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Math
matters: Program aiding Clear Creek
Photo by Nathan
L. McBroom
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Charlotte Baker taught students
math
skills at Clear Creek in early
November.
| By Nathan
L. McBroom/Sentinel-News Staff Writer
Math
and fun are usually polar opposites in the minds of most
children. But in Charlotte Baker's class, students who
had been lagging behind in the subject are finding that
math
adds up and it can be enjoyable.
Baker, a teacher at Clear Creek elementary, is seeing
students excel through a program called Numbers World.
Through the program, students learn basic
math
skills with interactive instruction, activities and
worksheets.
Baker meets with the students in small groups to give
them individual attention. She said that in that type of
surrounding students feels the confidence to ask and
answer questions. The class helps them believe in
themselves, said Baker.
"It's given them a lot of confidence," she said.
"They feel that it safe in here and that it's okay to
ask and take a risk and try to answer a question."
The program, which is in its second year at Clear
Creek, is funded by the Kentucky
Primary
Mathematics
Intervention
Initiative. Sara Monarch, director of student programs
and services for the district, wrote a grant for all of
the elementary schools to receive such a program, but
Clear Creek was the only school to receive it.
Baker said the program is paying off.
She added that some students in the program have
advanced their
math
skills an entire grade level.
"It's a victory of for the children," she said. "Any
time that you see the lights go on for the
child...that's a victory."
Baker said this past year Clear Creek saw their
math
scores jump. While her program only played a small role,
she said, the improvement was due to principal Karen
Downs and the wide vision for student's education.
"I'm just a tool to help the children," Baker said.
Downs is now using other people to implement the
program in other classes.
According to statewide statistics, students who
received the specialized instruction significantly
outperform their peers. Kindergartners finished the year
scoring higher than 64 percent of all students
nationally, whereas their peers who did not receive the
specialized instruction scored higher than only 36
percent of all students. First-graders who were part of
the program scored higher than 49 percent of all
students. Considering that these students started the
year scoring higher than only 7-8 percent of all
students, the gains are dramatic, according to state
program administrators.
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