Leading Educators

At last week’s Smarter Balanced Technical Advisory Committee meeting, I had the whole room of experts and state leaders playing with an app that comes standard on the iPhone. Why? Because I wanted folks to understand the points I was about to make on what it means to “modernize mathematics.” What does it look like, feel like and sound like to situate the important mathematical ideas from each grade level in the context of the world in which we are actually living? For more on this, check out my interview with Leading Educators very own Adan Garcia.

I loved hearing from Leading Educators partner district Los Angeles Unified School District describe their journey implementing Illustrative Mathematics at #NCTM2025. Over several years, they have created the system conditions for successful implementation and now are at a point where professional learning can be closer to the classroom: Lesson Labs!!! And the best news of all, the work is leading to improved student outcomes. I am so excited to be joining the Los Angeles team on this journey in my new role with Leading Educators.

As states revisit their math standards, one big question looms: How do we prepare students for a world where technology and data influence a growing number of choices? For Shelbi Cole, managing director of mathematics at Leading Educators, the answer starts with modernizing math—by connecting it to today’s learners, tools, and challenges. A veteran of the Connecticut State Department of Education, Smarter Balanced, and Student Achievement Partners, Dr. Cole has spent her career helping systems bring coherence and excellence to math instruction. In a recent conversation, she reflects on what it means to modernize and humanize math, how states are adapting, and what it takes to make change last. 👉 https://hubs.la/Q03P9C3p0

At Leading Educators, every student should feel like math is for them. That’s why I’m excited to share that I’ll be presenting at #NCTM2025 this week: “Seeing Ourselves in Mathematics: Creating Tasks That Reflect Student Identities.” Too often, “real-world” math problems stay surface-level. What if our tasks did more—helping students see themselves, their communities, and their experiences in the math they do every day? In this session, we’ll explore tasks as a way to build meaningful discourse, productive struggle, and belonging in mathematics. If you’re coming to NCTM, I’d love to connect and talk about how we can grow math classrooms where every student feels seen and capable. 📍 Atlanta, GA | October 15-18 🔗 Learn more or register: https://lnkd.in/d2Z8YgXn

We’ve heard from school leaders across the country who have shared how technology is shaping learning in their schools — and we want to make sure you can join the conversation too. Leading Educators’ EdTech Study is still open to principals and assistant principals through November 1. Share your perspective and receive: ✅ A $50 gift card for your time ✅ An exclusive insights report summarizing early national findings Together, your voices will help reveal how tech use connects to outcomes that matter — from teacher satisfaction to student engagement and college readiness. Learn more and sign up: https://hubs.la/Q03NYPP50

Are you in Atlanta for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics - NCTM Annual Meeting? Connect with Andrea Fitzgerald tomorrow, October 17, at 4 p.m. at the "Using Mathematical Tasks to Create Deeper Connection and Offer Windows to the World" workshop!

Grateful to have moderated Grounding AI Vision in Practice with Brent Maddin, Chong-Hao Fu, Sarah J. Johnson, and Mara Steiu, four leaders who are helping us rethink how AI meets real teaching and learning. We kept it playful, but we pushed each other hard. The shared thread: this isn’t about making schools more efficient; it’s about deepening student thinking. We asked each other the kinds of questions that matter most right now: • When does technology actually push students to think more deeply, and when does it just make routine work faster? • How can AI expand the teacher’s role as a designer, coach, and thought partner rather than replace it? • What conditions: time, teaming, professional learning, allow deeper learning to take hold at scale? • And what real evidence shows these tools are helping students reason, create, and connect in new ways? Big thanks to Ashley Fellows and Jin-Soo Huh for organizing, and to the Overdeck Family Foundation, NewSchools, and the FullScale team for convening and facilitating such a thoughtful two-day session. The real innovation isn’t the tool—it’s the design choices that keep learning human.

Intentional practice is where curricular materials come to life as meaningful, knowledge-rich tasks! Check out this spotlight from Juri Tyrrell, an instructional leadership coach at Leading Educators, on the "Lesson Lab" process we're using in Los Angeles Unified School District. ⭐ You can read more about the experience here: https://lnkd.in/esrSgQcr

Big news from Leading Educators! We’re thrilled to welcome Shelbi Cole as our first Managing Director of Mathematics alongside Alex Magiera and Emily Schriber, who are stepping into new roles as Managing Directors of Innovation and AI Strategy. Together, they’ll help shape the future of teaching and learning—modernizing math supports, advancing human-centered AI strategy, and designing new improvement models that prepare educators and students nationwide for a rapidly changing world. Learn more: https://hubs.la/Q03NHxbp0

Don't miss out on our session TOMORROW MORNING at #NCSM2025! Christy, Teryn, and Araceli are sharing the inside scoop about our partnership with Valley View School District 365U and Leading Educators, and guiding an interactive session on how AI can make instructional coaching more human by centering student work. 💬 Mathematics Coaching at Scale: Leveraging AI for Impact 📅 October 15 | ⏰ 9:15–10:15 AM