NMU education professor K.C. Holder and two pre-service teachers, Paige Lamb and Molly Smith, were photographed and mentioned in the Santa Fe New Mexican's coverage of the recent MidSchoolMath National Conference in Santa Fe. The NMU trio also gave a presentation on the challenges of starting up a First Tech Robotics Challenge all-girls team.

Lamb and Smith received student travel funds allocated through the NMU Foundation’s Northern Fund to support their trip.

The theme of the conference was “Stop the Drop,” referencing a trend in U.S. student performance on international math tests. The conference website states that, starting in 4th grade, U.S. students score above average in math on the international student assessments. By the time they reach 8th grade, they sink to slightly below average. Only two years later, 15-year-old U.S. students drop to the bottom tier in mathematics compared with other industrialized countries.

The two-day MidSchoolMath conference focused entirely on middle school topics. For Holder, it marked a return to his home state. He was born and raised in New Mexico and graduated from New Mexico State University. Holder has worked as a teacher educator at NMU the past 15 years, leading courses in educational psychology, educational research and math methods.

Lamb is studying special education, a member of the NMU Elementary Education Math Club and interested in middle-level mathematics teaching and learning. Smith is studying elementary special education and math education. She is president of the NMU Elementary Education Math Club, a teacher's assistant for rudimentary math classes and a math tutor for math education courses.