Math is important. It touches people’s daily lives in a myriad of ways, whether it’s paying bills, balancing a checkbook, figuring out the best value at the grocery store, filing tax returns or even measuring the ingredients in a favorite recipe.

And despite its serious reputation, math is not something to be feared. It also can be fun. 

That was part of the message from four Denair Middle School math teachers at Thursday night’s meeting of the Denair Unified School District board. 

One of the keys to math instruction at DMS, the teachers shared, is to engage students in their classes. That means lessons layered with practical examples of how math is used every day. It involves using math to foster a growth mindset in students. And it even means involving families as they prepare meals together.

“We hope that students leave DMS with a positive mindset around their mathematical abilities,” said sixth-grade teacher Emma Mendes.

Sixth-graders are exposed to many areas that have math connections. They fill out a job application and learn interview skills. They are asked to work in teams to create a business plan, complete with a budget, business license and accounts payable/receivable element. They have to calculate taxes they may owe. 

All the tasks lead up to Market Day in the final week of the school year, which includes a lively auction on the last day of class. Amid all the fun, important math-related lessons are delivered.

“It shows them how to divide tasks and take responsibility for those tasks when working with others,” said teacher David Rodriguez. “It also builds confidence to responsibly handle and manage money.”

In seventh grade, students participate in interactive math learning labs, work collectively in i-Ready study groups and practice for tests, and are exposed to model thinking and reasoning with math.

The goal, explained teacher Erin Sniatecki, is to institute a “growth mindset” in students.

“We work to understand mistakes because they allow real thinking to happen so we can learn,” Sniatecki said.

One of the fun math-related projects in eighth grade is known as “cooking with proportions, a delicious math activity for families.”

Instructor Roxi Lagos asks families to take a favorite recipe (her family made pizza) and scale it in proportions using math principles. The feedback so far has all been positive.

“We made sourdough cinnamon rolls as gifts this year, so that meant doubling the recipe and working through correct conversions and proportions,” said parent Ali Loftin, who cooked with her daughter. “This has helped her so much with learning about fractions and using math in a real-world way. When we saw your pizza activity, we actually made a sourdough pizza crust. Thank you for sharing your love of math with her.”

With math scores on mandatory tests lagging, creating and fostering interest as well as ability in math is critical to preparing this generation of students for their futures.

“Lower math scores are a national issue, not just a Denair issue,” Sniatecki said.

Superintendent Terry Metzger as well as the trustees applauded the DMS teachers for their efforts.

“This presentation really helped us see the progression in math from sixth through eighth grade,” Metzger said. “You are preparing students well for higher level math courses in high school. I’m particularly impressed with the opportunities you are giving students to do item-and-error analysis as a way to think critically about math.”

In other action Thursday, the board: 

• Accepted the resignation of Trustee Crystal Sousa, who joined the board in 2017 and was re-elected in 2022. “While stepping down is a difficult decision, I am currently looking to expand my career opportunities and I want to keep all of my options open,” Sousa explained. The remaining four trustees now must decide whether to appoint a replacement within 60 days or hold a special election to fill out the remainder of Sousa’s term, which runs through the November 2026 election.
• Voted unanimously to eliminate three vacant positions in the 2025-26 budget and reduce the hours of two more employees due to declining enrollment. The jobs that will be cut are a campus supervisor at Denair Elementary Charter Academy, one registrar at Denair Charter Academy and a special education paraeducator at Denair High School. The positions to have a reduction in hours both are at DCA – the principal’s secretary (12 months to 11 months) and a paraeducator (five days to three days).
• Heard a report from the principals at DHS and DCA and two of their instructors about a new one-semester class on ethnic studies, which will be offered next fall. In 2021, the California Legislature passed a bill adding ethnic studies to high school graduation requirements, beginning with the class of 2030. Ethnic studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines the culture, history and experiences of different racial and ethnic groups in the United States, particularly people of color and other historically marginalized groups. Denair with host a parent preview night to discuss the proposed class on March 27 at 6 p.m. in the DHS library. Trustees will decide at their April meeting whether to adopt the proposed curriculum.
• Listened as Amanda Silva, senior director of student services, explained how a new reading screener process mandated by the state will work starting this fall. All students in kindergarten and first and second grades will be evaluated. Just like the hearing and vision screeners done each year in fall, winter and spring, universal screeners for reading are intended to catch concerns that may impact learning while they are still in the early stages. Screening is designed to help districts identify who might need extra support. It is up to the district to determine what form that support takes. Silva said screening is not a formal assessment, will not be used to diagnose or determine eligibility for special education, and will not be used to evaluate teachers.
• Invited residents in the district to apply to serve on the Measure K and Measure Z Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee. There currently are two vacancies on the seven-member panel, with the other terms of the other five volunteers to expire this year. Anyone interested can pick up an application at the district office. Questions should be directed to Chief Business Official Daisy Swearingen at dswearingen@dusd.k12.ca.us
• Approved the 2025-26 school calendar. The first day of school will be Wednesday, Aug. 6. School will be out the week of Nov. 24-28 for Thanksgiving break, Dec. 22 to Jan. 5 for Winter break and April 3-10 for Spring break. The last day of school will be Thursday, May 21. Graduation ceremonies will be May 20 for Denair Charter Academy and May 22 for Denair High School.
• Accepted a bid from EMCOR Services Mesa Energy of Irvine to repair and upgrade heating and air conditioning systems at all four district campuses. Work will start soon and is projected to be completed by Aug. 30. The $382,320 project is being completely paid for by restricted state grant funding the district has received.