ODU center poised to get $25M grant to teach math

NORFOLK

A teacher training center at Old Dominion University expects to receive a $25 million federal grant to improve mathematics instruction in high-need middle schools, including some in Norfolk and Portsmouth.

It will be the largest grant awarded in the $150 million second round of the U.S. Department of Education's competitive Investing in Innovation Fund program. ODU's Center for Educational Partnerships was one of 587 applicants nationwide.

The grant is contingent on ODU's obtaining matching funds from the private sector equal to 5 percent of the award amount, or $1.25 million, by Dec. 9.

John Nunnery, executive director of the ODU center, said last week that he is optimistic that the private funds will be raised.

The ODU initiative is aimed at boosting American students' lackluster performance in math, a key prerequisite for success in high-demand science, technology and engineering fields. American 15-year-olds ranked 25th among peers from 34 countries on an international math test last year, raising concern that the United States isn't prepared to succeed in the global economy.

Particularly troubling, Nunnery said, is a steep decline in math proficiency that occurs when U.S. students make the transition from elementary to middle school.

The ODU initiative will target middle schools with a high proportion of students who are traditionally underrepresented in science and technology fields: schools in high-poverty urban and rural areas and those with a large population of students with disabilities or with limited English proficiency.

Middle schools in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Halifax County, Va., and two school districts in Texas and Kansas will participate in the pilot phase of the project. It is expected to expand over five years to serve 135,000 students in 185 schools across the country.

Nunnery said the project will use a research-proven cooperative learning model in which students work together in teams to master math concepts. It will also feature school-based math instructional specialists to help teachers hone their skills and an Internet-based system for teachers to videotape themselves in the classroom and get feedback from experts.

An interdisciplinary team of ODU faculty members will work with Nunnery on the project, along with partners from Johns Hopkins University and the Baltimore-based Success for All Foundation.

"This is a pretty big deal for us," Nunnery said. "It gives us the opportunity to have a much broader, more substantial impact on children's educational opportunities."

The center in ODU's Darden College of Education is the successor to the now-defunct Center for Teacher Quality and Educational Leadership, which became embroiled in an ethics scandal in 2009 after giving a job to a state legislator who was instrumental in acquiring its funding. The ex-lawmaker, Phil Hamilton, is now in federal prison on bribery and extortion charges.

Bill Sizemore, (757) 446-2276, bill.sizemore@pilotonline.com