Spring 2026 President's Message Closing the Year with Purpose

As we enter the final months of the school year, many educators feel the familiar pressure to “cover” the remaining standards before the year comes to a close. Pacing guides, assessments, and end-of-year responsibilities can create a sense of urgency that pushes us to move quickly from topic to topic. Yet spring also offers an important opportunity to pause and ask a deeper question: What really matters for students in mathematics?

The California Mathematics Framework reminds us that mathematics learning is not simply about completing a list of topics. It is about helping students make sense of mathematics, reason through ideas, and see themselves as capable mathematical thinkers. The final weeks of the year can be a powerful time to focus on these goals.

Rather than rushing through content, we can prioritize experiences that allow students to think deeply and engage meaningfully with mathematics. Rich problems, opportunities for discussion, and tasks that invite multiple strategies give students space to explain their reasoning and learn from one another. These moments of sensemaking often lead to the most memorable and lasting learning.

Spring is also a natural time for reflection. When we pause to look back at the beginning of the year, the growth our students have made often becomes clear. Students who were hesitant to share their thinking are now explaining strategies, asking questions, and building on the ideas of their peers. Others who once relied heavily on memorized procedures are beginning to reason more flexibly, make connections between concepts, and approach problems with greater confidence.

These shifts, sometimes small and sometimes profound, represent meaningful progress in how students experience mathematics. Growth in mathematics is not always measured by speed or by the number of topics completed, but by how students engage with ideas. When students begin to see themselves as thinkers, problem solvers, and contributors to mathematical conversations, we know that something powerful is happening in our classrooms.

Taking time to highlight this growth helps students recognize their own development as mathematical thinkers. When teachers invite students to revisit earlier work, compare strategies, or reflect on how their understanding has evolved, students begin to see that learning mathematics is a journey. These reflections reinforce the idea that mathematics is not about being fast or getting the right answer immediately, but about thinking, questioning, and making sense of ideas.

Across California, educators continue to bring the vision of the Mathematics Framework to life in classrooms every day. Through collaboration, professional learning, and a shared commitment to equitable mathematics instruction, teachers are building environments where students’ ideas are valued and where mathematical thinking is visible.

As we close the school year, there are many simple ways to keep the focus on what matters most. Educators might consider:

• Inviting students to reflect on their mathematical growth by revisiting early work and discussing how their thinking has changed.

• Providing rich problems that encourage multiple strategies so students can showcase and compare different ways of thinking.

• Creating opportunities for mathematical discussion, allowing students to explain, justify, and build on each other’s ideas.

• Highlighting student thinking publicly through gallery walks, math talks, or student presentations.

• Celebrating persistence and curiosity, reminding students that these habits are central to learning mathematics.

  
  

As we finish the year, let us focus on what matters most: fostering curiosity, encouraging reasoning, and creating opportunities for every student to experience the power of mathematics. The lessons students carry forward are not only the mathematical concepts/skills they learn, but the confidence they build as problem solvers and thinkers.

Thank you for the care, creativity, and dedication you bring to your students and to mathematics education across our state. Together, we continue to move our work, and our students, forward.

With gratitude,

Hilda Villarreal Wright

California Mathematics Council

State President