As SABES develops to meet the needs of practitioners, it explores different approaches to staff development. From 2003-2004, SABES experimented with an intensive theme-based initiative on teaching writing. Results from our evaluation showed that 97% of the respondents felt that their experience in this initiative made a positive difference in their program, and 100% said SABES should continue with this type of staff development as one of its services. So we did.

We switched our focus to math because it was identified as a critical need in the field: with the development of a new ABE math assessment being developed at UMass Amherst, based on the Massachusetts ABE math curriculum frameworks, and with a math section on the ABE licensure test, SABES recognized that math staff development was becoming increasingly important.

But the initiative is meant to provide something much more in depth than meeting test requirements. Many ABE teachers like me, with backgrounds in the humanities or the arts, lack a basis in teaching math and carry a lifelong fear of it, largely because of how they were taught. As a result, they avoid integrating math into their ABE classrooms or treat the subject mechanically.

The SABES math initiative is attempting to address content areas in math with a focus on data and algebra at all levels. Helpful methods and resources for teaching math will be part of this focus. Just as important, the initiative will address teachers' anxieties about math by cultivating an approach that builds confidence as it builds content knowledge.

Working with TERC
Because SABES is partnering with the nationally recognized organization TERC, they will be guided by state of the art approaches to teaching math and developing math curriculum in ABE. TERC has been recently awarded a four-year grant from the National Science Foundation for teaching math in ABE programs, and this work will dovetail beautifully with the SABES math initiative work. As a result, the math initiative is better funded and more strongly supported than the writing initiative. The math initiative will also draw strongly and consistently from the Massachusetts ABE Math Curriculum Frameworks.

Process Update
Over the last year, a group of teachers (practitioner leaders), staff developers, and policymakers have been working with TERC to explore ideas for the math initiative and to design activities for the next two years. In addition to mini-courses, workshops, and all-day math conferences, a variety of other ideas for staff development are being explored, and many have already been implemented in the various SABES regions.

Math Circus
A lighthearted, practical, and engaging "math circus" provided a kick-off for the math initiative at the Network 2005 conference in Marlborough and yielded useful math needs assessment information as well. Evaluations from this well-attended event were over 90% positive. Several math-based workshops and activities were also presented here as a math strand organized through the initiative.

Because SABES has had a year of lead-time planning, participants have had time to develop guiding principles, clear goals, and a strong design before implementing the initiative in 2006. These goals have been articulated as follows:

• To increase the competence and confidence of ABE teachers in teaching math.
• To change teachers' classroom practices in teaching math.
• To encourage "all math at all levels" in ABE classrooms, drawing from, and deepening the understanding of, the Mass ABE Frameworks.

The guiding principles, drawn from research and practice and originally codified by the Adult Numeracy Network (ANN) in 2004, have been modified for the initiative, as well.

TIAN
One of the most exciting features of this years math initiative is the implementation of TIAN, Teachers Investigating Adult Numeracy. See TIAN article in this issue for more information.

For listings on math activities in various SABEs regions, please check out the new, updated SABES calandar at calendar.sabes.org. The SABES Web site will soon post math resources emerging from the initiative.

Please contact your local SABES region for the most up to date information about the math initiative and accompanying activities.

Lenore Balliro, Field Notes editor, also coordinated the math initiative in its first year. She can be reached at: lballiro@worlded.org