The Capital City Math Dissemination Project aimed to increase the level of math instruction and student achievement, both at Capital City and externally at partner schools, such as Wheatley Educational Campus. The project focused on equipping teachers for strong implementation of Common Core Math Standards and constructivist math practices.

The project began with the development of a series of K-8 benchmark assessments aligned to the Common Core. Capital City houses these benchmark assessments and other resources within a website (mathroot.wikispaces.com), which offers easy access and sharing capabilities.

A group of teacher leaders – the Math Cadre – and their instructional coaches spearheaded the work for this grant. They also utilized the expertise of a math consultant, who worked individually with instructional coaches and with the Cadre, and as a group through monthly professional development meetings. In order to share their work and best practices with other teachers at Capital City and Partner Schools, the Cadre planned and hosted a series of 10 lab-sites. These lab-sites focused on strengthening constructivist practices, gaining a better understanding of the inverted workshop model, and improving teachers’ implementation of standard teacher practices. In order to further share the work with other teachers, the consultant and instructional coaches also led a math camp during summer 2013. Lastly, as part of a greater initiative to involve families in instruction, the Math Cadre also coordinated a Family Math Night to teach parents strategies to support their child’s math skills development.

The project finished with the refinement and sharing of a fully-tested set of benchmark assessments aligned to the Common Core, along with many useful tools. These resources aim to help teachers both at Capital City and beyond in better assessing and preparing students for testing, and more importantly, for success in math.

Charter School Program Dissemination Grant