Mississippi Math Coaching
In partnership with the Mississippi Department of Education, Catapult Learning is providing a statewide professional development and coaching program designed to strengthen mathematics instruction in K-12 classrooms across Mississippi.
Aligning our research-based coaching model to the statewide Math Protocol (the state’s standard for math PD, coaching, and instruction in public mathematics classrooms), our team of experienced coaches is set to deliver in-person and virtual professional learning to K-12 math teachers in more than 30 sites across the state over the next four years.
Catapult Learning provides education solutions that generate demonstrable academic achievement and better life outcomes for students, regardless of the learning obstacles or other challenges they face. Our team of over 5,000 educators works to achieve sustained academic gains and build teacher and leadership capacity through evidence-based programs that include student instruction and family support services, professional development, special education, and alternative education programs. Utilizing a suite of proprietary, research-based programs, Catapult Learning works with students and teachers in public and non-public schools throughout the country and around the globe.
The Catapult Learning Difference
When you partner with Catapult Learning for professional development, you experience:
Expertise in capacity-building to serve all students and drive success
Support every step of the way – before, during, and even after our professional development services.
45+ years providing timely, relevant, and customized professional development
Improve classroom practice, teaching quality, and student learning
Leverage funding expertise to optimize ESSER funding for PD
Meet Your Mississippi Team
Annette Charles
Senior Vice President – South and West Operations
Annette provides operational oversight and leadership for all Catapult Learning programs delivered in the region. Her division delivers instruction, intervention, and professional development for public and non-public schools. Annette has nearly two decades of experience maintaining strong professional relationships with key personnel in school districts and customer service, as well as five years of educational experience as an assistant principal in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District. She received a master’s degree in education administration from the University of Texas and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Northeastern University in Boston.
Sue Gerenstein
Vice President – Professional Development
Sue Gerenstein is Vice President, Professional Development, and is responsible for the overall development and implementation of Catapult Learning’s professional development programs. Sue brings over 30 years of experience in teaching, school administration, management, professional development, marketing, and product development to her role. Before joining Catapult Learning, Sue served as the Vice President for Academic Partnerships for American Reading Company and Senior Director of Education for Foundations, Inc. Prior to these appointments, Sue was the Vice President of Professional Development and Curriculum for Edison Learning, and oversaw the development of the products, tools and resources associated with school design implementation, including the creation and coordination of professional development and supporting resources designed to facilitate improved student performance in our partnership schools and alternative academies.
Sue earned her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis in instructional technology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her bachelor’s degree from Northern Illinois University. She acquired supervisory certification from Seton Hall University.
Christin Nichols
Math Professional Learning Manager
Christin Nichols is a Math Professional Learning Manager helping states and districts to successfully develop capacity for their instructional and student learning initiatives, empowering them to strengthen their school communities. For more than 25 years, Christin has served students and educators in schools with striving populations. Her compliment of experience in K-12 education includes classroom instruction, school transformation work in Chicago Public Schools, secondary core curriculum implementation management in partnership with the School District of Philadelphia, and consulting and coaching services for the Hawaii State Department of Education’s schools supporting leaders, teams, and teachers with best practices for standards-aligned instruction and data driven decision making. Most recently, Christin served as the Professional Learning Supervisor for the Department of Defense Education Activity’s (DoDEA) project to enhance the College and Career Readiness Standards implementation, authoring and facilitating curriculum and professional learning at K-12 schools on military installations worldwide.
Christin earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from the University of Central Florida.
Vanessa Ronketto
Executive Director of School Transformation
Vanessa Ronketto serves on Catapult Learning’s Center of PD Excellence. She oversees professional learning and coaching services, including School Transformation and Literacy First: The Science of Reading. Her support includes program oversight, implementation fidelity, consultant support and overall client satisfaction. Vanessa brings over 40 years of experience in education including experience as a teacher, preschool administrator, reading specialist and a K-8 administrator in the Detroit area. After moving into a regional support role in 2004 as Senior Director of Achievement, her focus became the support of principals and schools in need of school improvement in the Midwest. She was the superintendent for 8 recovery schools in Ohio and served as a Turnaround Superintendent where she led the design of the education plan for a turnaround project in partnership with the Indiana State Board of Education. Prior to joining the Catapult Learning team in 2016, Vanessa served as a Director of Educational Programming. Vanessa holds degrees from Oakland University in Rochester, MI; a BS in elementary education, a MA in Reading and Language Arts, and a post graduate administrative certificate.
Meet Your Math Coaches
Amy Marchbanks
Hazelhurt City School District– Hazelhurst Elementary School
Jackson Public School District– Shirley Elementary School
South Pike School District –Eva Gordon Lower Elementary School
Angela Cotten
South Pike School District –Eva Gordon Upper Elementary School
Natchez-Adams School District– Morgantown Elementary School
Vicksburg-Warren School District –Vicksburg Intermediate School
Ayana Hudson
Jackson Public School District –Galloway Elementary School
West Bolivar Consolidated School District– Morgantown Elementary School
Yazoo City Municpial School District –McCoy Elementary School
Courtni Patterson
Amite County School District –Amite County Elementary School
Wilkinson County School District– Wilkinson Elementary School
Crystal McBride
Holmes County Consolidated School District –Williams Sullivan High School
Jackson Public School District– Whitten Middle School
Meridian School District –Magnolia Middle School
Dana Wagoner
Amite County School District –Amite County High School
Natchez-Adams School District– Natchez Middle School
Dorothy LeBlanc
Simpson County School District –Mendenhall Junior High School
Jackson Public School District– Cardozo Middle School
Walthall County School District –Tylertown High School
Ella Jefferson
Covington County School District –Collins Elementary High School
Laurel School District– Laurel Upper Elementary School
Perry County School District –Perry Central Middle School
Elmer Johnson
Jackson Public School District– Kirksey Middle School
Clairbourne County School District– Port Gibson Middle School
Hazelhurst City School District –Hazelhurst Middle School
Jazmine Cole
Hollandale School District– Sanders Elementary School
South Delta School District– South Delta Middle School
Greenville Public School District –Mattie Akin Elementary School
Jennifer Foshee
East Tallahatchie School District– Charleston Middle School
Holly Springs School District– Holly Springs Junior High School
Columbus Municipal School District –Columbus Middle School
Joann Washington
Meridian Public School District – Northwest Junior High School
Yazoo County School District– Linwood Elementary School
Jackson Public School District –Sykes Elementary School
Jorie Hemphill
Jackson Public School District– Dawson Elementary School
Meridian Public School District– Parkview Elementary School
Holmes County Consolidated School District –Durant Elementary School
Katie Williams
Greenwood Leflore Consolidated School District– Amanda Elzy Junior High School
Jackson Public School District– Powell Middle School
Yazoo City Municipal School District –Bettie E. Woolfolk Middle School
Kawuanza Gray
Smith County School District– Taylorsville High School
Jackson Public School District– Blackburn Middle School
Kemper County School District –Kemper County Upper Elementary School
Kim Ward
Holmes County Consolidated School District– S.V. Marshall Middle School
Holmes County Consolidated School District– William Dean, Jr. Elementary School
Jackson Public School District –Chastain Middle School
Kimberly Williams
Wilkinson School District– William Winans Middle School
Copiah County School District– Crystal Springs Middle School
Lana Price
Jackson Public School District– Lanier High School
Jackson Public School District– Marshall Elementary School
Jackson Public School District –Walton Elementary School
LaTasha Thornton
Coahoma County School District– Friars Point Elementary School
Coahoma County School District– Lyon Elementary School
Cleveland School District –Pearman Elementary School
Latosha Davis
Carroll County School District– Marshall Elementary School
Sunflower County Consolidated School District– Moorhead Elementary School
Jackson Public School District –Bates Elementary School
Malak Moustafa
Benton County School District– Ashland High School
Marshall County School District– H.W. Byers High School
Tate County School District –Independence High School
Sara Scales
Cleveland School District– D.M. Smith Elementary School
Tamekka Davis-Davidson
West Bolivar Consolidated School District– West Bolivar Elementary School
Greenville Public School District– Coleman Middle School
Cleveland School District –Cleveland Central Middle School
Tessa Dvorak
Laurel School District– Laurel Middle School
Wayne County School District– Wayne Central School
Moss Point School District –Magnolia Middle School
Victoria Wheeler
West Tallahatchie School District– R.H. Beardden Elementary School
Greenwood-LeFlore Consolidated School District– East Elementary School
Greenwood-LeFlore Consolidated School District –Threadgill Elementary School
Yolanda Jackson
Holmes County School District– Goodman-Pickens Elementary School
Jackson Public School District– Raines Elementary School
Sample Workshops
For: K–12 Teachers of Math (grouped flexibly)
In 2014, NCTM (the National Council of Teaching Mathematics) articulated the essential practices of strong math instruction. This workshop provides educators a broad but valuable opportunity to reflect on these areas. Participants will:
- Distinguish eight teaching practices that describe what effective math teachers do
- Clarify them with examples and non-examples
- Analyze a classroom video using these practices as lenses
- Reflect on current math instructional strengths and set goals for growth
For: K–12 Teachers of Math
Today’s math standards emphasize conceptual understanding as the foundation for procedural fluency and application. To address this important component of math teaching, participants in this workshop will:
- Break down what “deep understanding of math” really means and why it matters
- Structure math learning as a sequence of stages
- Represent math using concrete, representational, and symbolic forms for a range of topics
- Build fluency out of conceptual understanding instead of despite it
- Self-assess and plan to improve the depth to which they teach each grade-level topic/standard
For: K−12 Teachers of Math
This introductory workshop seeks answers to two key questions:
- What do good problem solvers think about?
- How can we teach students to be better problem solvers?
In this workshop, participants will:
- Break down the process of problem solving into a protocol of questions
- Help students gradually develop independence as problem solvers
- Become more conscious of a wider range of problem-solving strategies
- Detect and address student errors using purposeful questions and evidence of their thinking
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