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Mathematics

 

 

Understanding Math from Sears to New Trier and Beyond Presentation (12/4/24)

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Click here to view the presentation video.

All Students. Our Students.

Vision: The Joseph Sears School is committed to achieving the four tenets of our Portrait of a Sears Graduate for all students: Fearless Learner, Creative Thinker, Compassionate Citizen, and Courageous Advocate.

Academic Achievement Mission: Using an integrated system of teaching and learning, develop experiences rooted in best practices that foster the growth of all students to achieve the Portrait of a Sears Graduate.

Philosophy

All math students are our math students, and with meaningful collaboration among all stakeholders, we will implement an integrated system of teaching and learning mathematics to facilitate:

  • experiences rooted in best math practices that foster the growth and development of all students; 
  • mastery of basic, intermediate, and advanced skills and understanding of computation and concepts in math; and
  • application of creative learning and critical thinking to solve real-world and mathematical problems so that our students will embody the qualities of the Portrait of a Sears Graduate.

Standards

Our mathematics curriculum reflects a deep understanding of the scope, sequence, and intent of the current state and national math content and practice standards. The rationale for the national and state-mandated math learning standards positively correlates to our math philosophy by providing focus and coherence and by emphasizing conceptual understanding.

Program Description

Our math program facilitates lesson planning to incorporate opportunities for the application of math practice standards, collaboration among learners, implementation of different modalities of learning, and high levels of student and teacher engagement.

Our students’ diverse learning experiences include collaboration, individualization and independence, and student advocacy and responsibility.

Our teachers’ instructional strategies include multimedia formats (video/interactive discovery/direct verbal/paper-and-pencil/manipulative) and are multidimensional/differentiated and multisensory (visual, auditory, tactile).

Our K-8 math program is rigorous and coherent across grade levels, is aligned to learning content and practice standards, includes differentiated resources, and integrates technology within teaching and learning.

Our integrated teaching and learning practices include accommodations to ensure equitable opportunities for growth and achievement, the inclusion of families in students’ progress and learning through monthly newsletters and home-school connection activities, and an understanding of student’s social, emotional, and cultural needs and the impact of workload and challenges of unforeseen events in students’ lives. 

Our math program includes embedded standards review and practice as well as ancillary programs, which can be individualized and programmed to address students’ opportunities for growth in standardized assessment domains.

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