Elevating Excellence with 2024-25 Initiatives

Math specialists at the Lower School are a valuable resource to faculty and students. They provide effective coaching and training, instructional support, and more, to help meet the needs of diverse learners in mathematics. In their student-centered, instructional toolbox is a specialized knowledge of teaching and assessment methods, incorporation of technology in the classroom, along with the ability to differentiate instruction for a wide range of learners. Educational support at the Lower School is both individualized and systemic; ensuring that the teaching practices and routines that foster intellectual curiosity and problem solving abilities that are adaptable to each unique classroom and set of students.

New Lower School Math Initiatives 

Many new initiatives launched  this school year to advance the curriculum. Working with students at the Lower School since 2021, Math Specialist Marissa Pennington shares that the process of providing a world-class education to students is a collaborative effort across teachers and a collective commitment to immersion in the latest innovations for the art of teaching math. From summer studies of literature on increasing learning and engagement in math, offering students real-world opportunities to practice and develop math skills, curricular-focused professional development, and more, the preparations to optimize conditions for students to think critically and grow are abundant. “We’re building enthusiasm, skills, and pedagogy,” Pennington shared regarding the new math initiatives at the Lower School. 

Starting in the summer, all Lower School faculty read the transformational “Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics” by Peter Liljedahl, which distilled 15 years of the author’s experience into a practical guide that showcases 14 teaching particles that “create an ideal setting for deep mathematics learning to occur.”

Evidence-Based Best Practices

Lower School teachers started incorporating the evidence-based practices into their teaching and provided a framework for faculty workshops led by Pennington throughout the year. Workshops, which may fall on designated professional development days for faculty and staff, encourage teachers to share and further apply successful classroom strategies and practices that guide students to independent learning that goes beyond the procedural. With this vision in mind, Pennington imagines an expansion in professional development, as teachers will develop and lead math workshops of their own in the future. 

Young Mathletes: Continental Math League

For the fourth consecutive year, Grade 4 Students are set to participate in the Continental Math League competition. The school facilitates five math meets with students from November to February which generates greater excitement while offering profound opportunities to practice weighty math problem solving. It is also an important supplement to prepare students for future math programs in the Middle and Upper School as participating students show improved math and reading skills. The contest is a collaborative, team effort and students always show a positive attitude going into the competition when the season begins. Poly has consistently done well in the competition and has placed in the top 25% of participating schools nationwide. The school finished second in New York State in 2022.

Students are always invested in their progress and are provided opportunities for reflection on their progress as Pennington reviews the overall team result which doubles as a teaching opportunity, as students welcome the chance to learn and advance their progress.

Additional Academic-Focused Professional Development 

Teachers are also trained from the leaders and writers of the math curriculum utilized at Poly. In another professional development opportunity, the editor of Math in Focus, the K-8 math curriculum and textbook, visits the Lower School for direct and impactful training. The visit includes training to ensure that teachers and students are getting the most out of the foundational curriculum. Families will be part of the “Year of Math” as well. The Lower School will host Family Math Night for Grade 2 families in the spring (more information to come!).

This story highlights a few new math initiatives implemented in classrooms across the Lower School, but there are so many more innovative and successful math practices occurring. As Pennington says, “the sky’s the limit for math.” Funding to Poly’s Annual Giving campaign allows our visionary educators like Pennington to continue to expand rigorous academic offerings and programs.

If you would like to invest and support the expansion of initiatives such as this one, please consider making a gift to Annual Giving before Tuesday, December 3. From academics and financial aid, to the arts, athletics, faculty, or DEIB, your gift will make an immediate impact.