WHAT WE DO
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MƒA Boston is a partnership between Boston University (BU), Boston College (BC) and Education Development Center (EDC) with support from the National Science Foundation’s Robert Noyce Scholarship Program and private funds. MƒA Boston’s mission is to improve mathematics education in greater Boston public secondary schools by recruiting, training, and retaining talented mathematics teachers.

MƒA Boston has two component programs: a Teaching Fellowship program to prepare new teachers and a Master Teacher Fellowship program to deepen and share the skills of expert teachers – along with extensive professional, mathematical, and financial supports. 

All participants begin their program with the six-week PROMYS for Teachers (PfT) immersion. These teachers have begun to build ongoing communities of mathematically expert master teachers who contribute to enriching the intellectual landscape of math teachers working in Boston area schools.

PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY

MƒA Boston, Boston College, and EDC are working together on the Boston College NSF Noyce grant, “Exemplary Mathematics Educators for High-Needs Schools."  The grant supports exceptional Teaching Fellows (TFs) and Master Teachers (MTs), dedicated to improving math education in urban, high-needs schools. Through this grant, fellows are part of a unique group-mentoring program, in which TFs, MTs and mathematician mentors work together.

MƒA Boston supports the teaching and leadership practices of Teaching Fellows and Master Teachers through participation in a strong mathematical community of teachers, educators, and mathematicians who work together, exploring mathematics and helping teachers keep mathematics at the core of their professional lives. Together, members of the community develop projects, activities and lessons that will build a culture of exploration for students and support teacher leadership projects. This collaboration and community of practice has been evolving for over two decades in the Boston area, through the ongoing Boston University PROMYS for Teachers program led by MƒA Board Members Glenn Stevens, Steve Rosenberg, and Al Cuoco, and supported by NSF and private funds.

Fellows meet regularly to work on group projects, share materials, bounce ideas off of each other and discuss what has been working in their classrooms.  There are monthly meetings, and a variety of seminars and colloquiums open to anyone interested in becoming part of and/or supporting the mathematical community. Details of these events can be found in the News & Events section of this website.

LANDMARK  ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Through its Teaching Fellows program, Boston has led mathematically strong graduates to commit to teaching in high-needs Boston area public schools. MƒA Boston has prepared these teachers for teaching very effectively and established them in a supportive professional community which will continue to motivate and enrich their teaching for years beyond the terms of their fellowships.

Through its Master Teachers Fellowship program, MƒA Boston has encouraged expert teachers of mathematics to remain in high-needs Boston area classrooms. Further deepening their mathematical understanding, and, through the curriculum and professional development materials they create with MƒA Boston, causing their expertise to be of long-term value to both teachers and students alike. 

Estimating that about 150 students are taught by each Fellow each year, the corps of 34 MƒA Boston Fellows directly impacts about 5,100 high-needs Boston area students each year. Many more Boston area students are influenced through the Master Teachers’ mentoring of other teachers and through their creation of innovative curriculum and professional development.
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MƒA Boston is building a strong corps of mathematics teachers who have deep mathematical understanding, strong teaching skills, a supportive and instructive professional community, and deep connections with Boston area mathematicians. Progress has been made, but a great deal more work remains to be done if every student in a high-needs Boston area school is to have the chance to be successful in mathematics.