Category Archives: Math Matters

Filling the International Skills Gap, Together

By Emily Elliott
Executive Director

A recent commentary in Education Week by Christopher T. Cross made the case for rigorous educational standards in the United States. Under the banner “Common Core,” we have seen rigorous standards face some degree of controversy, but few would argue against holding a high bar of excellence for United States citizens, especially paired with statistics showing the U.S. is slipping in international metrics.

Cross cites that the U.S. tied for last place of 22 nations in numeracy and ranked 20th … continue reading

Congratulations, Heart Students and Tutors! 96% Meet Growth Goals

By Emily Elliott, Executive Director
With school wrapping up and students away for the summer, we want to reflect on and celebrate what has been accomplished by Heart’s 236 students, with the help of their tutors, this year.

Students are enrolled in Heart based on the recommendation of their teachers. Typically, these students are one to two years below grade level in math and are missing foundational math concepts (counting, more vs. less, base-ten, place value).

These concepts form the building blocks of understanding how … continue reading

Volunteer With HEART: Chris Brown

Chris Brown tutors a first grader and a third grader at Highland Renaissance Academy in NoDa. Chris started in September after learning about the opportunity through the Volunteer Portal at Bank of America, where he works. Bank of America is one of our Community Partners.

Why do you volunteer?
“I have always enjoyed volunteering. From talking with friends who work with Teach for America in the Charlotte area, I knew how much help was needed in public schools, especially at the elementary school level. Being … continue reading

Immeasurable Fun At Highland Renaissance Academy

HEART tutor Eleanor Funderburg and her student at Highland Renaissance Academy got creative with the cubes recently while working on estimating and measuring with the Counting Notebook.

The goal for the student is to know more than just the rote memorization of the list of numbers. He needs to understand one-to-one correspondence, so he practices picking up one cube with each number. He learns that each number is represented by a group of cubes, and he determines what a numeral looks like in writing, on … continue reading

Chicago Math Tutoring Program Delivers Big Changes

If you have ever questioned whether individualized, intensive tutoring and positive relationships can make a difference, Match Education’s ground-breaking program in Chicago is more proof that it’s absolutely possible.

A column in The New York Times spotlighted some of the incredible results achieved by the math program for 1,300 students in 12 public high schools.

Developed by Match Education in Boston, which seeks to correct the “mismatch” in academic preparedness common among minority students in impoverished areas, the program provides two-on-one math tutoring for … continue reading