School districts ally to improve math literacy

COLUMBIA BASIN - School districts in the Columbia Basin are joining forces to take on the challenge of improving student performance in math.

Twenty-three of 29 school districts in the North Central Educational Service District are members of the Mathematics Leadership Alliance, which started this year. Member schools in Grant County are Ephrata, Grand Coulee Dam, Moses Lake, Quincy, Soap Lake, Warden and Wilson Creek.

The goal of the Mathematics Leadership Alliance is to improve math achievement by 20 percent in the next three years, according to the Educational Service District.

"Before, every school (district) was kind of doing their own thing," said Soap Lake School District Superintendent John Adkins.

School districts are now working toward the same targets, developed by 150 math teachers who met for several days during the summer, Adkins said. The teachers are part of a teacher leadership team.

A governance team oversees all the work being done by the alliance, said Adkins, who is chair of the governance team. The governance team is in charge of staffing, fiscal resources, policy and the approval of recommendations from a math advisory team.

The math advisory team, made up of personnel selected by superintendents from each district, sets the direction for the alliance, Adkins said. In addition, the group compiles and analyzes data, and schedules training.

Adkins said the next step for the math leadership team is to develop classroom-based assessments. The teachers review data, provide feedback for the math advisory team and make recommendations.

"It's mathematics professional development for principals, superintendents, classroom teachers, teachers that are math coaches, anybody involved with education," said Mary Jane Ross, mathematics specialist for the North Central Educational Service District.

Ross said ever since Adkins and another superintendent gave a presentation about the alliance to the state superintendent's office, she has been getting requests for more information from throughout the state.

"It allows the smaller districts to have professional development they could never be able to have on their own," Ross said.

Quincy School District Superintendent Burton Dickerson said he believes being part of the Mathematics Leadership Alliance is going to benefit his school district.

"I absolutely do because all the school districts are working toward the same thing, and it only makes sense that we share information, share resources," Dickerson said.

He said the alliance brings math experts to the school, and the experts can see what Quincy is doing and what the district is working toward, he said.

Moses Lake School District is another Columbia Basin school district who joined the Mathematics Leadership Alliance.

"We do support the overall goal to improve mathematics instruction across the region," said Michelle Price, Moses Lake School District superintendent of curriculum and instruction.

Price said there is a recognition that students move across the region to other school districts.

Benefits of the alliance include having a set of specific learning targets, classroom-based assessments to measure student performance against the targets, and having professional development, she said.

On the state's side of getting students up to par in math, the state is looking at how it can be clearer in math targets, she said.

Ephrata School District Director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Andi Sperline said she agrees with Dickerson and Price regarding the benefits of the alliance.

"It's a great opportunity for all of us in the region," Sperline said.

She said the Ephrata School District supports the effort to raise math achievement.

The alliance benefits students and teachers, she added.

Adkins said member districts are being divided into subgroups so training can be offered at multiple locations. With subgroups, districts don't have to travel as far to receive training.

Making training sessions available for individual schools is in the works for the future, he said.

Ross said the Mathematics Leadership Alliance's goal to raise math achievement by 20 percent in three years is a big goal, but she doesn't believe it is impossible to reach.

"I think that's highly ambitious." she said. "Do I think that's doable over three years? I do."

She said her personal goal for the first year is for all the school districts to say joining the alliance was worthwhile.