District News

A Lancaster teacher has become a part of a new initiative to help local math educators connect and build relationships throughout Western New York.

Alison Camp, who teaches sixth grade math at William Street School, joined with Tricia Husul, a curriculum coordinator at Erie 1 BOCES who has supported Lancaster for more than a dozen years, to revive the Buffalo Area Association of Math Teachers.

“It is great to have a friendly group to keep us inspired and inspiring students,” Camp said.

Camp, a member of the Executive Board of the Association of Math Teachers of New York State as well as a New York State Master Teacher, said she recently learned that the Buffalo area was the only one in the state that did not have a local level association of math teachers. A previous iteration of the group had been out of operation for about a decade.

Collaboration is seen as key to developing and sharing ideas about how to best connect students to their math curriculum.

“The stigma that math ability is genetic and only for certain students is something that we need to overcome,” Husul said. “Math is for everybody. All students have the capacity to learn mathematics at high levels and as teachers, we need to foster an enjoyment for learning mathematics in our students.”

The pair said that the idea for the new group has been met with a great deal of excitement. Among the key goals is to create opportunities for members to engage in professional development and networking. The group will also aim to create educational opportunities for college students that are training to become the next generation of math educators.

“The excitement is about the collaboration across districts,” Husul said. “Teachers just want to connect and share ideas with each other.”

Camp said an interest form for the group that was circulated in the area received responses from about 200 educators from 41 public and private schools across the region, and added that she and Husul were happy to answer questions about the new group. The group will be holding its first virtual forum with Erie 1 BOCES on February 5, 2025.

For more information about the forum, which will offer teachers CTLE credit, visit https://bit.ly/4g46gAR.

This article ran as part of the Lancaster Central School District 2025 Winter Newsletter. View the full newsletter at https://bit.ly/42CThD9