A Partnership Built on Curiosity, Growth, and a Whole Lot of Math
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What started as a conference session soon grew into a years-long partnership.
In 2019, a group of Woodland Elementary School teachers attended a Math Routines session led by Cheryl Tobey at the Harvest of Maine Conference. They left energized, inspired, and asking an important question:
“How can we bring more of this learning to Woodland?”
The teachers returned to their principal at the time, Amanda Belanger, and the conversation that followed launched a partnership whose impact continues today.
Over the years, Woodland educators have explored mathematics teaching and learning through a wide variety of professional learning experiences, including:
- Engaging students in meaningful mathematics
- Effective mathematics teaching practices
- Formative assessment strategies
- Training with the Elementary Mathematics Diagnostic Interview (EMDI)
- Training with mFITT Fact Fluency Interviews
- Reviewing and selecting a new mathematics program
- Supporting teachers through the implementation of a new program
- Mathematics coaching and intervention support
- Parallel learning opportunities for special educators
Along the way, there has been one constant: change.
In fact, since this partnership began, only one educator remains in the same classroom teaching role. Yet the story doesn’t end there. Many of the educators who started this journey are still part of the Woodland community, but in different roles. Over the years, teachers have become principals, principals have become superintendents, classroom educators have become ELA and math instructional coaches and interventionists, and others have stepped into roles supporting technology and gifted education.
Rather than slowing progress, these transitions have helped spread mathematical leadership throughout the school.
What began with a handful of teachers returning from a conference has grown into a culture of continuous learning, collaboration, and commitment to students. Through changing roles, new initiatives, curriculum adoption, and evolving challenges, Woodland’s dedication to strengthening mathematics instruction has remained steadfast. Now, with a strong and stable staff in place, the next chapter of growth promises to be even more impactful.
“Our partnership with MMSA and Cheryl Tobey didn’t just strengthen our math instruction, it changed the way we look at student data altogether. Those same skills have carried over into how we dig into data for literacy and behavior. The partnership became a train-the-trainer model for our math coach, so even though our work with MMSA has officially come to a close, its impact continues in our building every day.” – Alyssa Stephens, former Special Educator, now Principal
“Working with Cheryl and MMSA has really changed the way we think about math instruction at Woodland Elementary School. It’s helped us focus more on how students think about and understand math, rather than just whether they got the right answer. As the math coach, I’ve been able to take what I’ve learned and continue sharing it with teachers through coaching, intervention, and our everyday work with students. Even though our formal partnership is ending, so much of what we’ve learned will continue to be part of what we do.” – Gena Maloney, former teacher, now Math Coach/Interventionist
The partnership has never really been about a particular program, workshop, or initiative. It has been about people: educators who continue to ask questions, learn together, and work toward ensuring that every student experiences meaningful mathematics every day.
