New York State Master Teacher Program
The NYS Master Teacher Program fosters a collaboration among the selected outstanding k-12 STEM educators, whereby they develop expertise in the areas of content, pedagogy, and students' families and communities. The Western New York region of the NYSMTP works with 250 teachers from over 50 school districts.
FEATURED
Engineering Tomorrow Electric Vehicles Design Challenge
On Wednesday, April 22, the New York State Master Teacher Program (NYSMTP) celebrated Earth Day by hosting 140 students to experience the Engineering Tomorrow EV Design Challenge. Students were introduced to the history, development, and design features of electric vehicles. The students used the material provided to design and build their own electric vehicle!
Physics Olympics
On Wednesday, March 25, 280 local high school students from 12 different schools came to Buffalo State University’s campus to compete in the annual Physics Olympics. This event was hosted by the WNY Region of the New York State Master Teacher Program (NYSMTP) and Western New York Physics Teachers Alliance (WNYPTA). Students competed in curriculum-based engineering challenges to enhance student learning, motivation, and problem-solving skills.
Click here to read more about the event!
Julia Robinson Math Festival
Cheektowaga Union East hosted the first Julia Robinson Math Festival (JRMF) in the Buffalo area in partnership with the NYS Master Teacher Program. It was wonderful to see students and their families having fun and doing math together. Thank you to everyone who helped make the Math Festival a huge success!
Buffalo Math Collaborative and Chautauqua Math Collaborative
Dr. Kara Imm led the second week of meetings with our Master Teachers and participating school districts. We are excited to continue this professional development throughout the school year.
Erin McClure was recognized at the 75th Annual AMTNYS Conference as the Region A Regional Award Winner. Awardees are recognized for their collaboration, service, and impact on the profession of mathematics teaching.
Anton Banko Excellence in Elementary Science Teacher of the Year Award Winner, Bridget Lyon
Bridget Lyon was awarded the Anton Banko Excellence in Elementary Science Teacher of the Year Award at the 2025 STANYS Conference. This award recognizes a New York State K-6 teacher for demonstrated excellence in the teaching of elementary science.
NYSMTP WESTERN REGION NEWS
Upcoming PD for Master Teachers
January 2026 - August 2026
See below for engaging PD opportunities! See full descriptions of each workshop and minicourse by clicking the link to view its flyer.
Dr. Kara Imm
A professional learning community of K- 9 teachers and leaders, across grand bands, schools, and districts who come together to:
- Design learning experiences for kids, study them in real time, and reflect on what and how mathematical learning is happening
- Deepen the mathematical pedagogical content knowledge needed for teaching (our own mathematics + how children make sense of mathematics)
- Share ideas in a space designed to build on teachers’ love of kids and math (#lovekidslovemath)
- Provide a model for empowering our students mathematically through cognitively demanding tasks and routines that feature equitable access and that foster student agency, ownership, and identity.
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Willow Ridge Elementary
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Union East Elementary
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Maryvale Middle School
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Amherst Middle School
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Sweet Home Middle School
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Cleveland Hill Middle School
Buffalo Math Collaborative Flyer
Summer Learning Opportunities 2026
Professional Writing Workshop
Dr. Julie Henry and Dr. Michael Jabot
Are you interested in sharing your teaching ideas with a wider audience? The Western NY cohort is again hosting a writing program for NYS Master Teachers who want to publish their teaching ideas and experiences in professional journals. Interested teachers can work alone, with another Master Teacher or a college faculty co-author to generate topics and outlines for articles. Teachers who are ready to complete the writing process will be invited to the Professional Writing Workshop to write their articles and submit them for publication. This year’s writing coaches will be Dr. Julie Henry and Dr. Michael Jabot.
Dates: July 13-16, 2026
Location: Holiday Valley in Ellicottville, NY 14731
January 2026 - July 2026
See below for engaging PD opportunities! See full descriptions of each workshop and minicourse by clicking the link to view its flyer.
Thank you for joining us on May 6th for a free film screening of Counted Out. A new hard-hitting documentary that shines a light on math as the foundation of democracy and economic opportunity. “Counted Out” investigates the biggest crises of our time. Political polarization. Racial biases. Social injustice. Economic inequity. Climate change. And a global pandemic. All viewed through a previously unseen lens: math. See the trailer here.
Dates: Wednesday, May 6th; 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Location: Robert H. Jackson Center; 305 E. Fourth St. Jamestown, NY 14701
The Western Region of the New York State Master Teacher Program is excited to offer the Algebraic Thinking segment of our mathematical landscapes of learning series that focus on the pedagogical moves teachers make to nurture a community of mathematicians across the elementary and middle school grades. The mathematical content will be situated within Cathy Fosnot’s landscape of learning framework and will explore the coherent development of algebraic thinking along the K – 8 spectrum. Video case studies across the grade levels of classroom practice will be analyzed and discussed using the TRU Framework, from Dr. Alan Shoenfeld at the University of California, Berkeley. These video cases provide opportunities for participants to share their grade level expertise and to enhance our understanding of the content connections across the landscape.
Each session will highlight building a welcoming math community for learners to take risks, gain confidence, and take charge of their learning with a focus on the landscape of algebraic thinking across grades K-8. Explore practical tools and models such as number and algebra strings, tape diagrams, algebra tiles, and Building Thinking Classrooms strategies to support a concrete–pictorial–abstract progression. Collaborate across grade levels, deepen your content knowledge, and strengthen your ability to foster confident, engaged mathematicians.
No prior Landscapes experience required—new participants welcome!
Dates: Tuesdays and Thursdays, May 12, 14, 19, & 21; 5:00 - 8:00 pm
Location: Buffalo State University, SAMC 259
Landscapes: Algebraic Thinking Minicourse Registration
Landscapes: Algebraic Thinking Minicourse Flyer
Summer Learning Opportunities 2026
The Western Region of the New York State Master Teacher Program is excited to offer two segments of our mathematical landscapes of learning series that focus on the pedagogical moves teachers make to nurture a community of mathematicians across the elementary and middle school grades. The mathematical content will be situated within Cathy Fosnot’s landscape of learning framework and will explore the coherent development of multiplication and division, and fractions along the K – 8 spectrum. Video case studies across the grade levels of classroom practice will be analyzed and discussed using the TRU Framework, from Dr. Alan Shoenfeld at the University of California, Berkeley. These video cases provide opportunities for participants to share their grade level expertise and to enhance our understanding of the content connections across the landscape.
Each session will highlight building a welcoming math community for learners to take risks, gain confidence, and take charge of their learning with a focus on the landscape of multiplication and division, and fractions, across grades K-8. Sessions will feature mathematical models and tools for thinking, including number lines, Building Thinking Classroom principles, number strings, and more. Real world contexts and situations will be used as we consider how to best develop students’ conceptual understanding and mathematical identity within a supportive and nurturing classroom community.
Dates: Monday-Thursday, July 20-21 (Multiplication/Division), July 22-23 (Fractions); 8:30am - 3:00 pm
Location: Buffalo State University, SAMC 259
Landscapes: Multiplication/Division and Fractions Minicourse Registration
Landscapes: Multiplication/Division and Fractions Minicourse Flyer
Are you new to teaching physics? Working toward your physics teacher certification? The WNY Region of the New York State Master Teacher Program is offering two workshops for new physics teachers this summer!
In these two 4-day workshops you will complete NYSSLS lab activities that will enhance your physics content knowledge, prepare you to teach using the new physics standards and will be fun! You will experience effective physics classroom activities and strategies that lead to successful physics teaching.
Physics Olympics and making classroom-ready materials will be included throughout both workshops and in optional Friday sessions.
Workshop 1: Mechanics and Energy
This workshop will include labs such as Modeling Pendulum Motion, Graphical Analysis of Motion, Modeling Newton’s Laws, Impulse and Conservation of Momentum, Conservation of Energy and the NYS Thermal Tails Investigation. Physics Olympics and making classroom ready materials will be included throughout the week and in optional Friday sessions.
Dates: Mon-Thurs, July 27th-30th, 8am-5pm
Location: Buffalo State University, SAMC 359
Workshop 2: Electricity and Waves
This workshop will include labs such as Mapping Electric Potential, Series and Parallel Circuits, NYS Wheels to Watts Investigation, Speed of Sound, ray diagrams and optics, diffraction and wavelength of light.
Dates: Mon-Thurs, August 3rd-6th, 8am-5pm
Location: Buffalo State University, SAMC 359
The Image Above Gives Data About the NYS Master Teacher Program
- 124,000+ students across New York State have a NYS Master Teacher
- There are 921 current Master Teachers
- More than 549 Master Teacher Emeritus
- Giving us a total of 1,470 Master Teachers statewide
- 61% Teach High School
- 15% Teach Middle School
- 15 % Teach Elementary School
- 9% Teach Across Grade Levels
- 100% of the Master Teachers state that their collaboration with other NYS Master Teachers have provided them with professional renewal and inspiration for their work as STEM educators
- 99% of MTs agree that their status as a NYS Master Teachers has increased their opportunities to develop their leadership skills.
- 97% of MTs agree that their experiences in the NYSMTP have increased their opportunities to share their work with teachers in their school or district.
- The percent of High Needs Districts with NYS Master Teachers:
- 100% Large City
- 58% New York City
- 57% Urban/Suburban/ High Needs
- 51% Rural High Needs
The NYSMTP invites applications from eligible K-12 STEM Teachers & Counselors! In 2022, Governor Hochul announced the expansion of the New York State Master Teacher Program to create a cohort of counselors and to encourage more teachers with CTE certificates related to STEM careers projected to be in high demand to apply. The program creates a statewide network of the highest performing educators dedicated to sharing the expertise with peers and attracting the brightest minds to careers in the STEM fields and education. Through participation in the NYSMTP, selected educators engage in professional learning and receive $15,000 stipends annually over four years. Visit suny.edu/masterteacher for detailed information about eligibility and the application process. "New York is home to many talented teachers, and we owe an enormous debt of gratitude to educators across our state." -Governor Hochul
The NYS Master Teacher Program invites outstanding, experienced K012 STEM teachers and K-12 counselors who are committed to: reflection, continuous professional growth, collaboration, creating and sustaining a supportive and engaging learning environment, excellence in STEM education for all students, and making a difference within and beyond schools to apply for a four-year Master Teacher fellowship. Governor Hochul said, "I'm proud to announce the expansion of the Master Teacher network and the open application for the next round of STEM teachers and counselors.". A NYS Master Teacher said, "The experiences I had [with the Program] inspired me to bring back to my classroom the plethora of ideas and examples that fellow educators shared, that supported me in many ways to become a better more effective educator. THAT is what the Master Teacher Program does best.
"Since 2013, New York's Master Teacher program has recognized our state's most talented and dedicated educators for their persistence in engaging students in STEM fields. These teachers are instrumental in the development of our future leaders, and it is a privilege to recognize them every year."