New York State Learning Technology Grant
Accelerate A.H.E.A.D!
LTG Year 3
2026-2027
The Accelerate A.H.E.A.D! initiative, funded by the New York State Learning Technology Grant (LTG), strategically targets educators across 27 public schools and one nonpublic institution, The Global School Brooklyn (formerly the German School Brooklyn) within Community School District 13 in Brooklyn. This collaborative effort is projected to impact an aggregate student population exceeding 10,000 district-wide.
Community School District 13 Profile
Community School District 13 comprises a student body of nearly 10,000 pupils, spanning grades pK-8, in an urban context serving a highly diverse student population. Nearly half (48%) of D13’s student population qualifies as Economically Disadvantaged, while Students with Disabilities comprise 22%, and English Language Learners represent approximately 5%. In D13, 37% of students identify as Black or African American, 21% as Hispanic or Latino, 29% as White, 7% as Multiracial, 5% as Asian or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, and less than 1% identifies as American Indian or Alaska Native.
Program Objectives and Focus Areas
The core mission of Accelerate A.H.E.A.D! is to deliver targeted professional development designed to enhance educators’ proficiency in seamlessly integrating a diverse array of digital resources into their existing curricular frameworks. This intervention is anticipated to yield measurable improvements in the conceptual understanding of mathematical principles among students in grades 3 through 8. The program seeks to realize three principal objectives, which correspond to the following programmatic focus areas:
1. Teacher Professional Development
Objective: To augment teachers’ mathematical content knowledge and their capacity to utilize appropriate and highly engaging learning technologies effectively within the classroom environment.
2. Curriculum Development & Planning
Objective: To immerse educators in a Professional Learning Community (PLC) model focused on developing rigorous, high-quality learning experiences. These experiences are structured to promote students’ conceptual understanding of mathematical ideas through the simultaneous integration of grade-appropriate learning technologies.
3. Student Outcomes
Objective: Students in grades 3–8 will increase their facility in applying strategies, learning technologies, and tools that support their conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and application skills, ultimately culminating in a significant elevation of their overall academic achievement in mathematics.
Strategic Alignment and Future Impact
The articulated goals and objectives are in direct alignment with the strategic priorities of both the District and our nonpublic partner school. We aim to leverage professional development as a mechanism for instituting a fundamental shift in instructional practices toward a focus on fostering students’ higher-level thinking, cultivating student agency, and providing opportunities for the creation of authentic work supported by the meaningful infusion of technology.
Critically, these objectives support our broader mission: to expand access to equitable and robust college and career pathways, particularly within STEM fields, which have been historically characterized by underrepresentation of minority groups.
The increasingly high demand for a workforce proficient in foundational STEM skills underscores the necessity of supporting both novice and veteran educators. It is paramount that they are equipped to provide all students with a powerful educational foundation. Mathematical mastery is integral to success in STEM, as is the cultivation of computational thinking (CT). Furthermore, effective educators must possess a deep comprehension of the mathematical content they are tasked with teaching and a clear developmental understanding of how mathematical learning progresses across grade levels. Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) have been empirically demonstrated to be vital contributors to educators' ongoing professional development.
By elevating our teachers’ pedagogical practices, specifically those tied to conceptual understanding in mathematics, we will not only successfully address disparities in our students' mathematical achievement but also establish an enduring academic foundation that will serve them throughout their lifetime.
Acknowledgments
The development and implementation of the resources and work presented herein were made possible through the New York State Learning Technology Grant, awarded to select school districts throughout New York State. We extend our sincere gratitude to our partners—Makeosity and Educate LLC—for their invaluable support across District 13, and to all participating teachers and students whose thoughtful and exemplary contributions are reflected in these materials.
Accelerate A.H.E.A.D!
LTG Year 2 Reflection
2025-26
Program Artifacts and Resources
The following materials represent key deliverables and resources created under the "Accelerate A.H.E.A.D!" initiative during the 2026-26 school year (LTG Y2 SY26):
D13 LTG Y2 SY26 g6-8 Math Intervention
The primary focus of our collaborative work centered on strengthening small group intervention structures to ensure that every student's academic needs were identified and addressed. At both schools, teachers and coaches worked together to analyze iReady diagnostic data, A.I.M. assessments, and unit assessment results to form flexible, data-driven small groups organized by skill level and standards mastery-rather than by grade alone. Observations across 6th, 7th, and 8th grade math classes revealed growing teacher capacity to differentiate instruction: students in each group received targeted materials and tasks matched to their readiness level, while management systems and rotation structures were refined to maximize instructional time and student engagement. Intervention lessons were developed in direct response to the patterns observed during school visits and are aligned to the New York State Next Generation Learning Standards for Mathematics and the Year 2 objectives of the Accelerate A.H.E.A.D! LTG Grant, which prioritizes testing and implementing technology-infused, culturally relevant instructional resources in grades 6–8 classrooms.
D13 LTG Y2 SY26 g3-4 Weather and Flight
The Grade 3 Weather Data and Measurement curriculum and the Grade 3/4 CAFO Flight Unit were implemented in spring 2026, with the Straw Rocket Distance Challenge and bar graphing activity subsequently delivered.. Both units were developed collaboratively by Makeosity, Educate LLC, and classroom teachers from The Brooklyn Global School and PS 54, aligned to the Grade 3 Amplify Science weather unit and designed to address documented gaps in graph interpretation and data reasoning. Classroom teachers led all lessons throughout both units. This report documents evidence against Goals 2 and 3 of the Accelerate A.H.E.A.D. grant, drawing on exit ticket data, structured teacher feedback collected after each lesson, and direct observation of teacher-led implementation.
D13 LTG Y2 SY26 Resources and Tools
This collection of linked resources from our work with PS 54, The Brooklyn Global School, MS 351, MS 301, MS 113, MS 266, MS 313, and HS 265 is available to support educators interested in implementing the grade 4 flight unit and/or strategic instructional periods for Math.
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CONTACT INFORMATION
Community School District 13
355 Park Place Brooklyn, NY 11238
Phone: (718) 636-3284
website created by www.solvedconsulting.com
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