Building Students’ Math Confidence

Morgan Hill Unified School District, located in southern Santa Clara County, is participating in the Ed Partners P3CC collaboration to strengthen alignment across grades in mathematics instruction. By implementing key strategies that elevate teaching and build student confidence, Morgan Hill is tackling the widespread belief among students that they are “not good at math.”

The team leading this work includes the assistant superintendent, the director of elementary education, principals, and TK–3rd grade teachers from El Toro Health Science Academy and Los Paseos Elementary. Together, this diverse group identified an over-reliance on curriculum as a barrier to effective math instruction. In response, they are shifting ownership back to the experts in the room: their teachers. They have introduced instructional tasks that promote student discussions and explanations of mathematical thinking, while also ensuring lessons align closely with grade-level standards.

Morgan Hill is working intentionally to disrupt traditional approaches to math instruction by putting students’ needs at the center. Their efforts are making mathematics more engaging and nurturing the mathematical thinking every student brings into the classroom.