Secondary Mathematics Curriculum Supervisor for East Hartford Public Schools Bob Janes is the 2024 recipient of the Associated Teachers of Mathematics in Connecticut (ATOMIC) Mari Muri Award. The award was presented at the ATOMIC Business Meeting held during its annual conference on March 25.
The Mari Muri Award is awarded annually to an educator who exhibits outstanding commitment and successful service to the entire mathematics community in Connecticut.
Janes has served in his supervisor role at EHPS since 2018. He was nominated for the award by Carla Bidwell, EHPS Secondary Math Coach, and Rachel Buck, Math Teacher at the Connecticut IB Academy.
“I am honored to have colleagues who would nominate me for this award and to be recognized by ATOMIC for the work we have done to support equitable math programming for students in East Hartford and beyond,” said Janes. “I say ‘we’ very intentionally here. None of this would be possible without the hard work of our tutors, teachers, and our mathematics instructional coach Carla Bidwell. I also appreciate the unwavering support of our building principals and central office staff including Deputy Superintendent Anne Marie Mancini.”
When announcing the award, ATOMIC Award Chairs Sue Palma and Staci Broden said Janes is a “charismatic teacher and leader of mathematics” who has “worked tirelessly to ensure that all students receive an equitable mathematics education.” They noted his work to remove barriers to students taking Algebra I and his development of new math courses for 11th and 12th grade students that align with their post-secondary goals while still including challenging, application-based mathematics.
In particular, they noted that Janes applied for and received a CT State Department of Education High Dosage Tutoring grant this year bringing tutoring programs to more than 300 students that would otherwise not have access to additional support at East Hartford Middle School and East Hartford High School.
They said, “He has spent countless hours selecting students, training tutors, and gathering and purchasing resources to make the centers successful, on top of maintaining his other duties and responsibilities. He is building a program that has potential to be sustainable beyond the life of the grant that could ultimately lead to large gains in mathematics and more students performing on-grade level.”