By Matt Larson, NCTM President

When I was asked and agreed to be on the ballot to run for president, I knew that if elected, I would make membership one of my highest priorities. Like most individual membership organizations today, NCTM has found it challenging to attract and retain members. Our gradual decline in membership has several causes—the booming information age that has now made specialized content widely available at no cost, a generational trend that finds individuals disinclined to join formally organized organizations, and a definition of community and sense of belonging that are evolving. While all of these are understandable, we are a professional organization that seeks to continue to be viable and address its mission, so we must give our members what they want and need, and we must make the value of membership worth the cost.

Given these trends and challenges, it’s more important than ever that we identify membership needs. I urge you to let us hear from you, our members, about what you want and expect from NCTM. If you have been a member in the past, but you didn’t renew your membership, why not? If you don’t see the value of being an NCTM member, what can we offer or produce that would be valuable enough for you to want to become a member?

One comment we’ve heard about our journals is that they don’t include enough information about recent developments and provide little that reflects the news. We want to address this issue while balancing it against the considerations surrounding peer review and supporting the quality that have always been hallmarks of the journals. On another front, we’ve also recently begun to put in place ways to extend the experience of our attendees at NCTM annual and regional conferences so that they can continue to engage with what they saw and heard after the meetings have come to a close.

As I look forward to hearing from you, I’m pleased to be able to report to you that some groundwork has already been laid to answer these questions and better fulfill your needs. I want to be sure that you know of one recent development that holds great potential for NCTM. Last year’s merger of the Math Forum with NCTM offers us opportunities expand our offerings but also to reach a population that may not be as familiar with NCTM’s rich history and what it has done and continues to do for mathematics education. Bringing current Math Forum members into the NCTM fold not only potentially extends our reach and enriches our offerings but also brings us an already vibrant community whose members can engage with one another and with NCTM members under the bigger NCTM tent. We are working on ways and means of making the most of this new, larger membership. One thing we hope this union will bring us is a stronger sense of community and ways to expand existing communities and create new ones that will share thoughts and ideas with NCTM and one another.

Also last year, an outside independent assessment of NCTM membership was conducted, and findings and recommendations were presented to the Board and staff. Since then, we’ve formed a standing Membership Committee to oversee the development of programs and activities to address those recommendations. One of the most compelling ideas is to establish a core brand and overall member experience that reminds teachers of why they teach mathematics and communicates the passion and commitment that teachers feel for their profession and their students. Another recommendation is to reduce barriers to engaging with NCTM—whether the obstacle is the cost of membership, a complicated membership renewal process, or limited opportunities for direct contact with NCTM programs and services. And finally, a possibility that we are looking into is how we could strengthen and deepen the relationship of NCTM with its more than 230 Affiliates.

One of the ways of engaging directly with NCTM is through volunteering. Volunteer opportunities abound at NCTM and range from reviewing journal articles to helping at an annual conference to serving on an NCTM committee or working group. This service not only benefits NCTM but also engages individuals with peers, builds new professional networks that expand and may eventually be a route to leadership positions and opportunities. One of the president’s most important responsibilities is annually appointing members to NCTM standing committees, and these are the lifeblood of the organization’s work. If you’re interested in becoming more engaged with NCTM, please let me know.

I look forward to my two years, to meeting many of you at conferences or in other contexts, and hearing from you through social media (@mlarson_math) or other means. You have my word that during my term I will do all I can to increase the value of NCTM membership—both to strengthen the affinity of our current members with NCTM and to attract new members. 

With this President’s Message we’re introducing one new way of increasing member engagement by allowing NCTM members to post comments on the President’s Message page on the website.  I am committed to monitoring and replying to the comments posted on that page.  I also welcome your thoughts, comments, and suggestions at president@nctm.org.

Being NCTM president is a great honor, but it’s also humbling. I see my time as a small slice in the long continuum of influential leaders of the world’s largest organization dedicated to the teaching and learning of mathematics. I view this opportunity with humility but also a sense of excitement and possibility. 

Finally, as I succeed Diane Briars, I want to express my appreciation for her exceptional leadership over the last two years. We have been extremely fortunate to have had Diane as NCTM President. Diane has been a vocal, highly visible champion of NCTM’s Principles to Actions: Ensuring Mathematical Success for All, and she has advanced NCTM’s strategic priorities on several fronts. She has been an influential, persuasive voice of the organization to many audiences, and we all owe her our gratitude.