Math intervention helping Oak Park students

Oak Park Unified School District has started a program to provide extra instruction for elementary school children who struggle with math.

Two instructional aides have been hired for each of the elementary school sites. The program is being paid for through Title 1 funding from the federal stimulus package, which can only be used for new intervention programs, Knight said.

"Some people think 20 (students) to one (teacher) is an ideal class size, but it's huge when teaching math and reading," said Superintendent Tony Knight. "If we're going to get kids to algebra by eighth grade we can't have math problems in elementary school. It fits right into everything else we're doing to support our primary kids."

Some of the aides have already begun work. The three elementary school principals, along with teachers, designed the program.

"Rather than us buying something, we decided that our principals and teachers are our experts. We asked them what they would need to strengthen our math program for kids who struggle," Knight said.

At Oak Hills Elementary, students who need additional math support will be pulled into small groups in or outside the classroom and retaught concepts, Principal Leslie Heilbron said.

"That's something a teacher would have difficulty doing on a regular basis with a whole classroom of children," Heilbron said. "It sort of mirrors our literacy program in that it's not in place of math instruction, it's in addition to."

Heilbron met with her instructional leadership team, which includes one teacher from each grade level, to discuss how to best utilize the math aides.

"Some people want the aide in the room while teaching the lesson to support students who may have attention issues or aren't getting it, then pulling students to the back for extra practice. Some want children in small groups because they have attention issues," Heilbron said. "Everybody who needs it is getting help."

Although the district's standardized test scores are traditionally strong, some students always have a tough time with math, Heilbron said.

"The trap that we could fall into because our scores are very high is that we could say we don't need intervention programs, but the truth is there is a handful of children, not a large group, that is struggling," Heilbron said. "Just because we do well that doesn't mean they don't need intervention.

"If we catch them now they will have far fewer problems in middle and high school."

Kindergarten is not yet part of the program as those classes already have aides who can assist students with math and other subjects, Heilbron said.

At Brookside one aide will focus on first and second grades; the other will work with grades three through five. Students to receive small group instruction with an aide will be selected by the teacher based on test scores, progress toward math standards and the need for a more hands-on approach, Principal Debra Burgher said.

Supplemental materials will be added as the program develops. The school hopes to include kindergarten at some point.

"We are very excited about adding this program and know our students will all benefit from the extra attention," Burgher said.

At Red Oak the math aides will also work with individual students in and out of the classroom. Students may be grouped together from different grade levels to work on common concepts, said Principal Jon Duim. Aides will also work with students who are ready to advance in a particular math concept.

"The instructional aide is in the classroom to hear the teacher's math presentation so that the students do not miss instructional time and so that the aide is reinforcing the learned concepts in the same manner that the teacher demonstrated," Duim said.

One aide is working with first through third grades, the other with fourth- and fifth-grade classes.

"Since most math knowledge builds upon previously learned knowledge, it is important for students to master learning the concepts to prepare them for the math road ahead," Duim said.