February 17, 2026

This year, Hughson Unified School District is piloting two new math programs. From the many to the few, a handful were chosen for careful consideration, beginning with a discussion on what a math curriculum should bring to the students.

The process began during the last school year, when a team of 20 Hughson teachers and administrators participated in professional learning focused on California’s new mathematics framework. During the training, the team discussed what matters most when selecting a new math curriculum for students and teachers. “One key commitment we made was to adopt a curriculum from a single publisher for grades K–12. This decision was made to ensure consistent themes, language, and lesson formats across all grade levels, creating a cohesive learning experience and helping students build understanding more effectively as they progress from year to year,” Assistant Superintendent Carrie Duckart said.

It was 2016 when kindergarten through fifth grade and Hughson High School adopted their current math program. The math curriculum for sixth through eighth grade was adopted in 2017.

According to Duckart, California’s new mathematics framework “focuses on helping students deeply understand math rather than memorizing steps. Students are encouraged to explain their thinking, make sense of problems, and use multiple strategies to find solutions.”

By teaching multiple strategies, students can build a strong number sense, problem-solving skills, and confidence and apply math in new and real-world situations as they move through the grade levels.

The school district does not take the selection lightly. As part of the process, one teacher from each grade will pilot a math curriculum. From January 26 to February 27, the teachers will run Pilot #1, utilizing Amplify Desmos, and from March 1 to April 15, they will run Pilot #2, utilizing McGraw-Hill Reveal. Even while trying out these new programs, standards remain the same, covering the concepts students would normally cover at this time of year. Teachers “choose the corresponding unit in the new curriculum so that there would not be a disruption in students' learning,” Duckart said.

Each week, teachers are given a feedback form to rate the curriculum areas they identified as priorities. This process will help keep the experience fresh so that when they present to the School Board of Trustees, they can make an informed recommendation. Students were also surveyed at the middle and end of each pilot to determine whether they found it engaging, whether it had clear directions, and whether they were asked to solve problems in multiple ways.

“It has been a really collaborative process. The teachers have worked hard to ensure that they choose the best curriculum for the students and their colleagues,” Duckart said. “They are excited to have materials that are intended to engage students more and help them connect math to the real world.”