Math in the Lower School

Three years ago, Buckley implemented the Singapore Math Program, Math in Focus, in the Lower School. It was first introduced in kindergarten, first and second grades. Last year we moved it into third grade and this year into fourth grade.

 

Perhaps what impresses us most about this program is the level of thinking and understanding that children are able to do. The program helps students to monitor and explain their thinking. They learn that there are often several ways to arrive at a correct answer.

 

The program at each grade level is based upon skills taught at the previous grade, so we realized that proper transitioning is very important for the program to be successful.

 

Equally important for the success of this program is professional development for the teachers. We continue to provide this on a regular basis for our teachers.

 

On November 8^th, Mr. Andrew Clark presented a math workshop at Buckley for teachers and parents. Mr. Clark is a consulting author for the Math in Focus program. He was instrumental in bringing Singapore Math to the United States. Mr. Clark was the Math director for the Portland School district and has taught math at every grade level k-12. He worked with the teachers during the day, providing professional development at grade levels K-4. In the evening, he presented a workshop for parents that was very informative and well-received by the parents.

 

Additionally,Helen Yang, mother of Tyler Deng '23 and Managing Director of Ares Capital Corporation, came to speak to the third graders about applying math in everyday life. Check out the full article here!

 

Look out for more Lower School updates in future newsletters!