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Illinois School Districts Offer Elementary Students New Math Program That Meets Them in Their Digital World

Posted on: Tuesday, 11 March 2008, 09:01 CDT

GLENVIEW, Ill., March 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Next school year, more than 50,000 Illinois elementary students will be learning math from a new program that meets them in the digital world in which they live.

School districts across Illinois, including one of the state's largest and fastest growing, have chosen the enVisionMATH program from the education company Pearson. The first-of-its-kind elementary math curriculum combines visual animation and next-generation technologies with a comprehensive foundation in math skills that will prepare students for success in middle and high school and on into college.

enVisionMATH was developed by Pearson's Illinois-based elementary school publishers at Scott Foresman and the nation's top math experts in conceptual development, problem-solving and visual learning instructional strategies in collaboration with classroom teachers.

Four years in the making, enVisionMATH is a research-based program that blends visual animations and compelling graphic text centered on conceptual understanding and helping students develop their reasoning ability for problem-solving -- the critical foundation for higher level math they will need to succeed in college and in their careers. Published in both English and Spanish, enVisionMATH's strong, visual learning design includes a Visual Learning Bridge in each lesson, with step-by-step visuals that bridge the gap between the interactive learning activity and guided practice.

One of the largest and fastest growing districts in Illinois, Plainfield Community Consolidated School District #202 is among the first districts nationwide to choose this innovative new math program for its elementary students. Through a teacher-driven, three-year process, the school district developed an elementary math curriculum designed to help its students meet Illinois' State Learning Standards and prepare for success in high school and beyond. Then they went looking for resources that aligned with and supported that curriculum.

Out of 12 programs reviewed, "enVisionMATH did the best job of meeting our new math curriculum with no breaks or gaps," said Cathie Pezanoski, director of elementary curriculum and instruction. Additionally, enVisionMATH includes interventions and is designed to help this diverse school district meet the needs of its English Learners, and gifted and special education students. "We also wanted a program that used technology as part of daily instruction. With enVisionMATH, the digital portion can be used by students at home, helping us to continue to strengthen the home-school learning partnership," Pezanoski added.

After piloting the math program, central Illinois' Decatur Public Schools #61 also selected enVisionMATH for its more than 6,000 elementary students. "By learning with enVisionMATH, I think our students' scores will go up and they will be better able to compete in the world economy," said Jewel Grady, elementary math resources specialist. "Best of all, I think they will develop a love of math."

In addition to Plainfield and Decatur, some of the other Illinois schools and districts that have already selected enVisionMATH as their elementary math curriculum are:

Carnegie Elementary School (Chicago Public Schools) Elwood Community Consolidated School District #203 (Elwood) Fairview South School District #72 (Skokie) Genoa-Kingston Community Unit School District #424 (Genoa) Herscher School District #2 (Herscher) Indian Springs School District #109 (Justice) Marsh Elementary School (Chicago Public Schools) Meridian Community Unit School District #223 (Ogle County) Midwest Central Unit School District #191(Manito) Mokena School District #159 (Mokena) Rockton School District #140 (Rockton) Sandwich Community Unit School District #430 (DeKalb County) West Chicago Elementary School District #33 (West Chicago)

For more information and to see a video and demonstration of enVisionMATH, go to http://www.envisionmath.com/

About Pearson

Pearson is the global leader in educational publishing, assessment, information and services, helping people of all ages to learn at their own pace, in their own way. For students preK-12, Pearson provides effective and innovative curriculum products in all available media, educational assessment and measurement for students and teachers, student information systems, and teacher professional development and certification programs. The company's respected brands include Scott Foresman, Prentice Hall, AGS, PowerSchool, SuccessMaker, TeacherVision and many others. Pearson's comprehensive offerings help inform targeted instruction and intervention so that success is within reach of every student. Pearson's other primary businesses include the Financial Times Group and the Penguin Group.

Pearson

CONTACT: Kate Miller of Pearson, +1-800-745-8489,kate.miller@pearson.com

Web site: http://www.pearsoned.com/http://www.envisionmath.com/

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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