The Elementary Math Specialist serves Prairie students by enhancing learning opportunities for students, promoting a love of math, and using data to inform instructional practice. Each of these core functions is intended to result in student growth within the district’s priority math standards. The Elementary Math Specialist has a deep and broad knowledge of math content and uses expertise to promote exemplary math instruction in grades K-6.

The Prairie Math Specialist invests time and energy in the following ways:

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) advocates for Elementary Math Specialists in every K-6 building. Research shows a math specialist’s work has a significant positive impact on student achievement. Read the exerts and follow the links below to find out more about this important role!

“The AMTE, ASSM, NCSM, and NCTM recommend the use of Elementary Mathematics Specialists (EMS professionals) in pre-K–6 environments to enhance the teaching, learning, and assessing of mathematics to improve student achievement. We further advocate that every elementary school have access to an EMS. Districts, states or provinces, and institutions of higher education should work in collaboration to create (1) advanced certification for EMS professionals and (2) rigorous programs to prepare EMS professionals. EMS professionals need a deep and broad knowledge of mathematics content, expertise in using and helping others use effective instructional practices, and the ability to support efforts that help all pre-K–6 students learn important mathematics. Programs for EMS professionals should focus on mathematics content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and leadership knowledge and skills.”

Most elementary teachers are generalists—that is, they study and teach all core subjects—and as a result may find it difficult to develop in-depth mathematics knowledge and expertise in teaching elementary mathematics. Over the past two decades, research has examined the need for EMS professionals in predominantly two capacities (while recognizing that some EMS professionals serve in both): (1) professionals who work primarily with teachers and (2) professionals who work primarily with students.

  1. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (Reston, VA: NCTM, 2000), p. 375,
    http://www.nctm.org/standards/.
  2. National Mathematics Advisory Panel, Foundations for Success: The Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel (Washington, DC: US Department of Education, 2008), Executive Summary, p. xxii,
    http://www2.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/mathpanel/report/final-report.pdf.
  3. National Research Council, Adding It Up: Helping Children Learn Mathematics, ed. Jeremy Kilpatrick, Jane Swafford, and Brad Findell. (Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2001).
  4. Barbara Reys and Francis Fennell, “Who Should Lead Mathematics Instruction at the Elementary School Level? A Case for Mathematics Specialists,” Teaching Children Mathematics, 9(2003): 277–282,
    http://www.nctm.org/Publications/teaching-children-mathematics/2003/Vol9/Issue5/Who-Should-Lead-Mathematics-Instruction-at-the-Elementary-School-Level_-A-Case-for-Mathematics-Specialists/.

A single mathematics education leader can have an incredible impact on the development and effectiveness of others…. Leaders in mathematics education at all levels of the school or district organization … are crucial for ensuring attainment of high-quality school mathematics programs.

National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics, The PRIME Leadership Framework: Principles and Indicators for Mathematics Education Leaders (Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree, 2008), p. 1.