More than 2,000 math and science teachers converged on the Georgia World Congress Center this week to improve their skills through the two-day, third annual District-Focused Mathematics and Science event. The event also served as an opportunity to get teachers better acquainted with the third phase of the Georgia Performance Standards rollout of the new math curriculum, as well as the some $4 million worth of new equipment thanks to federal stimulus aid.
The program is sponsored by the GE Foundation’s Developing Futures in Education Grant and is part of the Math & Science Initiative. Professional learning sessions were used to refinforce district-wide instructional strategies proven by research to improve student engagement and achievement in math and science. “As we enter our third year, we’re becoming extraordinarily focused on our math and science instruction,” said Dr. Dottie Whitlow, director of APS’ Math & Science Department (pictured above, top middle). “We’re doing a better job of balancing the content we teach with the way that content is taught. So often what gets learned is dependent on how it gets learned. Whitlow also noted that the event allowed district staff to begin immediate implementation of a 12-week intervention program for students who struggled in last spring’s Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests (CRCTs).
The event is one of the most comprehensive professional-development programs offered by APS. Marie Killory (pictured above, top left), a science teacher at North Atlanta High, came to APS from her previous position as a researcher, and marveled at some of the programs that are at her disposal. “This is the best job you can have,” she said. “I have an amazing opportunity to get students interested in science early.” Killory has added incentive to fully maximize her APS experience; she has three sons attending Inman Middle and Grady High. “I want my students to have the same experience that my children have in Atlanta Public Schools.”