Beginning in the fall, students at Washington and Mechanics Grove will begin using a new math resource, the culmination of a two-year process that is expected to improve math growth throughout the school district.

Just like with District 75’s previous focus on literacy, which began five years ago, the keys to improving the math program include professional development of the teaching staff and having all K-5 staff coming together to improve student learning.

“That’s the power with this resource,” said Jill Unger. “We saw this in literacy and our teachers are excited and ready to do this again with math. 

When students come back in August, Eureka Math Squared will be the primary resource for math instruction from kindergarten through fifth grade. Eureka Math Squared closely aligns with D75’s math content and practice standards and it supports diverse learning needs and linguistic development. Like Bridges, Eureka Math Squared places a lot of emphasis on hands-on learning - using tangible items such as blocks and shapes to learn math concepts. 

“We want students to be able to engage with the learning in a way that works for them,” Unger said.  

A supplemental math resource, Number Corner (third edition), will also be used. The District 75 School Board approved both in April.

“The most exciting thing about changing to Eureka is the fresh start with a new set of materials and professional development for all K-5 teachers, Unger said. “We’ve been using Bridges 2nd Ed. for 9 years.  This is an exciting and welcome change for our teachers and students.”

The choice to use Eureka Math Squared was not made without thoughtful consideration. The process began in the fall of 2023 when the District formed a committee to develop a vision of what was needed in a math resource. The needs were many.

They wanted a resource that would: support both dual and monolingual learners (the Spanish version needed to be in authentic text, not just a translated version); it needed to be taught in a one-hour block each day; teachers would need intervention materials to support the core resource; it would have to allow opportunities to differentiate the teaching for individual students depending on their level of advancement; teaching needed to include active engagement; it needed to be a culturally relevant resource; and it needed to have an intentional spiral of concept - advancing the math while repeating the basic concepts from earlier lessons.

After reviewing five possible resources, the committee narrowed it down to two. In the fall of 2024 selected classrooms piloted Bridges (third edition). In the spring, they ran a second pilot program using Eureka Math Squared. Afterward, administrators surveyed teachers in the pilot classrooms as well as parents. They also collected informal student feedback.

One of the most important changes that pilot teachers noted was the increase in participation and engagement levels of students during the lessons, Unger explained. There is a clear and familiar structure to the lessons which helps students feel more confident and successful throughout their experience. 

“Teachers found Eureka Squared was more accessible for students and students were more successful using those materials. Parents also reported that students were more engaged,” Unger said.

Even students reported to their teachers that they enjoyed learning math more when they were using the Eureka Squared method.

A comprehensive professional development plan for teachers will span over two years beginning in June and continuing during school improvement days, collaboration time each month and on teacher institute day.