Katie Nelson, a 6th-grade teacher and Math Department Lead at Mount Jordan Middle School in Canyons School District (UT), has been named the Open Up Resources 6–8 Math Teacher of the Month for March. Nelson is being recognized for her outstanding work in her classroom and ongoing support of teachers across the country as a member of the Open Up Resources National Professional Learning Community.

Nelson’s work with Open Up Resources 6–8 Math makes her one of the most innovative teachers in the country. The Open Up Resources 6–8 Math curriculum inspires a new way of teaching math by transforming classrooms into hives of activity focusing on discussion, questioning, debate, and the deeper conceptual learning of mathematics that follows. 

Teachers in our Open Up Resources 6–8 Math Community have benefited tremendously from the resources Nelson has created for her own students including NearPod lessons for 6th grade students. During this time of extended school closure period the nation is now facing, Nelson has gone above and beyond to create tutorials for teachers, activities for students without internet access, and multiple other learning resources for distance learning. 

Nelson says that the OER aspect of the curriculum allows teachers to take full advantage of creating and sharing resources and supports with others. “You won’t find a better community-supported curriculum out there,” she shared. “There is a nation full of dedicated teachers on your Professional Learning Team, [educators] aren’t adopting alone.”

We are appreciative of all of the work Katie is doing to support teachers in this difficult time. You can find her resources and more in our Covid-19 School Closure Blog post.

Open Up Resources is a non-profit on a mission to increase equity in education by making excellent, top-rated curricula freely available to districts. You can learn more at www.openupresources.org. Learn more about our National Professional Learning Communities here.