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MATHEMATICS COACHES/LEADERS IN ARKANSAS Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow Submitted by Linda K. Griffith University of Central Arkansas

Who are Mathematics “Coaches/Leaders”?  The broadest interpretation of the terms coach, leader, and specialist should be taken at this point.  As Arkansas expands the mathematics leadership in the state, many models are being employed.  Some leaders work with and support teachers, some work with students, some work with both students and teachers.  Still others have their own classrooms but are called upon by their schools to facilitate collaboration among their peer teachers and take on other leadership roles.

Yesterday

In the spring of 2004, a group of superintendents in Southeast Arkansas approached the Southeast Arkansas Education Service Cooperative (SEARK) with a request to support them in identifying, hiring, and training a cadre of mathematics “coaches”.  SEARK partnered with the Arkansas Center for Mathematics and Science Education to define the important characteristics that these educators needed to possess, as well as design and provide professional development for the group.  The professional development began in Monticello in May of 2004.  There were about 60 “coaches” in the initial group.  The project grew dramatically in the next few years.  Sites were added at other education service cooperatives: North Central, Northeast, Crowley’s Ridge, Wilbur Mills (also serving North Little Rock and Little Rock school districts), Dawson (also serving South Central, Southwest, and DeQueen-Mena).

In 2007, the Arkansas Department of Education awarded a Mathematics Science Partnership Grant to the University of Central Arkansas to fund the continuation of the professional development for coaches at the six existing locations and a site was added at the Arkansas Education Television Network (AETN).  The sessions at AETN were video-taped and are available on the Arkansas IDEAS Portal.  They were attended by participants from Arch Ford Cooperative and Pulaski County Special School District, and were broadcast to sites at the Arkansas River, Ozark Unlimited Resources, Northwest, and Western Education Service Cooperatives.  At that point, all of the cooperatives had participating schools and all three of the districts in Pulaski County had coaches or leaders attending. The number of participants during the three years of MSP funding exceeded 250.  Not all of the educators attending were full time mathematics “coaches” but all had leadership roles in their schools and districts.  

The professional development for the coaches included monthly, day-long sessions at each site and 4-day summer institutes at each site.  During the first year of MSP funding, the content focus was on number, operations and the connections to algebra, and leadership focus was on the mathematics-coaching model developed by Lucy West.  In year two, the content focus was geometry and measurement, and the leadership focus was on the WESTAT research on coaching. In year three, the content focus was probability, data analysis and statistics, and the leadership focus was the PRIME Leadership document from the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics.  The MSP funding for this project ended June 30, 2010.

Today

Some of the locations will continue providing monthly or quarterly support for the coaches in their area.  There is also a statewide effort to organize these coaches, teacher leaders and others with leadership roles in mathematics education into a professional organization that will affiliate with ACTM and NCSM.  This organization will be called the Arkansas Association of Mathematics Leaders (AAML). This article is part of the first Leadership Corner, a new feature of the ACTM Newsletter, providing information and support to mathematics leaders.  BestQuest Teaching Systems has kindly agreed to support this feature for this school year.  AAML will hold a brief meeting at the Arkansas Curriculum Conference (ACC) to elect officers and continue organizing. This meeting will take place on Thursday afternoon from 4:10 pm-5:30 pm at the Peabody Salon C room, followed by a reception sponsored by Best Quest.  Refer to your program book and look for signs. If you have a leadership or coaching role in your school or district at any level, please attend this organizational meeting. In addition, university mathematics professors and teacher educators who serve a leadership role with pre-service and in-service teachers are also invited to join. You can join AAML through the ACC registration form, by mailing the membership form on page 23,  or when you attend the organizational meeting at ACC.  There will also be short course offered at ACC featuring Dr. Randy Charles (see description below). 

Tomorrow

AMTE has established a set of standards for Elementary Mathematics Specialists (www.amte.net) called Elementary Mathematics Specialists: A Reference for Teacher Credentialing and Degree Programs.  The organization, with funding from the Brookhill Foundation, sponsored a conference on establishing elementary mathematics specialist certification June 22-23, 2010, in Louisville, KY.  Beverly Williams, Associate Director of the Arkansas Department of Education, submitted Arkansas’ application to send a team to the conference.  Arkansas was one of ten states selected to participate from among 25 applicants. The team consisted of: Dr. Linda Griffith, Professor of Mathematics, University of Central Arkansas; Dr. Dianna Pounder, Dean of the College of Education, University of Central Arkansas; Sarah Hogg, Director of Professional Development, Sheridan School District; Karl-Henry Romain, Mathematics Specialist, Little Rock School District; and Melissa Jacks, Arkansas Department of Education Office of Professional Licensure.  Dr. Suzanne Mitchell, Associate Professor of Mathematics at Arkansas State University, also attended in her role as President-Elect for the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics and participated with the Arkansas team.  This team will expand to include other stakeholders, and will explore the feasibility of an elementary mathematics specialist endorsement for Arkansas. 

The future for mathematics coaches and leaders is bright in Arkansas, and the opportunity to have a positive impact on student learning and achievement is great.  In subsequent issues of the Leadership Corner, research on the impact of different coaching models on student achievement will be explored. §