Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education: Advancing the Work of COMPASS: A Secondary Mathematics Implementation Project

Ithaca College, Ithaca NY

Investigators

Abstract

The "Curricular Options Programs for All Secondary Students (COMPASS)" Center focuses on issues related to the implementation of five national comprehensive secondary school mathematics curriculum programs as a means of initiating systemic change within a school district. The five programs are: Contemporary Mathematics in Context; the Interactive Mathematics Program; MATH Connections; Mathematics: Modeling Our World; and SIMMS Integrated Mathematics. The structure of COMPASS includes a Central Site and five Satellite Sites, one for each curriculum program. The primary functions of the Central Site are to inform various constituencies about these curricula, to assist school districts in developing the capacity for change by helping them formulate an implementation plan, and to coordinate requests for additional information and assistance from the Satellite Sites. The primary goals of the Satellite Sites are to provide curriculum program-specific information and to assist school districts with program-specific implementation strategies, including professional development for teachers. The work of all six sites involves working with policy makers at the school district, regional and state levels, as well as with parents, businesses and community leaders as they seek to institute or understand the kind of educational reform embodied in these curricula.