In addition to compensation for participation, collaborating with REL Appalachia to evaluate the toolkit will provide each partner division with several benefits:

• Early access to the toolkit for a set of schools within the division. By using the toolkit, teachers will learn strategies and access classroom activities to help them carry out evidence-based early math teaching practices. School leaders will learn how they can support teachers in using these evidence-based practices and how they can sustain and institutionalize these practices over time.
• Access to the toolkit developers, who can address questions regarding use of the toolkit and the evidence-based practices.
• An opportunity to provide critical evidence and feedback to improve this free set of resources that will support early math instruction in Virginia and nationwide.

The toolkit is based on Teaching Math to Young Children, a What Works Clearinghouse practice guide developed by a national panel of early childhood experts and based on years of research. The toolkit helps teachers bring to life a series of key instructional practices drawn from four evidence-based recommendations in the practice guide:

• Teach number and operations using a developmental progression.
• Dedicate time each day to teaching math and integrate math instruction throughout the school day.
• Use progress monitoring to ensure that math instruction builds on what each child knows.
• Teach children to view and describe their world mathematically.

Throughout the 19 weeks of professional learning in the toolkit, teachers will engage in self-directed learning (approximately 1 hour a week) and apply what they learn in the classroom. The goal is to help teachers recognize and create "aha" moments in their classrooms each day that will support students' math development. All of the resources and activities in this toolkit are designed to help teachers try out new strategies effectively and with confidence.

Schools that decide to participate will be randomly assigned to either use the toolkit or continue with "business as usual." Schools randomly assigned to use the toolkit will receive access to the toolkit, which includes 19 weeks of embedded professional learning modules and classroom resources. Schools not randomly assigned to use the toolkit (the business-as-usual group) will continue with their existing instructional plans, including any existing professional learning on preschool math instruction. All schools and teachers will be able to access the toolkit resources at the end of the study.

• From divisions:
• Administrative data on students in participating teachers' classrooms: race/ethnicity, gender, special education status, eligibility for services for economic disadvantage, and English learner status.
• Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program (VKRP) Early Mathematics Assessment System (EMAS) and Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) scores for students of participating teachers.
• From all participating teachers:
• A short survey on their attitudes, beliefs, and confidence toward teaching math, at the beginning and end of the school year.
• A brief instructional log that describes what teachers are doing in their classrooms once a day for three weeks, one week at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year.
• Observations of math instruction by the study team, once at the beginning and once at the end of the school year.
• From teachers in schools randomly assigned to use the toolkit:
• A self-assessment of their math teaching at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year.
• A satisfaction survey at the end of the school year.