 La Meta is a partnership between the University of New Mexico, Central New Mexico Community College and five public school districts that serve nearly 40% of the K-12 students in New Mexico. The goal of the partnership is to improve New Mexico school children’s mathematical learning and achievement.
Inspired by the work of the Vermont Mathematics Initiative, this partnership was created to bring mathematicians, mathematics educators, public school teachers and administrators together to help more New Mexico children be successful in mathematics.
The La Meta program has grown and changed over the past four years. In the 2007-2008 school year there were over 450 teachers who participated in mathematics in-service days or lesson study through the La Meta project and 90 teachers who participated in the La Meta summer workshops and institutes in July 2008.
The activities during the school year were tailored to individual districts.
- At Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) there were three in-service days dedicated to mathematics professional development for all middle and high school math teachers in the district (total: approximately 400). These were co-planned and presented by Mathematics faculty from IHEs and math coaches from the district. There was also a public lesson attended by approximately 100 elementary, middle, and high school teachers as well as instructional coaches and administrators.
- At Belen Consolidated Schools (BCS) there were after-school math department collaboration meetings at the only 7-8th grade school in the district. These ran every three to four weeks and lasted throughout the school year.
- At Bernalillo Public Schools (BPS) there were two in-service math days provided by A&S faculty. The first was for all 6-8th grade teachers in the district and the second was for all teachers at a K-8 school.
- At Los Lunas Public Schools (LLPS) there was a district-supported lesson study open to all 6-8th grade teachers. There were approximately 40 teachers who participated (a team from every 7-8th grade school and most 4-6th grade schools). There was also a public lesson attended by approximately 20 people.
- These different interactions were intended to build new relationships between the partners and were then leveraged to recruit for the summer institutes. There was one summer workshop lasting one week that was planned by the math coaches at APS and A&S faculty and one summer institute planned by A&S faculty. A total of 90 teachers participated in one or both of these activities.
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