Designing At the Margins: A Conversation with Dr. Cristina Santamaría Graff and Dr. Paulo Tan on Engaging Families of Children with Learning Differences in Mathematics
In this conversation, Dr. Cristina Santamaría Graff and Dr. Paulo Tan speak with The Center for Family Math about how families raising children with learning differences can reshape the way we think about math learning. Their conversation explores inclusive practices, Universal Design for Learning, the importance of time, and how families can be advocates, co-creators, […]
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Math Festivals: Bringing Joy, Confidence, and Community Back Into Math
Daniel Kline, Executive Director, Julia Robinson Math Festival When I tell people that I work with math, I often get reactions like “I was never good at math” or “Math was always too hard for me.” For many, math was boring, anxiety-inducing, and the subject that made them feel stupid. As early as 5th grade, […]
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If You Build It, Will They Come?
Dr. Jessica Tilli, Director of Math, School District of Philadelphia What happens when a school in one of the most underserved communities in America decides to prioritize family partnerships as a strategy to boost math and reading achievement? If you build it, will they come? Charlotte Gillum, a former social worker turned school leader, is […]
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Playing with Math: Using Games to Engage Families in Young Children’s Math Learning
By Geetha B Ramani and Gillian Grose For most people, math and fun rarely feel like they go together. Often, parents associate math practice with their children using repetitive worksheets and flashcards. Although learning math does involve consistent practice, worksheets are not the only way for students to engage in math. Math learning can be […]
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Press Release: New Program Launches to Enhance Math Outcomes for L.A.’S Young Learners
LOS ANGELES, March 14, 2025 — The Masons of California, in partnership with the Center for Family Math, Raising a Reader, PowerMyLearning and the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, today announced the approval of a three-year, $968,000 investment to improve math outcomes for young students. The initiative, which funds a range of family math engagement programs […]
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The California Family Math Mapping Project
Math skills in the early years and early grades predict students’ later math success and broad academic success. Research tells us that one way to boost early math skills is by engaging families – through high parental expectations, parent-child math talk and math activities, a rich home learning environment with books and games, and family […]
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NAEP Underscores Urgent Push For Early Math Literacy
The latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results, released yesterday by the National Center for Education Statistics, highlight a continued trend of concerning achievement gaps in math proficiency. With fewer than half of U.S. 4th and 8th graders meeting proficiency standards, the report reveals widening disparities in math performance between low- and high-performing students. The findings underscore a critical need to prioritize early math education and strengthen family engagement in fostering math literacy.
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The Year in Numbers – A Letter from Center for Family Math’s Director, Holly Kreider
Looking back, 2024 was a banner year for the Center for Family Math, in great part due to our amazing team, partners, and allies helping to build a Family Math movement. So let’s celebrate our collective successes “by the numbers” as math enthusiasts are wont to do! Together, we expanded and deepened practice, with: 22 […]
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Family Math as an Antidote to Math Anxiety
Author: Jennifer McCray Edited by Jeff Snyder and Holly Kreider Like many other nations, the United States has a problematic relationship with mathematics. Math is often the butt of jokes, as in “I hate this so much I’d rather be doing math,” and the New York Times describes Sudoku as a “numbers game, minus the […]
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Centering Families in the Curation of Online Resources
Authors: Holly Kreider & Jennifer McCray At NAFSCE’s Center for Family Math (the Center), we aim to instill a love of math in students through the love of their families. As one step toward this goal, we see our familymath.org website as an opportunity to amass high-quality practice resources from across the field that help […]
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