LAPS math teachers participate in the Kansas Math Project (KMP) foundational training. Courtesy /LAPS
A LAPS math teacher attending the additional KMP facilitator training. Courtesy/LAPS
LAPS News:
Forty-seven Los Alamos Public Schools math teachers got a jump start on the Kansas Math Project (KMP) by attending a two-day KMP foundational training last month. Twenty teachers opted to participate in the additional one-day facilitator training.
The Kansas Math Project course is part of the LAPS Math Professional Development Plan for all kindergarten through 12th grade math teachers.
According to the KMP website (https://kansasmathproject.com), the Kansas Math Project (KMP) “equips PreK–12 educators with evidence-based practices and content knowledge through Foundational Modules and grade-band specific learning.”
The Kansas Math Project was developed through a collaboration between the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE), Kansas MTSS & Alignment, and leading national researchers like Dr. Sarah Powell and Dr. Bradley Witzel. It is structured specifically around evidence-validated instructional practices rooted in cognitive science and special education research.
The project aligns with evidence-based practices through several key instructional pillars:
- Explicit and Systematic Instruction;
- Precise and Consistent Mathematical Language;
- Concrete-Representational-Abstract (CRA) Framework;
- Focus on Procedural Fluency & Fact Automaticity;
- Schema-Based Problem Solving;
- Vertical Alignment and Content Coherence;
- Data-Driven & Tiered Instruction (MTSS Framework).
The training focused on developing students’ language, understanding, fluency, and problem- solving across Common Core math standards. Kansas MTSS & Alignment Math Specialists Carrie Reece and Kari Heide led the training that was held in the Los Alamos High School Speech Theater.
Those who also attended the facilitator training will now be able to lead grade-level Professional Learning Communities (PLC) math work during the upcoming school year.