The School Leader’s Guide to Building and Sustaining Math Success

Book excerpt: The pressure is on. Principals, expected to improve math performance at their schools, often don’t know where to begin—as they may be uncomfortable with math themselves or believe that their schools are already doing all that they can. How can K–12 school leaders recognize and ensure that their school or district is supporting good math instruction? Marian Small and Doug Duff provide the answer to that and other questions in The School Leader’s Guide to Building and Sustaining Math Success. Drawing on their vast experience working with administrators, Small and Duff provide practical advice and helpful tools for improving math instruction. They guide you through the initial steps of establishing a strong math culture, developing common tasks, and getting buy-in, and then offer specific suggestions for monitoring, supporting, and sustaining improvement. You’ll learn what sort of data to collect, what to look for in the classroom, what to listen for in conversations with teachers and students, and how to deal with reluctant staff or parents. With its real-world examples and insights, this book is essential reading for any principal who wants to bring about positive change and real growth in the teaching and learning of math in their school.