This summer, Jenesis Wright counted among dozens of young people who spent a significant portion of their time in Southeast at Kramer Middle School with staff members and math tutors from a local university.
Like several others who attended Kramer’s Extended Learning and Academic Recovery Program, Jenesis had to make up for several hours of instruction she lost during the school year. The four-week experience, she said, allowed her to sharpen her arithmetic while confronting a lifelong problem.
“I missed school this year because I didn’t know how to get out of my shell and say what I needed, but I’m learning,” said Jenesis, a rising eighth grader at Kramer Middle School. “I learned that I’m very smart. I got to interact with people and build a bond with my tutor. It was easy only because we had things in common, even though she was older than me.”
On Tuesday, July 30, Jenesis and 24 other students from Kramer, Leckie Education Campus, and Hart Middle School wrapped up the summer learning and academic recovery program with a graduation ceremony and “Math Matters in the Garden Showcase.”
During the showcase, students presented projects they completed under the guidance of tutors from GW Math Matters. They later listened as D.C. Public School (DCPS) alumna and spoken word poet María Fernanda introduced Isabelle Strulson and Max Moordi, two District middle school students and annual Parkmont Poetry Festival participants who read their poetry before the group of students.
Teachers, parents and community members from the Uniting People with Opportunities foster grandparent program who attended the “Math Matters in the Garden Showcase” walked around a classroom to eight stations. At each station, students presented a website along with 2-D and 3-D renderings of a sustainable community garden they created.
During that part of the program, Jenesis and two of her classmates spent a significant portion of their time speaking with adults and peers about their process and what they learned along the way.
“I’m proud of myself,” Jenesis said. “I know if I wouldn’t have come to summer school, I’d still be in the seventh grade. I tell other young people to keep going. If you feel like you’re about to stop trying, just look at your future and what you could be doing.”
From the “GW Bubble” to Southeast
GW Math Matters, a high-impact tutoring program facilitated by the Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement & Public Service at The George Washington University (GW) in Northwest, reinforced several elementary and middle school-level math lessons this summer with students as they developed plans for a sustainable community garden.
Students’ final rendering of the garden included a human-size chess board, a clear, walkable pathway taking community members through the garden, seats located near vents, and plant beds spaced equally across the platform.
Along every step of students’ creative process, from the collection of survey data, to the compilation of a gardening supply budget, to the creation of 2-D and 3-D models of their imaginary community garden, students sharpened their grasp of proportions, area, and volume. They also reviewed converting fractions to decimals and percentages and took care of chia pets as a test of their ability to maintain high attendance.
“We wanted students to enjoy themselves and find the love for math that so many of us have,” said Abimbola Ogundare, the program manager at GW Math Matters. “A lot of them were upset at themselves [for being in summer school], but they warmed up to their tutors. We saw friendships form [where] some people didn’t know each other.”
Ogundare said that the eight tutors, all of whom are GW students, learned just as much this summer. Each of them, she said, provided up to six hours of classroom instruction. That experience, she pointed out, provided ample opportunity to appreciate lesson planning, classroom management and other aspects of the profession.
“They understand what teachers go through,” Ogundare said about the tutors. “I saw some who I knew would be great teachers get on that path. Kramer was also able to provide a lot of adult support. Tutors met teachers who had been doing this.”
Giving Students What They Need
GW Math Matters, now in its third year of existence, has provided high-impact tutoring at several District public middle schools. This fall, elementary schools will also be receiving those services.
During the school year, high-impact tutoring takes place in 90 minute increments in a small group setting. Rian Reed, the co-principal at Kramer’s Extended Learning and Academic Recovery Program, said that a chance meeting with GW Math Matters staff members at Johnson Middle School compelled her to bring them to Kramer for the summer.
Months before the start of summer school, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) and DCPS Chancellor Lewis D. Ferebee recognized students at Kramer for their improved attendance with a pizza party. Students who spoke to Lewis and Ferebee expressed their desire for programming that supports more middle school students.
Reed, a DCPS/GW Equity Centered Principal Pipeline fellow, echoed those sentiments, telling The Informer that nearly all of the nearly 40 students who reported to extended learning and academic recovery completed their studies with the proper resources put in place.
“All students can thrive when given the right environment and support,” Reed said. “As summer school principal, I was able to galvanize the community around students’ needs. Students were able to see how the learning applies to their real life and build their academic skills while knowing they can achieve and persevere through what comes next.”
As summer school student Verona Williams prepares to start her seventh grade year at Hart Middle School, she said she’s more confident in her math skills. “I needed more help with division,” Verona said. “I was learning the things I didn’t get.”
Those lessons, Verona said, helped her complete her sustainable gardening project. Although she admits the difficulty of the work, Verona told The Informer that she developed a love for 2-D and 3-D design.
“I learned that I’m really good at creating things, imagining things and putting them to life. It will help me for the new school year to improve my learning and try my best to succeed.”
I would like to thank my wife, Rian Reed, for bringing Math Matters staff members to the Kramer Middle School summer program and giving the students the right environment and support.