Midyear Math Update: Sharpening Our Aim, Deepening Mastery (January 2026)
By Tyler Thigpen and Amber Bryant
Dear Forest Families—
One of the commitments we make as a school is that we will learn in real time—and we’ll make changes midstream when the evidence (and your feedback, and our heroes’ lived experience) tells us we should.
That’s where we are with math.
Over the first half of the year, we’ve seen encouraging momentum: stronger buy-in to Math Labs, better attendance, more heroes asking for help, more peer collaboration, and more learners showing up to office hours because they want to get better. We’ve even had kids trying to sneak into Math Lab (a sentence I didn’t expect to say in my lifetime). That’s a culture shift—and it matters.
Now we’re making a focused midyear pivot to improve clarity, follow-through, and visible growth for every learner, whether they’re ahead, behind, or right on pace.
If you don’t want to read the whole article, here are the most important things you should know in one paragraph:
Math and Spark and Lower are strong and will stay the same. Starting in January, Upper-High Math Labs will be more focused and more supportive—every learner will have clearer next steps, more hands-on practice, and stronger follow-through. We’re adding a Math Portfolio so learners can keep strategies and examples in one place, assigning targeted IXL lessons when foundational gaps show up (as part of earning the current math badge), and expanding High School Math Labs into weekly Algebra, Geometry, and Trig groups. We’ll also run small, carefully designed pilots of new tools (including Oko, Math Academy, and MyGooru) to learn what best builds confidence and progress—and we’re already planning ahead by hiring a full-time Math Specialist for 2026–2027 to deepen this work across Studios.
Below are full details of what we’re optimizing for, and the concrete updates you can expect starting now (January 2026).
What Great Math Looks Like At Forest
At Forest, we’re aiming for real skills for real life—math that helps every learner solve real problems with confidence:
Every learner, right starting point. We meet your child where they are and give them a clear next step—whether they need to catch up, keep pace, or move ahead.
Engaging, hands-on learning (not just screen time). Learners use tools and models—whiteboards, measuring tools, fraction tiles, diagrams, and worked examples—so math is something they can see and do.
Math that connects to real life. We tie math to practical, everyday contexts and Studio projects so it feels useful, not random.
Stronger thinking-through-talk and practice. Learners explain their thinking, learn with peers, and get plenty of “at-bats” to build speed and accuracy over time.
Clear progress you can see. We track growth, adjust supports quickly, and celebrate tangible improvement—so families and learners know what’s working.
That’s the vision. Now here’s how we’re tightening the system to better deliver on it.
What’s Changing Midyear
Math Labs now include a Math Portfolio (Upper Elementary, Middle School, High School)
We’re adding a Math Portfolio to Math Lab so learners can make their thinking visible and build a “brain on paper” they can return to. This is simple but powerful: a notebook where learners capture worked examples, definitions, strategies, mistakes-to-learnings, formulas, and reflections—so the learning doesn’t disappear when a whiteboard gets erased. It also gives us a richer picture than platform scores alone: we can see how a learner is thinking, not just whether they clicked the right answer.
High School gets weekly course-specific Math Labs (Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry)
We’re adding more structure in High School by running three weekly, course-focused labs facilitated by our Math Specialist: Algebra Lab, Geometry Lab, and Trigonometry Lab. These labs give high schoolers a predictable, protected space for practice, discussion, peer learning, and direct support—without math constantly competing with everything else.
Targeted IXL lessons become part of earning the current math badge (Upper Elementary, Middle School, High School)
We’re moving from general practice to targeted gap-closure. Based on diagnostic data and guide observation, we’ll assign specific IXL teacher-recommended lessons for learners who have identified gaps—and those lessons will be required as part of earning their current math badge. We’ve done this before, and it works when we communicate clearly and stick with it. If a learner is tackling advanced work but has fragile foundations (fractions, operations, number sense, etc.), math becomes unnecessarily frustrating later. This is how we protect confidence and competence.
Pilot: Oko in Math Labs (small groups, before Spring Break)
We’re piloting Oko with a limited number of learners before Spring Break. Oko is designed to support collaborative math discourse—prompting teams to explain thinking, build on each other’s ideas, and ensure balanced participation. It aligns strongly with our goal of making math more discussion-rich and community-based. This is a pilot—tight scope, careful observation, clear decision-making after we learn.
Two platform pilots (Math Academy and MyGooru), Jan–Mar
Beginning in early January (and before Spring Break), we’ll run three pilots of leveled, adaptive platforms: Math Academy, MyGooru, and one additional leveled platform as selected by the learning team. Each pilot will include a minimum of 5 learners and a maximum of 10 learners for a minimum of three months (Jan–Mar). Learners involved will work on their pilot platform in place of IXL during that window. These pilots are not schoolwide changes—they are focused trials meant to help us learn what most supports clarity, confidence, and growth.
Upper Elementary adds hands-on Math Practicals (mastery you can see)
To strengthen “concrete and hands-on” mastery—especially in Upper Elementary—Amber and our Math Specialist will work with Hadrian and Kenynon to add end-of-year Math Practicals (similar to what Hadrian has been prototyping). Learners will demonstrate mastery in tangible ways—measuring, building, explaining, applying—so math becomes something you can do, not just something you click.
Math integration across Studios gets sharper (Math Specialist joins weekly SWIRLS)
Math shouldn’t live in one box. Our Math Specialist will join weekly SWIRLS (Guide planning) to help guides identify the most common gaps in each Studio and integrate them into Quests, Civilization, Story Arts, and Launches. This is one of the most “Forest” moves we can make: math becomes a tool for real work, not an isolated subject.
Two Math-focused PLCs (Jan 26 and Mar 23, 2026)
Our Math Specialist will lead two additional math-focused PLCs on January 26 and March 23. These PLCs are about building guide capacity—tightening facilitation moves, aligning supports across Studios, and ensuring our daily “guide moves” match our vision.
“What to do when I’m stuck in math” posters (Upper, Middle, High)
We’re partnering with MinuteMan Press or Edwin Jarvis to design and print three brand-aligned posters—one for Upper, one for Middle, and one for High—so every learner has a clear, normal, shame-free menu of options when they get stuck: ask a Guide, visit office hours, consult personal resource guides/journals (Portfolios), get more reps, use an AI tutor appropriately, work with a peer, and break the problem into smaller steps. This sounds small, but it’s culture: “stuck” becomes a signal, not a stopping point.
What This Means for Spark and Lower Elementary
Spark and Lower Elementary don’t participate in Math Labs the same way—math is woven into Studio work through Montessori lessons, small groups, and real-world application (often through cooking, building, and measurement-driven Quests). That approach stays intact, and we’ll keep strengthening how math shows up in authentic Studio projects.
A Note on Learner Agency (and Why We’re Still Using Guardrails)
A huge part of our math journey is helping learners build a new identity: “I am the kind of person who can learn hard things.”
Agency doesn’t mean “do whatever whenever.” It means learners have meaningful choices within a structure that protects growth. That’s why you’ll see a mix this spring: personalized pathways (pilots, advanced labs, mastery options) and strong follow-through (targeted lessons tied to badge progress). In other words: freedom with a backbone.
Building for Next Year: Hiring a Full-Time Math Specialist
One of the biggest upgrades is that we are hiring a full-time Math Specialist for the 2026–2027 school year. Chrissy’s founder-in-residence work has accelerated our math program significantly this year—helping us clarify what great looks like, tighten our systems, and respond to real learner needs quickly. Now we’re building the next chapter with a dedicated, full-time hire who can deepen Math Labs, support guides across Studios, strengthen mastery pathways, and keep the work moving forward year after year.
If you know someone who would thrive in a mastery-based, learner-driven environment—someone who loves both conceptual understanding and practical fluency, and who can facilitate discourse-rich math with warmth and clarity—we’d love your referrals.
How Families Can Help (Simple, High-Leverage)
Ask your learner what they’re working on in Math Lab this week. Not “Did you do math?” but “What are you trying to get better at right now?”
Encourage portfolio use. If your learner is stuck at home, ask them to show you how they’ve captured strategies and examples.
Normalize support-seeking. Office hours and asking for help are not “remedial.” They’re what capable learners do.
If your learner is invited to a pilot, lean in. These pilots work best when learners and families treat them as a real experiment with consistent effort.
Closing
We’re not trying to “add more” to an already full school experience. We’re trying to make math clearer, more meaningful, more visible, and more effective—without losing what makes Forest Forest.
I’m grateful for your feedback, your candor, and your partnership. This is a living program, and we’re committed to building something that helps every hero grow into a confident, capable mathematical thinker.
Onward,
Tyler and Amber