Redwood City board hears update on districtwide rollout of Imagine Mathematics curriculum

Trustees of the Redwood City School District on May 27 heard a districtwide update on Phase 4 of the Imagine Mathematics curriculum rollout and responded with questions about data access and supports for multilingual and pandemic‑affected student cohorts.

Kendall Klein, one of the district teachers leading implementation, summarized the program and its goals. "Me llamo Kendall Klein," she said, and explained that the district’s work centers on collaborative problem solving, instructional routines and year‑long professional learning aligned to California’s math frameworks. Presenters said K–5 began implementation in 2023 and the middle‑school rollout (grades 6–8) occurred during the current school year.

The presentation emphasized three core components: a multi‑year coherent professional learning plan; teacher development to ensure deep understanding of standards and instructional shifts; and ongoing monitoring of implementation across classrooms. Presenters also noted explicit supports for multilingual learners, including dedicated training from Illustrative Mathematics and routines drawn from Stanford‑sourced language strategies.

Board members focused questions on evidence and equity. Trustees asked whether the new California growth dashboard (slide 22) provides the district with usable longitudinal data at the school or student level. Presenters said the state dashboard shows cohort growth but that the district maintains longitudinal records internally to track students across grade levels; they described plans to continue site‑level monitoring and to expand coaching and site leadership networks.

Trustees raised a specific concern about a cohort of fifth graders who began kindergarten during the pandemic and have received repeated reading interventions; staff said that group remains a district priority and that the curriculum team is emphasizing fluency and targeted practice to support their transition to middle school.

Several trustees questioned the district’s reliance on digital tools and fidelity metrics. The presenters acknowledged differences in outcomes tied to fidelity of use — citing external Reflex study findings — and said the district has reviewed vendor data and will provide guidance to staff on increasing the share of days with “green” fidelity indicators.

Presenters also agreed there is room to improve student‑voice measures: while some teachers run classroom empathy surveys, the district has not yet compiled districtwide student interviews or surveys about how students perceive their math learning and said that broader student empathy work is a near‑term goal.

The board thanked the presenters for the concise briefing and acknowledged the multi‑year timeline for curricular change, noting the need for continued professional learning and data reporting. Trustees directed staff to use the follow‑up question spreadsheet for items that require more detail and encouraged staff to return with implementation updates next year.

The meeting then moved on to action items.