Preparing, Supporting, and Retaining Elementary Mathematics Specialists in High-need Urban Schools

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The project aims to serve the national need of increasing the number of elementary mathematics specialists in high-need urban schools. Inclusion of an elementary mathematics specialist on a team of teachers has potential to systemically improve mathematics education, build students’ mathematical capacity to succeed, and increase student achievement in mathematics. Too few students in the U.S. are attaining high levels of mathematics learning, compounded by persisting gaps in mathematics achievement. This project aims to improve mathematics teacher effectiveness and teacher leadership in elementary schools in which many students have great economic needs and are from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields. The project focuses on the recruitment, preparation, support, and retention of elementary mathematics specialists who deliver rigorous mathematics instruction and serve as mathematics teacher leaders. This project at Georgia State University includes partnerships with the metro Atlanta school district Gwinnett County Public Schools and the nonprofit Corners Outreach. Project goals include to: (1) recruit successful, experienced, and diverse elementary mathematics teachers from high-need schools that serve underrepresented student populations to become elementary mathematics specialists; (2) increase the number of elementary mathematics specialists in these schools through evidence-based preparation in two university endorsement programs; (3) develop elementary mathematics specialists who are highly effective mathematics teachers and teacher leaders; and (4) support and retain elementary mathematics specialists as they serve as teacher leaders, including coaching university teacher candidates, in these schools. This five-year project will involve 26 in-service elementary teachers, aiming to promote mathematics equity and access, support teacher retention in high-need schools, and situate teacher candidates in a hiring pipeline. The project's teachers will be prepared and supported as elementary mathematics specialists through completion of the K-5 Mathematics Endorsement and Teacher Support & Coaching Endorsement. In addition to completing these two endorsements, teachers will also engage in a Professional Learning Community and one-on-one mentoring. Evaluation and research involving mixed methods will demonstrate how the intentional and continuous project components affect the mathematical content knowledge, instructional practices, beliefs, and teacher leader skills of elementary mathematics specialists. Results have the potential to advance understandings in the areas of mathematics teacher education and professional development, particularly of elementary mathematics specialists in high-need schools. This Track 3: Master Teacher Fellowships project is supported through the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce). The Noyce program supports talented STEM undergraduate majors and professionals to become effective K-12 STEM teachers and experienced, exemplary K-12 STEM teachers to become STEM master teachers in high-need school districts. It also supports research on the persistence, retention, and effectiveness of K-12 STEM teachers in high-need school districts.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.