A critical first step in the AM-ME project was identifying and engaging appropriate partners at the district, school, and individual levels. The partnership approach prioritized alignment with community needs, responsiveness to stakeholder interests, and transparency throughout the engagement process.
District Partner
To identify a district partner, the research team first reached out to research and evaluation offices in school districts across the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area. Districts were selected based on their enrollment of predominantly Black and Latino students to ensure alignment with the proposed focus of the study on Black and Latino student engagement.
The outreach consisted of email invitations requesting meetings to discuss a potential collaborative submission to the National Science Foundation (NSF). Not all districts responded to the initial outreach. For those that did respond, the team held exploratory meetings to present the study concept, understand district priorities, and gauge interest in participating. One district expressed strong interest and agreed to serve as the district partner. Following this, the research team collaborated with district leadership to shape the proposed study, ensuring that the final submission reflected the district’s needs, priorities, and contextual realities.
Downloadable Resource
School Partner
After securing NSF funding, the research team worked with the district partner to recruit school-level partners. The district sent an email on behalf of the research team to middle and high school principals, inviting their schools to participate in the study. This communication included a summary of the study, an outline of participation requirements, and an explanation of anticipated benefits.
Following this outreach, the research team scheduled one-on-one meetings with each principal to provide additional context and respond to questions. These meetings were essential for clarifying expectations, addressing concerns, and building trust. Ultimately, all principals who participated in these meetings agreed to have their schools participate in the study.
Downloadable Resources
AM-ME Research Group Representatives
Once school partners were confirmed, the research team worked with principals to identify teacher and student participants for the AM-ME Research Group. Principals received a description of the teacher profile needed for the project and were asked to nominate a teacher accordingly. Once a teacher was identified, the research team emailed the individual to provide details about the study, background on the AM-ME Research Group, and an invitation to meet.
In these meetings, the team answered questions and confirmed the teacher's interest in participating. All nominated teachers agreed to participate. Subsequently, the participating teachers were given a description of the types of students appropriate for the AM-ME Research Group. Teachers approached students directly to gauge their interest in participating. If a student expressed interest, the teacher shared the student's name and email, as well as their parent or guardian's contact information, with the research team.
The research team then contacted students and their parents/guardians to set up an individual meeting to describe the study and answer questions. All students who attended these meetings agreed to participate. Individual onboarding procedures for these student participants are described in the Partner section of the AM-ME Research Group meetings.
The Adapted Measure of Math Engagement Research Group includes six students (Antonio Chavira, Brianna Espy, Ryan Ombongi, Serrah Ssemukutu, Salma Ahmed, and Diamond Tony-Uduhirinwa), five teachers (Nate Earley, Karina Mazurek, Kathleen Morgan, Karla Rokke, and Ashly Tritch), and five researchers (Marisa Crowder, Samantha E. Holquist, Diane (Ta-Yang) Hsieh, Claire Kelley, and Mark Vincent B. Yu). Researchers Alyssa Scott, Olivia Reyes, and Avalloy McCarthy also extensively contributed to this work. Bloomington Public School District leaders Betsy Hawes, Marcie Coval, Julio Caesar, and Rik Lamm provided support to this work. Jennifer Widstrand served as the project manager.
If you have questions about the Adapted Measures of Math Engagement project, please contact Principal Investigator Samatha E. Holquist at sholquist@childtrends.org.
This project is funded by the National Science Foundation, grant #2200437. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.