Fairplay Middle School students recently stepped into the spotlight alongside their teachers and
peers to showcase their mathematical expertise through the innovative online graphing calculator, Desmos.
To highlight the district’s success with the Amplify/Desmos curriculum, a professional film crew spent the day at Fairplay capturing engaging classroom moments from the district’s top two users of the platform.
Teachers Catherine Nugent and Shawne Grogan were proudly filmed in action as students discussed various mathematical concepts, including the Pythagorean Theorem, Absolute Value and Proportional Relationships. Both teachers also shared how the program benefits students and educators.
DCSS Instructional Coach Jeremy Anderson expressed sincere gratitude for the learning platform's positive impact on student learning.
“I am grateful our school system is committed to providing tools and programs that advance student learning in mathematics,” he said. “We are honored to be recognized as a leader in the math community.”
The K-12 math program blends Desmos interactive, problem-based approach with Amplify's comprehensive platform, offering engaging student-driven lessons and aimed personalized practice opportunities across all grade levels.
Douglas County Schools uses the Desmos calculator in conjunction with the Amplify/Desmos curriculum in classrooms due to its user-friendly design and engaging content. The popular graphing calculator became so widely used that many states, including Georgia, embedded it into testing platforms such as the GMAS, EOCs, and the SAT.
When Douglas County implemented the curriculum in 2023, there was a significant improvement in math scores, which garnered the attention of Maria Flores-Lavorne, a math coach with Amplify. Lavorne then reached out to Anderson to collaborate on promotional material to spotlight the district’s progress.
“In the coming months, Amplify/Desmos will release promotional materials highlighting the incredible work happening in Douglas County Schools,” emphasized Anderson.