High AIMS Consortium

History and Profile of High AIMS

In 1998, the High Achievement in Math and Science (AIMS) Consortium began as a group of six districts that collaborated to examine and improve the quality of student work. These six districts were committed to leveraging their resources as a group to impact student achievement across the boundaries of community. The Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) revealed an alarming crisis in math and science education in the United States. The consortium adopted the charge of the TIMSS report and pledged to focus its efforts in the area of math and science instruction.

During the 2003-04 school year, High AIMS became a partner in a Math Science Partnership through a National Science Foundation grant with Michigan State University as the lead institution. The grant, known as PROM/SE (Promoting Rigorous Outcomes in Math/Science Education) has four other K-12 sites; SMART, our sister consortium in Cleveland, and three county-wide systems in Michigan. The NSF grant lasts through the 2007-08 school year.

Consortium membership has grown to include a diverse group of southwestern Ohio public school districts. As the 2008-09 school year begins, the High AIMS Consortium has 18 diverse districts that are grounded in the belief that improvement in the teaching and learning of mathematics and science occurs through providing quality professional development for classroom teaches, giving principals the strategies needed to support classroom instruction, and having the full support of the superintendent and the central office.

The 18 district members of High AIMS include districts from Butler, Clermont, Hamilton and Warren counties and serve well over twenty distinct communities. The student population served is diverse, totaling over 100,000 total students K-12. The number of teachers teaching mathematics and science exceeds 5,000, while the number of building and district administrators supporting the teachers is well into the hundreds. In addition, High AIMS enjoys close partnerships with the Hamilton County Educational Service Center and the Great Oaks Joint Vocational District.

The vision of the High AIMS Consortium is to promote high student achievement by forming an influential educational consortium of educators, parents, community, research, business, and industry leaders striving to attain world-class standards in mathematics and science curricula, instructional strategies, and assessment practices.

The mission of the High AIMS Consortium is to ensure that all students and staff achieve exemplary levels of mathematical and scientific understanding by forming partnerships and networks, applying research, designing professional opportunities, and creating and implementing outstanding programs.