Leading the Pack 2012: Elementary Mathematics

Wow!  It is hard to believe that we are in March of 2012.  I feel like the school year just started and I do not know where time has gone.  The Action Research Plan is in full swing, with modifications along the way.  Change is not always a great word to use around educators; therefore, when the new Fact Fluency Program unfolded at the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year, challenges were faced.  I knew teachers wanted the program.  During the summer, they were all so pumped with the knowledge that was gained on fact fluency and how critical it is for our students to achieve college and career readiness standards. But, the excitement faded quickly, as many things do when the new year starts.  There are always so many chaotic events taking place at the beginning and end of the school year, that the preparation that went into the newly purchased resources, was overwhelming.  Fortunately, there were ways to fix the stress level and alleviate the frustrations of our classroom teachers.  The curriculum department immediately jumped on board with supplying all materials for each teacher, so that funds were available and materials were easy to obtain. Therefore, problem number one was fixed, with more on their way.  Starting a new program from the ground up has been overwhelming and exhausting , but very beneficial.  The aches and pains we all felt with the new program were masked when the results have proven to be so beneficial in such a short time period.  Our students have shown marked improvement and have utilized their number sense skills to support the abilities to become independent thinkers and better problem solvers.  We have begun a journey that will pay off in time, but will take time and sometimes the "not so quick to fix projects" do build up with many levels of frustrations.  At the current time, we are working on making adjustments to the Fact Fluency Assessments that are given two times a year so that they align to meet vertical alignment needs and the student expectations set by the state.  Teachers are continuing to grow as learners and have realized the importance of number sense.  We will be meeting in the next couple of weeks with every curriculum writing team Kindergarten through 8th grade to address concerns or questions of the grade levels.  In conclusion, I feel that this project has been significant to the success of our students and has earned the respect of teachers.