Petrie Foundation for Math Ed Opens at CCNY

The City College of New York celebrated the opening of the Carroll and Milton Petrie Foundation Center for the Advancement of Mathematics Education recently. Speakers included City College President Gregory H. Williams, School of Education Dean Alfred S. Posamentier, who developed the program, and Petrie Foundation Trustee Joseph L. Flom. Also present were 150 educators, including: New York City public school superintendents, principals, assistant principals (APs) for mathematics, and teachers of mathematics, as well as many college faculty.

Through an innovative and creative approach, The Petrie Foundation will provide support for high school math assistant principals in charge of mathematics (APs) while they work as instructional leaders with their teachers. Petrie Foundation Trustees, Joseph L. Flom, Bernard Petrie, and Jerome Manning, have established this program at The City College of New York's School of Education to help future generations of high school students achieve mastery in mathematics. To accomplish this objective, the Foundation has awarded CCNY $3.7 million, the largest grant in 157-year history of the City College.

Drawing on the best educators in the US, the Petrie Foundation Center will provide participating math APs with 15 full-day programs covering topics in mathematics education that include pedagogy, instructional techniques, supervision, using technology in the instructional program, curriculum development and assessment, and school math content from an advanced standpoint. These programs will take place at the City College, while during alternate weeks, the participants will be mentored on-site in their own schools by CCNY staff.

It is expected that within three years, all math APs in the city will have taken part in the program. Continuing evaluations of this innovative program will be disseminated throughout the profession in the hope that the favorable aspects of the program can be replicated in other regions of the country. It is anticipated that this program will become the model for the supervision of mathematics at the secondary level. This is The City College School of Education's newest partnership with The New York City Department of Education and one of the most visionary uniting support from the private sector.#