The Center for Education and Equity in Mathematics, Science, and Technology at California State Polytechnic University is working with four multicultural school districts in eastern Los Angeles County to implement systemic change in the secondary mathematics programs. The four districts have 20 middle schools and 12 high schools serving 69,600 students, of whom 66% are Hispanic.
This five-year project empowers teachers, in cooperation with their administrators, to align the mathematics curriculum, instruction, and assessment with the NCTM Standards. The districts are striving to improve student performance while increasing the number of traditionally underrepresented students, particularly minority and female, who take mathematics courses.
The professional development workshops provide teachers with additional content knowledge, a renewal of pedagogical skills, and, in some instances, skills to help the teacher-leaders successfully implement the mathematics curriculum. Teachers receive more than 200 hours of staff development using nationally validated instructional materials, such as the NSF funded Harvard Project Calculus, Connected Mathematics, Core-Plus, STEM, and SIMMS. The teacher-leaders provide most of the staff development through summer institutes, all-day inservices and after-school meetings. The institutes focus on improving content, adapting methodologies and strategies, using multiple technologies, and building on the diversity of a multicultural and gender-equitable classroom. Teachers and teacher-leaders on-going classroom support is provided by a project coordinator. Teachers are forming networks and partnerships among themselves, administrators, professional societies, and parents. Parents and the community are involved through Family Mathematics Nights.
