Andy Isaacs

Andy Isaacs received a BA in classical Greek from Northwestern University in 1974, an MST in elementary education from the University of Chicago in 1977, an MS in mathematics from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) in 1987, and a DA in mathematics (with concentrations in abstract algebra and theoretical computer science) from UIC in 1994. Philip Wagreich directed Isaacs’s dissertation, "Whole number concepts and operations in grades 1 and 2: Curriculum and rationale."

From 1977 to 1985, Isaacs taught fourth and fifth grades in Chicago-area public schools. In 1985, he joined the Department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science at UIC as a lecturer in mathematics education. Beginning in 1986, Isaacs worked closely with Wagreich and Howard Goldberg on the NSF-funded Teaching Integrated Mathematics and Science Project (TIMS). In 1989 and 1990, he worked with Wagreich and David Page on UIC’s Maneuvers with Mathematics Project, another NSF-funded curriculum development effort. From 1990 to 1995, he was a full time writer for Math Trailblazers, a comprehensive mathematics curriculum for grades K–5 based on TIMS and funded by NSF.

In 1995, Isaacs joined the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project to work on the Bridges to Classroom Mathematics Project, which was directed by Sheila Sconiers. Isaacs was an author on the second edition of Everyday Mathematics, published in 2000 and 2001, and directed revisions that led to a third edition of Everyday Mathematics in 2007 and California and Texas editions of Everyday Mathematics in 2008. He currently directs a project that is working to improve mathematics achievement in ten Chicago elementary schools that are undergoing "restructuring" mandated by No Child Left Behind. He is Co-Director of the University's Center for Elementary Mathematics and Science Education, and a Senior Research Associate in the University’s Physical Sciences Division.