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Message from the President Jamey Lovin

Yesterday my neighbor told me that her son had just finished his “What I Did This Summer” essay for the first day of school. She mentioned he referred to having done lots of math practice because THE MATH LADY lived next door! I was pleased, not

iate issue. Our issue? Providing services that attract and retain membership. How? Seeking a platform that reflects the diverse needs of Virginia educa- tors. We weren’t surprised to see many groups sharing the same goal for their organization. In fact, Matt Larsen, in his July 19, 2017 NCTM Pres- ident’s message, shared the following from the very first NCTM president: “Unless we give value received for the membership fee no one will be- come a member a second time” - that was 1921 - almost 100 years ago. In August, the Executive Board met to plan initiatives of “value” for educators in Virginia. We are very excited with the activities we have planned for this year and beyond. First on our planning list is the 2018 conference at Radford University. The theme will be Moving Mountains with Mathemat- ics . We will be inviting proposals that address four conference strands: teaching with the new standards, access and equity, enhancing teaching and learning, and enhancing instruction with tech- nology. We are also in the process of revamping our award and grant applications to make them more accessible. We promise to keep you updated about this and many more upcoming events spon- sored by VCTM and its affiliates. Check our web- site, www.vctm.org, and watch for email blasts and updates!

only because he had been working to keep his math skills sharp, but also because he had provided me with the perfect topic for this message ... VCTM: What We Did This Summer! In July, NCTM hosted a Leadership Con- ference in Baltimore, Maryland. The theme was Intent to Impact: Addressing Access, Equity, and Advocacy in Your Affiliate . Affiliate members from all over the United States discussed ways we can take action to provide a high-quality mathemat- ics education for each and every learner. In a presentation from Marilyn Strutchens, we were challenged not to tell a different version of the equity story, but to create one that was truly our own. The afternoon was filled with dynamic con- versations that shaped our discussions for the re- mainder of the conference.

Here’s to an awesome year!

Jamey Lovin, VCTM President Jamey.Lovin@vbschools.com

Figure 1. See https://www.storybasedstrategy.org/ the4box.html for information about this graphic and more access, equity, and advocacy conversations.

Cathy Blair, Chelsea Prue, Melissa Demlein (GRCTM), Lisa LoConte-Allen (TCTM), and I formulated an action plan to address our state Affil-

Virginia Mathematics Teacher vol. 44, no. 1

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