Unity Junior High School

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U.S. students lag behind peers in many other countries in math proficiency. Indeed, research has shared troubling data about math education in this country for years. What are schools doing about it?

At Unity Junior High School in Cicero, educators say the West Cook and South Cook County Mathematics Initiative—a project in 32 south and west suburban Cook County school districts—is making a difference by emphasizing collaboration, leadership development and ongoing assessment. The Initiative’s goals focus on strengthening preparation for algebra in the middle grades and the teaching of algebra in the eighth and ninth grades.

The far-reaching Initiative engages district superintendents, principals and teachers in the process of improving math education. (The Chicago Learning Sciences Research Institute also works with schools to strengthen mathematics instruction through research, professional development and coaching of educators).

Unity Junior High, a school whose students are predominantly low-income and Latino, is a pilot site for this effort. Unity's principal Donna Heppner says that the Initiative is especially timely: It will help Unity and other schools transition to national Common Core State Standards for math that are designed to prepare children for college and the workforce.

The result of this initiative in the classroom, Heppner says, is that students are being empowered "to take charge of their own learning." For example, students often focus on math problems tied to real life, such as putting together a recipe. Students also spend more time analyzing each other's work and learning from their mistakes. And last fall, the school's math teachers met with parents to explain what to expect in math classes at Unity.

"It's a deeper understanding of math that we're after," adds Elsa Berrios, Curriculum Director of Math and Sciences of Cicero School District 99, which includes Unity Junior High. "It's not just about getting an answer to a problem, but being able to figure it out in a variety of ways. It makes for a more rigorous program."

The Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust made a grant to the University of Illinois Board of Trustees as fiscal agent for the University of Illinois at Chicago Learning Sciences Research Institute for this Initiative.

Learn more about our grant making in Education