After receiving the Milken award in 2005, Alex received his NBCT certificate in 2008 and renewed it in 2018. In 2011 Alex was given the honor of being a Distinguished Educator of Maine, where he spent a year working for the Maine Department of Education. Alex began putting together an OER 8th grade mathematics curriculum called, "8th Grade Mathematics And Then Some". This curriculum which he is still designing and currently using, has evolved into a two-year course called "Polynomials". It's a learner-centered, integrated algebra and geometry course, with polynomials as its common thread, which leverages the state's 1:1 technology program, aligns with the 8th grade CCSS, and instills in students a better understanding of, and appreciation for, algebra and mathematics in general.
