During the regular meeting of the Aiken County Board of Education held Tuesday, May 11, 2021, 32 members of a Math Masters cohort comprised of Aiken County Public School District teachers and content interventionists were celebrated for two years of hard work culminating this past weekend in Columbia with commencement exercises at the University of South Carolina.
“These outstanding math educators have made a huge investment of their time and overcome many challenges, and we could not be prouder of each of them,” stated Aiken County Superintendent King Laurence. “The knowledge and expertise they’ve gained is not just for these graduates, but also for each of their schools and our entire school community. We know we have better math teachers, and we already have better math students because of the hard work of this cohort so we’re very excited about that.”
April Slack, ACPSD Middle Level Mathematics Content Interventionist, served as the cohort's facilitator in addition to her participation in the cohort.
"The partnership between the Aiken County School District and the University of South Carolina has developed a core of 32 highly effective Master mathematics teachers who are now serving in a peer-leadership role throughout our schools," commented Ms. Slack.
"Even though these past two years have posed many obstacles, we have persevered through this rigorous program of study with our students’ best interests at heart," stated Ms. Slack. "Our ACPSD teachers are certainly the most compassionate, dedicated individuals you will ever meet. We have been blessed to work and learn together in this exceptional professional learning community.”
Slack says the degree program has not only enhanced her teaching skillset, but also expanded her content knowledge, which she has used to better support teachers and students in Aiken County.
“The instruction enhanced and refined my own content knowledge and pedagogical skills, in turn, allowing me to increase student achievement and provide new strategies along with pedagogical techniques mathematics teachers may use across our school district,” commented Slack. “By developing and implementing innovative instructional practices that lead to deep conceptual understanding, we are able to improve all students’ achievement in mathematics.”
The members of the Math Masters cohort include the following educators:
Sabrina Amos (North Aiken Elementary School); Katie Anderson (Kennedy Middle School); Richard Ball (North Augusta High School); Shauna Bashline (New Ellenton Middle STEAM Magnet School); Jeanette Beck (Belvedere Elementary School); Tamara Butler (Hammond Hill Elementary School); Leah Bynes (J.D. Lever Elementary School); Cristie Caldwell (Aiken Elementary School); Tiffany Coleman (Jefferson Elementary School); Jessica Cutler (East Aiken School of the Arts); Julianne Dove (Greendale Elementary School); Sarah Emerling (Hammond Hill Elementary School); Kimberly Floyd (Aiken High School); Sharon Gregory (Midland Valley High School); Katelynn Howell (North Augusta Middle School: Shane Hutto (Busbee Elementary School); Jocelyn Jones (Schofield Middle School); Alecia Kinard (Aiken Intermediate School); April Layfield (Millbrook Elementary School); Steven McLeod (North Augusta Middle School); Jessica Ouzts (Midland Valley High School); Emily Owens (North Augusta Elementary School); Heather Parliament (Paul Knox Middle School); April Ray (Oakwood-Windsor Elementary School); Andrea Rexroad (Elementary District Content Interventionist); April Slack (Middle Level District Content Interventionist); Elaine Smoak (LBC Middle School); Theresa Spieker (Clearwater Elementary School); Khaleelah Stroman (Silver Bluff High School); Shanythia Thomas (North Augusta Middle School); Erin Tindle (Paul Knox Middle School); and Debby Turno (Leavelle McCampbell Middle School).
Congratulations again to our Math Masters USC Graduates!
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LINK TO DISTRICT PRESS RELEASE: 2021 PR MATH MASTERS COHORT GRADS