MATHEMATICS INSTRUCTIONAL COACH

ALABAMA NUMERACY ACT BUILDING-BASED MATHEMATICS COACH JOB DESCRIPTION

ROLE OF THE BUILDING-BASED MATHEMATICS COACH: Per the Alabama Numeracy Act 2022-249 (ANA), “every
public K-5 school with a student population of less than 800 K-5 students shall be allocated one
mathematics coach and every public K-5 school with a student population of 800, or more, K-5
students shall be allocated two mathematics coaches.” The ANA building- based mathematics coaches
may not perform administrative duties, serve in administrative roles, serve as a substitute
teacher, serve as a testing coordinator, serve as an interventionist, or perform any other school
duties not focused on coaching or the mathematics improvement of students during the instructional
day (ANA, page 28).

ALLOCATION:
Local education agencies (LEAs) are to ensure each assigned school has a building-based mathematics
coach. Allocations for Alabama Numeracy Act (ANA) building-based mathematics coaches will be sent
quarterly for schools that can verify a building-based mathematics coach conforms to the ANA
building-based mathematics coach job description. Assigned schools without a verified
building-based mathematics coach will not receive their quarterly allocation.

EVALUATION AND SUPPORT: Building-based mathematics coaches as designated by the ANA will be
evaluated according to quantitative and qualitative data measures. Summative and formative student
assessment data, surveys, and site visit reports will be used in determining ANA mathematics
coaches’ effectiveness. Support for ANA mathematics coaches will be provided by Alabama
Mathematics, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI) Regional Specialists and monitored by
Office of Mathematics Improvement (OMI) Regional Coordinators according to specifications outlined
in the ANA.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: An ANA building-based mathematics coach shall have all the following
minimum qualifications:
a. Hold a valid Alabama professional certificate in early childhood education, elementary
education, or special education.
b. Have a minimum of five years’ experience as an early childhood education, elementary education,
or special education teacher.
c. Demonstrate expertise, as attested by a current or former employing city or county
superintendent of education, in mathematics instruction and intervention and early numeracy
interventions, including dyscalculia interventions.
d. Hold a master’s degree or have completed professional development recommended by the Elementary
Mathematics Task Force or both.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: To ensure all students are proficient on or above grade-level
mathematics by the end of fifth grade, the duties and responsibilities of the building-based
mathematics coach outlined in the ANA will include the following:
a. Supporting the improvement of instruction with an emphasis on Tier 1 instruction to ensure
students do not fall behind.
b. Collaborating with the school principal and faculty to establish and implement a strategic plan
for coaching and mathematics instruction to improve student achievement in mathematics.
c. Facilitating schoolwide mathematics professional learning, including job-embedded assistance
using coaching strategies, including joint preplanning, modeling lessons, co-teaching lessons,
targeted observation to collect data and debriefing.
d. Modeling evidence-based mathematics instructional and intervention strategies for teachers.
e. Mentoring and coaching teachers continuously.
f. Assisting teachers in using data to differentiate mathematics instruction and to identify
students exhibiting the characteristics of dyscalculia and other exceptionalities.
g. Monitoring the progress of K-5 students in mathematics through benchmark formative assessments
at least three times per year and making recommendations for modifying instruction based on the
individual needs of students and trends in student data.
h. Focusing solely as a mathematics coach for schools with elementary grade students.
i. Collaborating with teachers and grade-level teams of teachers to foster the use of appropriate
instructional materials, including concrete materials, necessary to ensure that students understand
mathematical concepts.
j. Collaborating with grade-level teams to develop rigorous tasks, lessons, and assessments
aligned with grade-level mathematics content standards; to facilitate the analysis of student work
samples and assessment data; and to work in partnership with teachers to provide real-time feedback
and make next-step instructional decisions based on the student evidence.
k. Assisting teachers in using formative assessments and analyzing student work to identify
students with misconceptions, students exhibiting characteristics of dyscalculia, and students
needing acceleration.
l. Assisting teachers in administering early numeracy screeners or diagnostic assessments, or
both, in Grades K-2. The assistance of a mathematics coach may not exceed two hours per week.

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m. Assisting teachers with administering fractional reasoning screeners or diagnostic assessments,
or both, for students in Grades 4 and 5, subject to legislative appropriation. The assistance of a
mathematics coach may not exceed two hours per week.
n. Advocating, planning, and coordinating opportunities, in conjunction with the principal, for
school-based family and community engagement in mathematics.
o. Participating actively and cooperatively in any OMI regional coordinator and AMSTI regional
mathematics specialist visits and professional learning to meet agreed-upon personal outcomes and
all school, district, and state-established mathematics goals.
p. Engaging in ongoing learning opportunities to grow in knowledge, skills, and expertise in
mathematics.
q. Facilitating the use of assessment data in all tiers of mathematics instruction to assist in
making decisions that will move students to higher levels of performance in mathematics.
r. Planning or facilitating, or both, professional learning opportunities that will assist
teachers in targeting student deficits; facilitate professional conversations; foster student
engagement; assess student learning; reflect on professional practice; and identify next learning
steps to achieve state, district, and school goals in mathematics.
s. Recording job duties and time spent with teachers on a state-specified electronic platform.
t. Supporting teachers in the authentic integration of computer science and computational thinking
concepts within the mathematics classroom.
EMPLOYMENT TERMS: As per the ANA, building-based mathematics coaches shall be employed as ten-month
employees. The extra days beyond the nine months shall be used to train teachers, develop units of
instruction and materials to support instruction, as determined by school data, and receive
professional learning.

SELECTION: Districts must carefully consider the qualifications of each building-based mathematics
coach to ensure alignment with
the ANA.