Professional Learning
Meet the PL Team
Our experienced CPM math teachers provide quality learning events for educators nationwide. Each member of our team brings real classroom experience and a deep commitment to student-centered math instruction.
CPM PL team members with hands together
Customer Success Mission

Empowering Teachers.
Transforming Schools.

We empower and inspire teachers and leaders to innovate math instruction through CPM — delivering continuous, high-impact professional learning that drives systemic change deeply embedded in each school's instructional culture.

01

Proactive Support

Long-term relationships built on proactive guidance and needs-based solutions — not reactive troubleshooting.

02

Sustained Learning

Continuous PL that grows with teachers from first implementation through years of evolving practice.

03

Systemic Change

Driving transformation that becomes deeply embedded in your school's instructional culture and identity.

Trusted by
35+ Years Supporting Educators
Accredited by MSA-CESS
100% Led by CPM Classroom Teachers
Nonprofit Since 1993
Leadership
PL Administrative Staff
Sharon Rendon
Sharon Rendon
Director of Professional Learning
Sharon is the Director of Professional Learning for CPM. She lives in South Dakota and has taught both middle and high school courses along with college courses for practicing teachers. She has also served as a math coordinator for a large district and serves on the board of directors for NCSM.
Misty Nikula
Misty Nikula
Professional Learning Program Manager
Misty lives in Portland, Oregon. She was a middle school math and science teacher for 15 years before joining CPM full time in 2014. She has taught from or contributed to all of the Core Connections courses.
Your Region
Contact Your Customer Success Manager
Your CSM is your dedicated point of contact for professional learning, support, and school success.
Mícheál Marsh
Mícheál Marsh
Customer Success Manager
Teaching CPM since 1993. Writer/editor of Second Edition Math 1. Supporting CPM teachers since 1994.
Jenni White
Jenni White
Customer Success Manager
High school teacher with experience in Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2, Integrated II and III, and Statistics. Also served as department head.
Sara Thompson
Sara Thompson
Customer Success Manager
21 years in middle school classrooms in Wisconsin and Arizona. Served as Math Coach and Interventionist.
Lisa Comfort
Lisa Comfort
Customer Success Manager
Teaching CPM since 1994. Taught in public, private, charter, and contract alternative schools across Minnesota.
Jocelyn Dunnack
Jocelyn Dunnack
Customer Success Manager
Customer Success Manager for the East + South Region. She currently resides in Connecticut. During her teaching career, she has taught Core Connections Courses 1–3. In addition, Jocelyn has worked with children through summer camp for many years.
Danielle Boggs
Danielle Boggs
Customer Success Manager
A Customer Success Manager supporting CPM’s Enterprise accounts nationwide. Based in Illinois, she brings experience as an educator, PL specialist, curriculum coordinator, and National Board Certified Teacher, with a background in CPM and Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID).
The Team
Professional Learning Faculty
Adam Varnes
Adam Varnes
Professional Learning Specialist
Adam is a Professional Learning Specialist from Southern California. He spent seven years teaching high school mathematics, including Core Connections Algebra and Integrated 1–3. He enjoys spending time with his wife and three children.
Astrida Lizins
Astrida Lizins
Professional Learning Specialist
Astrida is a Professional Learning Specialist from Pennsylvania. She has taught 7th grade through Statistics using CPM and has been supporting CPM teachers since 2003.
Brent McClain
Brent McClain
Classroom Teacher Specialist
Brent is a Classroom Teacher Specialist from Oregon. He has 34 years in education teaching 7th grade through community college, including CPM Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2, Integrated I and II, and Calculus. He was the 1996 PAEMST Awardee for Oregon and has been supporting CPM since 2016.
Bri Ruiz
Bri Ruiz
Professional Learning Specialist
Bri is a Professional Learning Specialist from California. She has taught Core Connections Integrated I and Calculus. She enjoys cooking, spending time with her family, and being outdoors.
Bridget Gunn
Bridget Gunn
Professional Learning Specialist
Bridget is a Professional Learning Specialist from California. During her teaching career, she taught Core Connections Courses 2 and 3, and the AVID elective in Washington State.
Cathy Sinnen
Cathy Sinnen
Implementation Support Specialist
Cathy brings 28 years of experience teaching CPM middle school mathematics in California public schools and supports educators as a member of CPM's Implementation Support Specialist team in the Northwest.
Cheryl Tucker
Cheryl Tucker
Implementation Support Specialist
Cheryl is an Implementation Support Specialist from Minnesota in the Great Plains Region. She began teaching CPM using the Math 1–3 series and has supported teachers as a Teacher Leader for Implementation, both in-person and virtually.
Chris Haley
Chris Haley
Implementation Support Specialist
Chris is from Boise, Idaho. She retired in 2022 after 36 years teaching Junior High math, 34 of those at the same school, including Integrated 1 and 2. She served as math department chair and mentor for new teachers.
Christine Mitchell
Christine Mitchell
Classroom Teacher Specialist
Christine is a Middle School Classroom Teacher from California. She has worked with Foundations to Algebra Course 1, Core Connections Course 1, and Inspiring Connections Course 1, and has also served as a Middle School Instructional Coach and Math Department Chair.
Erin Kenney
Erin Kenney
Classroom Teacher Specialist
Erin is from Kentucky and teaches math for Jefferson County Public Schools, working with students with learning and behavioral disabilities. She has taught Core Connections Algebra, Geometry, and Algebra 2, and is a National Board Certified Teacher as an Exceptional Needs Specialist.
Erin Schneider
Erin Schneider
Implementation Support Specialist
Erin is an Implementation Support Specialist from Louisville, KY. During her 31-year career with Jefferson County Public Schools, she taught Algebra, Geometry, and Algebra 2 from CPM's Connections and Core Connections series. She is a 2017 PAEMST Awardee and a former CPM regional coordinator for Kentucky.
Jamie Bernath
Jamie Bernath
Classroom Teacher Specialist
Jamie teaches middle school math in Wisconsin. She has taught Core Connections Courses 1 and 2, Making Connections, and Inspirations & Ideas. She serves as a math coach and 7th and 8th grade interventionist, and is passionate about inspiring all students to love math.
Jeremiah Morgan
Jeremiah Morgan
Professional Learning Specialist
Jeremiah is a Professional Learning Specialist from Minnesota. During his teaching career, he taught both Core Connections Algebra and Core Connections Course 3.
Jessie Thiel
Jessie Thiel
Professional Learning Specialist
Jessie is a Professional Learning Specialist from Wisconsin in the Great Lakes Region. She taught Core Connections Algebra, Geometry, and Algebra 2, and served as a math interventionist and co-teacher. She is also an FRC Robotics mentor (Team 4786) and enjoys sharing her love of math and STEM with people of all ages.
John Hayes
John Hayes
Professional Learning Specialist
John is a Professional Learning Specialist from Wisconsin. He taught CPM at the high school level for eight years, including Core Connections Course 3, Algebra, Algebra 2, Precalculus, and Calculus. He is a National Board Certified Master Educator, a 2015 PAEMST Awardee, and a contributing author on CPM's Third Edition Calculus and Statistics.
Joel Miller
Joel Miller
Professional Learning Specialist
Joel is a Professional Learning Specialist who creates and leads dynamic learning experiences for educators nationwide. He is passionate about partnering with educators to strengthen instruction and student outcomes.
Kathy Williams
Kathy Williams
Professional Learning Specialist
Kathy is a passionate math education leader supporting teachers as a facilitator, coach, and Implementation Support Specialist, with experience teaching diverse learners through collaboration, intervention, and inclusive classroom practices.
Laila Nur
Laila Nur
Implementation Support Specialist
Laila is from Detroit, Michigan and currently resides in California. She has taught Core Connections Geometry, Algebra 2, and Courses 2 and 3, and is a Mastery Learning and Grading Coach for the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Laura Bain
Laura Bain
Professional Learning Specialist
Laura is a Professional Learning Specialist in the Great Plains Region. She has taught Core Connections Course 1, Algebra, and Geometry, and has been supporting CPM teachers since 2015.
Madison Schafer
Madison Schafer
Classroom Teacher Specialist
Madison is a 7th grade math and ELA teacher from Columbus, Ohio. She has worked with Core Connections Courses 2 and 3 and Inspiring Connections Course 2 as an IC2 field test teacher. She is passionate about seeing students grow into both better people and stronger mathematicians.
Marcus Blakeney
Marcus Blakeney
Professional Learning Specialist
Marcus is a Professional Learning Specialist and a National Board Certified Teacher who has taught varying levels of CCA, CCA2, CCG and AP Statistics during his 13 years in the classroom in Louisville, KY.
Marjorie Kucich
Marjorie Kucich
Implementation Support Specialist
Marjorie has taught for 32 years in Chico, California. During this time, she has taught grades 6 through 8, using many different versions of CPM. Inspiring Connections is by far her favorite version of the CPM curriculum. She joined the CPM family in the summer of 2023 to help support this new curriculum as an Implementation Support Specialist.
Mark Jones
Mark Jones
Implementation Support Specialist
Mark is a recently retired classroom teacher from Connecticut. He worked with Core Connections Courses 2, 3, and Algebra, and served as a Math Curriculum Leader in his district.
Nicole Goerges
Nicole Goerges
Implementation Support Specialist
Nicole is an Implementation Support Specialist from Victoria, Minnesota. She taught for 12 years at the middle school level, including Core Connections Courses 2, 3, and Algebra. She has a passion for math education, equity, and inclusion, and has been supporting CPM teachers since 2012.
Pam Chavez
Pam Chavez
Implementation Support Specialist
Pam is a retired teacher from Colorado, currently serving as an Implementation Support Specialist. During her teaching career, she has worked with Algebra Connections, Making Connections, CC1, CC2, CC3, and CCA.
Rhonda Pierre
Rhonda Pierre
Professional Learning Specialist
Rhonda is a Professional Learning Specialist from Indiana in the Great Lakes Region, with 13 years teaching middle and high school math, including CCA and CCA2 using CPM curriculum.
Rob Last
Rob Last
Classroom Teacher Specialist
Rob is a high school math teacher from Wisconsin in the Great Lakes Region, now in his 10th year of teaching. He has taught Core Connections Algebra, Geometry, and Precalculus Third Edition. Rob is an avid consumer of coffee and his favorite destination is Aldi.
Robin Kubasiek
Robin Kubasiek
Professional Learning Specialist
Robin is a CPM Professional Learning Specialist.
Sara McKittrick
Sara McKittrick
Classroom Teacher Specialist
Sara is a Classroom Teacher Specialist and a National Board Certified Teacher who teaches CPM in a Wisconsin school district. Connecting with others, and inspiring them to see themselves as learners and mathematicians, is something that Sara is passionate about.
Susan Hoffmier
Susan Hoffmier
Implementation Support Specialist
Susan is an Implementation Support Specialist who also supports international schools. She began teaching CPM in California in 1991 and later taught at the Hong Kong International School, implementing all three CPM curricula across Grades 6–Geometry.
Theresa Reilly
Theresa Reilly
Implementation Support Specialist
Theresa is an Implementation Support Specialist from Kentucky. During her teaching career she taught 13 years with CPM which were by far her favorite. She taught CC3, CCA and CCG with 8th graders.
Tracy Talmage
Tracy Talmage
Professional Learning Specialist
Tracy is a Professional Learning Specialist from Michigan in the Great Lakes Region. She has taught in California, Nevada, and Michigan using Making Connections, Algebra Connections, and Core Connections in both middle and high schools. She also served as a Secondary Math Coach in the Detroit area.
Victoria Holt
Victoria Holt
Classroom Teacher Specialist
Victoria is a Math and Science Instructional Specialist for grades 6–12 in Ohio in the Great Lakes Region. She entered this role with 13 years of classroom experience teaching 7th grade, 8th grade, and Algebra 1 using the Core Connections series. She has been supporting CPM teachers since 2015.
Zac Spencer
Zac Spencer
Classroom Teacher Specialist
Zac is a Classroom Teacher Specialist and high school math teacher from Michigan in the Great Lakes Region, in his 12th year of teaching. He has taught Integrated Math 1, 2, and 3, and AP Calculus AB, and enjoys spending time with his wife and three children.
Behind the Scenes
Meet Our Support Staff
Anna Poehlmann
Anna Poehlmann
Professional Development Manager, Event Planning Coordinator
From California. Previously worked in the technology department and helped implement CPM's eBooks. Now supports the Professional Learning team with event coordination and administration.
Rebecca Meeker
Rebecca Meeker
Administrative Assistant to the Director of Professional Learning
From Tennessee. Supports the Director of Professional Learning. Has coached swimming for 15 years.
Business Office
Unnamed Shark Friend
Director of Friendship
Fluent in numbers and fin-ancials
Knows that fish are friends, not food
Jaw-some at integer operations
*not a licensed accountant. definitively a shark.

Statistics

JAVA

Calculus
Third Edition

Precalculus
Third Edition

Precalculus
Supplement

2.3.4

Defining Concavity

4.4.1

Characteristics of Polynomial Functions

5.2.6

Semi-Log Plots

5 Closure

Closure How Can I Apply It? Activity 3

9.3.1

Transition States

9.3.2

Future and Past States

10.3.1

The Parametrization of Functions, Conics, and Their Inverses

10.3.2

Vector-Valued Functions

11.1.5

Rate of Change of Polar Functions

Matemática
Integrada I

Matemática
Integrada II

Matemática
Integrada III

Integrated I

Integrated II

Integrated III

Core Connections en español, Álgebra

Core Connections en español, Geometría

Core Connections en español, Álgebra 2

Core Connections
Algebra

Core Connections Geometry

Core Connections
Algebra 2

Core Connections 1

Core Connections 2

Core Connections 3

Core Connections en español,
Curso 1
Core Connections en español,
Curso 2
Core Connections en español,
Curso 3

Inspiring Connections
Course 1

Inspiring Connections
Course 2

Inspiring Connections
Course 3

Sample Checkpoint

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Algebra Tiles Blue Icon

Algebra Tiles Session

  • Used throughout CPM middle and high school courses
  • Concrete, geometric representation of algebraic concepts.
  • Two-hour virtual session,
  •  Learn how students build their conceptual understanding of simplifying algebraic expressions
  • Solving equations using these tools.  
  • Determining perimeter,
  • Combining like terms,
  • Comparing expressions,
  • Solving equations
  • Use an area model to multiply polynomials,
  • Factor quadratics and other polynomials, and
  • Complete the square.
  • Support the transition from a concrete (manipulative) representation to an abstract model of mathematics..

Foundations for Implementation

This professional learning is designed for teachers as they begin their implementation of CPM. This series contains multiple components and is grounded in multiple active experiences delivered over the first year. This learning experience will encourage teachers to adjust their instructional practices, expand their content knowledge, and challenge their beliefs about teaching and learning. Teachers and leaders will gain first-hand experience with CPM with emphasis on what they will be teaching. Throughout this series educators will experience the mathematics, consider instructional practices, and learn about the classroom environment necessary for a successful implementation of CPM curriculum resources.

Page 2 of the Professional Learning Progression (PDF) describes all of the components of this learning event and the additional support available. Teachers new to a course, but have previously attended Foundations for Implementation, can choose to engage in the course Content Modules in the Professional Learning Portal rather than attending the entire series of learning events again.

Building on Instructional Practice Series

The Building on Instructional Practice Series consists of three different events – Building on Discourse, Building on Assessment, Building on Equity – that are designed for teachers with a minimum of one year of experience teaching with CPM instructional materials and who have completed the Foundations for Implementation Series.

Building on Equity

In Building on Equity, participants will learn how to include equitable practices in their classroom and support traditionally underserved students in becoming leaders of their own learning. Essential questions include: How do I shift dependent learners into independent learners? How does my own math identity and cultural background impact my classroom? The focus of day one is equitable classroom culture. Participants will reflect on how their math identity and mindsets impact student learning. They will begin working on a plan for Chapter 1 that creates an equitable classroom culture. The focus of day two and three is implementing equitable tasks. Participants will develop their use of the 5 Practices for Orchestrating Meaningful Mathematical Discussions and curate strategies for supporting all students in becoming leaders of their own learning. Participants will use an equity lens to reflect on and revise their Chapter 1 lesson plans.

Building on Assessment

In Building on Assessment, participants will apply assessment research and develop methods to provide feedback to students and inform equitable assessment decisions. On day one, participants will align assessment practices with learning progressions and the principle of mastery over time as well as write assessment items. During day two, participants will develop rubrics, explore alternate types of assessment, and plan for implementation that supports student ownership. On the third day, participants will develop strategies to monitor progress and provide evidence of proficiency with identified mathematics content and practices. Participants will develop assessment action plans that will encourage continued collaboration within their learning community.

Building on Discourse

In Building on Discourse, participants will improve their ability to facilitate meaningful mathematical discourse. This learning experience will encourage participants to adjust their instructional practices in the areas of sharing math authority, developing independent learners, and the creation of equitable classroom environments. Participants will plan for student learning by using teaching practices such as posing purposeful questioning, supporting productive struggle, and facilitating meaningful mathematical discourse. In doing so, participants learn to support students collaboratively engaged with rich tasks with all elements of the Effective Mathematics Teaching Practices incorporated through intentional and reflective planning.