WJJMS, and problem solving skills at JJIS. Rather than
adopting new programs, the Committee determined that the best strategy to support students at
CES, JJIS, and WJJMS would be to align, supplement, and enhance components of the existing
K-5 Eureka Math and CMP3 programs.
       At Bacon Academy, the primary focus for revision was to support a greater number of
students to meet the benchmark on the CT-SAT, the Connecticut standardized assessment for
grade 11 students. Other areas of focus for improvement at Bacon Academy included a)
supporting all students, including those who take Advanced Placement courses, to develop
stronger foundational math skills, b) developing math courses that increasingly support an
academic and/or a career readiness pathway, and c) increasing the level of rigor for all students
by reducing the number of levels of math courses (i.e., Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, Advanced
Placement). The strategy at Bacon Academy was to significantly redesign the sequence of
courses and organization of units, allowing all students to effectively meet the graduation
requirements of four years and four credits of math.

Curriculum Documents
The following documents provide a high-level view of the proposed Math Curriculum. By clicking
on each link, you will be able to view each respective document in detail. These documents, as
well as other documents included in the Proposed Math Curriculum folder, will be discussed in
greater detail when the Curriculum Committee convenes.
    ● The Vision Statement outlines the Committee’s philosophy for how students best learn
        math. This philosophy is grounded in educational research on math instruction and the
        teaching experiences of Colchester teachers.
●   The Curriculum Goals identify what the Curriculum Committee intends for the curriculum
    to support students know and be able to do in 3-5 years.
●   The Scope and Sequence identifies the content taught at each grade level and in each
    course.
●   The Instructional Framework and Mathematical Practices identify what the Committee
    intends for the classroom to “look like” upon successful implementation of the proposed
    curriculum.
●   The Math Resources document lists the items and costs associated with the proposed
    curriculum. Items that are listed in bold reflect what will be paid for via the Curriculum
    Implementation budget.