PTA Volunteer Makes Math Fun

Barbara Chen

An elementary school PTA member works with others to increase student achievement through math games and puzzles.

by Patty Catalano

05/05/2022

Each day, dozens of students at Jefferson Elementary in Richland, Wash., skip recess to play Shut the Box and Math Fact Bingo. These are just two of the games that PTA board member Barbara Chen crafted for her novel curriculum initiative, Math Masters, which she’s counting on to boost student achievement at the low-income school.

“I started Math Masters as a way of making the mastery of math facts fun for all the kids,” she explains. As program facilitator, Chen leads about 50 volunteers (including teachers) who help run the games. She also coordinates written math tests for students, tracks their progress on a “wall of fame,” and arranges student awards for assemblies.

Chen previously served two terms as PTA treasurer; she piloted Math Masters at Jefferson in spring 2009. Since then, students can’t seem to get enough game time.

The mom of 4th grader Sebastian, Chen has a background in economics and fine arts; her creative flair is evident in the Math Mosaics game: Students work on laminated grids with squares that contain math problems. When the color-coded answer tiles are placed correctly on the grid, a picture mosaic appears. “It’s relaxing, and they don’t realize how many times they have run math facts through their heads while doing these,” Chen says. “They are so focused on solving the mosaic that it feels more like coloring than math facts to them.”

The program has created multiple volunteer opportunities at school, too. “Parents have been able to help make new games by cutting foam tiles, sticking stickers on games, making custom game cards, and other odd tasks,” she says.

Although the program is too young to have a documented track record, it has already been getting rave reviews. “Teachers have told us we have helped take the drudgery out of improving math fact skills, and that they see improvement in their students that regularly attend Math Masters,” Chen says. She is currently writing a manual for future chairpeople of the program and says she hopes to implement it districtwide, too.

Comments   

# Brandy Linn 2012-05-09 20:01
Math nights are always tricky as many parents have as big of an aversion to the subject as their kids. To try and help encourage parental involvement, one of our assembly presenters put together a math program that is centered around money (after all, what kid does not like money).
# lej 2018-02-13 20:32
how can I find out more about this program?I'd like to gradually introduce it to my school if possible
# Lani @ PTO Today 2018-02-14 13:52
Hi, lej -- Unfortunately, we don't have any additional info on the program; it was the initiative of this particular parent, who was involved with her school/PTA back in 2010. You could try contacting the school directly to see whether they still run the program; the school website is http://www.rsd.edu/schools/jefferson/ . -- Lani @ PTO Today

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