Alabama § 16-6H-7 - Mathematics Coaches.

§ 16-6H-7. Mathematics Coaches.

(a)(1) Subject to the appropriations of the Legislature, every public K-5 school with a student population of less than 800 K-5 students shall be allocated one mathematics coach and every public K-5 school with a student population of 800 or more K-5 students shall be allocated two mathematics coaches.

(2) If a K-5 school is allocated two mathematics coaches, the local board of education shall attempt to hire and employ those mathematics coaches simultaneously to ensure the effectiveness of the mathematics coaches.

(3) The Director of the Office of Mathematics Improvement shall determine the scope and pace of scaling mathematics coaches, with the goal of allocating all mathematics coaches before the 2027-2028 school year. In determining the allocation of mathematics coaches, full support schools and limited support schools shall be given priority.

(b) A mathematics coach shall be employed by the local education agency with funds appropriated by the Legislature to support this chapter. Mathematics coaches shall be employed as a 10-month employee. The extra days beyond the nine months shall be used to train teachers, develop units of instruction and materials to support instruction, as determined by school data, and receive professional learning. Mathematics coaches shall meet all of the following qualifications:

(1) Hold a valid Alabama professional educator certificate in early childhood education, elementary education, or special education.

(2) Have a minimum of five years of experience as an early childhood, elementary, or special education teacher.

(3) Demonstrate expertise, as attested by a current or former employing county or city superintendent of education, in mathematics instruction and intervention and early numeracy interventions, including dyscalculia interventions.

(4) Hold a master’s degree or have completed professional development recommended by the Elementary Mathematics Task Force, or both.

(c) The duties and responsibilities of a mathematics coach employed pursuant to this chapter shall include all the following:

(1) Supporting the improvement of instruction with an emphasis on Tier 1 instruction to ensure students do not fall behind.

(2) Collaborating with the school principal and faculty to establish and implement a strategic plan for coaching and mathematics instruction to improve student achievement in mathematics.

(3) Facilitating schoolwide mathematics professional learning, including job-embedded assistance using coaching strategies, including joint preplanning, modeling lessons, co-teaching lessons, targeted observation to collect data, and debriefing.

(4) Modeling evidence-based mathematics instructional and intervention strategies for teachers.

(5) Continuously mentoring and coaching teachers.

(6) Assisting teachers in using data to differentiate mathematics instruction and to identify students exhibiting the characteristics of dyscalculia and other exceptionalities.

(7) Monitoring the progress of K-5 students in mathematics through benchmark formative assessments at least three times per year and making recommendations for modifying instruction based on the individual needs of students and trends in student data.

(8) Focusing solely as a mathematics coach for schools with elementary grade students.

(9) Collaborating with teachers and grade-level teams of teachers to foster the use of appropriate instructional materials, including concrete materials, necessary to ensure that students understand mathematical concepts.

(10) Collaborating with grade-level teams to develop rigorous tasks, lessons, and assessments aligned with grade-level mathematics content standards; to facilitate the analysis of student work samples and assessment data; and to work in partnership with teachers to provide real-time feedback and make next-step instructional decisions based on the student evidence.

(11) Assisting teachers in using formative assessments and analyzing student work to identify students with misconceptions, students exhibiting characteristics of dyscalculia, and students needing acceleration.

(12) Assisting teachers in administering early numeracy screeners or diagnostic assessments, or both, in grades K-2. The assistance of a mathematics coach may not exceed two hours per week.

(13) Assisting teachers with administering fractional reasoning screeners or diagnostic assessments, or both, for students in grades four and five, subject to legislative appropriation. The assistance of a mathematics coach may not exceed two hours per week.

(14) Advocating, planning, and coordinating opportunities, in conjunction with the principal, for school-based family and community engagement in mathematics.

(15) Actively and cooperatively participating in any Office of Mathematics Improvement regional coordinator and AMSTI regional mathematics specialist visits and professional learning to meet agreed upon personal outcomes and all school, district, and state established mathematics goals.

(16) Engaging in ongoing learning opportunities to grow in knowledge, skills, and expertise in mathematics.

(17) Facilitating the use of assessment data in all tiers of mathematics instruction to assist in making decisions that will move students to higher levels of performance in mathematics.

(18) Planning or facilitating, or both, professional learning opportunities that will assist teachers in targeting student deficits; facilitate professional conversations; foster student engagement; assess student learning; reflect on professional practice; and identify next learning steps to achieve state, district, and school goals in mathematics.

(19) Recording job duties and time spent with teachers on a state-specified electronic platform.

(20) Supporting teachers in the authentic integration of computer science and computational thinking concepts within the mathematics classroom.

(d) A mathematics coach shall prioritize coaching in mathematics and may not perform administrative duties, serve in administrative roles, serve as a substitute teacher, serve as a testing coordinator, serve as an interventionist, or perform other school duties not focused on coaching or the mathematics improvement of students during the instructional day.

(e) The State Superintendent of Education and each local superintendent of education shall execute a memorandum of understanding that includes a certification by the local superintendent of education that each mathematics coach employed satisfies the minimum qualifications established by this section.

(f) The State Superintendent of Education, in partnership with the Elementary Mathematics Task Force and the Office of Mathematics Improvement, shall develop an evidenced-based accountability system for measuring the effectiveness of mathematics coaches employed pursuant to this chapter for improving teacher professional learning and for increasing student growth and proficiency on formative assessments recommended by the Elementary Mathematics Task Force and the state approved summative assessment.

(g) The State Superintendent of Education shall submit a report to the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the State Board of Education, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Chair of the House Ways and Means Education Committee, the Chair of the Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee, the Chair of the House Education Policy Committee, the Chair of the Senate Education Policy Committee, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, and the Minority Leader of the Senate, and shall conspicuously publish the summary on the website of the department, no later than December 31, annually, on the status of teacher professional learning and student growth and proficiency based on formative assessments recommended by the Elementary Mathematics Task Force and the state approved summative assessment.