WASHINGTON, D.C.—Capitalizing on the popularity of the NCAA basketball playoffs, District of Columbia Public Schools kicked off a district-wide First in Math March Madness competition of their own. In the end, Simon Elementary School students carried through on an amazing Cinderella story and secured the win.
Simon ES students hoist a First In Math trophy after their big win. FIM Rankings show that Simon also advanced from #64 to #16 in the district’s Top Schools category – a significant achievement. Photo courtesy Josh Park.
The seeded, single elimination-style competition included 64 First In Math Teams. There were three major upsets in the Elite Eight round, and when the dust settled the Final Four were Anne Beers ES, Hyde-Addison ES, MacFarland MS and last but not least eventual champion Simon ES, who began the tournament seeded 64th and defeated #8 seed Shepherd ES.
“The March Madness tournament was a fun way for our students to increase their math skills, and I am hopeful that it will become an annual event,” says Coordinator of Blended Learning Dana Britt. “We created the competition around the First In Math Online Program because it already features a built-in competition component that provides motivation and sustains high activity levels among our students.”
To advance through each round of the playoffs, competing schools had to solve more math problems per-student on average than their opponent over the course of a two-day period. Simon students correctly solved more than 440,000 math problems during the three weeks of competition.
Britt says that she received a lot of positive feedback from teachers and principals who felt that the competition was a great way to get students interested in using the program outside of regular school hours. According to Britt, “DCPS is breaking new ground by combining online tools, such as First In Math, along with face-to-face instruction in multiple new blended-learning programs.”
Britt says there are a couple of things she might change for next year, but overall, she is very proud of how much work the schools put into the competition. “Simon Principal Adelaide Flamer told me that some students were arriving at 7:15 in the morning, giving up recess, and staying late in order to win. That kind of dedication not only wins competitions, but also builds improved test scores and a thriving school community!” Read related FIM N&N story