The East Alabama Partnership for the Improvement of Mathematics Education (also known as Transforming East Alabama Mathematics or TEAM-Math) has been formed to improve mathematics education in 12 school districts in East Alabama with the support of Auburn University, Tuskegee University and other partners. This partnership is guided by the belief that the low mathematics achievement in its region can be solved through a multidimensional, coordinated effort focusing not only on the schools, but also on the universities' teacher preparation programs as well as community and parental factors. The partners emphasize that they can accomplish more in collaboration than can any one member individually. Indeed, the project has developed an innovative approach in which the districts pool their limited resources and are thus able to operate, in some respects, as one large district. Together, the districts in this partnership serve roughly 56,000 students who are growing up in an environment that is rural, very poor and heavily African American (48% of the student population). Over five years, the project expects to impact over 1700 K-12 teachers of mathematics in the partner schools.
The East Alabama partnership is committed to ensuring that all students in the region receive an equitable mathematics education by participating in a rigorous curriculum that is taught by highly qualified teachers who use a variety of instructional practices designed to promote student learning and understanding. The project seeks to achieve its aims by using methods shown to improve mathematics education elsewhere and adapting them to the circumstances of East Alabama. The project will sustain its efforts by building the long-term capacity of the system to provide quality education in mathematics. At the school district level, new curriculum guides will be developed and textbooks selected, forming a foundation for achievement. The project will provide administrator training and support to help administrators develop a more supportive attitude toward mathematics. An emphasis on building internal capacity through teacher leaders will create a generation of leaders in mathematics education. Finally, the partnership of mathematicians and mathematics educators from Auburn University and Tuskegee University is expected to significantly alter their teacher education programs in order to produce the qualified and diverse teacher workforce for the future.
