Lauren Phillips

Exploring What Math Support Can Become

This year, I am trying to evolve my teaching role. As I reflect on the difference between what feels urgent and what is important, I am becoming clearer about the direction I want to pursue. I have been a homeroom teacher for almost 20 years, and I see a need in my school beyond my individual classroom that could make meaningful use of my skills and interests. I want to give that need thoughtful attention—not simply because it is pressing, but because it matters to students’ learning and to the support available for teachers.

My school has come a long way in moving students along the literacy continuum. Our learning strategies department specifically supports literacy in the primary grades, and students have greatly benefited. I have come to recognize through this reflection that math learning also needs a broader support structure. Mathematical knowledge and understanding develop over time, just as literacy does. Across our school, students bring a range of mathematical needs: some require remedial support, while others would benefit from enrichment. I want to help broaden the support for math learning so students and teachers can be supported across that range.

At my previous school, I took AQs and courses in math instruction, learning support, diagnostic tools, scope and sequencing, and leading and collaborating with colleagues to develop math programs. I would like to use that experience to support students and teachers at my current school. One direction I hope to explore is a proposal for a math specialist within the learning strategies department. I envision a role that could work with teachers as they develop programs, and with students who need either remedial support or enrichment. I would also like to learn from colleagues at other schools about their math models, programs, and resources, then make recommendations to my senior administrators based on that learning.

This year, I have been given more time in my schedule to support small math workshop groups in grades 1 and 4. I see this as an opportunity to pilot some of my ideas and gather tangible evidence of how I am supporting students’ mathematical learning and understanding, as well as teachers’ programming and assessment. I am still at the stage of building and documenting that work; I want to be intentional about what I learn from it.

A portfolio feels like a useful next step. I could include photos of projects, samples of assessments, and feedback from teachers whose classrooms I support. This month, I want to take photos, start compiling artifacts, and find a digital portfolio program. To stay accountable, I will make a checklist at the end of each week and aim to collect one representative photo or scan one artifact to include.

I want to keep moving toward a role that makes broader math support possible. That intention matters to me because students deserve support that recognizes the range of ways they develop as mathematicians, and teachers deserve collaboration as they plan and assess learning. I do not yet have every answer, but I can begin by documenting the work, learning from others, and shaping a thoughtful proposal.