Behind The Board: Meet the Members of our Equity Advisory Board
Featuring Dr. Courtney Koestler, Director of the OHIO Center for Equity in Mathematics and Science
We recently accelerated our effort to champion equity with the introduction of the new K-12 Equity Advisory Board. Comprised of accomplished experts who excel in areas related to equity and social justice, these board members are engaging in discussion and planning of new ideas and business innovations in relation to educational equity in our products and projects. To see what that looks like in action, we’re highlighting our board members in their daily work life.
Today’s Highlight: Courtney Koestler
Director of the OHIO Center for Equity in Mathematics and Science
Dr. Courtney Koestler is the Director of the OHIO Center for Equity in Mathematics and Science in the Patton College of Education at Ohio University. Dr. Koestler brings experience and expertise on issues of diversity, equity, and justice in early childhood and elementary education, teacher education, and mathematics education. They are a former K-8 public school teacher and has taught in culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse schools located in rural, suburban, and urban communities. Dr. Koestler has been both a classroom teacher (grades 2, 4, 5, and 8) and has also worked as a mathematics coach. After earning a Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dr. Koestler has worked as a university-based researcher and teacher educator at the University of Arizona and now at Ohio University as the Director of OCEMS.
Can you briefly describe your career path?
After my first two years of teaching, I wasn’t sure I would stay in teaching. I ended up moving to the Washington, DC metropolitan area after my second year, and I went ahead and applied to Fairfax County Public Schools. I had told myself that I wasn’t going to accept a position unless it “felt right”…and well, it felt right! That year I was surrounded by amazing colleagues, especially an amazing math coach and an excellent literacy coach who really supported me. I taught for a few more years, both as a classroom teacher and then later as a mathematics coach. Although I really loved teaching, I was curious about some big questions in education, especially about equity-based practices, about culturally relevant pedagogy, and critical literacy in mathematics, so I made the heart-wrenching decision to leave my dream job to go to graduate school. This is where I started a new dream job — teaching future teachers, which is what I have been doing since 2005.
How you came to be a part of the advisory panel? What do you hope you accomplish or change while being a part of the advisory panel?
I was asked to be a part of the Equity Advisory Board in the beginning of 2021, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to collaborate with the Board and McGraw Hill colleagues on prioritizing equity in K-12 classrooms. Too often equity and justice are viewed as “add ons” to the academic conversation. I am hopeful that we can begin to change the narrative and encourage everyone — students, families, teachers, administrators, and policy makers — to view equity and justice as central to everything we do in teaching and learning.
Why are you passionate about the work that you do?
This work is important to me as an educator because I think about the kinds of experiences I hope the children I have worked with and continue to work with will have in our educational system. I hope that all students come out of our schools feeling valued and whole, and knowing how they can use what they have learned to make the world a more equitable and just place.
For more on our approach to equity, inclusion, and diversity, see:
