New academy will strengthen math
Math teachers across the district will soon have a new layer of support when the district launches Math Academy, a year-long professional learning initiative focused on strengthening elementary math instruction.
The program, led by Cristal Jackson, director of Instructional Strategy, is part of a state requirement through House Bill 2 and will begin its pilot year in 2026–2027. Modeled after the Reading Academies, Math Academy is designed specifically for early grades.
“It’s for kindergarten through third grade,” Jackson said. “Right now, we’re targeting all kindergarten through second-grade teachers, third-grade math teachers, and administrators.”
In addition to teachers, those encouraged to participate in the academies include principals, assistant principals, and elementary instructional staff who support math on their campuses. The program consists of five modules.
The first two will be delivered face to face, with the remaining three completed virtually and asynchronously. All participants begin with a shared foundation before branching into grade-level pathways.
“Right now, everyone—administrators and teachers—will take modules one and two, and then split into specific pathways: kindergarten through first, second grade, and third grade. That’s where they’ll really dive into the specifics of their grade level,” Jackson said.
The district anticipates about 500 participants in this first year across seven pilot vertical teams: Wilmer-Hutchins, H. Grady Spruce, W.W. Samuell, Dr. L.G. Pinkston Sr., Emmett J. Conrad, David W. Carter, and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Those teams span 39 schools. Teachers must be part of the pilot vertical team, and their participation depends on whether they have already completed Reading Academies.
Math Academy begins for teachers with an orientation during the second or third week of school, followed by two full days of in-person professional development in late August. The remaining modules will take place over the course of the school year.
“When they do asynchronous work, that’s supposed to be after school during their weekly 90-minute PLC time,” Jackson said.
A key feature of the initiative is the support structure built around it. Cohort leaders, trained by the state, will guide educators throughout the year, offering feedback and helping them connect the strategies from the modules to actual classroom practice.
Jackson’s team is partnering with the Mathematics Department so that teachers can clearly see where Math Academy strategies appear in the curriculum. For example, when the program emphasizes discussion and student discourse, those opportunities will be clearly flagged within math lessons to help teachers apply what they are learning.
Jackson contrasted Math Academy with Math Magic, an existing district initiative centered on fluency and timed student practice. Math Academy focuses on teacher knowledge and confidence.
“The impact is that teachers feel comfortable teaching math, and that we’re helping to build their capacity in ensuring that they can take that learning and help student achievement and student outcomes across the board,” Jackson said.
The district expects gains in the early grades to carry forward into upper elementary as students build a stronger foundation in number sense and fluency.
Looking ahead, the district has mapped out a multi-year rollout, with plans to expand beyond the initial seven vertical teams and train educators by the 2030-2031 school year, Jackson said.
As she put it, the team is “really excited to kick off this pilot year and to bring this learning to our teachers, with the ultimate goal of helping students see themselves as capable, confident mathematicians.”
