CMC South
The California Mathematics Council South Section is Southern California’s home for pre-K through grade 16 mathematics educators. As a non-profit, all-volunteer organization, we support high-quality mathematics teaching and learning in public, charter, and private schools across eight counties—Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Imperial, and San Diego.
Guided by the California Mathematics Council’s mission to ensure that each and every student can become mathematically competent and confident through equitable, rigorous, and challenging programs, CMC South brings that vision to life locally. Our community connects through the annual conference, held the first full weekend of November in Palm Springs, and through a network of local affiliates that foster collaboration, leadership development, and professional growth.
We’re always looking for new voices and helping hands! If you’re not yet part of a local affiliate, consider joining to contribute your expertise through workshops, symposiums, math nights, and other events in your area. Not sure how to start? Affiliates are linked on this page, or simply Contact Us. Interested in volunteering for the CMC-S Conference or serving on a committee? We’d love to hear from you!
The California Mathematics Council Southern Section wishes to promote excellence in the teaching of mathematics for all students and teachers in Southern California. To that end, annually we offer our members the opportunity to apply for grants and awards to attract or aid teachers interested in entering or enriching themselves within our profession, support improving the quality of instruction with engaging lessons and projects, and to address equity and social justice in mathematics education.
*Grant awardees are expected to submit a final report on how the funds were used to improve teaching and learning.
CMC South Grants & Awards
Eligibility: Applicants must reside, teach, or support teachers in one of the 8 southern California counties. Teachers and or Administrators must be a member of CMC.
Deadline: The application deadline for Category B is May 30. Awardees will be notified by July 1.
Grant value: Up to $600 to support TOSAs and or Coaches or Math/STEM Specialists in creating activities that support access to powerful mathematics for students or teachers.
Eligibility: Applicants must reside, teach, or support teachers in one of the 8 southern California counties. To apply you must be a teacher or a supervisor and must be a member of CMC.
Deadline: The application deadline for Category C is May 30. Awardees will be notified by July 1.
Grant value: Up to $1000 to support professional growth in the teaching of mathematics (1099 needed for amounts over $600).
Eligibility: Applicants must be working in a K–12 school or district office in one of the 8 southern California counties. Teachers and/or Administrators must be a member of CMC.
Deadline: The application deadline for Category D is May 30. Awardees will be notified by July 1.
Grant value: Up to $600 for credentialed teachers to support creative and engaging classroom projects/activities that address student mathematical empowerment.
Over many decades, Susie Hakansson has taken every opportunity to ensure that California’s mathematics education leadership reflects the diversity of our state. In doing so, Susie has quietly and purposefully facilitated the journey into leadership of many leaders of color. She models what it means to mentor and encourage leaders of color, so that all aspects of mathematics education are enhanced through a growing and deepening community of leaders.
The Susie Hakansson Award for Fostering Emerging Leadership of Math Educators of Color is awarded to an educator who has mentored and supported a mathematics educator who is a person of color.
Some of the mathematics educators of color impacted by Susie Hakansson’s work have commented that she saw the potential leadership in them that they did not see in themselves. As a result, these mathematics educators strove to deepen their own professional learning and expertise, but also to share their professional growth with the Southern California mathematics education community in ways they would not have otherwise predicted.
The recipient will receive:
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One-year complimentary CMC membership.
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One complimentary CMC-South conference registration.
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One complimentary Affiliate Luncheon ticket.
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One day substitute reimbursement to attend the CMC-South conference (if appropriate).
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$500.00 award
Criteria:
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A CMC member.
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Mentored and supported a mathematics educator who is a person of color.
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Participation in professional mathematics organizations and/or participation in local, regional, statewide, or national mathematics projects.
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Lurie Center, as an elementary classroom and mathematics laboratory teacher, as a mathematics resource teacher, and as President of the California Mathematics Council-South, exemplified leadership. She dedicated her teaching career to improve the mathematics literacy of students.
Lurie was an exciting, innovative, inspiring educator whose leadership extended beyond the San Diego area to state and national levels. She served on the San Diego Mathematics Project Equity Task Force, and helped to organize mathematics conferences for teachers and parents in the San Diego area. She provided staff development opportunities for teachers through the San Diego County Office of Education, and served on the Advisory Committee of the California Mathematics Project. She also worked on the development of new mathematics assessment items for the national New Standards Project. Her professional affiliations included the Greater San Diego Mathematics Council, the California Mathematics Council, the Benjamin Banneker Mathematics Association, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.
Most importantly, Lurie Center dedicated herself to making a positive impact on fellow African-Americans. She started the African-American Males Club at Grant Elementary School in San Diego. This club, which Lurie voluntarily directed, focused on improving the self-esteem of young African-American males and encouraging them to pursue career goals. Additionally, she served as an outstanding leader and role model for young women as they experienced the Rites of Passage of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Lurie Center's extended family of fellow mathematics educators across the country knew her well: she was a warm, outgoing, optimistic person who brought perfect strangers as well as friends into her heart. Her dedication, encouragement, and teaching expertise motivated countless students and teachers. She was a determined, inspiring, truly professional educator who always put her students first. We will all miss her warmth, humor, professionalism, and leadership. She truly inspired everyone she touched!
The annual Lurie Center K-14 Teaching Award has been established by the California Mathematics Council South Section in memory of Lurie Center who dedicated her career as a teacher to improving the mathematical literacy of students..
It is awarded to an K-14 classroom teacher who has demonstrated outstanding work with students of color, particularly work that has encouraged students to improve their mathematical literacy.
The recipient will receive:
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One-year complimentary CMC membership.
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One complimentary CMC-South conference registration
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One complimentary Affiliate Luncheon ticket.
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One day substitute reimbursement to attend the CMC-South conference (if applicable).
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Up to $200 to reimburse associated costs of fall conference attendance, including the purchase of educational materials.
Criteria:
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A full-time teacher (K-14).
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An assignment that includes students of color.
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Be a CMC member.
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Demonstrated efforts inside and outside the classroom to encourage students of color to pursue high academic standards and high educational goals.
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Efforts inside and outside the classroom to provide students with mathematics enrichment.
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Participation in professional mathematics organizations and/or participation in local, regional, statewide, or national mathematics projects.
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Elisabeth Javor was always involved in mathematics education throughout her teaching career. She first served as an elementary teacher for many years at Saticoy Elementary School in the Los Angeles USD, then as a mathematics resource teacher in the Office of Elementary Instruction in LAUSD, and later as a developer of curriculum lessons and calculator activities for fifth- and sixth-grade classrooms. She was also a speaker at local, state, and national conferences. After she retired, she was a mentor for teachers and administrators in LAUSD.
She became involved with the ComMuniCator Editorial Panel in 1985, after which she became a permanent member of the Editorial Panel. She helped to guide its development and growth over the years, contributing more than 25 activities. Her favorite topics were number sense, geometry, and using the calculator to develop problem solving. Each time Elisabeth brought an activity for review, one got a glimpse of what her classroom must have been like for her students?active and filled with explorations, problem-solving opportunities, and lessons that combined mathematics with other curriculum areas. She was a true advocate of mathematics across the curriculum. Elisabeth served a term as CMC-South Secretary, CMC State Treasurer, and the CMC representative to the California Mathematics Project. Elisabeth was also a vital part of the California Breakfast, held each year at the NCTM Annual Meeting; one could always find her encouraging people from California to attend the breakfast. On the morning of the breakfast, Elisabeth would be at the door, greeting people as they arrived and collecting money for the Student Activity Trust Fund.
At the CMC-South Conference, Elisabeth could be found at the ComMuniCator booth (when she wasn't speaking). She always had words of encouragement for teachers looking for new and better ways to teach mathematics, and she especially enjoyed talking to new teachers and giving them words of encouragement. She also had a knack for getting people to volunteer behind the booth, pointing out what a wonderful opportunity it is to work with other CMC people. People always seemed to gravitate toward Elisabeth.
One of her colleagues on the ComMuniCator Editorial Panel summarized Elisabeth with the following statement: "Elisabeth was one of the best examples of what a teacher can be. Beyond the patient, respectful, insightful person our profession demands, Elisabeth really cared. She cared about mathematics, she cared about teachers, she cared about students, and she also deeply cared about understanding." After a long and successful career, Elisabeth passed away in 2007. She was a very special person, and will be missed by all who knew her. This scholarship perpetuates her memory by honoring K-8 mentors, and by encouraging their mentees to continue to grow and become active in their profession.
The annual Elisabeth Javor K-8 Mentoring Award has been established by the California Mathematics Council South Section in memory of Elisabeth Javor. It is to be awarded to the mentor of a K-8 classroom teacher in their first five years of service, and to the teacher being mentored.
The mentor and mentee will each receive:
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One-year complimentary CMC membership.
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Free fall conference registration (for conference held in early November).
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One complimentary Affiliate Luncheon ticket.
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One-day substitute reimbursement to attend the fall conference.
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Up to $400 to reimburse associated costs of fall conference attendance, including the purchase of educational materials.
Criteria:
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Be a full-time K-8 teacher or support person in a mentoring role.
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Identify a mentee: a K-8 classroom teacher in the first five years of service.
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Be a CMC member.
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Participate in professional mathematics organizations and/or in local, regional, statewide, or national mathematics projects.
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