President's Message

Summer 2025

Towards a More Comprehensive, Inclusive Approach to Mathematics Teacher Education

Over the course of the past few months, with the power and brilliance of our AMTE community members, we have further communicated our professional goals and commitments, come together stronger than ever before, engaged in critical conversations, and discussed plans for collective actions during these unique times in support of teacher education and specifically mathematics teacher education.

In March 2025, AMTE affirmed our continued commitment to the values and guidance put forth in our long term goals for 2024-28 in support of teacher education and professional development of K-12 teachers of mathematics. Specifically, AMTE’s Mission and Goals for 2024-28 remain committed to:

1. Challenge and support mathematics teacher educators to engage with and take action on issues of social and racial justice in their work.

2. Support and provide guidance on the high-quality preparation, recruitment, retention, and diversification of mathematics teachers across the variety of educational spaces.

3. Engage in community building and other efforts to support the recruitment and retention, diversification, and professional learning of mathematics teacher educators and leaders who serve in a variety of educational contexts.

4. Strengthen the research and research-based practices of mathematics teacher educators to serve the evolving needs of students, educators, schools, and communities.

We reiterated our firm stance in support of our Standards for Preparing Teachers of Mathematics, and supporting our members in their work with pre-service and in-service teachers in multiple educational settings. Namely, we stand strongly in support of our released position statements including:

In April-May 2025, AMTE through the hard work and collaboration of the AMTE board and committees structure revised our Call for Proposals for our 30th Annual Conference to be held February 5-7, 2026, in Portland, OR. In continuing our efforts to bring diverse mathematics teacher education communities together, we specifically asked for coaches, consultants, specialists, teacher leaders, and university and community college faculty to submit conference proposals and to share and disseminate research, teaching, and community partnerships in different educational contexts.

AMTE, intentionally toward a more comprehensive and inclusive lens, adopts an expansive view of the term mathematics education to include intersections with fields including, but not limited to:

● data science and statistics education,

● interdisciplinary education,

● STEM/STEAM education, 

● exceptional education or special education, 

and encompassing partners engaged in early childhood, PK-12, and post-secondary contexts.

I am grateful to my colleagues and hosts of the Teaching Math Teaching podcast - Joel Amidon, Jennifer Wolfe, Dusty Jones - as we discussed a "More Comprehensive, Inclusive Approach to Mathematics Teacher Education". Listen to the podcast and let us know your thoughts: https://www.teachingmathteachingpodcast.com/108?t=0

Towards a More Comprehensive and Inclusive Approach to Mathematics Teacher Education

 

During the months and years ahead, we need to further commit to collectively be together in community and in solidarity. Together we can work on pathways to share and disseminate ongoing research and teaching innovations through AMTE efforts such as:

● Participating and contributing to upcoming webinars

● Engaging in existing community circles and creating new ones as needed

● Creating collective, action-oriented task forces to address recent challenges in relation to the termination of external funding at the state/national levels

● Presenting at AMTE’s annual conference and potentially a virtual research conferences

● Attending the national conference to share, energize, and recharge

● Learning from and communicating with administrative leaders who support the work of mathematics and STEM education faculty and programs

● Supporting and sustaining our graduate students, and in particular our international students and colleagues

● Collaborating and mentoring early career colleagues including guidance and support through promotion & tenure processes

Our Research, Teaching, and Service work with students, teachers, schools and community partners truly matters! Our commitment to care and support - personally and professionally - the people within and beyond our community matters. We can and we must engage in this critical work together!

Farshid Safi, AMTE President