The COVID-19 pandemic is a chance to rethink math now and when students return to the classroom | Commentary - The San Diego Union-Tribune

Within a month of coronavirus-related school closures beginning last spring, California parents were anxious about the effect on their children: Nearly 90 percent were afraid their children would fall behind academically, and 80 percent reported heightened stress level, as The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

The San Diego Unified School District began this school year with students distance learning from home.
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With many schools, including those in the San Diego Unified School District, reopening remotely, those concerns have only amplified. I’m acutely aware of these worries as a parent of three elementary-aged children.  

As San Diego Unified ’s TK-12 instructional coordinator of mathematics, I anticipated as early as last April that this school year would be atypical. Rather than waiting until we knew precisely what school would look like, the San Diego Unified Math Leadership Team and I began a months-long process to plan for the fall, with a focus on ensuring that students continue to develop mathematical practices like sense-making and critical thinking through rich and relevant mathematics...

In practice, this means that we won’t spend a few weeks at the beginning of sixth grade reviewing fraction skills from previous grades that students have forgotten or have incomplete understandings about. Instead, we’ll provide activities and practice when students actually need to use fractions to solve a sixth-grade problem, like when using rates and ratios.

Prioritizing essential mathematics and offering just-in-time support for students is key for a productive year. The circumstances are challenging. We are adapting to them in ways designed to prevent students from falling behind and allow them to thrive in their math courses.

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Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune