There is a massive construction project underway at Glen Park Elementary in Fort Worth.
The construction crew may be in third grade but they’re focused on building better grades with a swimming pool on the side.
"We need to count each side of these but not in the corners," said one student, while calculating dimensions.
The students are learning about perimeter and area. Their teacher gave them a job as a construction crew where they had to build things and calculate how much material they needed.
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Mid-year test scores are in for Fort Worth ISD elementary school students and the data is looking good. Across-the-board gains in both math and reading in K-5 schools.
Teachers are crediting new tools, and more freedom to teach the way they see fit, for the gains.
"I wanted kids to make connections to realize why are we learning this. Why is it important? When am I ever going to use it? So the whole idea was behind Construction and Engineering and Architecture, learning about careers within math, and how we can actually use it in real life," said Glen Park Elementary teacher, Nayeli Ballin.
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So with construction hats on, they measured, added and multiplied. The students were solving one construction problem, before switching spaces and moving on to the next.
Scores show significant improvements in math not just here at Glen Park, the district’s seeing it across Fort Worth ISD where teachers are using a new curriculum, called Dreambox. In a presentation to the FWISD Board of Trustees, administrators also showed growth in reading scores.
"What I do is, I dig into what the students need. I'm very data-driven, so seeing where they are and what they need in order to grow. And not just I have to do this, because it's sort of the curriculum tells me, 'Hey, what do the kids need in order to get to that point?' It's paid off," Ballin said.
The district is looking at giving teachers more tools to build upon the success they're experiencing and hopes the growth in the classroom continues.
