MEDIA ADVISORY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Edie Harding, Executive Director
Phone: 360-725-6025

BOARD OF EDUCATION ANNOUNCES MATH PANEL

The Washington State Board of Education is pleased to announce the selection of the Math Panel members who will work in an advisory capacity to the national consulting firm, Strategic Teaching, on the independent review of the K–12 mathematics standards.

“We had an incredible number of very talented people from all over the state apply to serve on the panel. We want to thank all of those who expressed a willingness to serve,” said Mary Jean Ryan, Chair of the Board. “We have selected a remarkable group of twenty individuals who will help us ensure that Washington’s math standards are truly world class- we owe that to Washington students.”

Members of the panel represent parents, business, higher education faculty, as well as K–12 teachers and leaders. The panel will meet with Strategic Teaching staff on April 26th, June 14th and July 17th at the Puget Sound Educational Service District in Renton. The Board will review draft recommendations from Strategic Teaching at the July 19–20th Board meeting in Spokane at Educational Service District 101.

The Board will hold a public hearing and focus group sessions around the state in July and August to get input from the public. A final report from Strategic Teaching is due to the State Board of Education by August 30, 2007.

Members of the math panel are:

• Brad Beal is a Teacher in the Mead School District. Brad teaches 4th through 6th grade mathematics and is a Teacher in Residence for the Master in Teaching Program at Whitworth.
• Bob Brandt lives in Sammamish. Bob taught high school mathematics and worked for Oracle Corporation. He is a parent of four children.
• Jane Broom is a Senior Manager for Microsoft’s Puget Sound Community Affairs. Jane is working on the Microsoft Math Partnership. 
• Richard Burke is the owner of an engineering and light manufacturing firm. Richard served on the Math Adoption Committee for Seattle Public Schools. He is a parent of three children.
• Dr. Helen Burn is Chair of the Division of Pure and Applied Sciences and faculty member in the Mathematics Department at Highline Community College. Helen is involved with the Transition Mathematics Project.
• Dr. Christopher Carlson is a Genetic Epidemiologist and Statistician at Fred Hutchinson. Christopher is a member of the Washington State Parent Teacher Association. He is a parent of three children.
• Timothy Christensen is a Research and Development Engineer for Agilent Technologies. Timothy has served on the Instructional Materials Committee for East Valley School District in Spokane. He is a parent of three children.
• Bob Dean is the Chair of the Evergreen High School Mathematics Department at the Evergreen School District in Vancouver. Bob has taught all levels of high school mathematics and has studied math standards and assessments in numerous states and countries such as Singapore and Japan.
• Danaher Dempsey Jr. is a Mathematics Teacher for Seattle Public Schools. Danaher taught mathematics in several states working with diverse populations and is a member of the Transition Mathematics Project.
• Tracye Ferguson is an Instructional Facilitator for the Tacoma School District. Tracye works as a teaching coach and models effective instructional strategies in reading and math for elementary school teachers.
• Dr. Elham Kazemi is an Associate Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Washington. Elham has expertise in how elementary students develop computational fluency.
• Kristine Lindeblad is the Secondary Mathematics Coordinator for the Spokane Public Schools. Kristine is a member of the Urban Math Leadership Network where she has worked on math content standards for Achieve Inc. and the College Board Standards for College Readiness.
• Paulette Lopez works for Yakima Valley Community College. Paulette is a Parent Advocate and member of the steering committee for the Transition Mathematics Project and a member of the Yakima School District Improvement Leadership Committee. She is a parent of three children.
• Bob McIntosh is the Director of Instruction at North Thurston Public Schools. Bob taught high school mathematics for ten years and served as the Mathematics Supervisor for Curriculum and Instruction at the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. He is currently Chair of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Emerging Issues Committee.
• Linh-Co Nguyen is a Tutor and Substitute Teacher for Mathematics in Seattle Public Schools. Linh-Co is a parent of three children.
• Dr. Larry Nyland is the Superintendent of the Marysville School District. Larry is the primary author of the Snohomish County Superintendents’ White Paper on Mathematics.
• Dr. Michael Riley is the Superintendent of the Bellevue School District. Mike has revised the district mathematics program in Bellevue focusing on international benchmarks.
• Jeremy Rogers is a Teacher at Ilwaco Middle School. Jeremy teaches mathematics for 7th and 8th grade. He is currently on the K–12 Computational Fluency Supplemental Review Board and is a parent of three children.
• Amanda Shearer-Hannah is a Teacher at the Bellingham School District. Amanda is a National Board Certified teacher in mathematics and has taught middle and high school level mathematics. She is a parent of two children.
• Dr. Kimberly Vincent is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Washington State University. Kimberly works with pre-service and in-service teachers for mathematics. She is a member of Washington Teachers of Teachers of Mathematics.

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