By Tyler Dahlgren

It didn’t take long for the teachers at ESU 2’s first-ever Math is Power event to find a common denominator. 

With the 2025/26 school year just around the corner, they came to Fremont for some end-of-the-summer professional development. That’s exactly what the 120 attendees received. 

“I’m always trying to find new ideas that will make me a better teacher and positively affect how I’m able to help my students, whether it be with new strategies, resources or technology,” said Liz Bladt, who teaches math at Mead Public Schools. “Those were definitely things I left the day with. I was able to attend sessions where I learned some new games that I can teach the kids to play. Any new resources that I can get, I’m all about it, and they provided a lot of that.”

The inspiration for the unique and innovative event came from the trailer for the 2024 documentary Counted Out, said ESU 2 teaching & learning specialist Dr. Kelly Georgius. So it was fitting that the inaugural event started with a screening of the film at the Fremont Theaters.

“One of the themes of the movie was centered on the way people view math and the misconception that you don’t need it unless you’re an accountant or an engineer or in a field that requires it,” said Georgius. “In reality, everybody uses math every day, and often we don’t even recognize when we’re using it.”

Following the screening, conference-goers discussed with their colleagues different strategies that can be applied to help students understand math in a more global sense.

“Math connects to everything,” said Georgius, “not just worksheets in a book.”

Lunch was prepared back at ESU by Chef Anthony Warrior, who works on a grant for the service unit and travels from district to district sharing his message of food sovereignty. Chef Warrior appreciated the opportunity to cook for the math teachers, and even held sessions throughout the afternoon.

“It’s fun being able to let them see what native food is and to show them that it’s actually alive and relative in today’s society,” Warrior said.

After lunch, there were three rounds of select-a-sessions, all based on social and emotional learning, and all led by ESU 2 staff. Georgius said it was fun to see what the talented team from ESU 2 came up with.

“All of our departments working together for the benefit of math teachers, I think that’s really cool,” said ESU 2 administrator Mitch Hoffer. “It’s also beneficial getting the teachers here and giving them this opportunity to collaborate before school ramps up again.”

It was an invigorating day for teachers like Fremont High’s Alex Way, who appreciates all the supports and services ESU 2 provides throughout the calendar year.

“The timing was really great, a week before we returned to our PD sessions within our school districts,” Way said. “I really enjoy the PD where we get to meet with other teachers from other districts. We get to talk about common struggles and hear different perspectives and different approaches taken by educators we don’t always work with. That’s beneficial for us.”

That’s exactly what Georgius was hoping to accomplish when she brought the idea to Hoffer. Connecting math to social and emotional learning, helping students to become more data literate, those were uniquely intriguing prospects, and suddenly everybody at ESU 2 was on board and involved.

“Even our tech guys who like to sit in an office are presenting,” Georgius said. “We have all departments collaborating today, and, so far, it’s been awesome.”

Bladt said the day was a perfect mixture of learning and having fun. Attendees left with resources and other mementos. Bladt had a blast, and said she wouldn’t hesitate to sign up if ESU 2 holds the event again.

“I appreciate ESU 2 putting something like this on because they’re local and easy to access,” she said. “There are people that I get to work with throughout the school year from different departments at the service unit, and I know that after this conference is over I can email or call anybody up there with a follow-up question or whatever it may be.” 

“As a teacher, that support is priceless.”