M3T is a novel approach to collective improvement. That was grown in Pocahontas County by teachers and project lead Joanna Burt-Kinderman in her role as K-12 district math instructional coach. Joanna has received national recognition for the simple yet powerful approach to helping teachers collaboratively improve by focusing on what bugs teachers. It’s well understood that high-stakes test score outcomes most closely correlate with parent income. This approach of “improvement through wondering” defied those odds. Despite being one of the lowest average income counties in the state, Pocahontas County’s middle and high school math test scores rose to the top.
Joanna then teamed up with Matt Campbell, a researcher at WVU, to replicate and scale this approach. Mountaineer Mathematics Master Teachers (M3T) was born. The duo first won a capacity building grant in 2018 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and engaged district leaders across the state in a year of collective visioning and engagement.
The Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation invested in the proof of concept pilot 2019 – 2020, engaging six districts.
Between 2020 and 2026, M3T was supported through a transformational NSF Noyce Program grant.
In 2025, Senate Education Chair, Senator Amy Grady and House Education Vice-Chair, Delegate Joe Statler championed legislation which allocated funding towards new grants to be made available through WVDE that can provide funds for school districts to partner with M3T. These grant funds are allowing M3T to continue; in year one, 8 districts secured funding. The grant period for the 2026-2027 school year just closed and 18 districts will be receiving this funding in the next school year.
2025-2026 has been a transition year for the project, and marks the last year of NSF funding. This year, the project phases out WVU as a fiscal home for M3T, moving from the temporary federal funds that built the program towards a sustainable, long-term initiative.
In 2026 and beyond, M3T will continue as a partnership between Leading Teaching Improvement Network (LeT IN), founded by Joanna, and staffed by former M3T Math Teacher Leaders, with the Education Consulting Team serving as the administrative hub. The number of districts participating is growing each year, however, bridge funding from private sources is needed to sustain the program’s success and growth.