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Making Math Matter: Clayton County Public Schools' Commitment to Math Literacy
Jonesboro, GA
Located just south of Atlanta, Clayton County Public Schools (CCPS), the sixth-largest school district in Georgia, is redefining how students and families engage with mathematics.
“We have a saying in the math department: making math matter,” said Tiffanie Nealy, coordinator of elementary mathematics. “That means recognizing that math is a part of your everyday life. It's not just something done to you, but it is an experience that you can have.”
For many years, the district has faced significant challenges in addressing learning gaps in math, particularly following disruptions in learning time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
After conducting a needs assessment to determine the root of these challenges, Tonya Clarke, coordinator of secondary mathematics found that traditional teaching methods were not always effective in fostering deep mathematical understanding. She found that teachers needed more support in visualizing math in a way that they could then pass that information to their students.
“It became evident that there was a need to support teachers, especially at elementary, but across all grade bands with deepening their understanding of mathematical concepts,” said Tonya. “We needed teachers to experience math in a way that not just made sense, but in multiple ways so that they can help teach students to see it in multiple ways.”
To overcome these challenges, Tonya, Tiffanie, and the math department at CCPS developed a comprehensive strategy to enhance math instruction and increase student engagement focusing on four key areas: adopting and implementing Savvas Learning Company’s enVision Mathematics as their a new, core math program, supporting teachers in program implementation and visualization strategies, increasing student engagement, and fostering community involvement.
The Solution: A Multifaceted Approach to Math Education
In order to be intentional and strategic about increasing math achievement in the district, Tonya and her team engaged in intensive research, which was crucial in identifying gaps in students' mathematical understanding and the support teachers needed. As their research evolved, they found student engagement and community connection were the key to shaping an effective curriculum and enhancing teacher support.
So the math department set out to make math more engaging and relevant by helping students develop, what they call, mathematical literacy — the ability to understand, apply, and communicate mathematical concepts.
“That background was what was needed to help understand what our students were missing and what our teachers really needed support with in order to help to build that mathematical literacy,” said Tonya.
At the same time that the math department set out to develop math literacy in its students, the state of Georgia, in 2021, adopted new math standards. Since CCPS uses the Georgia state standards as its curriculum, Tonya and the math department realized they were going to need even more support for teachers if they wanted to start closing gaps.
So, one of the first steps they took was to adopt a high-quality math program that would help teachers deliver the new standards while also keeping students engaged.
Implementing enVision Mathematics
At the beginning of the 2023-24 school year the district began implementing enVision Mathematics by Savvas Learning Company. enVision provided structured, research-based math instruction that aligned with the district’s rigorous curriculum and complemented Georgia’s state learning plans, and included engaging methods of delivering lessons.
“[enVision] helps us to support teachers with: ‘How do I take students from exploring to understanding mathematics? How do I connect what I explored into the actual math model and then work through that math model?’” said Tonya.
Teachers found that enVision’s instructional materials, including three-act tasks and visual models, supported student engagement and mathematical reasoning.
The program’s emphasis on problem-solving, conceptual understanding, and interactive learning helped students connect mathematical concepts to real-life applications.
Learn more about enVision Mathematics.
Secondary math teacher Tarquiann Bates said he especially likes the real-world application in enVision helps as well as features, such as the Solve and Share problem that launches each lesson and gets his students thinking about math.
“And that's the goal,” he said. “We're wanting to get the kids talking and being engaged more with the mathematics so that their skills and confidence with it will grow.”
Supporting Teachers with Professional Development
The math department at CCPS understood that empowering teachers was essential to improving student outcomes. So the district provided ongoing professional development opportunities to help educators effectively implement the program and other best practices in math instruction.
“With professional development, we've been very intentional about what it is that our teachers are getting trained on,” said Tiffanie, the elementary math coordinator at the district. “We’re making sure that we're implementing those practices that will set up a nurturing environment where our students are comfortable to speak to their math understanding.”
They worked closely with Savvas to provide targeted training on strategies that enhance students’ ability to comprehend and analyze math problems. Additionally, teachers were trained to use probing questions to guide students toward deeper mathematical reasoning.
CCPS also worked with Savvas to establish a network of Math Ambassadors — teacher representatives from each grade level — who received specialized training and helped disseminate best practices across schools.
Engaging Students and Families Through Real-World Math Experiences
The math department at CCPS knew that student engagement was key to making math meaningful and made efforts to engage parents and caregivers in their children’s math education as well. The district introduced initiatives that brought math to life outside the classroom, including math trails in local parks and community spaces. These trails featured interactive stations where students and families could engage in math activities related to real-world scenarios.
Using QR codes and augmented reality elements, the math trails provided dynamic, self-guided learning experiences that encouraged families to explore mathematical concepts in everyday settings. The goal was to help students see that math is not just something they learn in school — it is a fundamental part of their daily lives.
“What we're seeing is it's also opening people's minds to mathematics and mathematical literacy,” said Tonya. “They're engaging in playing with math, and they're seeing that it's just fun.”
The district also hosted community math nights, workshops, and events where families could learn strategies to support their children’s mathematical growth at home.
The Results: A Culture Shift in Math Education
After the implementation of their new math program and providing more support through professional learning opportunities, teachers report increased confidence in their instructional practices, and students are becoming more comfortable expressing their mathematical thinking.
“Our teachers are very on board with understanding that our students need a voice in the classroom, that we need to have diverse strategies and opportunities in the classroom for our students, and that they need to see the math in different ways and that they need to visualize the math,” said Tonya.
These successes are also reflected in their recent math scores that show a seven percent increase in the number of students scoring at the proficient level at the high school level, and a four percent increase in grades three through nine.
Classrooms have also shifted from a model of passive learning to one where students actively engage in mathematical discussions, explain their reasoning, and apply problem-solving strategies.
“The engagement of the students, the parents, the community, the buy-in from the teachers, and then we are seeing some actual growth in our data, all of that, it says that we're moving in the right direction,” said Tonya.