Canutillo ISD Partnering with the Institute for Learning at the University of Pittsburgh on a Planning Grant for Math Teaching and Learning
Canutillo ISD is partnering with the Institute for Learning (IFL) at the University of Pittsburgh on a planning grant that the IFL was awarded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The goal of the planning grant is to design a multi-year plan for implementing a high-quality mathematics curriculum that results in increased teaching and learning for our 6th through 8th-grade students. The planning grant will provide a professional services team from the IFL that will work alongside district math teachers, students, families, and administrators to co-develop a plan for promoting best practices in mathematical teaching and learning of a cognitively challenging math curriculum.
Yirah Valverde, Ph.D., CISD Mathematics Curriculum and Instruction Coordinator, says that this grant supports the district’s existing efforts of increasing academic achievement in math in middle school grades. She also emphasizes that the project will benefit CISD’s most vulnerable students.
“Many here on the Canutillo leadership team worked to obtain this partnership that is led by some of the top math educators in the nation,” Valverde said. “This is not an overstatement. These are the authors of books on math teaching. It will be an honor to work alongside them.”
Valverde said that the District will be using the middle school math adoption, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) Texas GO Math! The program was designed using the latest academic and scholarly learnings about what constitutes good mathematics instruction.
“This project is about implementing this curriculum with fidelity. This includes curriculum, assessment, and instruction,” Valverde said. “This curriculum incorporates the latest thinking in its comprehensive approach and engages digital natives with cross-platform technology. It helps teachers to differentiate instruction, building and reinforcing math skills that translate from the classroom to real life.”