Delta Math Training - registration open

Kalamazoo RESA is hosting a Delta Math team training on

Friday, March 4, 2011.

The team training application is now available online. Application/registration is required.

What is Delta Math?

The program includes three web-based, diagnostic screeners (Fall, Winter and Spring) for grades one through eight. All screeners provide quick and efficient data collection of student performance aligned to Michigan's Grade Level Content Expectations.

Detailed program design and implementation information is available for all interested parties on the program support page.

Delta Math's November 22 Press Release has additional program details and comments from current program participants.

K-5 Monthly Math Workgroup: Using Children's Books to Increase Student Learning in Math

This month's K-5 workgroup for K-5 teachers is sponsored by Kalamazoo's very own Bookbug! Register to attend now and be entered in a drawing to win a basket of books from Bookbug!

Are you a K-5 math teacher who wants to know more about integrating children's books into your math lessons? If so, come to this month’s Math Workgroup at Kalamazoo RESA.
We will spend time looking at various children’s books and discussing ways to use them to enhance the mathematics learning in your classroom. You will leave with literature resources that will help you to plan lessons that integrate children’s books into your math instruction.

Agenda
• Modeled lesson with manipulatives and children’s literature
• Aligning children’s books to the Common Core
• Modeling a lesson with manipulatives
• Explore children’s books for potential math topics
• What’s the research say about incorporating children’s literature into math instruction?
• Lesson study
• Summary and reflection

FREE!!!
February 8
4:30-6:30
Kalamazoo RESA

If you have your own laptop, bring it. Otherwise, we will have laptops available for your use. Light refreshments will be provided free of charge but feel free to bring your own snack as well.

Registration
In order for us to get an accurate count for materials and refreshments, complete the short form at: http://tinyurl.com/math-workgroup
by the Friday prior to the Math Workgroup monthly meeting

Math Positions Posted for Kalamazoo Public Schools

Kalamazoo Public Schools has two open math positions to be filled immediately.

High School Math Teacher
Minimum Qualifications:
1. BS or BA degree
2. Valid Michigan certificate with Math (EX) endorsement
3. Must be Highly Qualified in the content area
4. Possess technology skills
Preferred Qualifications:
1. Successful experience working with a diverse population in an urban setting
2. Successful classroom teaching experience

Middle School Math Teacher
Minimum Qualifications:
1. BS or BA degree
2. Valid Michigan certificate with Math (EX) endorsement
3. Must be Highly Qualified in content area
4. Possess technology skills
Preferred Qualifications:
1. Successful experience working with a diverse population in an urban setting
2. Successful classroom teaching experience

Interested applicants should complete the on-line application process.

Kalamazoo Public Schools is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

National education reform organization comes to Michigan, makes students top priority

ANN ARBOR, Michigan (December 17, 2010) – With support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Skillman Foundation, The Education Trust-Midwest – a new statewide education policy and advocacy organization – launches this month, dedicated to promoting high academic achievement and opportunity for all Michigan students, particularly those who are often underserved: low-income students and students of color.

Ed Trust-Midwest will do that by :

• Serving as an independent source of reliable, honest information about our schools and a watchdog by conducting research and analyzing data the help build broader understanding of achievement and opportunity gaps and what it will take to close them.
  
• Working alongside educators, parents, students, policymakers, and civic and business leaders to provide expertise and practical assistance in their efforts to transform schools and colleges into institutions that serve all students well.
  
• Participating in national and state policy debates, bringing lessons learned from on-the-ground work and unflinching data analyses to improve policies that help all students and schools reach high levels of achievement.

This new Midwestern organization was established by The Education Trust - a powerful voice in federal policy working on behalf of the best interests of America’s students - to address the need to improve student learning in Michigan and close the gaps in opportunity and achievement for children of all backgrounds statewide. Ed Trust’s first state-focused office -- The Education Trust-West -- is based in Oakland, California.

"Many of the most important decisions driving school improvement are made at the state level. So it's no wonder that there is a wide range of education organizations in Lansing representing the interests of the adults employed by Michigan's schools," said Kati Haycock, president of The Education Trust. "Ed Trust-Midwest, on the other hand, will evaluate policies, practices, and dollars spent through a unique lens: what's best for the students themselves."

Ed Trust-Midwest’s founding executive director is Amber Arellano, who most recently served as columnist and editorial board writer for The Detroit News. Throughout her career she has covered immigration, politics, race relations, and education in the Midwest, Southern California and Mexico. She has done policy work in the U.S. and Europe, and taught and mentored students of every age, from elementary school to college. The first in her family – an United Auto Worker household – to go to college, Arellano earned a Master of Public Policy at the University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy and bachelor’s degrees in secondary education and journalism at Michigan State University.

“Like many Michiganders and metro Detroiters, I’ve watched this difficult and painful economic crisis devastate our communities over the last several years,” Arellano said. “For our state to get back on track, we must focus like a laser on ensuring that all Michigan kids get the great education they need to have a fair shot at achieving the American dream. The Education Trust-Midwest will play an integral role in that overdue and important work.”

In January, Ed Trust-Midwest will release its first report, which will lay out a pro-active agenda for Michigan to become a national leader in education. For more information, visit www.edtrustmidwest.org.

Adventures with Mathematics: combating summer learning loss

Michigan Council of Teachers of Mathematics (MCTM) is continuing to work on a series of books titled Adventures with Mathematics, which provide students with short problems as well as hands-on activities for each grade level and are designed to minimize summer learning loss. The proceeds from the sales of the books will be used for the MCTM scholarship endowment fund to provide scholarships for future mathematics teachers.

They are in need of some more activities and short problems to help make this series a success. The following books are still in need of good problems and activities

• Kindergarten to Grade 1
• Grade 2 to Grade 3
• Grade 3 to Grade 4
• Grade 7 to Grade 8
• Grade 8 to Algebra 1
• Algebra 2 to Senior Mathematics

For a detailed list of which GLCE's and HSCE's still need problems and activities, visit F2010 Needs for Adventures with Mathematics books.pdf

If you are willing to help or have further questions, please contact either Char Beckmann at beckmannc21@aol.com or Jean Williams at jeanwms17@sbcglobal.net.

USED Data Express

ED Data Express is a Web site designed to improve the public's ability to access and explore high-value state-level education data collected by the U.S. Department of Education. The site is designed to be interactive and to present the data in a clear, easy-to-use manner, with options to download information into Excel or manipulate the data within the Web site.

ED Data Express includes three tools that allow users to access and view the data: a State Snapshots page, a Data Element Explorer, and a Build a State Table page. The State Snapshot pages include charts and tables with key data for each state. The Data Element Explorer allows users to view a single element across all states, both graphically and in a table. The Build a State Table page allows users to build customized tables by selecting specific data elements and specific states.

Curious about Michigan's data? Check out Data Express to see how we measure up against others.

GVSU's Math Education Conference Announcement

2011 Concurrent Conferences on Mathematics Education

Math In Action: Strategies for Student Success

Conversations among Colleagues: Common Core Standards: Implications for Mathematics Education

8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Mackinac Hall
Allendale Campus
Grand Valley State University
Grand Rapids, MI

Conference Highlights

Math in Action
Math in Action is of interest to K–12 teachers of mathematics. The conference features five concurrent interactive sessions. During sessions, participants engage in hands-on activities they can use with their own students in learning mathematics. SB-CEUs will be available for most sessions.

Special this year, Math in Action will run concurrently with Conversations among Colleagues, a conference for college and university mathematics educators and mathematicians and K–12 mathematics teacher leaders and administrators. Jere Confrey (North Carolina State University) will present the purpose of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), their implications, and questions raised. Zalman Usiskin (University of Chicago), will present a curriculum developer’s view of the CCSS. Sessions throughout the day will highlight learning trajectories for whole number (Sybilla Beckmann, University of Georgia), fractions (Jere Confrey), measurement (Jack Smith, Michigan State University), algebra (Lisa Kasmer, GVSU and Jill Newton, Purdue University), and geometry (Christian Hirsch and Alden Edson, Western Michigan University), with examples for specific grade levels and implications for the surrounding grades. Mary Bouck will also present formative assessment with respect to the CCSS.

Conference fees are $35 for professors and administrators, $30 for teachers, $20 for graduate students, and $15 for undergraduate students.

Participants may choose sessions from both conferences.

Conference program is now available here.

Questions
For further information, please email conference co-chairs Charlene Beckmann at beckmannc21@aol.com or Karen Novotny at novotnka@gvsu.edu.

January Math Workgroup for K-5 Teachers: Register NOW

Are you a K-5 math teacher who wants to know more about effectively integrating math games into your math lessons? Into your math centers?

Do you wonder how you can use math games to help students develop conceptual and procedural understanding of important math concepts?

If so, come to January’s Math Workgroup at Kalamazoo RESA.

We will spend time exploring various math games and discussing ways to use them to enhance the mathematics learning in your classroom. You will leave with math games resources that will help you to plan lessons (without or without using math centers) that integrate games into your math instruction.

Registration for the January Math Workgroup session is now open. But, hurry! The 50 spots are sure to fill quickly!

January 11, 2011
4:30-6:30 pm
Kalamazoo RESA
FREE
Light refreshments provided

For information about this workgroup and all the other math workshops offered at KRESA, visit our professional development page.

Spiral-bound Common Core Math Booklets NOW Available

Schools and districts are now able to order the complete set of Common Core State Standards for Math (CCSS-M) from REMC12 printing. And, better yet, the order can be placed online! The booklet contains the full set of content and practice standards for mathematics for grades K-12 AND Appendix A which outlines model course pathways for high school mathematics.

The price of each booklet drops significantly with each additional booklet ordered:
1 booklet $39.94/booklet
5 booklets 17.27/booklet
10 booklets 14.43/booklet
25 booklets 12.41/booklet

To order, go to REMC12 printing and log in or create an account. Then, from the product listing, select Common Core State Standards for Math and place your order.

What year are you preparing your students for? 1980 or 2020?

Explore these questions and raise your own with internationally recognized curriculum expert Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs in what promises to be a lively and engaging webinar event. She will share her newest project on how upgrade professional development as well as provide you with specific resources