2013 in Review: Celebrating an Amazing Year!

In each of the past few years, I’ve taken some time to reflect on the wonderful opportunities I’ve experienced during the preceding 12 months (Here are Giving Thanks reflections from 2012 and 2011).

I seem to say this every year, but it bears repeating: It is so gratifying to have the opportunity to champion elementary math education and GET PAID to spend time in classrooms with teachers and students. I want to extend heartfelt thanks to everyone who has played a part in making the year so special.

Singapore Math Trainer, Coach and Consultant

2013 marked my sixth year working with schools using the Singapore Math curriculum, and it was my busiest year to date! I spent much of the year in classrooms helping teachers and administrators learn about Singapore mathematics so that they can use the curriculum successfully. In 2013, I:

• visited Ghana, Canada and 21 U.S. states;
• worked with more than two dozen schools using Math from Singapore. While many of these are in the first year or two of their adoption, others are long-time users. I’m happy and proud to report that almost half of my 2013 schools were repeat clients (thank you!); and
• entered into and/or continued long-term training, coaching and consulting arrangements with some of the most distinguished schools in North America (and Ghana).

Over the past six years, I’ve had the pleasure of introducing Singapore Mathematics to teachers, administrators and parents in 40 U.S. states plus Canada, Mexico, Ghana and Palau. More than more than 60 schools have asked me to help them implement and/or improve their use of the curriculum. Amazing!

Presenting and Learning

2013 brought some truly amazing opportunities to share information about the Singapore curriculum and what makes it work so well. Last year, I:

• presented at SDE’s National Conference on Singapore Math Strategies, the leading annual event devoted to Singaporean Math strategies;
• was invited to speak at the 2013 National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Regional Conference and Exposition in Baltimore (Thanks, Lori!);
• was invited to present at SDE Conferences on Singapore Math Strategies in Hawaii and Tennessee (the latter is in 2014);
• presented at six two-day “Helping Students Succeed in Math” Conferences for grade 3-5 mathematics educators organized by the Bureau of Education & Research (BER);
• through BER, presented both of my full-day Singapore Mathematics seminars at cities across the United States; and
• for 5th straight year, attended annual conferences of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and NCSM.

Community

Despite a travel schedule that is often very hectic, I’m very proud to have found time to devote to several causes that are very important.

• In June, I completed a three-year term as member of Board of Directors of Liberty Common School, an award-winning K-12 Charter School in Fort Collins, Colorado. In 2013:
  • Liberty celebrated its first class of high school graduates, and
  • for the second consecutive year, Liberty’s juniors earned the highest scores in Colorado on the ACT test (my younger son Cody is a member of this high achieving class of seniors).
• In July, I was appointed to the District Accountability Committee (DAC) of Poudre School District (which serves more than 26,000 students). The DAC is a statutory committee that makes recommendations to the School Board on spending priorities, performance and improvement plans, and charter school applications (among other responsibilities).
• In January, I was appointed to Board of Directors of Middle School Mathematics Institute (MSMI), a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation whose mission is to help teachers, schools and parents ensure that students succeed at algebra.
• For the 8th year running, I organized an after-school math enrichment club for 3rd & 4th grade students who love playing games while boosting their math skills. Special thanks to several dedicated parent volunteers who helped run the club during my travels.

Singapore Math Source

I’m proud to host SingaporeMathSource.com, which is now in its sixth year providing news, information, resources and more regarding the world’s best elementary math curriculum. 2013 saw some design changes and the introduction of new features, such as a page that lists Singapore Math® teaching and tutoring jobs (admittedly, this is still in Beta). For 2013, the site:

• logged more than 300,000 page views;
• attracted nearly 80,000 visits (more than 75% new visitors); and
• is among most highly ranked sites on the internet for inquiries concerning Singapore Math® news, resources, teaching and training.

What will 2014 bring?

Looking ahead, I’m as excited as ever by the opportunities that the new year promises:

• 2014 begins with more school training dates booked than ever. I look forward to working with teachers, administrators and parents dedicated who share my goal of making every child in every classroom a competent and confident mathematics student.
• 2014 will be my sixth year as a featured presenter for BER, with my two workshops scheduled from Coast to Coast (and even a stop in the middle of the Pacific).
• In Feb. 2014, I will be a featured presenter at SDE’s Tennessee Conference on Singapore Math Strategies.
• In April, I’ll be in New Orleans for my favorite learning opportunity, attending the NCTM and NCSM conferences.

Last year, I was very fortunate to accommodate almost every school that wanted to hire me. That might not be the case in 2014 as demand has grown by 50-100% for the past few years. This leads to two requests:

• First, I urge schools interested in training to contact me as soon as possible to have the best opportunity for desired dates (submit a training inquiry here).
• Second, I invite exceptional, experienced teachers who have worked with the curriculum and may have an interest in working as a trainer to contact me. Be forewarned: for consideration, you MUST share my passion for the Singapore Math® program and have experience teaching it successfully in the classroom.

Once again, my sincerest thanks to my clients, colleagues and partners for making 2013 such a wonderful year. If I may be of service at any time, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.

More passionate than ever about Singapore Mathematics.

-Cassy