Research shows a decline in student mathematics scores since the pandemic, highlighting the urgent need to address academic recovery and improve mathematics achievement in classrooms nationwide.
To support educators in making high-quality mathematics instruction accessible to all students, Bank Street Graduate School of Education, in partnership with the Education Development Center (EDC), is expanding the Math for All professional learning program for K–8 general and special education teachers across five states through a five-year grant from the US Department of Education’s Innovation and Research program.
The program—which was first developed in 2003 and has steadily expanded, working in schools from Illinois, New Jersey, and New York since 2021—is designed to help educators personalize rigorous mathematics instruction for a wide range of learners, including those with disabilities. The new grant will allow Math for All to broaden its reach nationally to include schools in Montana and New Mexico focusing on serving high-needs schools with diverse populations of students in various settings.
“To address student learning outcomes in mathematics, the Math for All professional learning equips teachers with a variety of tools to examine and, ultimately, refine their knowledge, skills, and dispositions regarding who their students are as learners and mathematicians,” said Nesta Marshall, Supervised Fieldwork Advisor & Course Instructor, Bank Street Graduate School of Education, and Co-Principal Investigator and Facilitator, Math for All, who is coordinating Bank Street’s $2.36 million subcontract of the $15 million grant.
Led by a team of Math for All coaches from Bank Street and EDC, the program helps educators learn to plan cognitively demanding mathematics lessons and tailor instruction to reach all students through a neurodevelopmental approach. The model also fosters collaboration between general and special education teachers by including opportunities for team lesson planning.
As part of the program, the team will lead Math for All workshops to build the capacity of local staff developers to become Math for All facilitators, as well as cohorts of general education, special education, and bilingual education teachers, to utilize the Math for All framework with their students. Additionally, the team will conduct research to evaluate if Math for All’s impacts can be successfully replicated in new settings with different populations and identify the conditions under which the program is most effective.
“This initiative reflects Bank Street’s and EDC’s commitment to empowering educators with the knowledge and skills they need to support student success and enrich the educational experience so that mathematics is accessible to all learners,” said Babette Moeller, Distinguished Scholar, and Principal Investigator, Math for All, EDC.
To learn more about Math for All, visit mathforall.edc.org