Normandy teachers to receive professional development in math, science

(From the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education)

As part of an effort to increase rigor in instruction and overall student achievement within the Normandy Schools Collaborative, secondary and middle school teachers in the district have received professional development from trainers with the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI).

“This training will lay the foundation for increasing student success,” said Sharon Helwig, assistant commissioner in the Office of College and Career Readiness. “We want to raise the expectations of both teachers for their students, and students for themselves. The idea is to markedly increase the number of traditionally underrepresented students in rigorous classes, such as Advanced Placement.”

Training focused on math, science and English – the most common AP areas. Test scores indicate the NMSI program can make a dramatic difference. On average, the percentage of U.S. students who achieved qualifying AP scores increased 72 percent after one year of NMSI courses in math, science and English. For African-American and Hispanic students, the number with qualifying scores increased an average of 92 percent in one year. After three years, the average increase in qualifying scores was 144 percent for all students, while the number of qualifying scores more than doubled among African-American and Hispanic students.

NMSI training for Normandy teachers was held over four days for six hours each day. Teachers were grouped together according to content area, and science teachers received their training in a laboratory.