Vision: Our vision is that all New Jersey students develop the mathematical, scientific and technological skills, knowledge, understandings, and attitudes that they need in order to be productive in their personal, work, and civic lives and thereby ensure that New Jersey has a competent and competitive workforce that will help us meet the challenges of the global economy.
Mission: The mission of the New Jersey Mathematics and Science Coalition is
- to improve mathematics, science, and technology education in New Jersey and
- to increase public awareness of the importance of mathematics and science to the future of our children and our economy
by drawing together all sectors of the state – including education, public policy, business and industry, and the public – in a sustained multi-faceted statewide effort.
Goals: The goals of the New Jersey Mathematics and Science Coalition address the following arenas:
- public policy: to advocate the adoption and implementation of public policies which enhance the goal of success for all students in mathematics, science, and technology.
- public outreach: to promote discussion, understanding, and support of New Jersey’s Core Curriculum Content Standards in mathematics and science among parents and the general public.
- professional development: to promote high-quality standards-based professional development activities throughout the state.
- curriculum support: to support district alignment of curricula with the standards and classroom implementation of the standards by teachers.
- assessment: to inform educators, policy makers, and the general public about progress in achieving our goals in improving mathematics and science education in New Jersey.
The New Jersey Mathematics and Science Coalition works to bring coherence and added value to the separate efforts and contributions of the many individuals and organizations that have a similar vision and goals. The Coalition will not duplicate the efforts of other organizations, and indeed will focus on developing partnerships and pursuing outcomes not achievable by any one organization or sector working alone.
Organization: The New Jersey Mathematics and Science Coalition is an independent organization, governed by a Board of about 60 members, including approximately fifteen scientists and science educators, fifteen mathematicians and math educators, and 30 people with a strong interest in education from the business, policy, and public sectors of the state. Joseph G. Rosenstein serves as Director and Martin S. Friedman serves as Chair of the Board of Governors.
History and major accomplishments: Although the New Jersey Mathematics and Science Coalition was formed in 2007, it grew out of the New Jersey Mathematics Coalition (NJMC), which was formed in 1991. Among its many accomplishments and activities, the NJMC:
- played a leading role in advocating, developing, and gaining widespread support for the mathematics standards adopted by the State Board of Education in May 1996;
- developed and published in December 1996 the New Jersey Mathematics Curriculum Framework, a 688-page guide to both teachers and districts on implementing the standards (in collaboration with the NJ Department of Education and with funding from the US Department of Education) – this document (available online) served as a model for curriculum frameworks in the other content areas;
- played a key role in developing the proposal for New Jersey's SSI grant (Statewide Systemic Initiative for Excellence in Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education — awarded by the National Science Foundation in 1993) and continued to participate as an active partner;
- published and disseminated a report How Are We Measuring Up? Trends in New Jersey Mathematics Education (with funding from The Fund for New Jersey) in 1997 to inform educators, policy makers, and the general public about progress in achieving our goal of improving mathematics education in New Jersey;
- coordinated Math, Science, and Technology Month each April (as a public outreach component of NJ SSI) for a number of years, involving parents and children in hands-on activities (over 87,000 parents and children participated in 1996 in MSTM activities at over 450 New Jersey sites);
- published and distributed in 1995 a Parents’ Guide entitled Mathematics to Prepare Our Children for the 21st Century and in 1997 a revised, expanded Parents’ Guide entitled Helping Your Child Reach the New Standards in Mathematics, Science, and Technology based on the new standards;
- initiated a large parent outreach program in 1998, The FANS Project (Families Achieving the New Standards in Mathematics, Science, and Technology), with $1,600,000 from the National Science Foundation, and $200,000 from the AT&T Foundation. During the following four years, over 1,400 workshops took place throughout the state attended by over 30,000 parents. In addition FANS served as a model for parent outreach programs in other areas (called GAINS) funded by the NJ Department of Education;
- published and distributed a newsletter about NJMC activities and other significant information three times a year to over 9,000 parents, educators, and community members statewide;
- expanded the state's capacity to respond to the need for professional development by training over 100 K-4, 5-8, and 9-12 grade teachers during 1996-1999 to conduct workshops on the math standards that they developed (with funding from J&J); and
- offered standards-based mathematics workshops that addressed New Jersey’s statewide assessments and that were open to all New Jersey teachers, and served as a broker, connecting districts with skilled providers of standards-based professional development.
The NJMC was largely inactive from 2003 to 2006 and was reactivated as the New Jersey Mathematics and Science Coalition in March 2007.
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