Mathematics Professor Jim Loats stepped out of the academic life and into the daily classroom life of the Denver Public School (DPS) system during the 2002-03 school year.

Loats spent a year as a mathematics coordinator with the school district, which encompasses 143 schools and serves more than 72,000 students.

"I feel passionately that those of us in higher education become active in the (kindergarten through 12th grade) curriculum," Loats says. "Since Metro is the second largest preparer of teachers in the state, all faculty, not just those in teacher education, need to know that what they teach and how they teach in their classrooms will have implications in the education system."

Loats' DPS role was to direct the Math Team, a group of teachers selected to be the district's mathematics specialists. DPS had recently changed to a standards-based curriculum in the fourth through eight grades, and additional teacher training was required.

Loats and the team designed and presented curriculum implementation workshops for more than 300 math teachers and visited classrooms. They also conveyed the district's new vision of mathematics instruction to the various other stakeholders: administrators, parents, school boards, vendors, the press and professors at local colleges and universities.

Aside from adjusting to the everyday habits of work in the public school system - being at the office by 8 a.m. daily, observing the dress code and carrying a cell phone - Loats says one of the most paradigm-shifting experiences for him was to learn how schools operate from an administrative point-of-view.

"I learned that helping schools improve requires very sophisticated thinking and excellent management skills," Loats said about his experience. "The problems are complex and resistance to changes is huge. Successful interventions took time to plan and the right people in the right places making good decisions to carry them out."

It was a year of personal and professional growth for Loats. He observed many things about the public school system, mathematics education, the role of math professors and himself. He says he has profound respect for teachers and administrators and the work they do on behalf of students.

"The people on my team were outstanding teachers. They taught me ways to do my job at Metro much better."