GOAL

To improve student achievement in mathematics by deepening teacher content knowledge and improving classroom instruction.

OVERVIEW

The Houston A+ Challenge/ExxonMobil Middle School Mathematics initiative builds on the success of the Houston A+ Challenge/ExxonMobil K-5 Math initiative to continue serving high-poverty schools in Houston ISD’s West Region. The centerpiece of both these initiatives is the math specialist, who serves as a content coach to provide on-site leadership and research-based, nationally recognized professional development for classroom teachers and school administrators as they work to improve student achievement. Parents also receive math training through Family Math Nights, in order to help their children at home.

DETAILS

• ExxonMobil Foundation will devote more than $840,000 over three years to the Middle School Math Initiative.

• These funds will support, train and place a math specialist into each of the four participating Houston ISD middle schools, to reach more than 5,000 middle school students each year.

• The full-time math specialists will provide classroom teachers with on-site support and assistance to deepen mathematics content knowledge and improve classroom instruction.

BACKGROUND & RESULTS

• ExxonMobil’s commitment to the Middle School Math initiative comes in addition to the more than $840,000 invested since 2000 toward the successful K-5 Math initiative in Houston ISD’s West Region.

• The K-5 Mathematics Initiative grew from five math specialists at eight elementary schools in 2000 to 17 math specialists at 18 schools in 2006.

• Participating schools have achieved increasingly favorable results on the math portion of the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). In 2006, 69 percent of participating schools scored higher than the district average.

• Strategies and concepts piloted in the K-5 Math Initiative are being adapted and applied district-wide under the leadership of Houston ISD Elementary Math Manager Lance Menster, who oversaw the launch and early growth of
the K-5 Math Initiative during his work as a Houston A+ Challenge program coordinator.

SCHOOLS SERVED

Long Middle School
Fondren Middle School
Revere Middle School
Sharpstown Middle School

MORE INFORMATION

Michael Webster
Houston A+ Challenge
(713) 658-1881
mwebster@houstonaplus.org

Ruth Bonetati
Secondary Math Manager, HISD West Region
713-662-2142
rbonetat@houstonisd.org