About CRR

Over 20 years of high-quality professional development for mathematics teachers!

The CRR's Vision is an excellent mathematics teacher for every child. 

The CRR’s Mission is to attract, develop, and support new mathematics teachers, and engage current mathematics teachers in re-imagining mathematics learning through innovative programs, retaining high quality teachers in mathematics education.

The CRR's Values are Community, Growth, Service, and Empowerment. 

• We value our diverse community and are committed to building community through all events and programs. 

• We value growth, both within the organization as well as with each of our stakeholders and our community-at-large. 

• We value service, and we seek to be of service to our community, engaging with our community to improve mathematics education through each event and program. 

• We value empowerment, and we seek to empower our stakeholders to re-imagine mathematics education without boundaries.

View the 2019-2020 Annual Report

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The Center for Recruitment and Retention of Mathematics Teachers (CRR) was founded by Dr. Fred Stevenson in 2001 to support Tucson area secondary mathematics teachers. Sue Adams and Ann Modica, two outstanding former high school mathematics teachers and leaders in Tucson area mathematics education, were recruited to be the co-directors.

The Center offered two programs:

• A Tutoring in the Schools class to train and hire undergraduate University of Arizona students to use effective tutoring skills as they worked with classroom students. Due to the experience, some of these tutors decided to switch their current major to enter the Secondary Mathematics Education Program (SMEP) or the Teach Arizona program to become mathematics teachers
• A New Teacher Induction Program which paired new teachers with a supportive coach for a year. These new teachers also attend a monthly workshop designed to deepen their mathematical understandings and provide pedagogical training to develop effective classroom procedures and strategies.

Funding for the Center came from school district partnerships, private donations, and a National Science Foundation grant.

In 2005, CRR hosted the first Mathematics Educator Appreciation Day Conference (MEAD). The MEAD Conference has grown to become the largest K-16 mathematics teacher conference in the state of Arizona.

In 2008, CRR began hosting teacher workshops. Secondary mathematics content workshops were designed to deepen understandings and to incorporate technology into lessons. Five 3 or 4-session workshops were offered on weeknights throughout the year.

Also in 2008, the Herbst Foundation provided an endowment to provide funding for two Saturday workshops per year. The Herbst Enrichment Mathematics Seminars (HEMS) are taught by exemplary classroom teachers who present meaningful content and model excellent teaching strategies. Stipends are paid to the teachers who attend. Currently the Herbst endowment funds five HEMS workshops each year. We are very grateful for the continued guidance and support from Lee and Arthur Herbst.

In April of 2009, the first Advanced Placement Calculus Practice Exams were hosted. Both Calculus AB and BC Exams are given so that students gain experience with the types of questions asked and learn how the College Board exams are scored. In 2014, an AP Statistics Practice Exam was added to the event. Many thanks to Bruce MacMillan, Chris Yetman, and Josh Tabor for leading this effort.

In 2012, in addition to workshops for secondary mathematics teachers, workshops were hosted for teachers in grades K through 6 to build understanding of fractions, algebra, and geometry.

In 2016, the Thomas R. Brown Foundations provided a grant to fund the IMPACTS Program. Teachers in grades K through 5 are provided with experiences to deepen mathematical understandings and rich classroom tasks which help students understand topics conceptually as they develop fluent skills.

In 2017, the CRR received funding to expand, revise, and improve the Tutor Scholar Program to focus on making the greatest impact possible through mathematics mentoring. The Student Thinking Enrichment through Mathematics Mentors (STEMM) came from those efforts. STEMM is an AmeriCorps program, supporting schools across the Tucson area with high quality mathematics mentors and tutors (U of A students) in order to affect the greatest impact on youth. STEMM also engages the teachers in the New Teacher Induction Program as math mentors for three of their high-need students, providing a more in-tensive level of support for those students. The New Teacher Induction teachers also receive targeted biweekly mentoring from their Induction Coaches.

In 2018, the Thomas R. Brown Foundations provided another grant to fund an expansion of the IMPACTS program to middle school. The IMPACTS-MS Program provides teachers in grades in 6 through 8 with experiences to further develop their content knowledge and pedagogical skills to help students develop the critical foundations for algebra.

In 2020, the CRR pivoted all of its services online in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) recognized the Center for its high-quality services and partnered with the CRR to expand the Center's services statewide.  During the 2020-2021 academic year, thousands of teachers participated in CRR events, including over 1400 participants at the MEAD Conference from all 15 Arizona counties. 

In 2021, Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, Kathy Hoffman, formally acknowledged the CRR in both her State of Education and State of Special Education remarks to the Arizona legislature. In turn, ADE extended its partnership with the CRR for another year, meaning CRR services continue to be free to all Arizona teachers for the 2021-2022 academic year. 

Meet the CRR Team:

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Meet the Co-Directors 

Meet the Program Coordinator: