District Administration - July/August 2012 - (Page 29)

SponSored Supplement ST Math: Higher scores and lower frustration levels MIND Research Institute’s ST Math program proves successful for students and staff at Florida elementary school I “They learn the concept without knowing the name for n a school with a large population of special needs and non-native English speaking students, frustration and sur- it,” Schadow said. And when the teachers get to those lesrender are major challenges for the staff. Turns out an ani- sons, “they can teach the curriculum faster than they ever have before”. mated penguin can make life easier for everyone involved. Besides helping mid-level and special needs kids, ST “Some kids go into a tizzy when they get something Math has positively impacted wrong and lots of kids quit the highest-achieving stuwhen they do poorly,” said dents, whose needs were not Gary Schadow, principal always being met. of Dream Lake Elementary “My teachers like it beschool in Apopka, Fla., a cause now we’re challenging pre-K through fifth grade our top end,” Schadow said. school that serves all of Dream Lake began usthe region’s special needs ing ST Math for grades three students. “Our kids now unand four a year ago and for derstand if you don’t get it grades two and five this right, that’s OK. Just keep year. Next year, kindergartrying. JiJi doesn’t care.” ten and first grade students JiJi, the mascot of MIND will get the chance to learn Research Institute’s ST Math with JiJi. All the students program, is the escort for spend time in the computer students through comput“Our kids now understand if you don’t lab an average of three times erized math lessons, leadget it right, that’s ok. Just keep trying.” a week. Proof that it’s time ing them through various well-spent has come from scenarios, games and puzgreatly improved standardzles. The character crosses a bridge to the next challenge after students provide correct ized tests. On the FCAT, Florida’s standardized exam, Dream Lake’s answers, and turns around if they give incorrect ones. This gentle approach seems to inspire rather than discourage the students scored “better than the other schools around us” and “showed us challenging our top-end kids,” Schadow students. “With JiJi, our kids get more confident,” said Schadow, said. “We received the second highest gains in mathematics in whose school serves 820 students, 19 percent of whom require special needs instruction and 27 percent of whom come Orange County—only one point lower than the first,” he said. Increases included a jump in percentage of students from homes where English is not the primary language. First attracted to ST Math because it didn’t push rote completing a year’s curriculum during a school year, and math facts or require strong verbal skills, Schadow said he in the percentage of students scoring at grade level, which thought he’d have to sell the students on the new way of was the school’s first increase after a five-year plateau. Schadow noted that all of the recent scores are “the highlearning. He was happily wrong about that. “We have to be careful they don’t log onto JiJi when est they’ve ever been for Dream Lake.” While his staff is certainly to be congratulated, kudos go they’re supposed to be doing language arts,” he said. Dream Lake teachers have reported that students now un- in large part to JiJi. “We believe the biggest significant change for us was in derstand lessons more quickly and are learning concepts such as fractions from JiJi before teachers address the topics in class. using ST Math,” Schadow said.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - July/August 2012

District Administration - July/August 2012
Contents
From the Editor
Letters
News Update
District Profile
Administrator Profile
Research Center
Professional Opinion
Supervisor's Opinion
Crisis Response
Going Mobile
Gaming Gains Respect
A Running Start for ELLs
Paul Vallas for Sale
Unsung Heroes
CIO News
Avoiding the Pitfalls of Virtual Schooling
Noteworthy Books
New Products
Product Focus
Problem Solution

District Administration - July/August 2012