Frequently Asked Questions
Where does the money come from for Math Science Partnership Grants?
    The Math Science Partnership Grants are federal funds administered by the state.

Who can participate in the grant?
    You are eligible to join Project LEAD if you teach elementary grades 3 - 6 or at least one period of Pre-Algebra, Algebra Readiness, or Algebra I in a middle or high school.  You must be the teacher-of-record for the class.  To be eligible you may not have participated in a previous California Mathematics and Science Partnership Grant, (e.g., Math Masters or RAAFA).

Why can't all teachers participate in the grant?
    The Math Science Partnership Grants are research grants and the federal government requires state assessment scores to monitor the effectiveness of the professional development offered by the grant. Therefore only grades with CST scores can be monitored. Participating teachers must also be the teacher of record for a class. Therefore, administrators, specialist teachers, coaches etc. are not eligible to participate. The grants are also mainly targeted at effective practices aimed at raising Algebra achievement and have usually targeted grade 5 through Algebra 1. If a partner district chooses to pay the registration and materials fee for a non-eligible teacher, they may participate without being an official part of the grant.

Why are there so many hours required for participation?
    The grant guidelines require that there be so many intensive "facilitated" hours and so many follow-up "non-facilitated" hours. The grant as written fulfills the minimum requirement.

Will there be make-up opportunities if I miss a day?
    Yes. There will be an on-line class available for the day(s) you miss.

Can I have a clean, hard copy of the documents used during the Workshops or seminars?

All documents used in the workshops and seminars are in PDF format on the website, under documents.

What will the activities for next year be like

  The same format will be followed each year:

 A week-long summer workshop

 Five Saturday seminars

 A year ending Lesson Study Share Case (Saturday)

 All times will remain the same 8:30 - 3:30.

There will be make up sessions for the Saturdays and summer workshops. Continued funding is based on attendance.

Are University units available for this project?

  Units will be available through Sonoma State University. They will be paid for in the semester they are issued, so we will discuss units in the spring.

The workshops and Saturday's seem long. Can we have a working lunch or cut out the afternoon break and get out earlier?

There were several requests to end early, have a working lunch, skip the afternoon break etc. We have planned this workshop with everyone in mind. We are required by the guidelines of the grant to hold a 30-hour summer workshop; we cannot end early. The work we are doing is often intense and participants and instructors need a short break both in the morning and afternoon.