Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Education Math topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Harrisonburg to lead Virginia math consortium after state awards seven-figure grant
Summary
Math coordinator Brian Nussbaum told the board Harrisonburg will lead VA-admin, a statewide mathematics consortium funded with more than $1 million aimed at improving instructional integrity and teacher leadership across divisions.
Brian Nussbaum, Harrisonburg City Schools' math coordinator, told the board on May 5 that the division will serve as lead partner for a statewide mathematics initiative called VA-admin (Advancing Development Through a Mathematics Innovation Network) after a competitive grant award.
Nussbaum said the grant provides "over $1,000,000" to support a consortium of divisions to improve math instruction. Harrisonburg will convene participating divisions, coordinate professional learning and host summits; partners named in the presentation include George Mason University and TNTP, a national professional-learning organization.
The initiative is intended to help divisions adopt new standards and high-quality instructional materials while maintaining instructional "integrity" — ensuring classroom practice matches the intent of the materials. Nussbaum described a timeline that includes an onboarding webinar and an asynchronous foundational TNTP course this summer followed by three statewide summits in the fall focused on norming, action planning and scaling.
Why it matters: Nussbaum said the consortium will help administrators and teachers translate new curriculum into improved classroom practice and that Harrisonburg is in a position to lead statewide training because of existing networks and momentum. He noted a large early response from other divisions: 45 divisions expressed interest within a week and 32 superintendents provided letters of support.
Board members praised the work and noted the grant award exceeded the original request; Nussbaum said the division had received more money than it had requested. He framed the project as both a local improvement and a state leadership opportunity.
What's next: Harrisonburg staff will finalize details with the state and partners, run onboarding sessions for participating divisions, and plan the fall summits and follow-up work to monitor implementation fidelity.
