At Poly’s Lower School, math class has looked a little different and that’s by design.

“Each year, Head of Lower School Dr. Francis Yasharian P ’36 names a set of priorities to focus our energy and resources in our continuous efforts to shape and improve our learning community’s experience,” said Marissa Pennington, Lower School’s mathematics specialist. In 2024, she implemented “The Year of Math,” a comprehensive K–4 initiative proposed by Yasharian. The program’s timeframe extended to two years. “We have strategically focused on math for the past two years to elevate our work in this discipline,” she added.

The goals were twofold. First, faculty reflected on how math was being taught, then moved to utilize the latest research to improve their approach to instruction. They participated in professional development sessions to hone their skills. Secondly, they sought to remove the anxiety that too often comes with the subject, and replace it with curiosity, confidence, and deep understanding. When learning math is an engaging experience, the result is a lifelong, positive relationship with it for students who may have once shied away.

Since it began, our teachers have used innovative, research-based strategies to give students the tools they need in math and far beyond: the drive to think deeply, persist through challenges, and to develop a lasting love of math. After two years, the program has transformed classrooms across the division, one joyful problem at a time.

From Research to Practice

The latest research on how children learn best has been integral to the work of Lower School teachers, creating a shift in instruction style. Concrete and pictorial experiences, strategic fluency practice, and mathematical reasoning are all part of the methodology. With a different approach intent on building fluency without anxiety, these teaching strategies forgo rote memorization and timed tests for more meaningful math learning.

Year one was about building the foundation. Poly brought in three math education experts to lead workshops and classroom visits, introducing teachers to research-based instructional practices that would reshape the way math is taught across the division. Year two was where the real shift began. Teachers set goals and integrated new strategies into their classrooms.

The result is a culture shift, one where problem solving, sensemaking, and joy aren’t just welcome in the math classroom: They’re the point.

Guided Discovery in Kindergarten

Developed in the second year with teachers, Math Workshop invites Kindergarten students to choose work that sparks their curiosity and gives them time every week to explore mathematics at a level that meets them where they are in terms of cognitive growth. Teachers use Stern blocks to bring the Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract model to life through work in spatial reasoning, decomposing numbers, adding and subtracting, multiplying, estimating, and working with place value.

Groups of four to six students participate in small groups, where teachers provide guidance with probing questions that stimulate thinking and encourage them to take on the next challenge. Once they sign up for a 30-minute block, students stay with one task, teaching them how to build perseverance and deeper exploration. Teachers design games and activities to create rich mathematical experiences throughout the classroom. The math specialist takes the opportunity to join these smaller groups, offering help as needed and taking the opportunity to get to know more of the students individually.  

Deeper Mathematical Thinking in Grade 2

In Grade 2, Head Teacher Sarah Davies translates previous professional development into a focused, structured approach to daily math instruction to strengthen both conceptual understanding and student engagement. Using guidance from Sue Resnick, one of the editors of the Math in Focus curriculum, Davies begins each assessment cycle with a chapter review, then studies student work to gauge their level of understanding and identify next steps. The following day, they regroup for targeted support, added challenge, or enrichment, whichever is indicated.

Along those lines, the classroom experience is hands-on and deeply connected to meaning. Singapore Math expert Bill Davidson’s bar model work helps students look past the story details and focus on the number relationships underneath. Teachers keep the conversation grounded with open-ended prompts like, “What do you notice?” Across the grade, students learn to think deeply, persist through challenges, and carry their curiosity into purposeful math games that make “finish early” time both fun and rigorous.

Head Teacher Davies says the program is “designed to always move from the concrete like clocks and cubes to the pictorial, and then to the abstract.”

She added that recent professional learning has reshaped her practice. “Hearing all the research, I’ve shifted to spending more time with the base ten blocks. Even when it seems like students already know something, we must remember that this is still early childhood learning, and they are building these math skills from the ground up.”

Building Resilience Through Mathematical Discovery

In 3A, math has become a space where students explore ideas, explain their reasoning, and learn how to see mistakes as an essential part of growth. Through meaningful problem-solving experiences, visual models, and collaborative discussion, students build confidence. “[They] regularly tackle problems, share strategies, and defend their reasoning while learning that mistakes are an important part of the learning process, said Grade 3 Head Teacher Nia Pierre. “One of the most exciting outcomes has been watching students take ownership of their mathematical thinking.” 

Mathematical Challenge in Grade 4’s Continental Math League

In Grade 4, the Continental Math League contest adds an exciting dimension to the math program, challenging students to participate in five monthly meets, requiring students to solve problems that have not been explicitly taught in the classroom. Under the leadership of Pennington and Grade 4 Head Teacher Meghan Whitenack P’31, ’34, the experience has become both inclusive and meaningful. 

The program culminated in a year-end math celebration with pizza, certificates, and well-earned recognition for students’ hard work and perseverance, celebrating strong problem solvers like Ada, Kenzo, Portia, and Ella, and honoring medal winners Wesley, Eleanor, Shayan, and Tommy, who earned the top regional score, building teamwork and school spirit along the way.

This past year, our fourth graders had the best overall team score yet. Poly’s Lower School placed in the top 7% of all schools nationwide.