Virginia Mathematics Teacher Fall 2016

Note from The Virginia Department of Education: The Mathematics and Science Partnership Michael Bolling

The Mathematics and Science Partnership (MSP) program is designed to improve the content knowledge of teachers and the performance of students in the areas of mathematics and science by encouraging states, institutions of higher education (IHE), local education agencies (LEA), and elementary and secondary schools to participate in programs that:  Improve and upgrade the status and stature of mathematics and science teaching by encouraging IHE to improve mathematics and science teacher education;  Focus on the education of mathematics and science teachers as a career-long process;  Bring mathematics and science teachers together with scientists, mathematicians, and engineers to improve their teaching skills; and  Provide summer institutes and ongoing professional development for teachers to improve their knowledge and teaching skills. Partnerships between high-need school districts and the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) faculty in institutions of higher education are the core of these improvement efforts. Other partners may include state education agencies, public charter schools or other public or private schools, businesses, and nonprofit or for- profit organizations concerned with mathematics and science education. The MSP program is a formula grant program to the states, with the size of individual state awards based on student population and poverty rates. Each state is responsible for administering a competitive grant competition, in which grants are made to partnerships to improve teacher content knowledge in mathematics and science. As a part of MSP grant requirements, IHE are required to provide public access to products and professional development resources developed through grant funding. The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) provides access to these resources through the VDOE MSP website. http://www.doe.virginia.gov/federal_programs/ esea/title2/part_b/index.shtml Over 80 MSP grant projects have been

funded since 2003, providing growth opportunities to an estimated 7,500 mathematics and science teachers.

Michael Bolling Virginia Department of Education Michael.Bolling@vdoe.virginia.gov

Virginia Mathematics Teacher vol. 43, no. 1

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