Fellow Spotlight

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Jackie Rankin, Bulkeley High School, Hartford Public Schools

Noyce Fellow Jackie Rankin, along with Hartford-colleague and Noyce Fellow Kate Grayeb, are spearheading an effort to support Hartford math in taking up and implementing the Building Thinking Classrooms (BTC) (Liljedahl, 2020) instructional model. Jackie and Kate were asked by her math director to co-lead this work with a cohort of 30 teachers from grades 6 through 12 who are piloting BTC. In this role, they present webinar-type sessions for teachers, to inform them of the key ideas and philosophies of BTC and facilitate collaborative study groups throughout the year to support teachers as they implement the model in their classrooms. In addition, Jackie was TEAM trained (mentoring training for the state) as part of the Noyce program and is hosting a student teacher from UConn this year. Jackie is excited to mentor and collaborate with her student teacher and highlight the benefits of teaching math and teaching in Hartford. Extending her leadership activities, Jackie presented to teachers, coaches and math leaders at the Association of Teachers of Mathematics in New England (ATMNE) annual conference in October in Portland, Maine. The session focused on effective task design- drawing on BTC principles – to enhance engagement and student autonomy. Jackie is teaching Algebra 1 and a Freshman intervention course called Transition to Algebra this year. 

Fellow Spotlight

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Kelsey Onofrio, Joseph Melillo Middle School, East Haven Public Schools

Kelsey Onofrio is one of two 8th-grade teachers at Joseph Melillo Middle School in East Haven. As a Fellow, she has stepped into multiple leadership roles this year at the school-level and beyond.  Last spring, Kelsey opened her classroom for math coaches from Hartford Public Schools to observe the Building Thinking Classroom (BTC) model in action. Within her school, Kelsey will be a TEAM mentor for the first time, supporting a new 7th-grade math teacher. Drawing on her experience working with the BTC model, Kelsey was asked to lead an interdisciplinary initiative to bring the model to all subject areas at her middle school. In addition, Kelsey was invited to participate as part of East Haven’s team in an interdistrict consortium through The Acceleration Networked Improvement Community (NIC) and Partners for Educational Leadership. Reaching out state-wide, in August, Kelsey – along with Fellows Marta Soto-Johnson and William McKinney – hosted a Back-to-School Webinar on BTC and how to design curricular tasks that promote student autonomy. The webinar was attended by educators from across the state and is posted online at this link.   



Fellow Spotlight

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Shawn McClory, Manchester High School, Manchester Public Schools

   

Shawn McClory teaches statistics, geometry and AP Statistics at Manchester High School. Stepping into some new leadership roles, Shawn is hosting a UConn master’s intern this year. Together they are exploring how to help students find more meaning in math class and connect it to their future endeavors. Shawn will continue to improve his own teacher practice while mentoring a future classroom teacher. Shawn is also a TEAM Mentor this year for a second-year math teacher. Extending beyond his classroom, Shawn hosted UConn’s senior math education cohort for a session, leading them in activities and discussion about implementing problem solving tasks and supporting high engagement. He facilitated a similarly focused district back-to-school professional development session. In October, he presented Launching Problem Solving Tasks to Maximize Engagement at his first regional conference, the Association of Teachers of Mathematics in New England (ATMNE), in Portland, Maine. Shawn is extensively involved in other aspects of the school and community. He is currently the treasurer of the local teachers union, the Manchester Education Association (MEA); coaches basketball and golf; and serves on Climate Committee and as the advisor to LINK- a student leadership and mentor group that organizes events and programs to build camaraderie between student leaders and the ninth graders.

CCLM Winter Roundtable Event

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CCLM would like to invite you to register for our Winter Roundtable Event. Please see details below:

EVENT:  CCLM Winter 2024 Panel & Roundtable Event

WHEN:  Friday February 2, 2024 9:00-2:30

WHERE: Albertus Magnus College

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER

Discussion Focus: The Essential Conditions identified in the Equity in Mathematics Education: A Joint Position Statement for Connecticut which was fully endorsed by the State Board of Education September 6, 2023.

Math Research Partnership Opportunity

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In collaboration with Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Research and Reform in Education, The Math Learning Center (MLC) is seeking district partners for a research project involving our newest edition of Bridges in Mathematics Third Edition. As you may have heard,the latest edition of Bridges in Mathematics is designed to promote deep understanding of mathematical concepts, proficiency with key skills, and the ability to solve complex problems. During Bridges instruction, students are actively engaged as capable mathematical sensemakers, drawing upon their knowledge bases to support learning. Bridges also supports teachers in delivering engaging, rigorous, standards-based instruction while incorporating equitable and effective teaching practices.

The goals of the research project are to:

  • Examine short-term and long-term program impacts of Bridges on student learning
  • Understand educator implementation of Bridges
  • Refine professional learning experiences for Bridges educators 

Benefits of the project include:

  • Bridges curriculum kits for participating K-5 classrooms at no cost 
  • Professional learning workshops at no cost
  • Stipends for teacher participating in research activities
  • Opportunities to give input on data collection instruments
  • Sharing of findings through reports or presentations

To be eligible, districts must:

  • Serve a diverse student population
  • Have at least 13 elementary schools
  • Are not currently using Bridges or Number Corner

Interested districts can learn more about the research project by completing the form at bit.ly/B3Research_Interest or by contacting MLC’s Director of Research, Emily Saxton, at emilys@mathlearningcenter.org.

Free Workshop Coming Soon (Middle School)

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Grades 6 & 7 mathematics teachers are invited to join a free online workshop about Visual Access to Mathematics, a professional learning course with a focus on English learners/multilingual learners (Els/MLs). This will take place on Monday, December 4, 2023 from 3:15 – 4:45 pm. This workshop will provide a sneak peak into the Visual Access to Mathematics professional learning course that will be offered starting in 2024. For more details and information on how to register, see the attached flyer.

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Defined Professional Learning Opportunities in Fairfield County

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Defined Learning

The CSDE, in partnership with Defined, is providing an immersive and collaborative professional learning opportunity to engage educators in Defined Learning on December 6th from 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM EST at Ponus Ridge STEAM Academy. Click here for more information and to register.

Defined Learning is one of three components of the Defined ecosystem available to all CT districts at no cost. This immersive and collaborative experience brings together educators to introduce the Defined Learning resources and discuss best practices to utilize them in the classroom. Please bring a personal electronic device such as a laptop. All inquiries can be sent to Cheryl Tokarski at Cheryl.Tokarski@ct.gov.

Defined Careers

The CSDE, in partnership with Defined, is providing an immersive and collaborative professional learning opportunity to engage educators in Defined Careers on December 7th from 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM EST at Stamford Public Schools. Click here for more information and to register.

Defined Careers is one of three components of the Defined ecosystem available to all CT districts at no cost. This immersive and collaborative professional learning experience brings together school counselors and educators to deepen their understanding of how to utilize Defined Careers in the classroom, in advisory, and for career guidance. Please bring a personal electronic device such as a laptop. All inquiries can be sent to Cheryl Tokarski at Cheryl.Tokarski@ct.gov.

Technology Education Cross Endorsement Opportunity

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We are reaching out to current certified educators.  Starting in mid November, we will be offering weekly study / test preparation sessions for those of you interested in taking the Technology Education cross endorsement praxis test (5051).  We will accept only 20 participants.  Please consider your schedule, and commitments, and make sure you can fully participate.

Below are some important details:

Meeting Times:

The virtual study sessions will take place on these Tuesdays via Google Meet Link.

11/14, 11/21, 11/28, 12/5*

From 7:45 to 8:30 p.m.

Participants will be expected to study independently between these sessions, participate in the *12/5 asynchronous session and complete a *12/5 asynchronous exit slip.

Fee Reimbursement and Stipend

These fees are to be paid, upfront, by the participant. Upon providing a test registration receipt, the program will reimburse each participant:

  • $200 stipend upon full participation in the program.
  • $140 which includes funding to cover the majority of test preparation and test fees.
  • $50 towards the cross endorsement application
  • $50 towards the endorsement fee upon passing the test

These amounts will be issued with a w-9 on file.  We will clearly explain the timeline for stipend/reimbursements during our first workshop.

All receipts should be submitted in PDF format before March 15, 2023. No participant  requests will be processed after this date.

Test Information

The Technology Education 5051 test is available as an:

  • AT HOME TEST.  Please see this LINK
  • IN PERSON TEST.  Please see this LINK

Cross endorsement application and test scheduling will be the responsibility of the participant. Please do not schedule a test until your participation in the program is confirmed.

Application

If interested, please apply here or copy and paste into your browser: https://forms.gle/2ahai8p37SUgFPzu6

A confirmation will be issued by Thursday evening, November 9, 2023. 

Any questions, please contact CT STEM Academy at info@ctstemacademy.org