Math for America Los Angeles: Empowering Master Teachers to be Instructional and Institutional Change Agents

美国数学洛杉矶（MfA LA）是一个由南加州大学（USC）、克莱蒙特研究生大学（CGU）和哈维马德学院（HMC）组成的非营利组织，其使命是通过解决大洛杉矶地区教师招聘、保留和质量问题来提高学生的成绩。为了配合目前通过MfA LA教师奖学金计划招募有才华的新中学数学教师的努力，MfA LA正在培养一支由24名经验丰富的数学教师领导组成的骨干队伍。由于加州合格数学教师的长期短缺，以及教师流失导致的招聘和培训教师的高成本，确保最有才华的教师不会离开这个行业，而是找到专业成长的途径，这一点至关重要。MfA LA设计了一个新颖的，以研究为基础的项目，为充满激情的教师提供全面的培训，资源，专业发展经验和人脉，使他们成为能够推动学校变革和提高学生表现的领导者。MfA LAMaster教学奖学金计划（MTFP）的一个关键理念是，对于教师来说，没有比在其他经验丰富的教师和STEM教育者的支持下，直接参与设计和协调学校和学区以学生为中心的变革工作更好的方法来培养他们的领导能力。在同一所学校工作的教师对申请该计划，如果被选中，必须同意一起参加该计划至少五年，在此期间他们每年获得10,000美元的津贴，接受指导培训，指导初级教师，参加为期三周的公园城市数学研究所中学教师计划，通过定期的专业发展会议获得当地STEM教师和其他大师教师的指导和支持，在地区或国家数学教育会议上展示他们的工作，并接受培训和支持，以获得国家专业教学标准委员会的认证。总的来说，这个硕士教师奖学金项目包括大约300小时的专业发展，为期五年。假设一名教师每年接触200名学生，24名MfA LA Master Teachers在5年的服务时间内可以直接接触24000名学生，同时为他们的学校和地区带来系统性的变化，以提高学生的表现，并帮助他们的同事和其他初级教师提高他们的实践水平。

Math for America Los Angeles (MfA LA) is a non-profit organization formed by the University of Southern California (USC), Claremont Graduate University (CGU) and Harvey Mudd College (HMC) whose mission is to raise student achievement by addressing issues of teacher recruitment, retention and quality in the greater Los Angeles area. In concert with current efforts to recruit talented new secondary mathematics teachers through the MfA LA Teacher Fellowship Program, MfA LA is developing a cadre of 24 experienced mathematics teacher leaders. Because of chronic shortages in qualified mathematics teachers in California and the high cost of recruiting and training teachers due to teacher attrition, it is critical to ensure that the most talented teachers do not leave the profession, but instead find avenues for professional growth. MfA LA has designed a novel, research-based program to give passionate teachers a comprehensive package of training, resources, professional development experiences and connections to become leaders who can enact school change and raise student performance. A key idea of the MfA LAMaster Teaching Fellowship Program (MTFP) is that there is no better way for teachers to develop their leadership capacity than to directly engage them in the work of designing and orchestrating student-centered changes in their schools and districts, with the support of other experienced teachers and STEM educators. Pairs of teachers who work at the same school apply to the program, and if selected, must agree to participate in the program together for at least five years during which time they receive a $10,000 annual stipend, receive training in mentoring, mentor beginning teachers, participate in the three-week Park City Mathematics Institute Secondary School Teachers Program, receive mentoring and support from local STEM faculty and other Master Teachers through regular professional development meetings, present their work at regional or national mathematics education conferences, and receive training and support to become certified by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. In total, this Master Teacher Fellowship Program includes roughly 300 hours of professional development over five years. Assuming that one teacher reaches 200 students a year, the 24 MfA LA Master Teachers can directly reach 24,000 students over five years of service while bringing about systemic changes in their schools and districts to improve student performance and helping their colleagues and other beginning teachers improve their practice.