Most parents know it is important for their children to be good at math, and there is a wealth of research demonstrating that increased instruction and practice improves student performance. Yet too often parents don’t know how to help teach their kids elementary school math.
Several of the Parent Teacher Organizations (PTOs) across Oak Park District 97’s elementary schools are collaborating to address this challenge with a new program, Strengthening Math Advancement by Reinforcing Teaching (SMART), which provides after-hours instruction for second- through fifth-graders over Zoom.
The weekly sessions reinforce what students learn in school. Because the students will be getting direct instructional lessons in their classes in school, the SMART sessions are a supplement, focusing on strengthening their knowledge. The classes typically include a quick instructional reminder, then practice problems, math games, etc. They are taught by D97 teachers who make it fun and engaging. This is not intended to be remedial but rather reinforcing and strengthening students’ understanding.
Why Zoom? Many kids struggled with Zoom school when it was all day every day, but one-hour weekly virtual class is different — it works well for most kids. Plus, the logistical advantages of Zoom are incredible. There are no physical classrooms to reserve, manage, and clean, and no building staff are needed. COVID protocols are unnecessary. And the teachers are broadcast right into students’ homes at multiple different times — after school, evenings, and potentially even weekends — making it super-convenient. All this makes the program simple to run and extraordinarily accessible to participate.
This is all financially self-sustaining without a dime needed from the school district or taxpayers. SMART costs $12 per hour-long class, and it is free for any student who requests financial assistance, further minimizing barriers to participation.
The teachers love the program. They work hard every day to help students, but they used to be constrained by the limits of the 8 a.m.-3 p.m. school day. Most students get about five hours a week of math class in school, so another hour a week is 20% more instructional time. The teachers love having this new capability to help students. The extra cash they make teaching SMART sessions doesn’t hurt either.
There were 116 students participating in January and February, but the long game is to get over 1,000 students participating. This isn’t just for kids struggling to keep up — though they may benefit most — it is for all students. The SMART program is an opportunity to catapult the performance of our students beyond what is possible teaching only from 8 to 3.
Registration is open now through March 26 for the spring term, which will start April 11. Go to https://www.smart-oakpark.org for more information and to register.
Eric Friedman
Oak Park