As the math tutor for Illumination Math Consulting LLC, I had the privilege of watching students grow from September 2025 through May 2026. Over the course of the year, students became increasingly confident in their ability to explain and solve mathematical problems. They took ownership of their learning, walking into each session ready to articulate both their struggles and their progress.

By the end of the year, every one of my Algebra students performed at the Distinguished level on the Georgia Milestones Assessment.

Middle school data is still coming in, and I’m excited to see their results.

As the Secondary Math Coordinator for the Dougherty County School System from June 2019 to July 2025, I supported and led district-wide efforts to improve mathematics achievement.  During this time, grades 6th and 8th surpassed their pre-pandemic data; during the 2025 school year, both grade levels reached an all-time high in the number of students performing at or above the proficient level on the Math section of the Georgia Milestones Assessment.

 Sixth-grade mathematics surpassed their pre-pandemic data by 1.6% and 8th-grade mathematics surpassed their pre-pandemic data by 10.4%.  Seventh-grade mathematics was gaining traction as well, lagging by 1.1% before meeting or exceeding its pre-pandemic data.

This success story is visible in the data display below.

During the 2024 school year, as the Secondary Math Coordinator, I supported and led the district in implementing a new set of math standards for the state of Georgia.  For the first year of implementation, I would say we remained very close to the state performance.

From the 2024 to the 2025 administration, the district decreased the number of beginner learners for all grades 6-8, and the number of students performing at the developing level increased for all grades, except for 6th grade.  Sixth grade decreased their developing numbers and increased the number of students performing at the proficient level by 4%, 7th grade increased their proficient numbers by 4% and 8th grade had the largest increase of 6%.  For distinguished learners, 6th-grade math had the largest increase of 2%.

The data clearly show that the district is moving in the right direction to close the achievement gap with the state, and the number of students performing at the proficient and distinguished levels is increasing.

This success story is visible in the data display below.

During my six-year tenure as a district-level Secondary Math Coordinator, I led and supported the transition of the ninth-grade math curriculum from Coordinate Algebra and Algebra 1 to Algebra Concepts & Connections. In 2024, this shift correlated with a notable achievement: 29% of students performed at or above the proficient level - the highest percentage in the past nine years. However, the performance data for Algebra Concepts & Connections remained stagnant between the 2024 and 2025 school years.

This success story is visible in the data displays below.