The East Alabama Partnership for the Improvement of Mathematics Education
has been formed to improve mathematics education in 12 school districts
in East Alabama with the support of Auburn University, Tuskegee University
and other partners. This partnership is guided by the belief that the
low mathematics achievement in its region can be solved through a multidimensional,
coordinated effort focusing not only on the schools, but also on the universities'
teacher preparation programs as well as community and parental factors.
The partners emphasize that they can accomplish more in collaboration
than can any one member individually. Indeed, the project has developed
an innovative approach in which the districts pool their limited resources
and are thus able to operate, in some respects, as one large district.
Together, the districts in this partnership serve roughly 56,000 students
who are growing up in an environment that is rural, very poor and heavily
African American (48% of the student population). Over five years, the
project expects to impact over 1700 K-12 teachers of mathematics in the
partner schools.
The East Alabama partnership is committed to ensuring
that all students in the region receive an equitable mathematics education
by participating in a rigorous curriculum that is taught by highly qualified
teachers who use a variety of instructional practices designed to promote
student learning and understanding. The project seeks to achieve its
aims by using methods shown to improve mathematics education elsewhere
and adapting them to the circumstances of East Alabama. The project will
sustain its efforts by building the long-term capacity of the system to
provide quality education in mathematics. At the school district level,
new curriculum guides will be developed and textbooks selected, forming
a foundation for achievement. The project will provide administrator
training and support to help administrators develop a more supportive
attitude toward mathematics. An emphasis on building internal capacity
through teacher leaders will create a generation of leaders in mathematics
education. Finally, the partnership of mathematicians and mathematics
educators from Auburn University and Tuskegee University is expected to
significantly alter their teacher education programs in order to produce
the qualified and diverse teacher workforce for the future..
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