When members of my own family ask me what it means to be a mathematics specialist, I have to assume that others are wondering the same thing. So, what exactly IS a math specialist/math coach? What do I do all day long? (Hint: it doesn't involve sitting around eating bon bons, but that sure sounds delicious).
One of the very best things about my job is that it is so varied in nature. No two days look exactly the same; in fact, no two days ever look alike. For a person like me with unreasonably high needs for intellectual stimulation, this comes in handy.
First and foremost, I work with kids. I've seen the other side of education (you know, the one where you sit in an office in a tall building downtown and have meetings all day) and frankly, it wasn't for me. My very favorite people in the world are kids. Their brains fire at rapid speed and they are never fearful of telling you the truth. They are hysterically funny people, especially when they don't mean to be. So, I spend most of my days working with children...YOUR kiddos. Now is as good a time as any to thank you for entrusting them to my care. We're having a blast.
How and when do I work with them, you ask? I see every student in grades 1-5 at least once per week. This is accomplished through the magic and majesty of the beloved "push-in" model. Instead of grabbing kids by the handful and taking them to another location to offer remediation or enrichment, I stay right there in the classroom with their teachers. Sometimes I work with children in small groups as part of math centers, and other times I model lessons for them. In other instances, I co-teach lessons with their classroom teachers.
One of the best parts of my day is offering a Literacy and Mathematics special in the afternoons with the 4th and 5th grade students. Too often we consider math and language to be opposite sides of the spectrum, which couldn't be further from the truth. I'm a big believer in crossing over the curriculum and in making connections between and among curricular areas. Besides, who doesn't love hearing a story read aloud, especially when their is an engaging activity to accompany it?
Once per week I have the opportunity to meet with teachers during PLT (Professional Learning Team) committees. During these meetings we plan collaboratively, discuss best practices, make data-based curricular decisions, engage in "kid talk," and focus on high-yield instruction.We also laugh a lot, which is wonderful.The staff here at Brassfield share a keen sense of humor.
When I am not working with students and teachers, I am creating or culling resources for the classroom teachers here at Brassfield. As a proponent of meaningful and purposeful technological integration, I have made it my mission to work with my colleagues to identify and share high-quality, content-embedded websites that support our mathematics learners. Additionally, I like to help teachers create caches of interactive and engaging math "games" that stimulate and educate. The underlying purpose in everything I do is the promotion and perpetuation of number sense and numeracy.
My extra-curricular activities here at Brassfield include serving on the School Improvement Plan team as a key process data manager, participating in the Math/Media/Tech team, attending Leadership Meetings as needed, offering in-house Professional Development opportunities for staff, and helping with individualized learning plans for students (PEPs, IEPs, etc.).
There you go, Mom. Now you know... :)
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