“Moving Forward”
Virtual Summit 2026
June 4th, 2026
9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
learning from the past to shape the future to provide better outcomes for all students
The theme of the virtual summit is…
Making the Invisible Visible
What if the most powerful thing you could do for your students wasn't a new program, but rather finally being able to see their thinking? This year, we're going deeper, not wider.
Our theme sits at the heart of everything we believe about mathematics instruction: that when students can show their thinking through visualization, manipulatives, discourse, instructional strategies, and artifacts they create themselves, learning stops being invisible and starts being undeniable.
This is a focused, practitioner-driven event built for educators who are done with surface-level PD and ready for tools they can use the next day and into the 2026 - 2027 school year.
Three strands. Three hours. Nine carefully selected sessions, each one ending with a single, concrete next step you can take immediately.
2026 Moving Forward
Virtual Summit Session Speakers
Welcome to the 2026 Moving Forward Virtual Summit.
We were excited to have these powerful speakers this year.
Register for your FREE sessions.
9 AM SESSIONS
9 AM - A: Subversive Leadership: Using Fugitive Pedagogy to Advocate for Historically Disinvested Communities
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In an era where equity in education is criminalized… How can leaders act subversively to ensure inclusive mathematics instruction? This interactive session explores what it means to be a “Subversive Leader” in the K–12 system (someone who challenges the status quo and holds stakeholders accountable with Fugitive Pedagogy). Participants will examine practical strategies to dismantle systemic barriers, cultivate culturally affirming math classrooms, and empower historically marginalized students to thrive. Attendees will discover how to leverage the framework as a tool for transformation, fostering accountability at every level of leadership and promoting practices that truly elevate all learners in mathematics.
Bio: Christina Lincoln-Moore, Ed.S., Educational Mathematics Specialist, facilitates mindful identity-affirming mathematics practices that co-create collective student agency and brilliance. She is a national speaker devoted to integrating Culturally Responsive practices. Christina is pursuing a Ph.D in Curriculum and Instruction, Mathematics Education, from Alabama A & M University. She served the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) for 29 years as a Teacher, Mathematics Facilitator, Assistant Principal, and Principal. She is currently a Mathematics Coordinator for the Los Angeles Office of Education, the largest regional education office in the United States. Christina is the California Mathematics Council (CMC) State President-Elect, the largest mathematics advocacy body in California, which hosts three math conferences: North (Monterey), Central (Bakersfield), and South (Palm Springs). Christina is the Co-founder (2020) of Black Womxn in Mathematics Education (BWXME), a curated collective that nurtures, mentors, and uplifts Black Womanist Mathematics Educators (https://bwxme.com).
9 AM - B: Using AI: 10 Ways to Get Started and Change Your Teaching Life
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AI isn’t the future—it’s the present. In this practical, energizing session, Dr. Nicki Newton shares 10 simple, high-impact ways to begin using AI in K–8 classrooms. Learn how to streamline planning, differentiate instruction, support multilingual learners, design better assessments, and reduce workload—without sacrificing rigor or ethics. Walk away with ready-to-use prompts and clear guardrails that help you use AI as a thought partner, not a shortcut. AI isn’t the future—it’s the present. In this energizing session, Dr. Nicki shares ten practical ways that teachers can start using AI to streamlining planning, differentiating instruction, supporting multilingual learners, improving assessments, and reducing workload with ethical, ready-to-use prompts today.
Bio: Dr. Nicki Newton is an education consultant who works with schools and districts around the country and Canada on K-8 math curriculum. She has taught elementary school, middle school, and graduate school. Dr Nicki has an Ed.M. and an Ed.D from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is greatly interested in teaching and learning practices around the world and has researched education in Denmark, Guatemala, and India. She has written several books, including Guided Math, Math Workshop, and Math Running Records. She is currently a part of the curriculum team for the new McGraw-Hill Reveal Math series. She enjoys visiting schools and working with administrators, teachers, and students in their classrooms face-to-face and virtually.
Dr Nicki has an Ed.M. and an Ed.D from the Department of Curriculum and Teaching at Teachers College, Columbia University specializing in Teacher Education and Curriculum Development. She uses her strong understanding of curriculum to address the differentiated needs of all students in her work with teachers and administrators. Dr. Nicki builds upon current curriculum research and theory to provide practical, realistic 21st century strategies in today’s classrooms. Dr. Newton is greatly interested in teaching and learning practices around the world and has researched education in Denmark, Guatemala and India.
9 AM - C: The Power of Worked Examples: Visualizing Word Problems for Deeper Understanding
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Worked examples can do more than show a solution; they can also teach students how to think mathematically, see relationships, and organize their thinking. In this interactive session, you’ll learn how to design and use worked examples that combine a sketch or math model, equations, and a written summary of thinking. We’ll explore research on how worked examples reduce cognitive load and support transfer, and you’ll experience strategies for using them to make word problems accessible, visual, and understandable for all learners.
Bio: Christine King is a mathematics educator, consultant, and national speaker with over 25 years of experience in K–8 education. Founder of CKingEducation, she designs research-based professional learning that promotes student thinking, discourse, and problem-solving. Her work has led to measurable gains in achievement and is valued for its practicality. Christine has presented at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the National Alliance of Black School Educators, and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, and is completing her Ed.D. at Penn State University.
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Slide deck for presentation
PDF of the presentation
10 AM SESSIONS
10 AM - A: There’s No Learning Here: How Curriculum Violence Affects Black Students in K-12 Mathematics Classrooms
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Recently, violence in mathematics education has been prevalent and more visible in mathematics classrooms for Black students. Instead of being safe and responsive learning spaces where Black students can see themselves as competent doers and learners of mathematics, mathematics classrooms have become battlegrounds where Black students face barriers to learning as teachers consciously and unconsciously subject students to physical, psychological, and emotional violence during instruction. In this session, participants will examine types of curriculum violence in mathematics and instructional practices that counteract the effects of curriculum violence on Black students.
Bio: Vada Gray has been an educator for 25 years as a culturally responsive practitioner, instructional coach, classroom teacher, and administrator. She develops comprehensive professional learning plans for mathematics instruction in partnership with district and school leadership teams. Vada has also provided K-12 professional learning in mathematics and science for district and school administrators, coaches, and teachers across the world. In 2019, Vada started Black Girl Math™, which focuses on supporting teachers and families with culturally responsive instructional strategies to improve and increase access to high-quality mathematics for Black students. Vada lives just outside of Chicago and is currently pursuing a PhD from the University of Illinois Chicago in Curriculum and Instruction, Mathematics and Science Education. She also holds a Master’s of Science in Educational Administration at National University, Los Angeles, and a Master’s of Arts in Teaching Mathematics from Mt. Holyoke. She received her teaching degree from Mills College in Oakland, CA. She presents at international and national math conferences and events.
10 AM - B: What Counts as Counting?
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In the popular imagination, counting is 1, 2, 3. As educators, we know learning to count draws on language, literacy, and numeracy. Continued counting development is necessary to support algebra learning. Let's take that journey from 1, 2, 3 to 2n + 1.
Bio: Christopher Danielson has worked with math learners of all ages: twelve-year-olds in his former middle school classroom, Calculus students, teachers, and children of all ages, together with their parents and caregivers at Math On-A-Stick at the Minnesota State Fair. He writes award-winning books for Stenhouse, and works at CPM Educational Program. He maths with Public Math, and blogs at Talking Math with Your Kids. His favorite vehicle is his trusty cargo bike.
10 AM - C: Mathematical Experiences That Move Student Thinking from Hidden to Heard
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Mathematical Experiences That Move Student Thinking from Hidden to Heard explores how Community Math Trails, math competition experiences, and Math Literacy Worker programs create authentic opportunities for students to make their reasoning visible through discourse, representations, and collaborative problem solving. Through an interactive program exemplar and focused examples from each initiative, participants will experience how these structures help students articulate conjectures, defend solutions, recognize structure, and develop agency as authors and communicators of mathematics. The session will highlight practical design principles and entry points for adapting these experiences in participants’ own contexts. Attendees will examine transferable strategies for making student thinking visible in everyday instruction through engaging, community-connected mathematical experiences. Participants will leave with concrete ideas and resources for moving student thinking from hidden to heard.
Bio: Dr. Tonya Clarke is a distinguished educator, minister, and community advocate. She serves as the Coordinator of Secondary Mathematics for Clayton County Public Schools where they are "building a better tomorrow, today". Dr. Clarke is also the author of In Jesus' Name, a journey through prayer and the co-founder of FIGtrEE Education and Empowerment. This organization collaborates with educators worldwide to implement innovative teaching practices that empower students to view and apply mathematics as a tool for societal change. Dr. Clarke’s work has earned recognition from prominent platforms such as the Hechinger Report, The Economist, Mathematically Gifted and Black, and Education Week Magazine, which named her a National Leader to Learn From. Driven by a commitment to educational equity, Dr. Clarke strives to create instructional environments where mathematics is accessible, meaningful, and relevant to every student.
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PDF of the presentation
11 AM Sessions
11 AM - A: Reclaiming Thinking in the Age of AI: Designing Tasks That Make Students Think
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What does it mean to think in the age of AI? As AI tools generate answers, explanations, and even complete solutions, the role of human thinking is shifting, not disappearing. In this session, we examine how overreliance on AI can mask a shallow understanding and why thinking remains essential for sense-making, judgment, and transfer. Participants will explore how to design tasks and prompts that position AI as a tool for deep thinking rather than a shortcut around it, ensuring students remain the thinkers in a world of intelligent machines.
Bio: Christine King is a mathematics educator, consultant, and national speaker with over 25 years of experience in K–8 education. Founder of CKingEducation, she designs research-based professional learning that promotes student thinking, discourse, and problem-solving. Her work has led to measurable gains in achievement and is valued for its practicality. Christine has presented at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the National Alliance of Black School Educators, and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, and is completing her Ed.D. at Penn State University.
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PDF of the slide deck
11 AM - B: From Frustration to Access: Meeting and Teaching Special Needs Learners Where They Are
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How do you meet the needs of students with disabilities? In this talk, we will explore my informal research on doing just that and how I moved from frustration to providing my multi-age class of special needs students with access to grade-level mathematics content and learning. I will share 5 strategies applicable to all content areas that grow student confidence as we meet students where they are in their learning.
Bio: Danielle Dargan is a mathematics professional learning consultant with over 20 years of experience in elementary and middle school education. She served for 15 years as a certified teacher in New York City, supporting high-need students across the Bronx, Manhattan, and Brooklyn. Danielle holds a Bachelor’s in Accounting and a Master’s in Reading Development, with extensive training from Marilyn Burns’ Math Solutions.
She has worked as a mathematics coach, supported districts nationwide, and specializes in discourse strategies such as Number Talks. Danielle has also partnered with CKingEducation and continues to expand her impact through coaching and technology-driven professional learning.
11 AM - C: Fraction Sensemaking: Do fractions really work differently than whole numbers?
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Participants will have time to explore key materials that support students with fraction understanding and units coordination. We will analyze videos of student thinking, as well as fractions tasks and materials. They will analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the materials. The ultimate goal is helping to get teachers to understand what needs to be built so students have a robust understanding of fractions as numbers. Participants leave with actionable steps to take to improve the teaching of fractions at their site.
Bio: Marria Carrington currently serves as the Director of the Mathematics Leadership Programs at Mount Holyoke College. Prior to this role she was the Lead Outreach Specialist at the US Math Recovery Council. Marria holds a B.A. in Arabic Studies from Mount Holyoke College, a M.Ed in Elementary Education from Smith College and a M.Ed in Mathematics Education from Lesley University, respectively. Throughout her 30 years in education, she has assumed a variety of educational positions including 3rd and 4th grade teacher, high school math teacher, K-8 math coach, supervisor of student teachers at Smith College, and regional math specialist for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in Massachusetts. Marria is passionate about empowering teachers to understand how children make sense of mathematics and how to move each child forward in their mathematical understanding as well as building a system that supports teachers doing that work.