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cycles on priority concepts, Project DELTA provides 80 hours of in-depth professional development in mathematics through a two- week summer institute, and two Saturday sessions. Anthony Rosilez, superintendent of Ro-


moland School District, says, “This is sus- tained PLC – [collaboration is] frequent and ongoing. It uses all the tenets of PLCs – re- search, data, good lesson planning, and dis- cussing student learning issues. The teachers get energized by it. “The teachers have become so reflective


in their practice. I can see their growth in metacognition. Because of it, they are also teaching the kids to be reflective, inquisitive and metacognitive.” Asked about the out-of-class time needed


for lesson study, he responds, “It is a lot of time, but the time spent today has multiple future benefits. What [the teachers] gain in skills and confidence helps them address curriculum at a deeper level. The planning is so comprehensive, with so many stan- dards. When they are discussing one lesson,


it transfers to multiple curricular areas. I see them integrating standards from language arts, science and social studies. We have to do so much more with the kids now, with so little time. By doing [Project DELTA], they actually gain time.”


Training more qualified math teachers With one of its goals being to increase


the number of highly qualified mathematics teachers, Project DELTA also funds teachers’ attendance in UCLA courses through the Mathematics Content Program for Teachers (MCPT). Twenty-two Project DELTA teach- ers are currently enrolled in MCPT, and all have passed the first three courses. Earle participates in the MCPT classes


and says, “As teachers, we are discovering things that we didn’t realize were going on. We approach the material ourselves as stu- dents. We’re using the manipulatives the kids will use – pattern blocks, fraction strips, cui- sinaire rods – and we can anticipate things that could make the students shut down. “Vocabulary is a huge part of DELTA. In


the lessons, the kids have to use the correct math content vocabulary. We’ve made it necessary. So when you’re going around lis- tening to the groups work, you’ll hear them using all the terms, because they have to, to solve the problem.” Community school students at RCOE’s


Arlington Regional Learning Center en- rolled in Algebra I and Algebra Readiness participate every Friday in “physical math” lessons, in which they work in competitive teams to solve problems using manipula- tives, usually in an outdoor setting. “It’s loud,” says DELTA teacher Charity


Cox. “But they really get into the compe- tition. It’s hard to get our kids to come to school on Fridays. But our Friday attendance is up, because they don’t want to miss this activity.” Cox, a tiny teacher wearing a black “Got


Math?” T-shirt, climbs up on a bench to call out the instructions to the teams. The stu- dents, many of whom drifted from their classrooms into the designated area display- ing less-than-avid enthusiasm, become more


20 Leadership


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