WASHINGTON – Center City Public Charter School teacher Alfons Prince designed his own curriculum to prepare middle school students for algebra before they enter high school, an effort to revamp math education as just 22% of District of Columbia Public School students performed at or above grade level in the 2022-2023 school year.
Prince spoke on Wednesday at a D.C. council hearing that sought to address math education with the Mathematics Education Improvement Amendment Act of 2024.
“We’re not going to have enough workers if we don’t teach math,” Prince said. “Math is everywhere, and it needs better PR.”
This bill would create a task force dedicated to structural change in DCPS, along with improvements to how DCPS trains teachers in the research of teaching mathematics. It is similar to an enacted bill that created the Early Literacy Task Force for teaching English and language arts. That program has increased reading scores for students across DCPS and in DC public charter schools.
A majority of members signaled support of the bill which after two council-wide votes will then go to the Mayor’s desk to be signed. Mayor Muriel Bowser has indicated recently she would support the motion. Finally, after congressional review, the bill becomes DC law.
Prince said that math education is paramount for job creation and economic mobility. He added that modern curricula are necessary to increase mathematics skill and confidence in middle school students. “We can’t just let kids fall behind,” Prince said.
Jill Nyhus, Chief Growth Officer at PowerMyLearning, said she agreed with Prince. “Societally, we’ve allowed people to say ‘I’m not good at math,’ but we don’t do the same for reading,” Nyhus said.
School teachers, parents, and advocacy groups spoke at the hearing in support of the plan. Many wore matching t-shirts reading “Math4All,” referencing their four pillars of math education: high impact tutoring, high quality instruction, educator support and parental/caregiver support.
“I’m delighted to learn that this bill focuses on high quality instruction materials,” Victor Horton, deputy director of Democrats for Education Reform and member of the Math4AllDC coalition, testified. “These are essential for educators to improve math education.”
Others at the hearing said the focus should be on teacher support in improving math proficiency.
“DCPS needs to link professional development to achievement,” Chelsea Coffin, director of the Education Policy Initiative at the D.C. Policy Center, said voicing support for the bill. “There is a need especially in middle and high school.”
Coffin also emphasized that this task force should have different recommendations than the Early Literacy Task Force, as scores for English skills eclipsed math skills by more than ten points.
Rachel Johnston, Chief of Staff of the DC Charter School Alliance, testified to the usefulness of public charter schools in combating this education inadequacy.
Prince, who is a charter school teacher, said his curriculum has helped more than twenty students in DC schools. “Math is everywhere. Math is in the grocery store, math is in your checkbook. We need to teach this alongside the algebra skills, and give the students the confidence they need to thrive in high school.”
