For the next two weeks, Tennessee elementary and middle school teachers will be receiving additional instruction as a means of  better equipping their students with the math skills necessary to excel in the classroom.

The College of Education is hosting 150 to 200 Metro-Nashville Public School (MNPS) teachers at the Avon Williams Campus in downtown Nashville through the Strengthening Instruction in Tennessee Elementary Schools: Focus on Mathematics (SITES-M) project.

This federally funded professional development opportunity is designed for teachers of elementary and middle schools to help them improve student performance. The project is coordinated by Tennessee State University and the Educational Testing Service. Project participants include Fisk University, LeMoyne-Owen College, Lane College and Knoxville College.

“The teachers that have come to the program will work with TSU professors as well as external consultants to increase their own knowledge of mathematics and bolster their skills at teaching math to their students,” said Dr. Peter Millet, dean of the College of Education.

Objectives of the SITES-M project are based on results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).  The 2009 NAEP Mathematics Assessment shows that African-Americans lag far behind their white counterparts, and that the gap–which begins early–only grows wider as they progress along the educational continuum.  To break this cycle of under prepared African-American students, evidence suggests that society must look to teachers for help.

The program, which is directed by Associate Professor Dr. Trinetia Respress, will also use the connections generated by participating teachers to recruit more students for the College of Education.

“We want to encourage the teachers coming here to further their education with graduate degrees from Tennessee State University,” Millet said.