The Los Angeles City Teachers of Mathematics Association held an election for officers and its board of directors. Terms are staggered so some of these are for two years, others for one.
As a math teacher for almost 30 years, I have seen many
changes in math education: ideas that are new, some that have come full circle,
and some that didn’t make it. For just about as long, I have been an active
part of the math community by attending and even presenting at LACTMA and CMC
conferences. I have worked with many teachers at different points in their
careers, and helped new teachers in several district programs including having
been a master teacher at my own school site.
I have constantly sought opportunities for personal
professional growth. I am a National Board Certified Teacher and have just
renewed for another 10 years. I am also currently a Presidential Award Finalist
for the State. With these experiences I believe I have much to contribute to
LACTMA as it restructures.
I would like to help enhance both the visibility and the
prestige of our organization. I would like to help LACTMA find new ways to connect with
our community of teachers, both new and experienced. As educators in today’s
tumultuous climate, we need to come together to support and learn from one
another, and I believe LACTMA can be the catalyst for these opportunities.
As a director I would be in a position to help plan and
organize new activities (which are strengths of mine). I would like to see more
than a single conference, but several smaller events where teachers can feel
comfortable sharing and generating new ideas. I would also like to help develop
a dynamic venue that enables teachers to engage in important educational and
career issues and help solve problems as a group.
For all these reasons I respectfully seek your
consideration for my serving on the LACTMA board.
Board of Directors, Two Year Term
Xuhui Li
I am an assistant professor in the Mathematics
Department at California State University Long Beach, and running for a LACTMA
Director position.
Over the last 15 years I have engaged myself in the
mathematical preparation and professional development of K-12 teachers in
Shanghai, China (1995-1999), Texas (1999-2005), Michigan (2005-2007), and
California (2007-present). I have taught a variety of mathematics content and
method courses for prospective elementary and secondary school mathematics
teachers, and also worked with practicing mathematics teachers through mathematics
education graduate courses, independent studies, master degree theses, and professional
development workshops. Two major objectives of my teaching have been to support
mathematics teachers in (1) building conceptual links between advanced mathematics
and the mathematics content they are/will be teaching, and (2) developing instructional
strategies that can effectively make mathematics accessible to learners of different
needs and levels of understanding. Meanwhile, I have been involved in several statewide,
national, and international research projects on school mathematics curriculum,
instruction, and teacher development. These have proven to be invaluable
experiences for me to gain insights into mathematics teachers’ knowledge,
beliefs, thinking, and daily teaching practices, and develop a better
understanding of the complicated relationships among envisioned, enacted, and
achieved mathematics curricula.
As a future Director I hope to serve LACTMA by playing
the crucial role of a liaison between K-12 mathematics teachers and colleagues in
higher education sectors (mathematicians, college mathematics instructors,
mathematics teacher educators, etc.) in greater Los Angeles area. In my view,
K-16 mathematics education in this area has two imperative and urgent missions:
(1) to close the persistent performance gaps among different schools,
districts, and student groups; (2) to prepare students making smoother
transitions to mathematics studies at higher grade levels, especially, from
high school to college. These missions can hardly be accomplished without the
mutual communication, trust, understanding, and consensus between mathematics
educators at K-12 levels and in higher education institutions. Surrounding a
longstanding or current issue, conferences, forums, workshops, seminars, action
teams, interests groups, email or web discussions, etc. could all be productive
approaches to sharing ideas, reaching common grounds, and taking substantial
actions. I feel passionate and prepared for helping LACTMA to organize and
facilitate such kinds of cooperation and collaborations which would potentially
contribute to the improved mathematics curricula, teaching practices, assessment,
and student learning outcomes in greater LA area classrooms.
Board of Directors, Two Year Term
Gail Neu
I am running for the
position of director. I’m an experienced elementary educator, having taught
grades Kindergarten through fifth as a classroom teacher, and I’m presently an
instructional math coach in Local District 7. Throughout my career I’ve been
fortunate to work in a variety of schools throughout LAUSD, ranging from a
California Distinguished School to a Program Improvement school to many points
in between. I’ve had the opportunity to provide mathematics professional
development to teachers, coaches, and administrators, and have also been a
guest presenter during the 2007 LACTMA conference. Throughout the city, I’ve
noticed the one thing that remains constant is that teachers are always seeking
new ideas, and looking for ways to improve their practice. My primary reason
for seeking office is to help rebuild LACTMA so that it will once again become
a vital resource for the teachers of Los Angeles.
Board of Directors, Two Year Term
Logielyn Wasan
I am proud to run for the position of Director for LACTMA.
I am currently teaching 6th grade math within a self-contained classroom at Berendo Middle
School, where our math department has been tremendously successful in raising
our students’ CST scores in recent years. I have also personally welcomed the yearly challenge of my teaching
schedule constantly changing on short notice: I have taught not only math, but
science, ESL and English, social studies, art, and physical education within a
span of four years. To succeed in
this position I have had to exhibit immense flexibility, creativity,
dedication, and the willingness to collaborate with other educators and
understand our students’ needs--all of which are important attributes LACTMA’s
director should embody. Because of my ever-changing position, I am bursting at the innovative seams to collaborate
with you to design lessons which help our students master their math content
and connect it to all disciplines.
Of course student achievement is not limited to the classroom, and not limited to math. I am extremely dedicated to helping our
students succeed in every respect as exhibited by my extensive involvement at my
middle school. Not only am I in
close contact with my students and students’ families so as to better
understand and correspondingly fulfill their academic and emotional needs, but in
2006 I began the intramural sports program to decrease the drop-out rate; I am
head facilitator to my cores and teams group to help improve student writing
and comprehension; am an active member of the shared decision making committee;
involved in LACTMA, NSTA and the Congressional Youth Leadership Council; and
assist my students in participating in community service learning projects.
I am immensely passionate about improving
education as I am always in research and collaboration with my colleagues to
discover ways to reduce--and ideally eliminate--the achievement gap. I am in the process of applying for my
doctorate in education policy to further make this goal a reality. I would be honored to work alongside
the President and with you, my fellow educators, to help our students succeed not
solely in math, but in all facets of life.
