BOWLING GREEN, Kentucky (WBKO) – In school, math can be a polarizing subject for both students and teachers.
However, the Educator’s Professional Implementation Center (EPIC), a group working within the Green River Regional Education Cooperative, hopes to change that.
Earlier this month, EPIC announced its designation as an approved professional learning partner of Kentucky Numeracy Counts Academies.
“With the recent passage of the Kentucky Numeracy Counts Act, House Bill 162 of 2024, the intent of this bill is to increase math support for students and improve student outcomes,” said Rebecca Gaddie, EPIC’s Chief Programming Director. “When KED, the Kentucky Department of Education, received funding in connection with this bill, they were able to open the opportunity for partners to submit proposals and become a recognized professional learning partner for this collaboration.”
This approval will enable EPIC to provide 200 educators in Kentucky with the opportunity to improve their math skills through its Numeracy Alliance.
“They’ll get in-person training at some sites in Kentucky and also ongoing support on how to improve their math skills as individuals,” Gaddie said. “And also how we can support students to learn really deep mathematical thinking in terms of our Standards for Mathematical Practice and our Kentucky Mathematics Standards.”
The program is open to third- through eighth-grade teachers across the Commonwealth. Gaddie adds that districts are not required to charge a fee.
“This bill allocated some funding to the Kentucky Department of Education, and as an approved partner of KDE, we are able to cover the participation fee for this offering, which is $3,500 per educator over the two-year experience.”
Gaddie said the program is designed for both math fanatics and educators who want to master the subject of subtraction entirely.
“Traditionally, math is something that some people like and some are a little bit more scared of. So one of our main goals is to introduce people to this idea of enjoying math, really engaging with the fun side of math, where really complex math happens. Recognizing patterns, recognizing relationships between sets, and looking for math in the world around them and how they actually apply it in real life.”
In grades three through five, the emphasis is on arithmetic concepts related to fractions, while in grades six through eight, the understanding of ratios and proportional thinking is strengthened.
EPIC will welcome educators from across the state to its kick-off meeting on September 27 in Bowling Green and October 17 in Shelbyville.
Educators interested in the program are asked to email EPIC at [email protected].
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