What is the MƒA Los Angeles Master Teacher Fellowship?
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IMPORTANT DATES
IMPORTANT DATES
- February 10, 2020: Applications due (no later than 11:59PM)
- March 14, 2020: Take Praxis 5161 exam on or before this date
- Interviews: We will call you to set-up an on-site interview
- April 20, 2020: Decision letters sent via email
- September 12, 2020: First PD for applicants admitted into the program
The MƒA Los Angeles Master Teacher (MT) Fellowship is a fellowship of up to five years, designed to help teachers become leaders by supporting them as they design and orchestrate student-centered changes in their schools and districts. In this way, teachers become “instructional and organizational change agents who have a critical impact on school, teacher and student success” (National Board for Professional Teaching Standards). The goal of this program is to increase the number of teacher-leaders in the greater Los Angeles area who will make a difference in and beyond their classrooms, rather than groom teachers for administrative positions.
Applicants for the MƒA Los Angeles Master Teacher Fellowship must identify some critical need in their school and propose efforts to bring about improvements; student learning outcomes must be a central part of these proposed projects. Master Teachers will work in pairs (or possibly teams of three or more) so that they will have a greater chance of bringing about real, sustained change in their departments.
ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible for the fellowship, candidates must meet the following criteria:
BENEFITS
Fellows in good standing will receive
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
The design of MƒA Los Angeles' PD synthesizes the best available research on how to retain our most talented teachers, help them develop leadership skills, and improve student outcomes. It is also grounded in strong theoretical frames on teacher leadership and professional development.
Monthly, mandatory, all-day professional development (PD) meetings are held on the first or second Saturday of the month (no PD in January, July, and August (fellows attend conferences in April and November). These meetings are designed to build on all areas of teachers' pedagogical content knowledge for math.
Every PD begins with a session focused on content knowledge led by one or more faculty members of Harvey Mudd College. Every meeting also includes a session relating to some aspect of instruction (i.e., social justice and education through STEM).
Additionally, all fellows have time during each Saturday PD to meet in a working group. These working groups are intra-school professional learning communities focused on specific courses and are facilitated by experienced teachers and MƒA Los Angeles leadership.
Fellows will receive financial support to attend regional/national conferences organized by the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics, California Mathematics Council, and other similar entities.
MƒA Los Angeles will assist fellows to become certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), if they have not already been certified. The process of attaining National Board Certification requires teachers to grow substantially in their teaching practice; research has shown that National Board Certification has a positive impact on student achievement and teacher retention. Also, many districts in the Los Angeles area offer salary increments to National Board certified teachers.
Applicants for the MƒA Los Angeles Master Teacher Fellowship must identify some critical need in their school and propose efforts to bring about improvements; student learning outcomes must be a central part of these proposed projects. Master Teachers will work in pairs (or possibly teams of three or more) so that they will have a greater chance of bringing about real, sustained change in their departments.
ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible for the fellowship, candidates must meet the following criteria:
- Have at least five years of experience teaching math.
- Teach math to grades 6-12 in a public or charter school in a high-need district in the greater L.A. area at the time the fellowship begins. (Note: LAUSD is a high-need district)
- Commit to teaching math at the same school in a high-need district over the course of the fellowship.
- Have completed a substantial amount of math coursework in undergraduate or graduate school (a total of at least 18 credits or 6 courses of post-calculus mathematics or related courses).
- Hold a valid (and clear) California teaching credential*.
- Except for conference period(s) and the MƒA Los Angeles course buy-out period, a Master Teacher Fellow’s entire full-time teaching schedule must be spent teaching mathematics.
- Apply with a least one other teacher at their school site. The team must identify some critical need involving math at their school and develop a plan to address that need (see "improvement project" below).
- Commit to participating in MƒA Los Angeles' professional development program.
- Demonstrate high content knowledge, a love of mathematics, and exemplary teaching and leadership skills.
- Enjoy mentoring and collaborating with colleagues.
- Cannot be enrolled in any other academic program or any other program that may conflict with MƒA Los Angeles Fellowship requirements.
BENEFITS
Fellows in good standing will receive
- $10,000 annual salary supplement.
- MƒA Los Angeles will work with the fellows' school administration to buy-out one of their periods (annually renewed, based on performance and availability of funds).
- Financial support for travel to conferences.
- Participate in the three-week Park City Mathematics Institute Teacher Leadership Program at least once during the five-year fellowship period.
- Receive mentoring and support from local STEM faculty and other Master Teachers through regular professional development meetings.
- Receive training and support to become certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, if they have not yet been certified.
- Participate in a high-quality professional development program.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
The design of MƒA Los Angeles' PD synthesizes the best available research on how to retain our most talented teachers, help them develop leadership skills, and improve student outcomes. It is also grounded in strong theoretical frames on teacher leadership and professional development.
Monthly, mandatory, all-day professional development (PD) meetings are held on the first or second Saturday of the month (no PD in January, July, and August (fellows attend conferences in April and November). These meetings are designed to build on all areas of teachers' pedagogical content knowledge for math.
Every PD begins with a session focused on content knowledge led by one or more faculty members of Harvey Mudd College. Every meeting also includes a session relating to some aspect of instruction (i.e., social justice and education through STEM).
Additionally, all fellows have time during each Saturday PD to meet in a working group. These working groups are intra-school professional learning communities focused on specific courses and are facilitated by experienced teachers and MƒA Los Angeles leadership.
Fellows will receive financial support to attend regional/national conferences organized by the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics, California Mathematics Council, and other similar entities.
MƒA Los Angeles will assist fellows to become certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), if they have not already been certified. The process of attaining National Board Certification requires teachers to grow substantially in their teaching practice; research has shown that National Board Certification has a positive impact on student achievement and teacher retention. Also, many districts in the Los Angeles area offer salary increments to National Board certified teachers.
IMPROVEMENT PROJECT
You and a colleague at your school must work together to propose a project that you will jointly design and orchestrate to bring about improved student outcomes at your school. This proposed project will be the centerpiece of your work as a MƒA Los Angeles Master Teacher for five years and so you should think carefully about what you want to accomplish.
Each team of applicants must submit a description of a proposed project that addresses the following questions:
Here are some possible ideas for school improvements that might give you an idea of the scale and types of projects that we envision.
Project proposals will be scrutinized for evidence of a deep concern for students' learning and of personal growth as a result of prior professional development opportunities. Applicants will need to demonstrate that their school administration will define clear roles for them related to the improvement projects they will design and implement, and will provide them with support, time, and resources necessary to be successful. Applicants' proposed improvement projects will be judged on their appropriateness, potential for improvements in student performance, alignment with school and district standards, thoughtfulness of design, and potential for sustainable change. Priority will be given to projects that benefit all students, not just students who are already mathematically talented.
We strongly encourage all applicants to talk with their school administration and colleagues in their mathematics departments to come up with compelling projects that will have school and departmental support.
This Master Teacher Fellowship Program is made possible, in part, by grants from the National Science Foundation through DUE #1136415 ("Math for America Los Angeles: Empowering Master Teachers to be Instructional and Institutional Change Agents") and DUE #1439917 ("Math for America Los Angeles: Putting Research into Practice to Raise Teacher Quality and Retention and Student Performance").
You and a colleague at your school must work together to propose a project that you will jointly design and orchestrate to bring about improved student outcomes at your school. This proposed project will be the centerpiece of your work as a MƒA Los Angeles Master Teacher for five years and so you should think carefully about what you want to accomplish.
Each team of applicants must submit a description of a proposed project that addresses the following questions:
- What is the specific challenge or area of improvement in your school/district that you want to address? Why is this challenge significant?
- What attempts have been made in the past to solve this or similar challenges, perhaps at other schools and districts?
- What do you propose to solve these challenges? How will student outcomes be improved by your proposed work? What mathematics education research backs up or informs your proposed solution?
- Which students will benefit from these improvements?
- What are some concrete ways of measuring whether your proposed solution is successful? At least some part of your answer to this question should involve student performance assessments.
- What resources will you need to be successful?
- How are your proposed improvements aligned with your school’s curricula, standards, practices, and culture?
- How do you think your proposed improvements should be rolled out at your school? Can your ideas be shared across your district?
- How will your proposed work continue to be effective after your five-year Master Teacher Fellowship is over?
- Why do you think that what your team does will be successful?
Here are some possible ideas for school improvements that might give you an idea of the scale and types of projects that we envision.
- Because of California's adoption of the Common Core State Standards, administrators and teachers have needed to realign their standards, assessment, and instructional practices. In addition to mathematics content standards, the Common Core State Standards includes eight Standards of Mathematical Practice that describe different facets of mathematical expertise that students should try to attain. To meet these new challenges, applicants may propose to align curriculum, instructional, and/or assessment practices in specific core mathematics classes (such as Algebra 1) with the new Common Core content standards and Standards for Mathematical Practice.
- The Common Core Standards also describe new course options for high school students in their fourth year besides calculus (mathematical modeling, discrete mathematics, probability, and statistics)—correspondingly, applicants may propose to design new course pathways for students at their schools.
- Participants may also choose to redesign one or more core mathematics classes to take full advantage of some instructional innovation or technology. Proposals of this type must clearly describe how student learning will be affected by the instructional innovation or technology.
- Teachers could also propose to bring about structural changes in their departments, perhaps by implementing lesson study, cognitive coaching, or complex instruction.
Project proposals will be scrutinized for evidence of a deep concern for students' learning and of personal growth as a result of prior professional development opportunities. Applicants will need to demonstrate that their school administration will define clear roles for them related to the improvement projects they will design and implement, and will provide them with support, time, and resources necessary to be successful. Applicants' proposed improvement projects will be judged on their appropriateness, potential for improvements in student performance, alignment with school and district standards, thoughtfulness of design, and potential for sustainable change. Priority will be given to projects that benefit all students, not just students who are already mathematically talented.
We strongly encourage all applicants to talk with their school administration and colleagues in their mathematics departments to come up with compelling projects that will have school and departmental support.
This Master Teacher Fellowship Program is made possible, in part, by grants from the National Science Foundation through DUE #1136415 ("Math for America Los Angeles: Empowering Master Teachers to be Instructional and Institutional Change Agents") and DUE #1439917 ("Math for America Los Angeles: Putting Research into Practice to Raise Teacher Quality and Retention and Student Performance").
APPLICATION PROCESS
The application packet contains forms and further instructions.
If you have any questions about the MƒA Los Angeles Master Teacher Fellowship, please do not hesitate to send an email to mt-apply@mfala.org or call us at (213) 821-3438. We're here to help!
- By February 10, 2020, each applicant submits a completed application package (download and then complete) by email to mt-apply@mfala.org. If you have issues with the fill-in application form, please check to make sure you have the latest version of Adobe Reader installed. Mac users: do NOT open the form using Preview. This application form must be accompanied by a resume, personal statement, lesson plan, list of math courses above Calculus I taken, and your project proposal.
- Arrange to have two letters of recommendation mailed to our office (address at the bottom of this page) or emailed to mt-apply@mfala.org by February 11, 2019. Each letter is to be sent directly from the person writing the recommendation--not by the applicant. One letter from your current principal; the second letter from your assistant principal/ administrator in charge of your department or an instructional coach.
- Arrange to have official transcripts for all post-secondary coursework mailed from the institution to the MƒA Los Angeles office (address at the bottom of this page) or emailed to mt-apply@mfala.org by the application deadline.
- Each applicant will submit scores from ETS Praxis II Math Content Exam 5161. A reimbursement for the $120 test fee is available if a completed application is submitted and the applicant meets the basic criteria for admission. Proof of payment will be required. This is a computer-delivered test. A final decision regarding acceptance into the program cannot be made absent the test results.
- Candidates will be contacted regarding on-site interviews at their school.
- Applicants will be notified by email as to whether they are accepted into the program.
The application packet contains forms and further instructions.
If you have any questions about the MƒA Los Angeles Master Teacher Fellowship, please do not hesitate to send an email to mt-apply@mfala.org or call us at (213) 821-3438. We're here to help!
MƒA Los Angeles mailing address:
MƒA Los Angeles
USC Rossier School of Education
1150 South Olive Street, Suite 2100
Los Angeles, CA 90015
*The credential must be a single subject teaching credential in mathematics. Middle school teachers must have at least a foundational math credential and high school teachers must have a full math credential.
MƒA Los Angeles
USC Rossier School of Education
1150 South Olive Street, Suite 2100
Los Angeles, CA 90015
*The credential must be a single subject teaching credential in mathematics. Middle school teachers must have at least a foundational math credential and high school teachers must have a full math credential.