Dianna M. Sopala
Candidate for Director, High School or Middle School Level

Position:  Northern Valley (Demarest, New Jersey) Secondary Mathematics Teacher (2004–present)

Education:  BS (secondary education), University of Scranton (Pennsylvania); MS (mathematics), Montclair State University (New Jersey) 

Previous Experience:  Bergen Community College Adjunct Professor (2001–2004, 2017); Association of Mathematics Teachers of New Jersey Workshop Presenter (AMTNJ 2004–present); New Jersey Virtual School 9–12 Mathematics Teacher, Financial Literacy Teacher (2014–2016); Rutgers University Workshop Presenter (2016–2017); Educational Testing Service Item Writer (2003–2015); Clifton High School 9–12 Mathematics Teacher (1997–2004)

Memberships:  National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM); National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics (NCSM); AMTNJ; American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS); Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD); International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) 

NCTM Activities:  Editor (2017–2020); Middle and High School Classroom Resource Development Team Committee (2016); Regional Conference Volunteers Committee (2014–2015); Regional Conference Local Arrangements Committee (2010–2011), Presenter

Other Activities:  NCSM Eastern Regional 2 Leader (2015–present); American College Testing (ACT) State Board Chair (2014–present); AMTNJ Past President (2012, 2013, 2020) and Executive Coordinator for Teacher Outreach (2012–present); AMTNJ MathCounts Problem Writer and Reviewer (2010–2015)

Honors:  Max Sobel Outstanding Educator for New Jersey Award (2015)

Statement:  All students can learn mathematics when taught with students’ needs in mind. Teachers are expected to teach math; personalize learning; and create multicultural, engaging lessons that infuse technology and address standards. With the current environment, teachers are expected to do even more like meet the students where they are and fill in the gaps standard by standard. 

NCTM promotes inclusion and closing the opportunity gap, and it offers many updated resources for teachers. NCTM can develop high-quality, engaging, standards-based, technology-infused lessons. Some of these materials will consist of inquiry-based learning lessons. STEM lessons, social justice topics, and multicultural student interest must be incorporated into these lessons as well as student choice on how to learn the lesson, practice the skill, and assess the standard. These lessons could be a virtual book, videos, a physical book, or a combination of these. These lessons must be versatile enough that teachers can implement them whether they are teaching a live lesson, an online class, or in a hybrid environment. To support these resources, NCTM can provide professional development workshops.