Beyond the Equation: Luisa Myavec's Mathematical Magic in Room 119

By Lauren Waller, Asst. Head of Upper School for Faculty & Students

With the enthusiasm of a game show host and the confidence of a master teacher, Luisa Myavec explores how ratios connect to proportions with sixth-grade students in a class I was lucky enough to visit on an unusually cold Monday in late March. “Dingdingding! You’re right! Now, what method did you use to solve that equation? We want to be efficient problem solvers but also accurate.” For Luisa, it comes down to method: there’s not one “magical right” way to do each problem. Often, there are many choices, and it’s about finding efficiency and accuracy…and a lot of joy along the way. 

Room 119 was alive with warmth and rigor on the day of my visit to Ms. Myavec’s 6th-grade honors math class. Student-created graphs featuring the outline in profile of Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaurs were displayed on one end of the whiteboard, arms outstretched at varying angles and lengths–clearly part of a project on graphing. (Any great middle school teacher knows that everything is better with dinosaurs.) Luisa’s palpable energy, preparation, patience, and expertise were on full display as she deftly moved from concept to concept, building the lesson masterfully over the long block. As the class moved from review to the meat of the lesson, Luisa revealed an upcoming project using ratios and percentages to help craft the most effective training plan for her next marathon. “Wait, we’re actually helping?” a student asked, full of curiosity and enthusiasm to see the math he was learning applied in The Real World. A lifelong runner (“it’s always been my thing”), Luisa finished in the top 25% of New York Marathon runners for her age group, and this project ignited students’ desire to help their teacher. 

A native midwesterner, Luisa grew up in Michigan, where teaching is a family business. Both of her parents work in education, her mother as a Middle School division head, and her father as a math teacher. “The values I learned from them shaped me into who I am today. The why is so important to me.” Growth mindset is one of those values, and Luisa notes that she “approaches teaching math with a growth mindset, just like coaching, asking how to make each lesson better each time.” Her parents’ deep appreciation for middle-grade students inspired Luisa to gravitate toward teaching mathematics in grades 6-8. 

After attending DePauw University, where she studied education and played Division 3 field hockey, Luisa has made her way east and north, attending graduate school and working at both New Canaan Country School and Georgetown Day School. She “followed the dream” of teaching and has been “trying to find the perfect community.” She’s quick to note, with an earnest smile, that she has discovered that perfect community at Greenwich Country Day School. “Every day, my students teach me something new. The Middle School faculty love each other; we are all on the same page: helping students and each other be our best selves. I love our values -- we really commit ourselves to character.” It’s easy to see why smiles and laughter abound in Luisa’s classroom. Under the T-Rex graphs, Luisa has a vase filled not with flowers, but with myriad colorful rulers. It’s easy to see this as a metaphor for Luisa’s teaching. “I love math! It’s like a language, and it’s so beautiful.” 

“Magic happens when things get harder,” Luisa notes of her students’ persistence through the challenging 6th-grade honors curriculum. “Math isn’t always black and white,” she adds, noting that she tries to help students value being efficient and accurate as they solve problems, ensuring that they have voice in which method they decide to choose first as they approach an equation. Luisa’s classes are often organized with a mini-lesson to start, followed by practice, in groups or independently, and she notes that she consistently has a project going on in the background, so students should always have something to work on, even if they finish a problem set early. “Connections are everything.” Luisa values the application of the math students are learning. “Sure, students can solve a multi-variable algebraic equation, but can they apply their understanding of it?” Luisa considers mathematical thinking in three ways: conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and application. “When these three types of thinking are at play, we see the magic happen, and engagement and rigor increase.” 

When students make a mistake in Luisa’s classes, she turns back to her focus on growth mindset. Each assessment comes with an opportunity to create an error analysis, focusing on the 3 Cs: Careless errors, Computational errors, and Conceptual errors. Luisa’s success with these error analyses led the entire Middle School math department to adopt the “3 Cs”  after assessments. The team is considering presenting these error analyses at a conference, as this kind of reflection has yielded more understanding from students. 

In addition to teaching math in grades 6 and 7, Luisa serves as an 8th-grade dean. This means she is able to interact with students at all three grade levels in the Middle School. “I am super proud and excited to work with the other Grade Level Deans. We are currently looking at our advisory program very intentionally across grade levels. It has been so great to work with other teachers who are passionate about curriculum development and programmatic themes in this way.” Indeed, Luisa brings the same thoughtful, deliberate approach to her work as a dean as she does to teaching math. As a co-planner of the 8th-grade trip to  Washington, DC alongside Morgan Withrow, Luisa and Morgan decided to make the majority of the trip a cell-phone-free experience. This intentional prioritization of face-to-face interaction is matched with equally intentional reflection on the experience. Students will write a reflection about the trip as a whole, considering the meaningful learning experiences they had as well as their experience without a phone in their hands. 

Luisa combines her love of teaching and her passion for athletics in her role as Upper School JV volleyball coach. She refers to the volleyball community at GCDS as a family -- a successful family, as Luisa’s team has been undefeated FAA champions for the past four years! Always willing to show up, lend a hand, and do what’s right for the team, Luisa coached two volleyball teams last year. This kind of dedication to the student experience and the team as a whole is part of what makes Luisa such a wonderful colleague and teacher. 

As I compiled my notes from Luisa’s class and from my interview, I was struck by the number of times she used the word “magic.” I might have anticipated “logic” from a math teacher, but teaching transcends just great planning, clear expectations, and finding the “right” answer. Which methods does Luisa choose each day? The happy alchemy of thoughtful and intentional planning, fun and fair engagement with students, and a love of our Country Day community. Room 119 in the middle school is surely a magical place to learn and grow.