New York Math Network
Building Strong Systems for High-Quality Math Instruction
Phase 1 (2023-2024)
Project Background
The NY Math Network is a collaboration between the National Implementation Research Network (NIRN) and several major New York State school districts. This project brings together Buffalo Public Schools, Rochester City School District, and Yonkers Public Schools in a coordinated effort to transform mathematics instruction by systematically implementing high-quality instructional materials (HQIM).
The journey of the NY Math Network began in October 2023 with Phase I, a critical period of foundation building that extended through May 2024. During this initial phase, participating districts engaged in an intensive process of understanding their implementation challenges and developing targeted solutions. This co-creation process occurred over numerous coaching sessions with the districts’ math leads and six virtual networking sessions. Phase I culminated with on-site visits to each district, where teams had the opportunity to observe and participate in the other districts’ instructional round processes. These instructional rounds were centered around a district-identified problem of practice that stemmed from analyzing various types of data throughout Phase I (e.g., outcome, fidelity, capacity, scaling, and professional learning). After each of the on-site instructional rounds, network members had an opportunity to discuss their observations and share strategies as well as opportunities for improvement.
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Each district team also participated in a root cause analysis, which identified implementation barriers that were common across all participating districts. The central common barrier that emerged across all three districts was the need for a robust professional learning system that incorporated training and coaching at each level of the educational cascade. The results of these root cause analyses were used to create the individualized district math implementation plans that would become the driving force behind the work in Phase II of the Network. The plans were broken down into components that help to drive implementation forward:
- Implementation Team Details
- Goals & Implementing Schools
- Professional Learning & Coaching
- Data Collection & Processes
- Communication
Phase 2 (2024-2025)
Where are we now?
Building on these crucial insights, Phase II of the initiative launched in August 2024 with a structured approach to developing a robust professional learning infrastructure. This phase, extending through July 2026, operates through three main channels of support and collaboration.
NY Network Supports
1) Virtual District Leads Meetings
These bi-monthly meetings allow each district’s math lead to come together and share implementation practices, barriers, and successes, and prepare for the quarterly Network Sessions. The meetings provide a unique opportunity for each of the math leads to learn from their peers in other districts, as well as further their understanding of implementation best practices.
2) Virtual Network Sessions
These quarterly sessions bring together each district’s core implementation team to discuss project updates, network with each other, and learn about critical implementation areas such as training plans, coaching systems, and data use/effectiveness. These sessions also include “problem of practice” presentations from the district teams, during which districts highlight certain implementation barriers or successes that they have (or are currently) experiencing.
Year 1 Session Topics:
- HQIM & Implementation Planning
- Coaching Systems & Delivery Plans
- Rochester’s Problem of Practice
- Planning for Year 2
3) Individual Coaching
Tailored and individualized coaching is also provided to the district leads and core implementation teams. NIRN’s coaching within the NY Math Network is grounded in its Implementation Drivers Framework, which provides a research-based structure for supporting practice and organizational change. This framework emphasizes the integration of competency drivers (like selection, training, and coaching), organizational drivers (including systems intervention and data systems), and leadership. The network's attention to these interconnected elements ensures that improvements in math instruction are not just implemented but truly embedded in district systems and culture.
Linked Teams
It has been a great exercise for me in distributed leadership. Prior to forming implementation teams, I owned a lot of the work of the math department myself, which made it difficult to tackle all of the responsibilities of my office. Forming these teams have helped me to build capacity in the folks I work with so we are working as efficiently as an organization as possible. Although our scope is still very much overwhelming at times, it helps to have a supportive team to lean on to ensure that no aspects of implementation falls through the cracks.
Central to the network's effectiveness is its innovative "linked teams" structure. Within each district, there’s a math lead, core team, and district implementation team (DIT). The core team is composed of a small number of district staff who are directly overseeing and involved in the implementation. District implementation teams (DITs) bring together diverse perspectives, including curriculum specialists, coaches, school leaders, and teachers. Additionally, these teams are connected through the network's collaborative sessions, creating opportunities for cross-pollination of ideas and solutions. This structure allows districts to maintain their unique context and priorities while benefiting from shared learning and resources.
Having the [core and district implementation] teams has allowed Rochester to develop a clear vision for implementation and helped us identify the change of practice that we wanted to see. We are using data that we collected to put structures, supports, and systems in place to yield the best impact for students and teachers.
Functions of the Core Math Team
- Ensures adequate implementation support for high-quality teacher instruction;
- Facilitates bi-directional communication with schools and district leadership;
- Reviews current strengths and needs at the school and district levels;
- Uses data to inform the allocation of support;
- Provides professional learning to build and maintain staff competency;
- Creates feedback loops to address challenges that accompany new ways of work;
- Actively engages in data-informed decision-making for problem-solving and action planning
Functions of the District Implementation Team (DIT)
- Provides knowledge, skills, and abilities to establish and strengthen district processes
- Brings district expertise to create and refine internal protocols (e.g., communication, hiring process, staff support, data use)
- Guides the district’s selection of HQIM;
- Develops district infrastructure (training, coaching, data use) needed to support teachers’ use of HQIM with fidelity;
- Facilitates bi-directional flow of communication to establish hospitable environments in schools and districts (e.g., policy, funding, resources);
- Actively engages in ongoing monitoring of data using improvement cycles
Data-driven Decision-Making
A distinguishing feature of the NY Math Network's approach is its emphasis on data-driven decision-making at multiple levels. Districts are developing sophisticated systems for collecting and analyzing data on implementation and student outcomes. This dual focus allows them to identify and address challenges before they impact student achievement. The network's coaching supports help districts interpret and act on this data, ensuring that insights lead to meaningful improvements in practice. Within the network, NIRN collects post-session feedback surveys and bi-annual coaching feedback data, both of which provide feedback loops that help refine NIRN’s support and continuous improvement.
I have had to do a root cause analysis before, but not with the team. It was interesting to hear the different ways each person described the root causes under each category. The learning that comes from the experience is that while you can identify all of these root causes, you have to strategically determine what your focus will be to address the most at once, or the one that will impact others.
Network Professional Learning
Professional learning within the network takes many forms, creating a rich tapestry of growth opportunities for educators. Beyond traditional training sessions, the network facilitates peer learning through the following:
- Problem of practice presentations: where districts share their challenges and collaboratively develop solutions. These presentations provide an opportunity for each district’s Core Math Team to find commonalities between the different district contexts and learn from one another
- On-site visits: Districts have budgeted for planned on-site visits similar to the ones facilitated during Phase I of the project. These visits will deepen this learning through hands-on activities like learning walks and co-observation cycles. Additionally, all districts will complete the District Capacity Assessment (DCA) with on-site/virtual facilitation from NIRN coaches.
These varied approaches ensure that professional learning is both relevant to each district's context and enriched by perspectives from across the network.
Additionally, Bank Street College of Education joined the network in early 2025, further enriching this collaborative ecosystem, bringing new perspectives and expertise to the community. The team at Bank Street provides support to the project around:
- Co-planning and facilitation of Network Sessions
- Coordination of on-site visits among the districts
- Supporting district coaching plans
- Examining connections between the districts and local educator preparation programs.
Phase 2 (2025-2026)
Where are we headed?
The network's commitment to sustainability is evident in its approach to capacity building. Rather than creating dependency on external experts, NIRN coaches work to develop internal expertise within each district. This includes building district teams' ability to facilitate their own professional learning, conduct implementation analyses, and lead improvement cycles. The transition from NIRN-led to district-led network sessions planned for Year 2 exemplifies this gradual release of responsibility, ensuring districts can sustain improvements beyond the project timeline.
The NY Math Network's approach to system building holds promise for lasting impact in several ways:
1) By focusing on building district capacity for sustained implementation, the network is creating replicable models for professional learning that can be shared across the district, state, and beyond.
2) The development of practical tools and resources, combined with the establishment of ongoing collaboration networks, ensures that the benefits of this work will extend well beyond the project's formal timeline.
3) Co-creation of an implementation plan and guide to support K-12 implementation efforts in mathematics.
Perhaps most importantly, the NY Math Network is creating a blueprint for how districts can work together to overcome common implementation challenges. Through structured collaboration, shared learning, and a systematic approach to improvement, participating districts are building strong systems for high-quality math instruction that will benefit students for years to come. This work demonstrates the power of thoughtful collaboration and systematic implementation in creating lasting educational change.
As the NY Math Network continues its important work, it stands as a model for how educational systems can work together to create meaningful, lasting change. Through its careful attention to implementation science, commitment to collaboration, and focus on sustainable improvement, the network is helping to chart a course toward excellence in mathematics education for New York's students.
My key learnings from this experience have been regarding creative problem solving. Staff recruitment, scaling implementation of high quality instructional materials and building capacity through professional learning with limited staff to do so are all challenges that our districts face. However, due to the internal processes of our districts and each of our current circumstances, we have tackled these challenges differently. It has been so enlightening to collaborate with other districts and have the opportunity to reflect on the implementation plan that my team has as a district. Our plans have gotten stronger because we have additional thought partners that understand our “big district” challenges.
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