“Understanding how children think about math supports me to allow my students to discover things mathematically which causes my students to think deeper about math.”

Ms. Ashley Sims is a second grade teacher in the Little Rock School District. She has been a classroom teacher for 9 years and she has implemented CGI practices all 9 years. Ms. Sims was introduced to CGI during her college master’s math course in 2010. She became very interested in CGI practices and later that summer, she attended a CGI year 1 Professional Develop Course through her school district. CGI has helped Ms. Sims understand how children think mathematically and she uses student’s knowledge to plan for instruction.

The children in Little Rock School District come from a variety of racial and economic backgrounds. Her current school is a Title One pre-K-5 school with 96% of students receiving free and reduced lunch. The population of her school is just over 500 students with 12% Caucasian and 85% African American.