It Adds Up

Allen Park School District’s Math Instructional Coaching Program began at the start of the 2022-23 school year and in just a short time has added up to incredible success for students and teachers at the elementary level. The goal of the program is to provide professional support in the teaching and learning of mathematics, both for teachers and students, at the elementary level.

Three highly qualified and dedicated “coaches” are running the programs at three Allen Park elementary schools. Jerry Lafferty, who has worked for 20 years in Allen Park Public Schools, is the coach at Bennie Elementary; Erin Jackson, who also has taught in Allen Park schools for 20 years, is the coach at Arno Elementary; and Malinda Latigo, who has spent 29 years in education in Allen Park schools, is the coach at Lindemann Elementary.

“Our program believes it is critical to address the gaps in foundational math skills at the elementary level before those gaps get too big,” Latigo said. “The intervention assistance has been well received by parents and students alike. Students are eager to work with the instructional aides and look forward to their math time together.”

Lafferty said parents are “supportive and welcoming” of the additional support they provide their students.

“This has been a welcome addition to the Allen Park Public School system and we are grateful for the opportunity to help develop this program,” he said.

Jackson noted that the Allen Park Public School system is currently above the state average for percentage of students who are at or above grade-level proficiency in third grade.

“Wayne County Regional Education Agency (WCRESA) has complimented our district on improving mathematics instruction and test scores,” she said. “We are on a fast track to recovery from the impact of COVID on student learning and are very proud of what we have been able to accomplish in just a short amount of time.”

Students are given the NWEA (Northwest Evaluation Association) assessment three times per year in both language arts and math. Students’ proficiency levels are evaluated, and if necessary, students are screened further to identify specific areas of need. Coaches then make recommendations for intervention groups.

Each elementary building has two instructional aides who work with individual students, as well as small groups of students providing additional support. The math coaches oversee the implementation of intervention groups and monitor standardized assessment data throughout the year, making sure to make instructional adjustments as needed.

Students are progress monitored bi-weekly using the FastBridge assessment system.

“Research suggests early math skills are a significant predictor of academic success,” Latigo said. “The more math-oriented activities kids do before kindergarten, the better they’ll understand math in school. Evidence points to early addition and subtraction being an innate ability. Toddlers are natural sorters.”

The National Association for Education of Young Children notes that young children are building scientific inquiry skills when they sort, compare, describe, and put things in order in terms of observable characteristics.

“Children are rightfully fascinated by variability in size,” Lafferty said. “Measurement can help develop other areas, including reasoning and logic. Also, by its very nature, measuring connects two critical domains of early mathematics – geometry and number.”

Aides work with students using a research-based intervention program called Moving with Math Foundations.

“This program is a manipulatives-based curriculum that uses a CRA approach to intervention – concrete, representational, abstract,” Jackson said. “This progression assists students in developing their understanding of mathematical concepts while simultaneously filling in gaps in foundational math skills.”