SAINT AUGUSTINE, FL—Sixth graders at the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind Middle School are hooked on math—First In Math, that is. They are currently in first place among all sixth-grade teams in the state of Florida participating in the First In Math® Online Program, and have been working hard to get there for months.
The FSDB sixth-grade team includes: Tiffany Frazier; Simon Strowbridge; Michael 'Boyd' Moore; Tyler Powell; Dexter Turner; Eduardo Ynirio; La'Terria Hampton; Isabelle Cleveland; Reeba Brooks; Oscar Snead. Teacher Donna O'Neill pictured back row, right.
Last fall, the school received a one-year, no-cost pilot of the First In Math website, and each student received a login. Their novice sixth-grade team placed a respectable 23rd among sixth-grade classes competing across Florida. "This September, FSDB sixth graders began their work right away," explains their teacher Donna O'Neill, who has a degree in Deaf Education and Exceptional Students.
Students work on the site on their own time, according to O'Neill. "Each student accepted the challenge and jumped in to improve math skills. As a class, they set a goal to be in fifth place to earn a pizza party. By Thanksgiving, they had attained that goal. Then they set their sites on being the first-place sixth-grade team in Florida, and there seems to be no stopping them."
Each morning, O'Neill posts the FIM Rankings on her Smartboard, and students clamor to see their status. "The first time I signed on to the site and saw they were in first place, the students were very excited. I talked with a parent who said her daughter had seen it at home and was so excited that she was running around the house screaming. I love how the First In Math site really motivates my students!"
"I like the way the program aims to increase student fluency in math facts through games and competition," says O'Neill, explaining that even though many of the students are competitive she is proud of the way they encourage each other to improve. She and the other teachers, along with Principal Rebecca Hilding Wilson and Assistant Principal Martin Price, celebrated the team's success with a party, complete with a special 'First In Math' cake.
According to Price, the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind is the largest school of its type in the United States. Each year, over 70% of the graduating class continues their education at colleges, universities and technical training centers.