Hamilton County Schools Receive $75,000 Gates Grant

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posted December 18, 2009

Math teachers at three high schools will be trained on how to administer nationally recognized benchmark assessments and use those results to refine instruction, thanks to a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The assessments are proven tools for improving critical thinking skills for students.

The grant, which totals $75,000, will pay for technology and training for every math teacher (including inclusion teachers, numeracy coach and department chairs) working with 9th and 10th graders at Red Bank High School, Tyner Academy and East Hamilton High School. The grant is designed to improve college readiness in mathematics and ACT math scores.

The Public Education Foundation will partner with the district on implementation of the grant.

Approximately 24 teachers from the three schools will engage in professional development for eight days this year: two days in January, two days in February, two days in March and two days during the summer. During these days they will be taught by nationally renowned consultants who partner with the Gates Foundation on how to use a nationally recognized assessment in the classroom. These assessments use real-world problems and require students to apply mathematic skills within a relevant context. The training will focus on enabling teachers to help students become critical thinkers and use their mathematics knowledge in such a way as to be successful on the ACT and in college.

“The idea of the assessments is to gauge how students are progressing through the curriculum in relation to the new state standards, which are much tougher. We are looking to improve college readiness in math through such high quality assessments,” said Dr. Ava Warren, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum & Instruction, who is also the lead contact for the program. “The teachers will learn how to give these assessments and then how to use the results to refine their instruction in the classroom to positively benefit all of their students. Critical thinking is a necessary skill for success on the ACT. These assessments will help teachers see which students have those skills and which ones need additional help in learning to apply mathematics as a solution to real-world problems.”

Red Bank, Tyner and East Hamilton were chosen to pilot the program based on their diversity, percentage of students who qualify for free and reduced lunch and number of English Language Learner students. These three schools are representative of the demographics of the system as a whole.

 Each school will receive technology for the 24 participating teachers that can be used in their classrooms as part of the grant. As each teacher typically teaches at least 90 students per day, the training will positively impact 2,160 high school students this year.

 “We know that the quality of the teachers in front of our students is a key component of student achievement. Professional development helps us improve instruction in the classroom and also build training capacity as teachers share their newfound knowledge with their colleagues across the system,” said Superintendent Dr. Jim Scales. “This is a great opportunity for our teachers who can then come back and help us expand this program and improve student achievement in math at all high schools in Hamilton County.”

The Hamilton County Department of Education is a diverse school system, providing roughly 42,000 students with a world class education. The system is nationally renowned for urban school success as well as middle school and high school reform. The district offers a variety of educational programs for all students including magnet schools, career academies and gender-based classes as well as a focus on individual student success and the goal of preparing all students to compete in the Global Economy.