District of Columbia Public Schools

A "Capital Commitment" to math success 

District of Columbia Public Schools was one of the first districts in the country to adopt the Common Core Standards in 2012. That same year, Chancellor Kaya Henderson rolled out a five-year Capital Commitment plan, an initiative aimed at “providing every student with a safe, academically challenging and inspiring learning experience.”

DCPS administrators and teachers set out to find new tools that would advance the Capital Commitment goals and enable students to apply the deeper learning standards of mathematical practice introduced in the Common Core. 

Enter ST Math. According to John Rice, DCPS Director of Educational Technology, Secondary Schools, ST Math stood out among its technological competitors, chiefly because of its success in other urban, metropolitan districts. Rice was encouraged that ST Math had results in Los Angeles and Detroit, and other urban areas.

Deep, conceptual math learning for all students

Fiker began that school year as a shy, introverted kindergartner at Truesdell Education Campus in DCPS. As an English language learner, he faced an additional challenge in accessing the foundational math understanding that would help him succeed in future years.

With an English Learners (EL) population of more than 60% school-wide, Truesdell Principal Mary Ann Green Stinson knew there were many others like Fiker who needed math support. In 2012, when the district offered a visual learning program ST Math as a supplement for students like Fiker, Principal Stinson saw an opportunity.

At that time, 31 DCPS schools started a trial using ST Math, thanks to funding assistance from the ST Math School Grants Program that has connected donors including Hyundai, Verizon and Capital Group to DCPS.

She has since seen ST Math bridge the wide gap the language barrier creates. Kids who don’t yet have the language skills can still participate at a high level, Stinson says, and their learning doesn’t come to a halt.

The program was a qualitative success, with 17.4 percent more ST Math students testing Proficient or Advanced on the DC Comprehensive Assessment System (DC-CAS), the state test at the time, as compared to the 4.5 percent increase for non-ST Math students.

In 2015, as anticipated, the results of DC’s first year of transitioning to PARCC provided the district with the road map for improvement in coming years.

Driving student engagement and growth mindset

In addition to deepening procedural and conceptual learning, educators know the power of positive attitudes toward math in promoting self-regulated, student-centered learning. “The kids love it and we have students spending time day and night on it,” says Rice. “Students are showing that they can responsibly own their learning.”

"The kids love it and we have students spending time day and night on it. Students are showing that they can responsibly own their learning."

Fiker, our once introverted kindergartener, has thrived since using ST Math, says Michael Redmond, Truesdell's Instructional Mathematics Coach. “We’ve seen the program support him in his traditional math class,” says Redmond, “but more than that, it’s opened up leadership opportunities for him.”

Because Fiker has reached 100% completion of ST Math with the school year still underway, he now serves as a mini-coach, helping other students master the concepts.

Overall, says Principal Stinson, ST Math has been a main driver for student engagement and for developing a growth mindset. “For students who have not been successful in school in the past, ST Math gives them the entry point for success. It’s enhanced not only their math engagement, but their overall school engagement, which is really powerful!”