It’s natural to wonder, “is this experience going to be worth my time and money?” Especially math professional development. You might be hesitant about an independent math consultant who claims to help teachers working with students who struggle.
… What results is she really seeing?
You’re in the right place!
This post is a deep dive into one of my clients, East Side Union High School District in East San Jose, CA.
Meet ESUHSD
29,000 students
13 high schools
Urban setting
2,800 special education students
54% free reduced lunch
Scope of Work
Professional Development: Each year of collaboration, I planned and facilitated 10 sessions of professional development to district special education math teachers spaced throughout the year to cover the topics immediately before teachers would be teaching the content to their students. This allowed teachers to practice the mathematics themselves and learn strategies to increase student engagement.
Instructional Coaching: Each visit (typically 5 per year) I would spend one full day observing and meeting with special education math teachers across the district, focusing on first year or new to the district teachers. During the pandemic, this was all conducted virtually.
Math leadership coaching: I conducted a weekly virtual meeting with district math leadership to set goals and work collaboratively towards supporting the special education math teachers.
Scope & Sequence creation: In collaboration with district math leaders we developed and fine tuned a scope & sequence, resources, and pacing calendar for special education math teachers.
Results
As this was a large scope of work, I have qualitative and quantitative data…
Student Results
In my first year of work supporting ESUHSD (2018) students passing the special education math class rose from 75% to 81% from first to second semester, a 6% increase!
The virtual support I provided for special ed math teachers in 2020 after the pandemic shut down schools helped pass rates increase 4% from semester 1 (Dec 2019) to semester 2 (May 2020)
Teacher Outcomes
Survey results conducted at the end of the school year showed that teachers who attend my PD are seeing a positive impact in the classroom:
100% of special education math teachers felt the workshops we provided increased their confidence in the mathematics content
81% felt the content and strategies they learned at the workshops increased student achievement in their classrooms
100% of teachers reported using strategies they learned in the workshops in their classrooms
Next steps
Could your whole department or district use this kind of support? Contact me today and let’s come up with a customized plan for your unique needs.
Want a copy of my Math Achievement Framework for Administrators?
Click here to download my C.A.R.E.S. Math Achievement Framework so you can assess if we're on the same page about mathematics instruction and get an activity to use immediately with your staff!
Comments