A NEW FAMILY MATH PROGRAM IS ADDING UP

Weighing the ingredients for a batch of homemade cookies. Counting out change at the cash register. Pairing up socks from the dryer: They’re all examples of everyday math. And for educators aiming to strengthen the academic foundation of young students at some of the lowest-performing schools in the state, they’re also perfect opportunities to teach.

That’s the idea behind a new pilot program from the California Masonic Foundation. Similar to its family literacy program, the new effort is a partnership, this one between the Foundation and the Center for Family Math, Raising a Reader, app maker PowerMyLearning, and the nonprofit Partnership for L.A. Schools. Through the partnership, students at under-resourced schools will receive take-home materials to support math fundamentals. The idea, says Holly Kreider of the Center for Family Math, is to show that anyone can be a “math person.”

The program is being introduced this January at two schools, in Watts and Boyle Heights, focusing on 2 transitional kindergarten up to second grade. Students will receive special backpacks filled with math-themed storybooks, a card game, and guides that show how math is embedded in everyday activities. In addition, an app reminds parents to do a 10-minute math activity with their child every evening. Students can upload a short video about what they learned, which their teachers can see. After beta-testing the program this fall, Kreider says, “we’re feeling pretty encouraged about it. Families report that kids are transferring the ideas to other activities at home.” The hope is that the program will ease some of the anxiety students feel around math, helping change attitudes and behaviors about the subject. Long-term research shows that early math skills are an even stronger predictor of future academic success than early literacy.

The pilot, which is being funded by a nearly $1 million grant from the California Masonic Foundation, is just the beginning. If successful, project leaders hope to expand the program to other schools throughout the state. “It’s brand new, and it’s a large investment,” Kreider says. “So it’s a privilege to have the Masonic Foundation’s trust in us.”

Doug Ismail, president of the Foundation, is bullish on the program. “For us, the exciting thing is that this has not been done here before,” he says. “This gives us a chance to be leaders in this field.”