SILVER SPRING, MD—In their first year of participation in the First In Math Online Program, Saint Francis International School captured the #1 spot in Maryland and ranked #24 in the National Top Ten competition among all grade levels.
Archdiocese of Washington Superintendent of Schools Deacon Bert L'Homme, Ph.D., joins SFIS administrators Br. Gerald Hopeck and Mrs. Patty Ruppert in distributing certificates and awards to students who achieved the FIM Mathematician level.
“We are so thrilled that our students have performed so well in this first year of deployment,” says Principal Tobias A. Harkleroad, M.Ed. Students in grades K through 8 were extremely motivated and every Team placed among the top 20 in the nation at their grade level. “The second-grade class was amazing, ranking #4 in the entire USA among all second-grade teams,” says Mr. Kevin Fosko, technology teacher and First in Math coordinator. Second-grader Mathew Dawit had the highest sticker-count in the school.
According to Harkleroad, First in Math was brought to Saint Francis International School in September of 2013 as part of an ongoing effort to strengthen students’ math skills. “We are a very diverse Catholic school—78% of our children have immigrant parents and 62% of our children qualify for free and reduced meals.” Harkleroad credits Franciscan Brother Gerald Hopeck, Co-Principal, for bringing First in Math to the Silver Spring school.
“I had experience using First in Math during a previous assignment at a Catholic school in Philadelphia where First in Math use was seen as a direct influence on increased standardized test scores in mathematics,” says Br. Gerald, who was the Assistant Principal at St. Thomas Aquinas School in Philadelphia in 2007. (Read: Terra Nova Scores increase after implementing the FIM program) “I think it can help push us toward our goal of becoming a Blue Ribbon School.”
“The students at Saint Francis enjoy using First in Math as a learning tool, but we also employed incentive strategies throughout the year to keep them excited about participating,” explains Hopeck, who says that even winter snow days were a big part of Saint Francis International School’s success. “On snow days Principal Harkleroad would issue challenges by Facebook and phone blasts, encouraging students and their parents to use the time at home to work on First in Math. We saw some of our biggest gains in the rankings on those snow days; snow days became math days!”
On May 5, Saint Francis presented all students with a trophy representing their achievement. Individually, 20 students who reached the Champion level and 10 reaching Grand Champion status received medals in recognition of their accomplishment. More than 50% of the students in the school reached the Mathematician-level goal, which FIM creator Robert Sun believes is key to a successful program. To honor their accomplishment, Sun is giving each of the students who reached the Mathematician level a limited Anniversary Edition 24 game—an incentive for sunny days to become math days as well!