Teachers from Frankfurt International Schools jumped on an airplane to Denver to learn more about how Cherry Creek School District educators teach math.

A team of teachers from Frankfurt arrived in Cherry Creek to review the district's math instructional materials, study the math curriculum and examine how math lessons flow from one grade level to the next.

After a brief introduction to the school district, district math coordinator Melissa Colsman got down to the crux of how math is taught to kindergarten through third-grade students. She escorted the visitors on tours of Willow Creek and Village East elementary schools.

"Our two school visits highlighted the incredible talent of CCSD teachers," Colsman said. "I am constantly amazed at the level of professionalism and leadership among our teachers."

For example, Colsman presented the Frankfurt school visitors with the list of benchmarks students are expected to meet at each grade level. "Typically, work such as this is done at a district office and simply given to teachers," Colsman said. "It is a testament to the talent and dedication of our teachers that such a helpful tool is the result of teacher leaders."

As is usually the case when educators share their work, the learning was reciprocal and Cherry Creek teachers learned from the German teachers. "I learned about the structure and mission of this international school and that despite the differences in context, our mission and struggles are the same," Colsman said. "In addition, it gave me a renewed sense of purpose in emphasizing the global nature of the world our students are inheriting."