WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) - Wichita Public Schools are in the process of adopting a new math curriculum for elementary students. 

USD 259 is piloting three different options for the new curriculum this school year. Tuesday, the district is set to host a meeting for families to learn more. 

“The pilot has been fabulous,” Connie Malicoat, Elementary Mathematics and Instruction Specialist said. “It has been great. I have been out to a little over 70 classrooms so far, and I've received lots of personal feedback from teachers about what's going well, what their concerns are, what they're motivated about.”

24 elementary schools are participating in the pilot program. Teachers will also be able to give feedback on their experience at Tuesday’s meeting.

Malicoat said the district adopted its current curriculum over ten years ago. USD 259 started the process of finding a new program before the COVID-19 pandemic, so Malicoat said, now that it’s back on track, coming to this week’s meeting would be helpful. 

“We want them to come; we want them to ask questions about mathematics,” she said “Why are we looking at this? Why does math look and feel different than it did back when I was in school? We want people to come and learn about this because the kids are our future.”

The three companies staff is considering are Everyday Math4, Illustrative Math - Imagine Learning, and iReady.

Malicoat said she hopes the Board of Education will adopt a new curriculum by next school year. Teachers would begin using it in the classroom the following year. 

“Frankly, it's more fun,” she said. “Right now, we have opportunities for lots of professional learning to learn how to teach math differently. That's one of my passions, is to have people think about math differently and to be able to instruct it and practice it differently than the way we were raised mathematically.”

Tuesday’s meeting is at 5:00 at the Alvin E. Morris Administrative Center in South Wichita. Depending on which school your child goes to, there may be an option to join virtually over Zoom.