Little Red School House
and Elisabeth Irwin High School

A Pre-K-12 Progressive Education

Curriculum Detail

Department Picker

School Level

Department

Math

Math classes at LREI are investigation based. In groups or individually, students are given time to explore and tackle problems in ways that make sense to them. As a class, students then summarize discoveries to extend and formalize concepts. Throughout each unit of study, students develop and maintain computational fluency.

We believe that doing math means:

Grappling with connecting the abstract and the concrete
Building powerful mathematical ideas through direct experience with unfamiliar problems
Generalizing, generating and testing theories
Working in groups, pairs, or independently
Communicating one’s thinking in discussion and in writing
Supporting ideas with proof
Analyzing and evaluating
Appreciating and incorporating the mathematical thinking of others
Approaching novel situations with curiosity and confidence
Applying a structured approach to unstructured information
Being flexible and persistent – looking for meaning, not just applying a rule
Finding and using connections between ideas and concepts

By the end of middle school, our students are confident, capable and curious mathematical thinkers. Our curriculum supports all students by engaging them in meaningful activities embedded in interesting problems.

Faculty

Margaret Andrews

Middle School Assistant Principal

212-477-5316, ext. 206

mandrews@lrei.org
Bio
Margaret has been teaching at LREI many years. She came to LREI after 16 years of teaching, learning and leadership in the New Haven Public Schools. She started at LREI as the lower school math coordinator. In addition to her current role as Dean of Students, she is a math teacher and advisor in the Middle School. Margaret is a Yale Peabody-Museum fellow, a Connecticut Academy for Math, Science and Technology Education fellow, a finalist for the Presidential Awards for Math and Science, a teacher of the year and a Milken Foundation National Educator. Margaret consults regularly with Yale programs for community youth as well as with Yale students who are interested in pursuing education as a career. She has lead math workshops for pre-service and in-service teachers, parents and students across the country. In addition to Margaret’s math teaching at LREI, she has worked with middle school students to celebrate Black History Month, taught classes during Lit Fest, celebrated her love of books with the families of POCOC, and she can be seen and heard learning to play the saxophone just about every band in the Middle and High School.
Michelle Boehm

Middle School Mathematics Teacher

212-477-5316, ext. 397

mboehm@lrei.org
Bio
Michelle joined the LREI community in 1999 as a middle school math teacher. She currently teaches 7th and 8th grade and is the math department chair. Subsequent to receiving her undergraduate degree in marketing, she worked in the advertising field for a number of years. Uninspired by the business world, Michelle decided to pursue teaching. She used her love for numbers toward completing her NYU graduate degree in the “Teaching of Secondary School Mathematics.” Michelle strives to raise her students’ mathematical curiosity by encouraging them to ask the "Why" and "What if" questions regularly. She also challenges them to identify and enjoy the many math moments that are part of their daily lives. In her free time, she tries to improve her cooking and gardening skills, and challenges herself to completing KenKen puzzles in pen.
Chris Klein

cklein@lrei.org
Bio
Chris joined the faculty at LREI in 2021 as a middle school math teacher. He teaches seventh grade math, as well as an elective on the Mathematics of Engineering. He also serves as a coach of multiple sports, and as a seventh grade advisor. Chris earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Union College, and an M.A. in the Sociology and Education program at Teacher’s College, Columbia University.
Erica LaMagna

elamagna@lrei.org
Jack Peisch

jpeisch@lrei.org