Baltimore City Public Schools Math
Math allows us to make sense of our world. When students see the power and joy in mathematics—not just the steps—they can use math knowledge and problem-solving skills to build the lives they dream about.
That’s why Baltimore City Public Schools is partnering with Leading Educators to sustain a coherent math instructional system that builds teacher efficacy and strengthens students’ access to challenging learning.
About the Partnership
The Challenge
In 2021, the Baltimore City Public Schools ESSA Strategic Plan revealed gaps in math achievement among students farthest from opportunity.
In SY18, 62.6% of general education students did not meet expectations compared to 92.2% of students with disabilities. Among our race/ethnicity groups, 39.4% of white students did not meet expectations on PARCC Math compared to 71.1% of black students.”
Pandemic-related challenges exacerbated historically rooted barriers to academic success, with a disproportionate impact on students of color, those with disabilities, and English language learners. Analysis of SY 20-21 district diagnostic data signaled that a large majority of students experienced growth from the beginning to the end of the year but not at the accelerated rate needed to surpass pre-pandemic levels.
The Solution: Strengthening Teacher Support
City Schools and Leading Educators are partnering on a multi-year math capacity-building strategy in grades 6 to 8 to help teachers accelerate learning in middle schools.
Using ongoing, inquiry-based professional learning connected to the Eureka Math curriculum, teachers in 20 middle schools are practicing what they teach to improve instructional rigor and differentiation.
This year, teachers are focusing on using academic language in mathematics to help students respond to math tasks with explanations of their reasoning that meet the demands of grade-level standards.
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Academic Planning Facilitators (APFs), who lead adult learning across the district, receive support from Leading Educators in content internalization so they can offer teachers sequenced professional development on instructional practices from the Eureka curriculum at the school level.
We also design turnkey learning materials on the curriculum as a common foundation for these sessions. This allows us to provide monthly internalization PD and bi-monthly coaching for APFs on how to go deep on content knowledge with teachers that is aligned with district priorities.
We’re taking a multi-layer approach to building instructional leadership and the conditions for exponential improvement from the classroom up to central office.
The Leading Educators team meets bi-weekly consultations with district-level leaders, including the Director of STEM and network support coaches (ACLs), to reflect on instructional progress and make adjustments to upcoming professional learning plans.
Leading Educators and City School’s Teaching and Learning Team (TnL) co-design turnkey professional learning cycles and conduct monthly internalization professional development for Academic Planning Facilitators (APFs) who will lead ongoing learning for teachers.
Academic Planning Facilitators (APFs) lead content cycles at their schools for all 6-8th grade teachers. APFs are supported by their Academic Content Liaison (ACL, district math coach) and their LE coach to internalize and facilitate the cycle and monitor teacher learning in one-on-one, bi-monthly coaching.
The Partnership in Action
Read related stories about the work in Baltimore from the math experts who are leading the partnership.
Learn About Our Literacy Work in Baltimore
In addition to the math, we are also partnering with Baltimore City Public Schools to build teachers’ knowledge and skill in using the science of reading across the system.
