OCTM Board Meeting

October 15, 2005

Northwest Math Conference

Red Lion on the River

Portland, Oregon

Discussion of the book Good To Great, utilizing a jigsaw format, took place while Board members ate lunch.

Call to Order:  1:44 pm                                             Winnie Miller

OCTM Members Present: Winnie Miller, Ross Eells, Molly Smith, Jackie Cooke, Cathy Bernhard, Ann McMahon, DJ Muller, Brent Freeman, Giny Christensen, Mike Gould, Cathy Brown, Jon Wiens, Tari Querin, Dana Marlia, Kathi Eisenbeis,  Debbie Lindow, Linda Parker, Marla Baber, Jennifer Bell, Kim Clary, Diane Kinney, Betsy Shane, Marna Knoer, Inga Perham, Marge Burak, Jill Sumerlin, Lynn Bonser,  Janet Echanis, Trudy Mitchell, Phil Bartsch, Nancy Anderson, Jackie Nissen, Ralph Schubothe, Carli Halligan, Charlotte Ogle, Shawna Dehler, Martha VanCleave, Patty Sandoz.

Guests:  Linda Samek, with Oregon Math Education Council, and Fillard Rhyne

•  Welcome and Introductions

Thank you to Tari Querin for all her energies with the conference and for providing the lunch!

Introductions:           New Board members were introduced.

                                    Area 3              Charlotte Ogle

                                    Area 7              Kim Clary

                                    Area 13            Carli Halligan

•  Approval of Minutes

            -  A motion to accept the minutes of the August 7, 2005 Board Meeting was made by Molly Smith, with a second by Ann McMahon.  The motion passed.

•  Proposed Additions to Agenda

            -  Move Jon Wiens report to an earlier time slot

            -  Move Phil Bartsch's report to an earlier time slot

            -  Move Linda Samek's report to an earlier time slot

            -  A suggestion was made, and agreed upon, to limit the Area Rep reports to those of burning issues.

•  Area Representative Reports

            -  Area 10:       Molly Smith was selected by Superintendent of Public Instruction, Susan                                      Castillo, as an outstanding teacher.  It was suggested that this information with a picture could go into The Oregon Mathematics Teacher (TOMT).  Congratulations to Molly!  Please refer to the written Area Rep reports for more details on this honor.

Discussion Items

•  State Math Contest                                                                       Linda Samek

            - Linda is now representing Oregon Math Education Council (OMEC).  OMEC, as a neutral entity, facilitated a meeting of campuses that sponsor the state math contest.  This meeting took place at the end of summer and included other universities besides the main four (Portland State University, Oregon State University, University of Oregon, and Willamette University). 

            -  The host university would like to maintain their autonomy.  The contest is a mix of team and individual competitions.

            -  Scholarships do not seem to be the reason the students participate.  Last year U of O gave away iPods.

            -  Some kind of partnership might be developed between any two universities.  For example, Western Oregon University might partner with Willamette when WOU hosts its first state math contest.

            - The purpose of the competition was the last question OMEC wrestled with although there was no resolution.  This question will likely be the focus of the next meeting.

            - OCTM has paid for medals in the past but OCTM has not been recognized as a contributing organization.

            - It is preferred that middle school students not be involved as they have opportunities to participate in Pentagames.  Also, it's hard for high school students to be bested by middle school students.

            -  Limiting the state math contest to only high school students years ago was the reason Pentagames came about, thanks to the efforts of  Cheryl Klampe-Hesse.

•  Measuring Our Success                                                                Winnie Miller

            - How do we measure our success?  It's not in membership numbers and it's not through responses from surveys.

            -  Each of us was asked to record on paper our ideas to this question which Winnie will collect then synthesize.  The questions people wrote about:

                        ^  How do we measure success?

                        ^  How do you define a great organization?

                        ^  What will it take to move us from good to great?

•  Amendments to the Constitution                                                            Winnie Miller

Number of Board meetings:              There is a suggestion that OCTM go from four to three meetings.  This topic was opened up for discussion.

            -  Could VTEL be used to expand the number of meetings while minimizing the number of face to face meetings?

            -  As past president, Giny felt three meetings was less than beneficial as there are some discussions and decisions that are better conducted face to face.  She recommends that this year remain with four meetings.

            -  At the January meeting the elected people and past president have a meeting.  This would be a time for the discussion to take place on how to move the organization forward.

            - People going to Oregon Math Leaders are not reimbursed if they live within 45 miles of Linfield College.

            - VTEL idea:  A sign up sheet went around for folks willing to work on utilizing this idea. The following people agreed to work on this:  Jackie Cooke, DJ Muller, Brent Freeman, Mike Gould, Kim Clary, Cathy Brown, Giny Christensen, Debbie Lindow, Carli Halligan, Betsy Shane, Marge Burak, Jill Sumerlin, Charlotte, Ogle, and Molly Smith.

Term of Office for Area Reps:  Should we consider a three year term, rather than two year term, for Area Reps?  This would be a constitutional change requiring a membership vote.

            - It takes a year to learn the job.  The first year as Area Rep is overwhelming, the second year     the Rep begins to learn the ropes, and then it's time to rotate out--just when a Rep feels they've got the job understood.

            -  A three year term would allow a two year overlap of commitment between the two Area Reps.  This would also allow overlap with the President's term.

            -  There will be an Area Rep training following the Board meeting.

            -  It was suggested that the job description be written as a two year minimum and a four year maximum.

            -  The three ring notebook with all necessary papers as a means of training lasted only one year following the most recent update of the Area Rep notebook.

            -  A motion to amend the Constitution to change the Area Rep term of office from two years to three years was made by Molly Smith, with a second by Betsy Shane.      

            -  Should there be a task force to work on this issue? 

            -  Martha VanCleave conducted a friendly motion process which yielded the following:

            -  An amendment to the motion was made by Martha VanCleave to appoint a task force to draft a Constitutional amendment to change the term of office of Area Reps.  This motion did not need a second.  The motion passed.

Old Business

•  Saving Money                                                                                Winnie Miller

            -  Was the carpool list helpful?  A positive response was given by the Board members.

            -  Another issue associated with saving money includes sharing jobs.  For example, Giny and Nancy Rogers work on grants together but only one will attend the Board meeting.

•  Grants                                                                                             Giny Christensen

            -  Giny was applying for additional money for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching (PAEMST).  The money, just under $4000, is in the mail and will come to Ross.  This will be used to repay Ann McMahon for expenses.  The rest of the money will revert to OCTM.

            -  Giny, as the person of contact for the state of Oregon, will have her name on the PAEMST. web site.  She will also electronically carbon copy to Jon Wiens at the Oregon Department of Education (ODE).

            -  Giny and Nancy Rogers are looking at money to support Oregon Math Leaders (OML).

•  Brutal Facts                                                                                  Trudy Mitchell

            -  Trudy presented a PowerPoint presentation entitled Facing the Brutal Facts.

            -  If you want the PowerPoint, please email Trudy.

            -  A copy of Trudy's handout is included in the OCTM Minutes notebook.

New Business

•  Northwest Math Conference                                                        Phil Bartsch

            -  We think the Northwest Math Conference (NWMC) was a great success.  Many at the Board meeting played a part in helping make this a great Conference. 

            -  The group is already starting to have conversations about the 2008 NWMC.

            -  A lot of things went right.  But the facility has some issues such as having to conduct workshops, the Saturday morning keynote address, and our Board meeting in the big white noisy tent.

.           -  Attendance was over 1550.  It should be enough to fund OCTM for three years at current spending. We are not yet financially solvent especially if we suffered from something similar to what British Columbia is currently going through with their province-wide teacher strike.  We still need to look at our spending.

            -  Thank you to Jackie Nissen and her program committee. 

            -  Jackie explained that the organizing committee lost the use of one of the main buildings  (the other Red Lion on the other side of the freeway).  The original half hour built in between each   workshop had to be condensed to accommodate this change.  This was the preferred solution rather than telling 15 presenters that they had been cut from the program.

            - The breakfast, with John Van de Walle as guest speaker, cost $22 per person.  Participants paid $25.  There was no cost for having Mr. Van de Walle speak.

            - We had 418 attend the keynote breakfast and about 350 attend the Ed Burger keynote.

•  Elections                                                                                         Molly Smith

            - Patty Sandoz and Linda Samek have agreed to run for President-Elect.

            -  Ross Eells and Jill Sumerlin have agreed to run for Treasurer-Elect.

•  Revised OCTM Budget                                                                Winnie Miller

            –  See Winnie's notes.

            -  The Math Learning Center has again agreed to give OCTM $3500.  Oregon Education Association also gives OCTM some money.

            -  Winnie's first priority is to increase the OCTM membership numbers.

            -  Oregon Math Leadership Institute (OMLI) will include membership in OCTM as part of their grant.

            -  Winnie's least favored option to save money is to reduce the number of TOMT issues.

ODE/MLC/TDG/PDC Coordinator                                               Mike Gould

            -  The flyer for the Math Professional Development Cadre has gone to Joe Spooner.

            -  The goal was to bring together people from the Oregon Department of Education, the Math Learning Center, the Teachers Development Group, and the Professional Development Cadre while we were here at the Northwest Math Conference but Mike had to work on Thursday.

            -  As soon as NWMC is over, Phil Bartsch can get back into working with this group. Otherwise, we are ready to roll.

•  Northwest Science Exposition                                                     Winnie Miller

            -  The Northwest Science Exposition would like OCTM to sponsor a $50 prize in OCTM's name, rather than providing a plaque.  They will be asked to have their request submitted by   July 1 of next year.

•  ODE Curriculum Specialist                                                        Jon Wiens

            -  Jon's first task is to review and revise the problem solving standards.  There will be a problem solving summit about Tuesday, December 13.  This date is not set in stone.

            -  The next item to share has to do with the Department of Education.  The State Board of Education put out a white paper entitled Oregon State Board of Education Notice of Policy Review and Request for Comments.  This white paper is focused on high school graduation and diploma requirements.  The State Board of Education wants to change the graduation requirements by November 2006.  There are five questions for the public to give input on

                        1.  What knowledge and skills do all Oregon students need in order to be successful in the 21st century?

                        2.  What should be included in Oregon's high school graduation requirements?  What can we do to improve high school credentials (diploma, honors diploma, CIM, CAM, GED, other)?

                        3.  How do we improve Oregon's standards and assessments?

                        4.  How can you or your organization contribute to the success of this initiative?  What do you see as your role?

                        5.  After reading this paper, what other comments do you have?

            -  This paper is available online at  http://www.ode.or.us/search/results/?id-144

            - Will the scoring directors be included in the Dec. 13 meeting?  Jon and Cathy Brown will discuss this.

            -  It was recommended that OCTM write a response.  Volunteers were solicited to work on this by writing individual responses to Winnie by October 28.

•  Approved Minutes on the Web                                                   Winnie Miller

            -  If you don't want something in the minutes on the web, tell the Recording Secretary that you want it off the record.

            - How long should the approved minutes be kept on the web?  It was suggested that as one set of minutes goes on the web the oldest set is taken off.  There was general agreement to this idea.

            -  The approved minutes go on the web but the summary of the meeting, written by the President, goes to the listserv.

Board Member Reports

•  President                                                                                        Winnie Miller

            -  Winnie gave a summary of the OPAS Summit (Oregon Pre-Engineering & Applied Sciences):  http://www.opas.ous.edu/    The goal was to create a statewide strategy to increase the number of Oregon students motivated and prepared to enter engineering and applied science college programs and careers.  The two-day summit provided an opportunity for     educational institutions, commercial companies, and non-profit organizations to discuss best     use of resources and coordinate efforts toward this common goal.

            -  Winnie wrote an invoice to Camille Wainwright for a total of $5000 out of the OCEPT II grant (Oregon Collaborative for Excellence in the Preparation of Teachers).  The invoice includes attendance at the Oregon Math Leaders' Conference, 20 at $100 each for a total of  $2000;  OCTM memberships, 100@ $20 for a total of $2000; and the purchase of Annenberg Series to be used for professional development, 4 @$250 for a total of $1000.

            -  Area Rep training will take place following the adjournment of the Board meeting.  Every President has tried to deal with this issue.

                        ^  What questions do the Reps have?

                        ^  How can we support the Reps?

            -  For future meetings, can the Area Rep training be done before the Board meeting, rather than at the conclusion of the Board meeting, to accommodate those that have many hours of travel?

    •  Vice President                                                                          Molly Smith

            -  We made $1143 from sales at the OCTM table.  Molly appreciated Trudy's help with setting up the OCTM table for the NWMC.

            -  Many areas increased their membership during the membership drive that concluded October 1.

            -  The Area Reps were asked how they did this.

                        ^  Area 12--The assistant superintendent agreed to pay registration for 75 district teachers.                     

                        ^  Area 1--The bushes were beaten for new teachers.  Also, membership forms were                  distributed at various gatherings.  Lynn Bonser offered to collect and mail in the forms along with the accompanying checks

                        ^  Area 3--An email was sent to everyone utilizing a list from Mary Bailey.

                        ^  Area 4--The Reps made lots of personal contacts promoting OCTM every time                             classes were taught.

                        ^  Area 6--Some grant money was used to bring seven people to NWMC.  Marna Knoer made everyone in her college class sign up!

                        ^  Area 8--The Conference itself was the draw for people to become OCTM members.

                        ^  Area 10--Personal contact was made by the Area Reps.  The Greater Oregon Math grant paid for the membership of the 13 participants.

            -  Area 3 won the drawing prize of one weekend at Eagle Crest.

            -  Molly is still investigating online voting.

            -  Molly is working to get Pentagames into eastern Oregon.

            -  At the beginning of October, there were 1256 members of OCTM.

            -  It was requested that Ralph Schubothe email the updated membership list to Area Reps    following the NWMC.

"Vice President Report

October 15, 2005

Molly Smith

Our membership drive was a huge success.  Thank you to the Area Representatives for working so hard.  We had 9 areas reach our goal of increasing membership in that area of at least 50%. 

The deal was the Areas that increased their membership by at least 50% would be put into a drawing for a week/weekend at Winnie’s house in Eagle Crest.  And… the winner is:  Area 3!

Thank you to all of the people who helped at the OCTM booth at the Northwest Math Conference.  We made $1,143 at the booth selling TOMTS, memberships, and our publications.  Way to go helpers!  We got many compliments on our TOMT magazine.

This spring we will be electing President-elect and Treasurer-elect.  Our very own secretary, Patty Sandoz, has agreed to accept the nomination for running for President-elect.  Linda Samek has also agreed to run for the same position.  Thank goodness Ross Eells has good spirits in his job, and will be running for Treasurer-elect, and Jill Sumerlin will run against him.

I am still investigating on-line voting.  There is a new class at my high school this year that is helping me in the investigation.  I am also in the process of contacting American Funds, as we get on-line voting instructions when electing people to their Board of Officers.  I am hoping by the next Board meeting I have something a little more solid.  It seems if we could assign membership numbers, then we could have a secure site where people could vote using those membership numbers.  This idea will be continued…

I would like to thank all of the volunteers who signed up to help at the OCTM booth at Northwest.  The help is greatly appreciated, and a special thank-you to Trudy Mitchell for answering so many of my questions when it came to setting up the table. 

Pentagames has not been in Eastern Oregon for some time, and I am trying to make some contacts with some schools who have participated in the past to see if we can get something going again on our side of the State." 

•  Past President                                                                                Giny Christensen

            -  As was stated earlier, Giny is now the contact person for the PAEMST for the state of             Oregon.

•  Treasurer's Report                                                                        Ross Eells

Treasurer’s Report as of Sept. 30, 2005

(Hold up books for effect.)  I brought along my two friends again.  This one (income) is known as a 10 column register because there are only 10 columns in which to record figures.  This one (expenditures) is a 20 column register.  That’s twice as many as this one.

Budget worksheet

In the first category, you will see that we have not spent one third of the money budgeted for that category, with one third of the year’s TOMT’s being mailed. 

Under Executive Board expenses, we have spent not quite one half of the revised budget for travel.  All meeting and travel reimbursement are from the August Board meeting. 

Hey, how about those General Administration people?

In Conferences and Workshops, DJ Muller has requested and has received $196 in seed money for an area workshop.  Congratulations DJ.    Michael Fischer received his Schaaf/McFadden scholarship money.  The Presidential Awards money is being offset by a $3670 check from the Association of State Supervisors of Mathematics.  Notice that we have spent more than half of the amount budgeted for this category.

We have spent roughly more than a third of our proposed budget.

Obviously, we will see an increase in income at the next meeting when all figures are in. 

In August, I cashed in the CD, which had matured, and converted it to a 30 month certificate with MAPS.

Respectfully submitted,

Ross Eells, OCTM Treasurer

            -  A correction was made to change the first column  of the spreadsheet to Approved, rather   than Budgeted.

•  Membership Secretary                                                                  Ralph Schubothe

            -  Our membership is up around 1300.

•  NCTM                                                                                            Jackie Nissen

            -  Please email Jackie, ASAP, about anything you would like brought up at the next NCTM            Board meeting,

•  TOMT                                                                                             Cathy Bernhard and Jackie Cooke

            -  Cathy is delighted to see an increased number of members but it's caused a bit of concern for  TOMT.  Previously, 1800 issues were printed but with the budget crunch the decision was  made to reduce this to 1200.  We no longer have the backlog of issues to draw from to accommodate our increased membership so there will need to be an expensive re-printing so that all members can get the full slate of issues for 2005-2006.

            -  The cost of a perforated page in TOMT for voting is $60 for the one issue (not $60 per issue, but for the entire print run).  Can we use our mailing permit on this ballot?  The answer is no.

            -  Upcoming issues will include listserv instructions, technology articles written by Pat Des Jardin, and articles about contests.

•  Publicity                                                                                         Ann McMahon

            -  Giny Christensen and Ann McMahon will be working on PAEMST.

•  Scholarships                                                                                  Brent Freemen

            -  A sign up sheet was passed around for joining the Scholarship Committee.

•  OMEC                                                                                            Trudy Mitchell

            -  Ann McMahon has agreed to serve on OMEC as the elementary representative and Marla Baber has agreed to serve as the middle school representative.

            -  Trudy Mitchell will step aside as OMEC representative because she's the NCTM Region 2 Rep.

            -  She is excited about the memberships from OMLI.

            -  The Washington math council is interested in advertising the Math Problem Solving books. 

Trudy's OMEC Report:

"1.  The successes of OMLI and the on-going work teachers, schools and districts are doing is exciting.

2.  TSPC has approved OMEC’s recommendations for basic and advanced math competencies for middle school and high school teacher licensure and these recommendations have become a part of the OAR’s.

3.  TSPC will be discussing the OMEC recommendations for elementary teacher competencies at the next meeting.

4.  A representative from OPAS (Oregon Pre-Engineers and Applied Science) project shared the project – focus on clearing the pathways P – CC for all students to have access to math and science courses and helping students make choices, including counselors, parents, peers.

5.  OMEC will respond to the Oregon School Board’s White Paper by Dec. 16."

•  TOTOM                                                                                          Martha VanCleave

            -  The OMEC webpage has the competencies for the training of teachers of mathematics. 

            -  A question that TOTOM is wrestling with is how do the higher ed folks know if the teachers they have trained have met the competencies.

•  Webmaster                                                                                     Jackie Cooke

            -  Links on the webpage should be current.  The officers' page will have a link to the Procedures Manual on Martha VanCleave's website.  We do not have a system for reviewing and revising the Procedure Manual as job descriptions change.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:33 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Patty Sandoz

Recording Secretary

Area Representative Reports

Area 2                                                                                                 Tari Querin and Deanna Reisman

With the Northwest Math conference in Portland a big effort was made to make sure each school in Portland knew about the conference. At the quarterly meeting for elementary reps from each building OCTM membership was promoted. Each of their schools is getting a membership paid by an NSF grant, but individual memberships were also encouraged. We have continued to try to update the current building contact that will be sent to Cathy Brown at the State Department.

Given the recent Portland Public Schools policy changes in High School, which is to require all entering freshman to take Algebra 1 or higher and to require three years of high school math to graduate, efforts to increase the success of students in HS math will be in four areas:

1.  Common Standards and Exit Criteria

2. Common Assessments

3. Common Instructional Practices

4. Common Curriculum

The work for the year centers on:

-  Determining what middle school student work that meets standards looks like & developing common tasks across the district

-  Designing Algebra 1 exit criteria and helping students make the transition from grade 8 to grade 9

-  Improving instructional practices - this year's focus is on the implementation of group work, also known as Complex Instruction

-  Defining which courses are possible to meet the third year of high school mathematics graduation requirement

OCTM has a strong representation in the leadership for these activities and changes.

Area 3                                                                                                 Charlotte Ogle

Beaverton just adopted a new math series at the elementary level called Investigations.  Many title schools have also adopted a combined Literacy coach / Math coach to help in the adoption.  Christie Holte is the math coach at our school and contributed her viewpoint of how the coach’s job is progressing.  It’s especially helpful for the new teachers to see the math coach come into the classroom to deliver lessons to the children that model a specific concept.  It is to Beaverton’s credit that they are supporting a new adoption with a week of paid teacher training and the additional support of math coaches to support the individual title schools. 

McKay Elementary--Christie Holte, Mathematics Coach

Our small school in Beaverton, McKay, has been enthusiastically implementing our recent adoption, Investigations.  A piece of my job as mathematics facilitator is funded through title monies and has been a great investment for our staff and students.  Being on the district’s two year cadre for the final selection, I am in a neat position to support our school staff with the process it takes to create successful adoption.  I am seeing staff paradigms slowly shifting with “aha” moments shared in the hallways and am hearing students engaging in rich conversations about their understanding of mathematics.  One student said after a lesson I presented, “Oh, my brain is so tired!   Math really makes you think.”  My favorite part of this new mathematics curriculum is that we are having to deepen our understanding of these elementary but vital parts of the mathematical processes ourselves.  I hope to continue to provide the support to our students that they need to increase their mathematical knowledge as well as working with such a great group of teachers who have been so willing to do the work that is necessary to carry out a successful adoption. 

Area 4A                                                                                              Stephanie Legard

Newberg-  Jackie Nissen

Mountain View in Newberg is planning an evening math night on November 15.  It is being put on by high school students that are working on a senior project. We are also starting an Algebra class for elementary teachers using the Annenberg series.

McMinnville- Stephanie Legard

McMinnville held a new-to-the-district teacher training the week before school started.  A half day was spent introducing them to McMinnville’s math curriculum.  Stephanie Legard, Kathy Bowers, and Noelle Bartruff led the inservices.  We also got every new teacher signed up to be an OCTM member!

McMinnville’s 3^rd grade teachers are using the NEW Bridges Number Corner program to supplement their current adoption.  They are very excited about it, and the students are enjoying the lessons.

McMinnville’s Curriculum Director has agreed to fund two teachers from each of the six elementary schools, the two middle schools and the high school to attend the Northwest Mathematics Conference.  The teachers are taking advantage of the offer and some schools are sending even more!  The conference should be well attended by this district.

Stephanie Legard is busy as McMinnville’s new Math/Science TOSA, providing inservice and support to the six elementary schools.

Area 4B                                                                                              Nancy Anderson

Cascade School District – LuAnn Kresevich

The district teachers are participating in sampling math materials for possible adoption.  They are evaluating each series for teacher as well as student use. Many Number Corners are now in Cascade thanks to the Math Learning Center class that 11 of the district teachers attended in June. A few second grade teachers from Aumsville also attended a Bridges class at the MLC this summer. The district has welcomed LuAnn as the Title I Math Specialist.  She is observing in classrooms, providing materials and ideas, and doing demo lessons.

Richmond Elementary – Nancy Anderson

Nancy has been working with a new 4^th grade teacher at Richmond Elementary in Salem.  She has been coaching and helping with model lessons as well as providing some Bridges Calendar activities to both of the 4^th grade teachers.

Willamette ESD

Ellen Dockery accepted a position with the ESD teaching special education preschool.  She is bringing math activities into the mainstream curriculum, not just for specific tasks aimed at meeting IFSP goals, but encouraging mathematicians at an early age. 

Dallas Area

Anette Carroll did an all day inservice in Junction City with K-2 teachers during the last week of August.  They are using Bridges K-2 and are adding 3rd grade this year.  They had a great time reviewing the philosophies behind Bridges and sharing other strategies for the K-2 mathematics classroom.  They spent time discussing and brainstorming effective uses of song/poetry integrated with math teaching.  Anette is now teaching in a 3^rd grade classroom in Central Linn – 32 kids. 

Salem-Keizer School District

Middle school and high school teachers are in the first year of the new adoption – middle school is using Connected Math and high school is using College Prep Math.  Trainers were pleased with the attitude of the teachers.  Laura Lethe is the driving force behind the secondary adoption. 

Nancy Anderson is tutoring one high school girl in Geometry, so is getting the viewpoint of the student.  She seems to like it, but her friends are having trouble with “not having pages of problems to do.  The thinking is tough for them.”

Elementary is in the second year of the Bridges/Investigation adoption.  Kathy Cheval and Kathy Bowers are working hard to provide inservice and support to the many new and experienced teachers using the new curriculum. 

Three people from Salem are presenting Thursday, Oct 13, at the full day Institute at the Northwest

Math Conference.  Kathy Cheval, Nancy Anderson and Laura Lethe will be teaching levels K-2,

3-5, and middle school respectively. 

Area 5                                                                                                 Kristin Lavy and Marge Burak

Kristin and Marge are working on building bridges of communication between the two of us and also between the two sides of our area, separated by the mountains. Do we need someone on each side to do a good job or can we both do it from the coast? We are working on updating the email list. The Lincoln County emails were given to Winnie - the rest will be when the help comes through.

Area 6                                                                                                 Inga Perham

Bob Curtis from Lane ESD held a meeting to collect information from people interested in math professional development in Lane County.  We began by writing down what is presently happening in Lane County.  4J has four meetings a year with high school department chairs and 4 meetings per year with the math enthusiasts for elementary and middle school.   This year their focus is technology. These happen during the school day with subs paid.  4J will also be offering an ongoing professional development opportunity for teachers around algebraic thinking.  If there is space, teachers from other districts will be invited. The Bethel spokesperson said that the focus has been reading.  We didn't have a Springfield person but we know that they have been doing a lot with technology.  Lyn Lary has been running lots of technology opportunities with some rural schools receiving and using Palm Pilots for their classes. Lessons for using the Palms in math class have been a part of the focus.  The U of O has been conducting the Quality Teacher Content lesson study course with preservice teachers and teachers looking at math content in the teacher prep program.  There are not many opportunities for math professional development in Lane County.

Bob Curtis has a small pot of money to offer some professional development opportunities.  He is able to pay the presenter $125 per hour but no travel or expenses.  He hopes to have around 12 presentations throughout the school year.  The math cadre brainstormed needs for Lane County.  We talked about facilitated discussions, book talks, mathematical literacy, math and ELL, research in mathematics, research-based interventions, make and take ideas, technology and/or a look at student work and discussion about math lessons and improving teacher content knowledge.  Bob asked the math cadre to e-mail him contact people who might be willing to present as well as ideas for some ongoing presentations.  He would then support the ideas by getting the word out and hosting the ongoing workshops at the ESD.  He has some monies for materials.

Marna and I were disappointed in the response to the math contact and the membership drive.

Pleasant Hill will be bringing seven teachers from three different buildings to Northwest utilizing a Ford Family Grant.

Area 7                                                                                                 Diane Kinney

Plans are being made by several districts to have teachers attend the OCTM Regional math conference at Jantzen Beach during the state-wide inservice day. 

The Brookings district is planning a family math night.  Interest amongst the primary teachers was low, so the high school students said that they wanted to organize it and run the events.  They have helped in the past, but this will be a bigger undertaking.  What a great example to set for the primary students.

Contact with the SCESD indicates that there is not much Math Curriculum work or math workshops/inservices happening right now.

Area 8                                                                                                 DJ Muller

The sun has been shining as the leaves are changing down here in the Southern Region.  We have been pretty busy so far this school year. 

There are two CSR (Comprehensive School Reform) schools in our area and it has been exciting to see the comprehensive reform happening.  It’s quite a process that a school has to go through when undertaking this grant, but the change is very positive.  It would be nice if more schools could have the opportunity.

 The Southern Oregon Math Cadre is active this year with K-16+ representation.  New members on the cadre are adding insight and opinions that are enhancing the cadre experience.  We are discussing the Constructivist versus the Instructivist approach to teaching math.  Needless to say, there is quite a bit of controversial material on the subject and it makes for interesting discussion.  We’re hoping to find brain research related to the topic and how each approach relates to learning.

Measurement is our Annenberg undertaking this year.  The class has filled to its 25-person capacity with additional people still wanting to be trained so they can share the good news we call mathematics.  Following these sessions, attendees then train people from para-professionals to administrators.   This has been a very successful professional development model in our region. 

We are also putting together a series of brunches to inform and hopefully increase membership.  The brunches will concentrate on sharing current happenings in problem solving.  We will also be sharing the importance of OCTM membership and encouraging everyone in attendance to become a member.

Area 10A                                                                                            Dana Marlia

This fall, Vice President Molly Smith received recognition by Susan Castillo.  The Superintendent’s Pipeline reported:
            "In my travels around the state, I meet many excellent educators. I wanted a way to acknowledge and celebrate their work, so each week we will highlight one of these amazing teachers.  This is a series of 'stories' about educators who are making a difference for Oregon's children."
                                                                        -- Susan Castillo
If you were to look at Molly Smith's list of accomplishments, you would probably guess that she was a veteran teacher, with most of her career behind her.  But here you would be mistaken.  This second grade teacher, who is a leader in math instruction, has taught classes at Eastern Oregon University, is the vice-president of the Oregon Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the president of the North Powder Education Association, and a presenter at local, state, regional and national conferences including the National Social Studies Conference, has only been teaching for about ten years.

Another surprise might be that this dynamic young leader who is active in state-wide organizations and activities lives and works in rural Eastern Oregon, teaching at a school that houses everything from
kindergarten through 12th grade and has less then 230 students.
 
Her students benefit from her knowledge of the most recent research and teaching methods.  Concerned about being on the cutting edge and helping her students prepare for an increasingly technological world, Ms. Smith incorporates a great deal of technology into her classroom.  All of her second grade students learn how to use Microsoft Word and PowerPoint gaining a sense of comfort with computers and technology that will be invaluable in the years to come.  However, it is in her individualized instruction that her deep awareness of best practices and effective methods is most evident.  Under her supportive but rigorous guidance students make amazing progress.

One student, newly arrived from Mexico, entered her second grade class knowing no English.  Using just enough Spanish to bridge the language gap, Molly Smith helped the boy learn a second language and adjust to a new culture while continuing to teach content rich information.  By the end of the year, not only was the boy bilingual but he was reading at grade level in both Spanish and English - a truly remarkable feat.

With such a record of success and accomplishments under her belt at this stage in her career, Oregon is assured a strong future leader in Molly Smith.

Area 10B                                                                                            Cheri Clausen

After OML, several from our region came home and made contacts regarding our idea to hold an Eastern Oregon Math and Science conference next fall.  I was happy to learn that our idea was met with enthusiasm and many offers of support from local agencies.  We will continue to make contacts and work on preliminary plans.

Our OCTM colleagues, Patty Sandoz and Molly Smith, pitched in and helped Dana and I cover our Area Rep responsibilities in contacting schools to find new math teachers and recruit new OCTM members.  Thank you!  I covered the Malheur County region, while my colleagues covered Baker, Union, and Wallowa Counties.  I sent over 40 letters via email to school administrators and to specific “math enthusiasts” when I was familiar with the staff.  Finding a contact at each school is proving a necessary part of the process because I have yet to hear from most of the administrators, especially those outside my home district.  Still, the email communications have identified 13 new teachers just from the Ontario school district who will benefit from OCTM membership this year.  I plan to follow-up the initial contact email with further communication, especially in those schools where I received no responses from the initial letter.  I will also be sending a follow-up letter to new teachers explaining their OCTM benefits. 

Alameda School, a K-5 elementary school in Ontario, is hosting a math workshop for their teachers this Friday (statewide inservice day).   The workshop deals with the use of puzzles to help students recall math facts.

Area 14                                                                                               Jennifer Bell and Linda Parker

I sent the following e-mail to our school contact list of administrators and teachers:

What is going on in math teaching in Clackamas County?

            •  What have you done to improve math education in your school or district this year?

            •  How many teachers are going to the Northwest Math Conference (go to http://www.octm.org to register)?

            •  Have you had any math specific professional development or are you planning any?

            •  What activities are planned for students: clubs, competitions, extra help, etc?

Thank you for getting back to me by October 10th.  We have to report back to the OCTM executive board at the next board meeting.

--Jennifer Bell and Linda Parker
OCTM Area 14 Representatives

Here are the responses:

From Frazer Boergadine of North Clackamas School District

            We were part of the Oregon Mathematics Leadership Institute at Oregon State University this             summer.

We are planning on using an examining student work protocol and a teacher observation protocol in mathematics as well as reviewing Yackel's work on sociomathematical norms for highly productive classrooms.

From Amy Fehrenbacher, also of North Clackamas School District

            •  What have you done to improve math education in your school or district this year? Offered professional development classes in the specific curriculums at the different levels for new and        veteran teachers.

            •  How many teachers are going to the Northwest Math Conference (go to http://www.octm.org    to register)?        2 at this point

            •  Have you had any math specific professional development or are you planning any?  Not yet, but we will schedule them throughout the school year.

            •  What activities are planned for students: clubs, competitions, extra help, etc?  We are actually      beginning a math club this year for students.

From Mary Hochstetler, Director of Instructional Services

Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment

Canby School District

            •  What have you done to improve math education in your school or district this year? Working            on articulating our math curriculum within grade levels by releasing teachers to work in grade         level teams to develop Power Standards.  

            •  How many teachers are going to the Northwest Math Conference (go to http://www.octm.org    to register)?  20

            •  Have you had any math specific professional development or are you planning any?  Held       year long support class in Investigations in Math for 4th and 5th grade teachers during the      school day.  Had in-district Bridges in Mathematics grade 3 course for all 3rd grade teachers.        Having a second round of Best Practices in mathematics for grades 6-12 and follow up with           Mike Wong for grades 3-6 in Investigations

            •  What activities are planned for students: clubs, competitions, extra help, etc?  Canby HS has             designated a .5 TOSA to give assistance to students and teachers through a Help Center.  

From Dave Hauser, also in Canby

A few of us are going to the math conference.  We have not had any district math professional development for several years.   Looking forward to the conference.

From Peg Moore (moorep1@molalariv.k12.or.us) of Molalla River School District

10 teachers from Molalla River School Dist. went to Oregon State for three weeks this summer to participate in the Oregon Math Leadership Institute. We were immersed in Geometry and Numbers and Operations.  We all survived to tell about it and can even tell you what a transcendental number is.  We made personal action plans and school action plans for the year.  Most of us will be concentrating on evaluating our new adoption (Trailblazers) for higher cognitive tasks.

I’ll be going to the math conference, but I don’t know of anyone else from our district..  My school (Maple Grove) is planning our first Math Fun Night in a few months.  Can you put me in touch with anyone else that may have some good ideas to share?

From Laurie Carter of River Grove Elementary in Lake Oswego

I am looking for an author to present math at our family read night at River Grove. 

From Sally Wood of Estacada School District

Two of us from our school are going to the Math Conference.  The district is even paying for it. We don't have any math specific professional development, but we are planning a SIOP class in our district, which will in turn help math instruction.

Elizabeth and I will be doing the Math Club again this year, but it doesn't start until January.

One thing I've done to improve math instruction this year is to take the 7th grade math standards and attempt to write them in more student friendly language, adding a few prerequisite skills as needed.  They are far from being perfected, but my students understand them better than the ones from the state.  I keep working on them, so by the end of the
year, I hope I will have a much better document.

Elizabeth and I are working on "care packages" for our elementary teachers that include old issues of TOMT and Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School.  We are including OCTM membership forms, pencils, treats, etc.  We decided to wait until October because so much is going on right at the beginning of the year. 

From Frazer Boergadine of North Clackamas School District

            We were part of the Oregon Mathematics Leadership Institute at Oregon State University this summer. We are planning on using an examining student work protocol and a teacher  observation protocol in mathematics as well as reviewing Yackel's work on sociomathematical norms for highly productive classrooms.