Reflections from the end:

Two of our goals became more challenging than anticipated. First, raising the content knowledge of all teachers was challenging, because many teachers did not feel that it was necessary to attend an algebra or geometry class when they only taught primary grades. In order to meet this goal, teacher leaders have had to be skillful about embedding content knowledge in other professional development activities such as collaborative lesson planning. This tactic will be the best approach for us to strive to meet the objective after the grant has ended. Second, the goal of educating parents has been very challenging, because it is difficult to access the attention of large groups of parents. The schools are continually striving for creative ways to get parents to attend workshops, or family math night as well as read literature sent home.

The other goals of our project are being met! We have a comprehensive professional development plan in place. All teachers of mathematics receive support from teacher leaders and participate in collaborative discussions about mathematics. Nearly all teachers and administrators in the district have or will attend a summer institute and content class about mathematics. Our administrators also receive monthly training on various topics of mathematics education. Students continue to demonstrate excellent mathematical skills in several standardized tests (see graph #2). Our efforts in this grant have resulted in a buried treasure surfacing to the top. After three years of hard work teachers now anticipate and enjoy their collaborative time to become better teachers. Also, we view our student achievement success as pieces of gold!

These goals have not been without obstacles, however. Some things that we have wrestled with include the continual battle for funding sources, a high and unexpected turnover among teachers, increased levels of student transiency, and unequal distribution of time for collaboration across the schools. To counter these challenges, we have had many supports. Some of the best features of our reform include: trained and passionate Teacher Leaders, a cadre of substitutes who provided release time for teachers once a year, and collaborative time for teachers. Also, an extensive evaluation instrument for teachers was introduced to some schools through a tangential program. It has had the effect of holding teachers accountable for being reflective as well as giving teachers a definition of what a good teacher does. Teacher Leaders have found this teaching rubric to be a valuable tool in achieving the goals of our math reform.