Developing Mathematics Teacher Leaders for Connecticut Alliance School Districts

This project aims to serve the national interest by developing highly effective mathematics teacher leaders who can address mathematics-specific instructional needs of the 33 high-need school districts in Connecticut. The Connecticut Alliance Districts serve over 40% of the state’s students and most of its students of color, low-income students, and English learner students.

To support these districts, the project will implement a five-year mathematics leadership development program for mathematics teacher leaders. The project aims to use the mathematics teacher leader program to strengthen, advance, and grow the body of research on teacher leadership and its impact on supporting equitable outcomes in mathematics education.

Participants will engage in workshops, a graduate certificate program, and a mathematics leadership academy. Project activities will augment the skills mathematics teacher leaders need to serve as mentors, coaches, and professional development providers for prospective and current mathematics teachers and enhance the state’s capacity to deliver ongoing mathematics teacher professional development.

This project at the University of Connecticut includes collaborators from the Neag School of Education and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and partnerships with the Connecticut State Department of Education and Alliance Districts. The project will recruit 20 exemplary in-service secondary mathematics teachers from the Alliance Districts. The goals are to: (1) develop a cadre of knowledgeable and effective mathematics teacher leaders; (2) utilize mathematics teacher leaders as instructional leaders within their schools, districts, and throughout the state; and (3) develop programming for and a system to deliver ongoing learning opportunities for other mathematics teachers and teacher leaders (e.g., graduate certificate program, online learning modules).

Overall, this program is designed to: (1) impact a large number of diverse students (e.g., race/ethnicity, socio-economic status, English learners); (2) promote the retention of mathematics teachers in high-needs school settings; (3) enhance instructional effectiveness, with a specific focus on equity; and (4) create infrastructure for increasing math education instructional capacity. The project will be informed and enhanced by its engagement in a rigorous evaluation process.

Lessons-learned and project outcomes will be disseminated through two project conferences, Alliance Districts network, practitioner and research articles, and the project website. This Track 3: Master Teaching Fellowships project is supported through the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce). The Noyce program supports talented STEM undergraduate majors and professionals to become effective K-12 STEM teachers and experienced, exemplary K-12 teachers to become STEM master teachers in high-need school districts.

It also supports research on the persistence, retention, and effectiveness of K-12 STEM teachers in high-need school districts.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.