Oradell students demonstrate new Heggerty literacy lessons and Amplify Desmos math in board meeting

The Oradell Board of Education heard a curriculum spotlight in which staff and students demonstrated new K–5 instructional resources.

Superintendent Miss Bosey opened the presentation and turned the floor over to curriculum presenter Miss Holly, who described Heggerty, a 10‑minute multisensory phonemic‑awareness program being used in kindergarten and first grade. Teachers led students through rhyme recognition, sound isolation, syllable segmentation and blending exercises to illustrate daily classroom practice. "My name is Justin, and I like changing the letters to digraphs," one first grader said, and another student, Catherine, described the lessons as "a lot of fun."

Miss Holly then introduced Amplify Desmos Math, which the district is using as the main supplemental resource in fourth and fifth grades this year. She described the program as a problem‑based, student‑centered curriculum that combines paper and digital lessons, promotes accountable mathematical talk, and gives teachers real‑time data to personalize instruction. "I'm Mister Warner, and what I like about Amplify is I've been going to a lot of the classrooms lately and math now is fun for the kids," the teacher said.

Several fourth‑grade students demonstrated a paper‑based center game and described features they like: partner work, a mix of paper and computer lessons, and engaging activities such as Hamster Homes. Fourth‑grader Cyrus said he liked partner work because "you can share your thinking and learn with other people." Student comments were presented as examples of first‑hand reactions to classroom use rather than as formal evaluation results.

Board member Mister Walsh asked why Amplify is not yet in third grade. Miss Holly explained that the K–3 materials are still being written and that the district has been piloting fourth and fifth grades; she said K–3 content is slated to be available for the district next year and that the vendor has been responsive to early feedback.

The presentation emphasized that Heggerty lessons are brief and multi‑sensory and that Amplify Desmos intentionally balances screen time with paper‑and‑pencil work. Staff noted the program spans K through Algebra 2 and reported plans to expand the program progressively rather than adopt it all at once. The superintendent thanked the students for attending and excused them from the remainder of the meeting.

Why this matters: The two resources target foundational literacy and a problem‑centered math approach; both decisions affect classroom instruction, homework expectations and future curriculum planning. The board signaled interest in continued monitoring of rollout, teacher feedback and vendor responsiveness to district input.

The board did not take a formal vote on curriculum adoption during this meeting; staff said they will continue to bring updates to committee and full‑board sessions.