Alliance Districts Symposiums

Professional learning to support the 36 Alliance District leadership teams, focused on systematic and innovative practices to improve outcomes for all students.

Symposium Materials for 2026 

Conference Theme: Rewriting the Math Story: Expanding Opportunity, Access, and Engagement for All Students

April 2, 2026

Southern Connecticut State University

The Connecticut State Department of Education Turnaround Office invites Alliance Districts to participate in a yearlong professional learning experience culminating in the 2025–26 Alliance District Symposium. This year’s theme - Rewriting the Math Story - focuses on expanding opportunity, coherence, and engagement for every student across Connecticut’s K–12 math pathways.

To support deep, applied learning at the Symposium, CSDE is offering an aligned webinar series beginning in January: From Foundations to Futures: A PD Series on Readiness, Access, and Alignment. This learning sequence introduces the key ideas, research, and structures that will ground each district team’s work at the April 2 Symposium.

Pre-Symposium Webinar Series

January

• Universal Access to Mathematics: An overview of Connecticut’s Joint Position Statement and the shared vision guiding the redesign of math experiences to expand opportunity and access for all students.
  
  • Universal Access to Mathematics

• The Launch Years Initiative: Learn how the Launch Years Initiative supports districts in strengthening math pathways and postsecondary readiness. This session highlights key guidance from national partners and explores opportunities for alignment and collaboration.
  • The Launch Years Initiative PD Playlist

  
  February

• Postsecondary Readiness: Explore what it means for all students to engage in mathematics that prepares them for college, career, and civic life. This session highlights key components of readiness and the instructional and pathway decisions that support strong postsecondary outcomes.
• Reimagining Math Pathways: Examine approaches to course sequencing that strengthen coherence across the K–12 math experience. This session focuses on designing pathways that broaden opportunity, support smooth transitions, and help students progress confidently toward their future goals.
• Common High School Math Content: Identify the foundational mathematical knowledge and skills all students need for success beyond high school. This session reviews the shared content expectations that anchor high school mathematics and inform district pathways and course design.

  March

• Middle School Acceleration: Explore how districts can make thoughtful, research-aligned decisions about compacting and early access to advanced math. This session focuses on supporting student readiness, expanding opportunity, and establishing clear criteria for acceleration in the middle grades.
• K–8: Attending to Grade-Level Standards: Examine what rigorous, grade-level aligned math instruction looks like across the elementary and middle grades. This session highlights strengthening coherence, maintaining high expectations, and ensuring students build the knowledge they need at each step of the K–8 continuum.

This webinar series was created in partnership with the Connecticut Noyce Math Teacher Leaders Program, with support from the National Science Foundation Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Grant Number 2050659). The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations, however, are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

For any questions, please contact Turnaround Office Bureau Chief Jennifer Webb at jennifer.webb@ct.gov