Brittany Feryus, a mathematics teacher at Page Middle School in Gloucester County Public Schools, has been named as TCTM's 2024 Educator of the Year!  More information about our Educator of the Year and the presentation of this year's award can be found here.

Congratulations, Brittany! And thank you for all that you do to promote high-quality mathematics instruction!

The Tidewater Council of Teachers of Mathematics will recognize an educator for their outstanding work in the field of mathematics education.

Criteria:

• Minimum of 5 years teaching experience
• Current math classroom teacher, math resource teacher, or math specialist in Hampton Roads
• Must be a TCTM member, but not a requirement at the time of nomination
• Nomination can be made by a colleague, supervisor, or by self-nomination

Fill out the nomination form here.

Nominations will be accepted until April 19, 2024.

The Educator of the Year will be announced during the week of May 6-10, 2024.

November 28, 2023 is Giving Tuesday! 

In honor of the National Day of Giving, please consider making a donation to Hampton Roads' premier organization for mathematics educators.

• A $5 donation will sponsor a new teacher to become a member of TCTM.
• A $10 donation will contribute to recognizing our annual Teacher of the Year.
• a $25 donation will sponsor a teacher to complete one of our micro-credentialing courses.

Simply use our Make a Donation link to contribute today!

In celebration of Teacher Appreciation Week, two of TCTM's executive board members presented the Educator of the Year award to one of Portsmouth Public School's Division Mathematics Specialists, Ryanne Richardson. Her nomination, written by one of her colleagues, stated the following:

Ryanne is a division specialist and is awesome at her job! With the teacher shortage, she has taken on the role of classroom teacher 4 days a week, and on Fridays she visits with her other schools to make sure that her math teachers are okay. With every resource, new idea, and different way of teaching the students, Ryanne brings excitement to the classroom! She has adapted her role, but never left us teachers behind---even with all that she has on her plate. From supporting teachers and being behind the scenes, to being front and center in her classroom-- handling students, conferences, lesson plans, and more, Ryanne does it all; and that says a lot about her character! Ryanne is beyond deserving and is a rockstar for our division!!

Congratulations, Ryanne! 

Today, B. Jackson from Norfolk was announced as the winner of the 2023 Math Problem-Solving Lyric Challenge! We are looking forward to working with them in the music studio to record their song!

We are so proud of all of the Hampton Roads students who submitted lyrics for this year's contest. All contestants are to be commended on their creativity.

Mark your calendars for next year's lyric contest, which will be announced in January 2024!

The Problem-Solving Math Lyric Challenge

Sponsored by 

   

Show Us Your Lyric-Writing Skills!

How do you tackle math problems? What strategies do you use? We're looking for Hampton Roads students to write song lyrics outlining the math problem-solving process. The grand prize winner(s) will have the opportunity to have their song professionally recorded! 

What?

For this challenge, individuals or groups of students will write and submit 8 or 16 bars (lines of text) outlining their problem-solving process. This infographic can be used to guide lyric writing.

Students can write either a hip-hop, pop, or rock song using the tracks that have been provided. Click here to listen to the three tracks available for the contest.

Who?

We are seeking submissions from all grade levels of students: Elementary, Middle, High, and Postsecondary. Semifinalists will be selected from each level of students.

How?

Lyric entries should be submitted via this form.

All submissions must include:

• First & Last Name(s) of contestant(s) [If submitting as a class, include teacher's name]
• City
• School
• Grade Level
• Track Used
• Original Song Lyrics

When?

Submissions Accepted Until: February 24, 2023

Semifinalists Announcement: March 10, 2023

The Grand Prize Winner Announcement: March 15, 2023

Do You Know Students Who Would Love to Participate? Please Share!

This contest promo video contains more information about the competition.

This contest flyer can be shared with teachers and students who would like to participate. All needed links are embedded in the flyer.

NCTM’s position statement on Access and Equity reads:  

Creating, supporting, and sustaining a culture of access and equity require being responsive to students' backgrounds, experiences, cultural perspectives, traditions, and knowledge when designing and implementing a mathematics program and assessing its effectiveness. Acknowledging and addressing factors that contribute to differential outcomes among groups of students are critical to ensuring that all students routinely have opportunities to experience high-quality mathematics instruction, learn challenging mathematics content, and receive the support necessary to be successful. 

Along these lines, one of TCTM’s goals is to promote a climate that respects and values diversity. 

We want to hear from you Tidewater:

When fostering an inclusive math community,

what does differentiation look like in your classroom?

Share your thoughts with us in 2,000 words or less for a chance to be published in this month’s TCTM  blog posts, and for a chance to win a prize just for sharing your thoughts. Feel free to include images or other evidence of your work.  Submit your response via email to tctmsubmissions@gmail.com.