Tad Johnston

Will Tad Johnston is a senior technical assistance consultant at AIR specializing in mathematics education. He works with the AIR District and School Improvement Team as a mathematics instructional coach working with teachers, building instructional coaches, and administrators in high poverty schools with high percentages of students of color and/or learners of English as an additional language. He also coaches teachers in two foundation-supported networked improvement communities.  His other work has included providing mathematics content and pedagogical support for special education and English language development projects, providing consulting services to state departments of education, and serving as a mathematics and science content expert for a variety of studies related to state, national and international standards and assessments.

Johnston brings a wide variety of mathematics education experiences to his work. He has seventeen years of teaching experience in middle and high schools, receiving the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching in 2000. He was a full-time instructor of mathematics education at the undergraduate and graduate levels and served as adjunct faculty when he returned to the secondary classroom. At the district and regional levels Johnston has experience as a professional developer, curriculum leader and instructional coach. As Maine’s State Mathematics Specialist, he facilitated the creation of Maine’s Grade Level Expectations for Mathematics and the revision of the state’s mathematics standards as well as providing mathematics content expertise for Maine’s Early Learning Standards. He also oversaw the mathematics content of state mathematics assessments and provided professional development and technical assistance to districts.