President’s Message: May 2023

Posted on by

As we near the end of the school year, our thoughts move from achieving standards and testing to celebrating the learning and growth in our classrooms and the new adventures that summer brings us. This is a time of reflection and celebration. 

I am excited to be starting my role serving you as MCTM President. Three weeks ago, a full two-day Spring Conference was held in Duluth for the first time since COVID disrupted our lives. It was exciting to have over 800 mathematics educators engaging together on learning around “Mathematics for each and everyone”. It was delightful to learn from Peter Liljedahl about Building Thinking Classrooms and how to transform our instructional practices. I am thankful to all of the speakers who shared their experiences with other teachers. Thank you to our members who attended the regional idea gathering sessions and volunteered for the delegate assembly. We appreciate all of your expertise, time and willingness to make this organization and the spring conference as amazing as it is! The conference ended by getting inspired from the co-chairs of the MN Mathematics standards review team. Thank you May, Mike and Sizi for sharing your personal stories on what the standards mean to you, your children and the students you teach. I was personally touched and invigorated to embrace and fulfill the mission within the updated 2022 standards.

Save the dates for next year’s spring conference, April 11-13, 2024. Thursday’s symposium will feature Dr. Pamela Seda, author of “Choosing to See”. Her equity framework for mathematics will be fundamental for teachers, coaches and district administration as we prepare for the pedagogical transformations needed in the updated 2022 standards. She will also headline the opening keynote for the main conference on April 12&13.

I hope that you continue to build on your learning from the conference with your colleagues, through social media connected to MCTM and the many wonderful summer learning opportunities available through MN Math Leaders. A great way to end your summer and get excited for the school year is to volunteer for a shift at the MN State Fair with Math-On-A-Stick. 

Continue to celebrate all the wonderful student learning growth during the school year, try new ideas learned at the spring conference, continue to rejuvenate yourself to get through the end of the school year. Have a relaxing summer and I look forward to seeing you at MCTM events this summer and next year!! 

Kristin Johnson

MCTM President