Back row: CPM conference leaders Mark Cote and Sharon Rendon. Front row: Westerville teachers Brittany Barnhart, Leah Gaines, Kassie Sliney and Melissa Paletta, along with CPM leader Karen Wootton.
Leah Gaines (Genoa Middle School), Brittany Barnhart (Westerville Central High School), Kassie Sliney (Westerville South High School) and Melissa Paletta (Westerville South High School) went to the CPM Academy of Best Practices in Seattle, Washington from August 3 - 7. All four teachers applied for the workshop, along with almost 100 teachers around the country, and were among the lucky 32 sponsored and chosen by CPM to attend. The academy is a week-long, intensive seminar focused on discussing issues at the forefront of change in nationwide mathematics education. They learned how to better facilitate a student-centered, problem-based classroom; how to effectively use questioning for formative assessment; and how to maximize student learning, among a host of other relevant, thought-provoking topics to better their mathematics instruction. They were also lucky enough to have a little time to site see around Seattle.