Five Silicon Valley Schools Recognized for Outstanding Growth in Math Proficiency Using Innovative Visual Math Software

SANTA ANA, CA, October 29, 2010 (Press-News.org) Step into the computer lab at Dorsa Elementary and you may be surprised to see second and third graders focused on learning math in a truly different way. Students are concentrating on winning games that introduce math principles in a visual way, using interactive mathematical diagrams. After the first year of this program, Dorsa's teachers and students in 2nd and 3rd grades realized 12 point improvements in math proficiency - compared to stagnant statewide numbers.

Dorsa Elementary, in Alum Rock Union School District, and four other Silicon Valley area schools participating in the first year of the ST Math Project: Silicon Valley are being recognized by community leaders and the non-profit MIND Research Institute at a "Celebration of Success" luncheon in San Jose's Tech Museum on November 10th.
The 5-year ST Math project, using the non-profit MIND Research Institute's visual math software, is a community-funded grants program for low-performing eligible schools. It was launched in 2009 to advance math proficiency in the Silicon Valley area by providing the "ST Math" instructional software and system, training, and support to students, teachers and principals.

Twenty-two schools in Silicon Valley started the program in 2009/10. The top five elementary school performances in 2010 are being recognized at the luncheon event. The other four schools are Captain Jason M. Dahl Elementary, Franklin-McKinley Elementary school district; Eliot Elementary, Gilroy Unified school district; San Miguel Elementary, Sunnydale school district; and El Toro Elementary, Morgan Hill Unified school district. On average, these five schools achieved a 12.2 point gain in math proficiency in one year.

Government, non-profit and private sectors partnered to launch this project. The non-profit MIND Research Institute provided its new approach for learning math through software visualizations, local and national funders, such as Cisco, Symantec, PricewaterhouseCoopers, among others, provided the startup funds, and the Santa Clara County Office of Education hosted an informational event for eligible schools.

The MIND program provides a new and different way for teachers to engage all of their students in mathematics. It's also a new way for all students, regardless of prior math or English proficiency, to deeply understand rigorous mathematics principles.

For the students, this has turned challenging math problems into a computer game, which they know they can beat. And it also has given them a powerful visual representation of how the math works, without the extra complexity of new vocabulary words, like "denominator". Once the students master the concepts visually, the software begins to introduce math language, and the teachers can refer to the visual representations from the software as part of their regular math lessons.

"We applaud the achievement of these schools, teachers and students who have elevated math proficiency," said Andrew Coulson, President of the Education Division at MIND Research Institute. "Our research-based approach has reduced the barriers that too often have caused students to struggle to learn math."

According to MIND co-founder and ST Math program author Dr. Matthew Peterson, "MIND's math education programs are engineered to make teaching and learning math more productive. All students can become successful math problem-solvers."

Also speaking at the event is a pioneer school for the ST Math program in Silicon Valley: Principal Karen Allard from Leroy Anderson Elementary in Moreland Elementary school district in West San Jose. In 2007, Anderson's test scores were at the bottom among 250 elementary schools in Santa Clara County and was facing painful sanctions. Anderson implemented ST Math in the 2007/08 school year at two grade levels.

Within three years after the school implemented MIND's program ST Math, the Title 1 school, with nearly 80 percent English Language Learners, saw its API scores increase by 206 points, the largest gain in Santa Clara County. Adds Destiny Ortega, Director of Student Services for Moreland School District and previously the Principal at Anderson Elementary "[ST Math] provides students with a highly motivating, language-free program that helps them build a solid foundation of math concepts."

Founded in 1998 at the University of California, Irvine, the non-profit MIND Research Institute is dedicated to applying research to the creation of revolutionary math education programs. MIND is committed to helping all children, particularly those living in poverty or with limited language skills, achieve success in school and in life. MIND offers schools cost-effective solutions and a powerful tool to improve the educational outcomes of students. For more information, visit http://www.mindresearch.net.

To attend the November 10th luncheon event at the Tech Museum, contact Catriona Glazebrook at 415-785-3887 or cglazebrook@mindresearch.net.