FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 
Adan Garcia, Associate Director of Communications
(202) 510-0827, [email protected]

LEADING EDUCATORS LAUNCHES MATH TEACHING  PILOT WITH ATLANTA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Professional learning approach will help teachers bring engaging math lessons to life

August 12, 2019

ATLANTA, GA –  As Atlanta Public Schools (APS) students return to school today, math educators from some of the district’s schools have new supports to help them create excellent and equitable student experiences every day.

The Math PLC Pilot Program, launched in partnership with Leading Educators, focuses on strengthening professional supports for teachers within schools as they implement the Eureka Math curriculum.  To accelerate student learning outcomes, APS has made big bets on scaling adoption of higher-quality instructional materials and deepening teachers’ knowledge of math content, simultaneously building their awareness of implicit biases that affect teaching decisions and providing pedagogical approaches to address them.  Research demonstrates that teaching is the most influential within-school factor on a students’ success. Leading Educators will support APS leaders to foster alignment around a vision for excellent math instruction and work to strengthen the conditions for exponential student growth across classrooms and schools.

Over the next year, Leading Educators and APS will collaborate around the professional learning key lever in the APS Academic System.  The school-based professional learning approach provides weekly opportunities for math teachers to co-plan, practice teaching approaches, and analyze data with the guidance of “PLC leaders” in their building to implement the Eureka Math curricular program.  These school-based leaders will have access to supports including professional development workshops focused on refining the skills necessary for facilitating learning for their peers, and leadership coaching.

Leading Educators is a rapidly growing innovator of equity-centric instructional improvement for school systems across this country.  In addition to APS, the organization currently serves students in Chicago, Detroit, Greater Grand Rapids, New Orleans, and Tulsa Public Schools.

Earlier this summer, school teams enrolled in the pilot program participated in summer professional learning designed to prepare them for instructional leadership through an equity lens.  School-based professional learning activities begin this fall.

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ABOUT LEADING EDUCATORS

Leading Educators is reinventing professional development for teachers, igniting the potential for exponential impact in schools and across districts. We partner with states, districts, and public charter networks to design curriculum-based learning and support structures that create the conditions for continuous improvements in teaching across their schools–helping teachers reach more equitable student outcomes every day. www.leadingeducators.org