Hamilton County Schools Recently Announced The Creation Of ‘Math Matters’, An Initiative Meant To Engage Students In Math Through A Combination Of Game Play And Traditional Lessons.
Published April 8, 2021
The Tennessee Conservative Staff –
In late September, preliminary projections by the Tennessee Department of Education stated that Tennessee could expect to see math proficiency among third-graders to drop by 65% because of COVID-19-related school closures.
In response, Hamilton County Schools have launched a new online program for students with a focus on fact fluency, computation, and word problems.
Dr. Bryan Johnson, Superintendent of Hamilton County Schools said, “The goal of Math Matters is for all students to engage in math skills daily and grow their math fluency.
‘Math Matters’ is meant to engage students in math through a combination of game play and traditional lessons.
HCS believes this new approach to learning math will better appeal to student’s individual interests and is intended to be used in addition to their classroom lessons.
Students can access the program any time, on any device through the Classlink website, which houses all of their online learning tools.
Progress and participation are automatically tracked, and students can earn both individual and schoolwide prizes through the program including gift cards, snacks, and class parties.
The top schoolwide prize is a $10,000 award for the winning school’s library and the top individual student prize is being named Student Superintendent of the Day.
Hamilton County Schools lists the following as the purpose of the program:
• For all students to engage in math skills daily
• Grow their math fluency and number sense
• To reduce the opportunity gap
• To narrow the achievement gaps
How the Program Works:
• The program offers learning activities that focus on fact fluency, computation, and word problems. The combination of game play and traditional lessons allow students to engage in the program on different levels based on their interests.
• Students can access the program on any device through the classlink website. The program is available any time students are and every time the student logs in the program tracks the student’s progress and participation.
• Students are provided with incentives along the way. The students will receive incentives for their participation and earn points towards prizes for their school too.
Participating “Learning Communities” include Harrison Bay, Midtown, Missionary Ridge, North River and Rock Point.
“Minutes of Learning Gained” will be posted weekly on the HCS website.
“Our district is committed to accelerating student achievement, and we believe this new program will help narrow achievement gaps in Hamilton County Schools,” Superintendent Johnson stated.
