Kidder County Finds Success with Math Corps Program
Updated: Dec 8, 2020
Only 34% of our nation’s eighth-grade students are proficient in math (NAEP 2017), representing a critical roadblock to high school graduation and future economic success. As a strategy to address this critical need, Math Corps members will be trained to use research-based interventions to help students in Grade 4-8 to achieve math proficiency. Math Corps members will tutor students for 90 minutes each week until students demonstrate proficiency in grade-level skill areas as measured by scores on the STAR Math assessment.
Kidder County Public School has already found success with Math Corps. Kasey Kallenbach, Title 1 Math Teacher at Kidder County, said they currently have 16 students in grades 4-6 enrolled in their Math Corps Program. Kallenbach reported that after their first 9 weeks of the program they had 4 students who improved by more than 110 points on their scaled score of the STAR test. The overall improvement of all students in the program was an average of 40 points on the scaled score of the STAR test.
Kidder County Math Corps Tutor, Shauna Barnick said, "One of the best things to witness while being a tutor with Math Corps is seeing the transformation in a student. The joy it brings when they understand what is being asked and becoming more confident when answering problems presented to them is amazing!"
Kallenbach said, "As a math instructor, I appreciate that the Math Corps program is geared towards our upper elementary and junior high students. Having a rigorous intervention program that helps these students further prepare for higher-level math is a great benefit for the students in our school."
Math Corps is being piloted in the following area schools: Wilton, Underwood, Kidder Co. Elgin/New Leipzig, and Bismarck with tutors still needed in Underwood, Elgin/New Leipzig, and Bismarck. For more information about applying for Math Corps in your school or to apply to be a tutor please visit www.ndmathcorps.org or contact Lindsey Phillips at lindsey.phillips@k12.nd.us