CoMath Update for April 1, 2022

Is it a new month already? I've gotten in a good habit of sending out the CoMath Update on the first Friday of the month, but it almost slipped by since the first Friday this month is April 1. No foolin'!

Update! ESSER K-8 Mathematics Curricula and K-3 READ Act Instructional Programming Grant

As I mentioned in my email yesterday, the ESSER K-8 Mathematics Curricula and K-3 READ Act Instructional Programming Grant has been updated to include allowed expenses back to March 13, 2020. To summarize the four points I made yesterday, keep these things in mind: (1) Take care to address how your proposed expenses are addressing impacts related to the pandemic, (2) If you're requesting reimbursement for expenses made in prior fiscal years, it's up to your district to ensure proper accounting and reporting, (3) if you're in the process of purchasing you can still apply, but be prepared to cover your costs should you not be awarded the grant, and (4) don't double-dip by accounting for an expense more than once on multiple funding sources.

I made some modifications to the schedule of support that I planned to provide leading to the application due date. Whether you're applying for the grant or not, here are the plans for the remaining three weeks leading to the April 29 application deadline.

Digging Deep Into the Mathematics

On Thursday, April 7 from 3:30 - 4:45, we'll talk about mathematical task quality in the context of curriculum adoption and implementation. We'll look at mathematical tasks in four ways: (1) the cognitive demand of tasks, (2) the language demands of tasks, (3) different ways curricular coherence is embodied in tasks, and (4) how tasks link teaching practices to student practices. Register for this session here.

CoMath Conversation: CoMath Curriculum Cohorts and Learning Fast to Implement Well

On Thursday, April 14 from 3:30 - 4:45, we'll kick off the CoMath Curriculum Cohorts, which will take the form of networked improvement communities (NICs) focused on the implementation of high-quality curriculum materials. I know that's a lot of fancy edujargon, but the idea is pretty straightforward: to have curriculum user communities that support and learn from each other. While participation in these NICs is required for recipients of the curricula grant, these will be open to everyone. Register for the April CoMath Conversation here.

Forming Consensus and Application Q&A

On Thursday, April 21 from 3:30 - 4:45, I'll host an open conversation where people can ask last-minute questions and discuss curriculum adoption issues. At this point, most of the application work should be complete, but it will be a good reminder of the implementation work to come, including the need to develop consensus support for the materials you adopt. Register for this session here.

Teaching and Learning CoLabs

This summer, teachers and leaders are invited to attend Teaching and Learning CoLabs, a new kind of no-cost event that brings together stakeholders from districts, higher education, professional teaching and other organizations, and the Colorado Department of Education. The dates and host sites for this summer's CoLabs are:

• Thursday, June 2, hosted by Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction
• Wednesday, June 8, hosted by the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley
• Tuesday, June 21, hosted by CSU-Pueblo in Pueblo

Schools are encouraged to attend a CoLab in teams, with teachers representing multiple grades and/or content areas. Focus content areas for 2022 include English language arts, health and physical education, mathematics, science, and computer science. Leadership-focused sessions will be provided for principals and other school leaders. For more information, see the Teaching and Learning CoLabs website. To indicate your interest in attending, complete this interest form.