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Who is Beth Kobett?

In June 2020, Beth Kobett was promoted to professor of education at Stevenson University School of Education in Owings Mill, Maryland. She is an elected board member of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

What services does Beth Kobett offer?

Kobett’s bio says she is a “prominent presenter at state, regional, and national conferences, and conducts professional learning workshops and webinars.” The bio said she “established a student-mentoring program with a local school (recognized as a University Club) and a Beginning Teachers mentoring program.” While Kobett doesn’t explicitly address issues of “equity” and “anti-racism,” her discussion of not looking at student’s “deficits” is a lens through which many school district and school board officials view “equity” efforts.  

What K-12 work has Beth Kobett done?

MICHIGAN

Oakland Schools

On Feb. 18, 2021, Oakland Schools issued a contract to pay Beth Korbett $500 to present a one-hour virtual presentation, “Promote strengths in the school community,” on March 11, 2021, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. to math educators.

The presentation was part of the “Oakland County Math Leadership Team – Speaker Series,” at which University of Virginia academic Robert Q. Berry III received a contract for $1,000.

Kobett co-presented a one-hour presentation, “Strength-Based Teaching and Learning,” with another speaker, Karen Karp. They had coauthored a book, Strength-Based Teaching and Learning in Mathematics: 5 Teaching Turnarounds for Grades K-6. 

The promotional material said: “Phrases like ‘learning gaps’, ‘students’ deficits’, or ‘assess learning loss’ are prevalent in today’s conversations. Educators are often trained, and sometimes required, to identify what students are ‘missing’ and remediate accordingly. However Clifton and Harter point out that ‘Leveraging [students’] strengths to address their challenges yields greater success than marshalling efforts into overcoming weaknesses and deficits. (2002)’”