The Rural Math Collaborative will strengthen a system of support for math instruction across the state, specifically supporting small County Offices of Education and small Local Educational Agencies. Key components of the Rural Math Collaborative include on-going, high quality professional development and coaching, ongoing Professional Learning Networks (PLN) focused on mathematics instruction (including Lesson Study) and mathematics interventions focused on issues faced by small, rural, isolated support providers. The Rural Math Collaborative will accelerate learning in mathematics by building capacity and supporting participating county offices of education (COE) and local educational agencies (LEA) with the following:

•     Professional Development
•     Professional Learning Networks
•     Coaching
•     Lesson Design and Lesson Study
•     Intervention Support

RMC efforts will initially focus on building the capacity of rural COE partners throughout the state and then expand to all LEAs interested in learning acceleration strategies for mathematics.  

The RMC will also build, pilot, and scale two evidence-based intervention programs: High Impact Tutoring and SpringMath. Recent research demonstrates tutoring programs consistently lead to large improvements in learning outcomes for students, including research indicating that tutoring can double or triple the amount of math high school students learn in one year. The RMC will work to build capacity with participating counties and LEAS to implement tutoring programs that honor the small and rural context while maximizing impact on accelerating success in mathematics. SpringMath is a comprehensive response to intervention (RTI) system that includes screening, progress monitoring, class-wide and individual math intervention, implementation support, and decision-making support. Assessments are generated within the tool when needed and SpringMath uses student data to customize class-wide and individual intervention plans for students. According to SpringMath’s website, SpringMath “is built on a robust foundation of embedded coaching and support for each teacher as well as access to support documentation and help.” Visit the SpringMath website to learn more about the program.