Fresno County Office of Education Is Changing How Districts Choose Math Materials

The Fresno County Superintendent of Schools (FCSS) is doing something bold. Rather than leaving districts to navigate a complex math curriculum list and selection process on their own, FCSS stepped up as a true partner to their 32 districts by building a structured adoption program designed to guide district leadership teams from setting their vision and system, all the way through selecting the right materials.

Serving more than 206,000 students, nearly 76% of whom qualify for free or reduced-price meals and 18% of whom are English learners, FCSS knows that getting this decision right is not optional. They partnered with CalCurriculum and UnboundEd to make sure districts had the tools, knowledge, and confidence to choose materials that support each student in their communities and all teachers to meet the expectations of the CA Math Framework.

What made this work different is that participants didn’t just sit through a typical training. They did the real work of getting clear on what they believe about math instruction, building their own tools to review materials, and making sure teachers and families had a voice in the process. Nineteen districts came to the table, including Fresno Unified, Clovis Unified, and Parlier Unified. The process wrapped up with a publisher fair and piloting recommendations. The feedback has been strong:

“We didn’t start with textbooks — we started with district values and visions.  We made sure the materials were chosen with teachers, not just for them. Our students, especially our multilingual learners, deserved nothing less.”                          – Meagan Thompson, Math Coordinator, Fresno County Superintendent of Schools

Leading this effort is Meagan Thompson, math coordinator for FCSS. Meagan brings both urgency and clarity to this work. In a recent op-ed published by EdSource, she challenged district leaders across California to stop settling for materials that weren’t built with English learners in mind and shared how Fresno is modeling a better way. Her piece is a must-read for anyone thinking seriously about math adoption right now.

Are you interested in getting support to prepare for your upcoming instructional materials adoption? Check out our workshops page to learn more about our upcoming offerings for the 2026-27 school year, or to share more about your adoption support needs.