It All Adds Up For Delaware

Happy New Year from Education First! We believe that following through is the new innovation. The evidence-based equity strategies with which we support our clients will indeed help lift achievement if co-designed with people closest to the problem and if implemented with fidelity. This month, we will continue the conversation about high-quality instructional materials (HQIM) from our last newsletter, with a deeper dive into the new Delaware K12 Mathematics Plan. Together with the Delaware Department of Education and Rivet Education, Education First supported a steering committee of educators, instructional coaches, principals, district leaders and state education specialists to flesh out how classroom, school and district educators can help all students achieve mathematics success. Read on to understand more about the Math Plan, and consider whether the time is now for your state or district to gather its leading mathematics stakeholders to revitalize their mathematics strategy.

Cheers,

Jenn Vranek

How Delaware is doing it right.

Since 2017, the Delaware Department of Education has partnered with CCSSO and other states in the Instructional Materials and Professional Development Network to help its districts adopt and implement better curricular resources and teacher supports. More recently, Delaware has joined states like New Mexico and Washington to provide mathematics-specific guidance to improve student success. The newly-released Delaware K12 Math framework lays out clear actions, planning considerations, and resources and connections for five components of a comprehensive math approach: academics, high-quality professional learning, collaborative leadership, a culture of access and equity, and community and family engagement. As one steering committee member said,

“Our conversations always resonate with the group. We are in it together for the benefit of students and teachers' learning and enjoying doing mathematics in new ways. Spending the time we did on discussing the math plan and visions of what it takes to have a solid math plan should be the model for students to see that it takes several iterations to get a good plan.”

Delaware’s vision for mathematics is that all students can competently and flexibly use mathematical ideas to think critically and solve problems through various life experiences. To fully realize this vision, each school district needs an effective and equitable mathematics system that is coherent and centers those closest to students. That’s why The DDOE partnered with a steering committee of 26 educators and community members across the state who met over eight months. The steering committee included teachers, school-based instructional leaders, school administrators, district instructional leaders, district administrators, families and caregivers, as well as staff from across the state education department. The DDOE also engaged a broader group of stakeholders, including state legislators, State Board of Education members, and representatives from educator preparation programs and other education organizations.

The framework is meant for school and system leaders responsible for the definition and execution of local instructional visions and governance. It is designed as a touchstone for the Delaware Department of Education work to support mathematics instruction and ultimately strengthen mathematical identities and knowledge of students and adults, tighten alignment and establish shared languages across the state, and eliminate historical patterns of inequality in mathematics education. This framework isn’t just an idea: It contains a clear set of tools for those to take and use to raise the education level of Delaware students.

The Delaware K12 Mathematics Framework and supporting materials, including a toolkit for school and school system leaders, can be found in Digital DE.