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Leadership in Mathematics Education (Online)

M.S.Ed

  • Program Overview

    Our Leadership in Mathematics Education program, designed for teachers, academic coaches, or administrators who want to become school leaders with a deeper understanding of mathematics, is a fully online 16-month program.  

    While candidates earn New York State School Building Leader certification, those who live outside of New York can pursue certification in their home states based on completion of an approved program in New York. 

    This unique program combines opportunities for candidates to learn more mathematics, enhance mathematics pedagogy, delve deeply into professional development issues, and learn a full range of essential school leadership skills from anywhere in the country. 

    During this program, students engage in intensive course work in adult development, action research, mathematics, mathematics leadership, and school building leadership. Students are expected to assume a range of leadership responsibilities with an emphasis on professional development in mathematics.

    Graduate faculty working with students in math class

  • Admissions Requirements

    In addition to the main admissions criteria, there are additional requirements needed to apply for this program:

    • Applicant must demonstrate three years of paid, full-time work experience as a classroom teacher (must be as a head teacher or lead teacher, not as an assistant or associate teacher). Applicants to the Leadership in Mathematics Education program typically have at least five years of teaching experience.

    • This program does not require a background in mathematics.

    • Our priority deadline is March 1. After that date, applications are only considered for that year if space is available. 

    • One letter of recommendation must come from a supervisor (Assistant Principal, Principal, Site Director, Head of School, etc.).

  • Coursework

    View the coursework for this program.

  • Supervised Fieldwork/Advisement

    During the course of the program, students engage in guided field assignments which are instrumental in supporting professional growth and development. Through supervised fieldwork/advisement, candidates engage in leadership activities and develop the capacity to integrate theory and practice.  

    Conference Groups: Two meetings per month during the two fall semesters, spring semester, and summer 1 semester; one meeting per week during the summer 2 semesters. 

    Site Visits: There will be eight virtual site visits during the tenure of the program.

    Individual Meetings: Eight one-hour individual meetings throughout the 16 months with your advisor.

    Culminating Project Shares: Students are required to attend culminating project shares as part of advisement hours.

  • Career Opportunities

    After graduating, you will be eligible for supervisory roles in schools, including principal, assistant principal, director of a math department, or a curriculum specialist. This degree will also support you in moving into roles that support professional development in mathematics as a consultant, math coach, or mathematics researcher and writer.

    By adding five additional credits of course work in School District Leadership, candidates who have completed 60 graduate credits may also be recommended for New York State School District Leader (SDL) certification after passing the New York State examination. Note that it is no longer possible to secure this certificate through an individual transcript review.

  • Faculty

  • Scholarship Opportunities for Math Leadership

    Applicants applying to the Leadership in Mathematics Education program are eligible to apply for three different scholarships:

    • the Neuberger Foundation Scholarship,
    • the Spiegler Scholarship, or
    • the Cathy Bose Scholarship.

    Download the application for these scholarships. (PDF)

    For more information, visit the Scholarships page.

The Leadership in Math Education program at Bank Street is transformative. It pushes you in directions you never imagined because it offers you a safe space to take risks….and also gives you the chance to see yourself as a leader regardless of your title. Words from my first day of orientation had a lasting impact on me: "It doesn't take a title to be a leader. A leader is influential." As a result of this program, I have…a vision of myself as a leader and…deeply believe that I am influential.
Kate Smallberg, GSE ’18
Two women working on a math problem

Saturday Math

Sponsored by the Leadership in Mathematics Education program, Saturday Math gathers math teachers, coaches, and administrators on four Saturday mornings a year for coffee, bagels, and a facilitated session on a selected topic in the teaching of mathematics. Topics may be curriculum specific (e.g., “Making the Fraction, Decimal & Percent connection”) or instruction specific (e.g., “Teaching Mathematics in the Inclusion Classroom”).

Alum Honored with 2020 Gaynor McCown Teaching Award

Dawoun Jyung, a 6th grade math teacher and Crew Advisor at MELS, a NYC Outward Bound School, is “someone who makes math come alive for students.” She was honored for her commitment to NYC Outward Bound Schools’ educational approach, which joins together demanding and engaging academics with an emphasis on community and character.

  • Transcript
    Transcript Hi my name is Dawoun Jyung and I am a 6th grade math teacher at MELS. I fell in love with the school as soon as I entered a building and visited some classes and crew. I think MELS effort to create a community where students from any background are working together to learn and to build a community really attracted me. When I think about teaching math at an outward-bound school, I see learning math similar to a wilderness expedition. Just like in like a wilderness trip, it's beautiful and exciting but it's also challenging for many people and many students and unfortunately in math, some students start thinking that, based on their gender, race, their language, and perceived mathematics level, that they cannot succeed. The first time I started to think about my mathematical identity was when my math teacher gave us a project where we had to research a famous mathematician and nowhere in the long list was a mathematician that looked like me. Helping students to form their mathematical identity and being able to see themselves as a mathematician, they can do so much more than they might think that they can. Being a math teacher at an outward bound school really allows me to work on creating a safe space where students feel like they are heard, seen, and valued, reinforcing that it is okay to fail and it is okay to struggle. And so, when I see my students stuck on a problem, we celebrate that. ‘I think miss Jyung is a great teacher because she's very supportive and understanding.’ ‘She teaches us to be the best we can be and we are accepted for that.’ ‘When students don't understand the skill, she pauses what she's doing and she helps the student until they understand.’ Over the years I have realized that my students have made me a better listener, a better connector, a better teacher, and a better person and so we think that as teachers we make our students better but your students will make you a better person. I'm so thankful for a group of students who made me a better person so I can be a better teacher for my students. ‘The word that best describes Ms. Jyung is wonderful.’ ‘Fun she's really fun.’ ‘Passionate.’ ‘Kind.’ ‘Humble.’ ‘Reliable because no matter what you can rely on Ms. Jyung to help you. With schoolwork or not, she’ll be there.’ Being a teacher at MELS, it's a place where I can grow and I can push myself and learn and continue to be a teacher learner. We have so many awesome teachers and leaders at MELS and so, if anything, I am just a small piece of what our teachers do every day. But they really embody changing lives and transforming schools.

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