Yale tutors show students how ‘America Counts’ — Math Tutor – Oceanside – Carlsbad – Vista

From:http://archives.news.yale.edu/

New Haven youngsters are building their mathematical muscles with the help of Yale students through the America Counts tutoring program.

Every afternoon at 1:30 p.m., 5th-graders at Fair Haven Middle School anxiously await the Yale students who are tutoring them in math and preparing them for the Connecticut Mastery Test.

The America Counts program is a federally sponsored initiative that focuses on increasing the mathematical achievement of students from kindergarten through ninth grade. It is part of a growing national movement to ensure that students will master basic math skills and have a solid math foundation by 8th and 9th grades, both of which are essential for college preparation. College students and other adults who have an interest in mathematics are encouraged to serve as tutors and mentors in local schools and community centers. The 63 participating Yale students are paid through a federal work-study program by the University’s Office of New Haven and State Affairs. The program is one of many education partnerships between Yale and New Haven public schools.

Math supervisor Pamela Barker-Jones worked with Yale student coordinators Enoch Wu ’03 of Morse College and Jacques Pouhe ’03 of Trumbull College to create a curriculum for the pilot. She notes that 5th-graders need a lot of direct math instruction and support to prepare them for the math section of the Connecticut Mastery Test, which is administered in the 6th grade.

Having the Yale tutors supplement math instruction “is a neat way to achieve class size reduction on a weekly basis,” Barker-Jones says.

Improving math performance in 5th grade will have a positive effect on the upper grades, she notes. “We won’t be able to improve high school math skills unless we start with a good foundation in the lower grades.”

Representatives from the University and the New Haven Public Schools witnessed this numerical initiative first-hand on April 3 when they visited a component of the program to mark the celebration of April as national Mathematics in Education Month.

Bruce Alexander, vice president and director of Yale’s Office of New Haven and State Affairs, and Dr. Reginald Mayo, New Haven’s superintendent of schools, visited Fair Haven Middle School’s 5th grade, which is temporarily located at 560 Ella Grasso Blvd. while the school’s facility on Grand Avenue is being renovated.

Mayo says the school system chose to pilot the program with Fair Haven Middle School’s 5th grade because the grade is contained in one building, the school was enthusiastic about participating and 5th grade is a critical time for math knowledge.

“Students begin learning statistics, geometry and measurement in fifth grade,” he notes. “Students get the building blocks for math in kindergarten through fourth grade. Fifth grade is when they begin having to apply what they’ve learned.”

Yale also participates in the America Reads program, an initiative to help all children gain the ability to read independently and on grade level by the third grade. Studies have shown that 40% of the nation’s children are not reading well enough by the end of 3rd grade, but that sustained individualized attention can markedly raise reading levels, especially when combined with parental involvement. This initiative also encompasses family literacy. Over 500 Yale students have participated as tutors working one-on-one with young children since the America Reads program’s inception in 1999.

— By Thomas Violante