Mathematics Educator Appreciation Day Conference


Darlene Mansouri, Amphitheater, and Vicki Schroeder, Santa Cruz, organized door prizes for the 2008 Conference.	Ann Modica and Lisa Cariboa, Pima Regional Support Center, visit with UA's President Robert Shelton at the 2008 Conference.	Participants from Sunnyside, TUSD, Pima College, and the University of Arizona have a chance to visit.

The Mathematics Educator Appreciation Day (MEAD) was created to fill a void in meaningful professional development for Tucson area mathematics teachers. There is a wealth of teacher talent in the Tucson area, yet teachers tend to be isolated in their classrooms unless specific opportunities are orchestrated for them to share experiences and strategies. This conference has nurtured teacher content and pedagogy expertise and allowed the teachers to grow mathematically. These gatherings foster a community of educators united in the cause of providing quality mathematics instruction for students as well as support for each other.

While the conference was originally designed to bring together middle and high school math teachers, it has expanded to include teachers from Pima Community college as well as instructors and professors from the University of Arizona. Presenters include former NCTM past presidents, an NCSM President, university professors, seasoned presenters and teachers from the area. See the past conferences write-ups (links below) for more information.

The Center for Recruitment and Retention of Mathematics Teachers sponsored the first MEAD conference in January 22, 2005. The attendance has grown in each successive year with more than 350 attending in January 2008. The Center has received numerous emails, letters and personal comments extolling the value of the conference. This input indicates that the conference is very much needed, very much wanted, and very much appreciated by the mathematics educators in this city.

The conference is, in part, made possible by the collaborations established between the University of Arizona’s Center of Recruitment and Retention and the eight local school districts. Special thanks also to the sponsors who help make this conference possible at no charge. In the past these sponsors have included McDougall Littell, our lunch sponsor for the past four years, Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, Pearson Prentice Hall, Holt Rinehart & Winston, Texas Instruments, Tucson High Magnet School, and the Pima Regional Support Center.

Past Conferences

2006 MEAD Conference January 21, 2006

2007 MEAD Conference January 20, 2007

2008 MEAD Conference January 26, 2008

Next year’s conference will be held on January 24, 2009.


Dr. Bill McCallum, UA, and teachers select sessions at the 2007 Mathematics Educator Appreciation Day Conference.	Deanna McDonald presented a unique quilt to Fred Stevenson at the 2008 Conference in appreciation for his work on behalf of mathematics education.	Fred Stevenson, Philip Stevenson and Charles Collingwood share a laugh at the 2008 pre-conference breakfast.