9630116 Robert P. Moses The Algebra Project (AP) is a middle school project designed to significantly increase the proportion of students who complete algebra successfully in late middle school or high school, and who enter college preparatory mathematics studies. This NSF project will engage approximately 500 grade 5-8 teachers over a four year period in 3 rural sites in the Delta area of Mississippi, Jackson, MS, Cambridge, MA, and New York, NY. Teachers will participate in a minimum of 128 hours of enhancement starting with a 2-week summer workshop in the AP materials and pedagogy. These inquiry-based materials are designed as a supplement to other standards-based middle school curricula. Over the next two school years, teachers will participate in 34 hours per year of follow-up workshops and mentoring from AP trainers in their own classroom. The teacher development activities will be guided by a Site Professional Development Team, which includes a mathematician/mathematics educator, AP trainers, and site teachers. The AP activity at each site includes community development work to deepen community commitment to mathematics education reform for underrepresented students in the mathematics and science career education path. The project will also begin to document and research the effects of community development work. The project is funded at 4-year project is funded by NSF at $2,503,748 with auditable cost-sharing of $1,739,699. This project is connected to a $12,000,000 award from the Open Society Institute of the Soros Foundations.
