12 EDCAL November 5, 2018
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SWUN
Continued from page 1
ongoing support through demo-lessons, co-
planning, and co-teaching. Site administra-
tors receive on-site coaching and monthly
professional development support.
“When we began implementing Swun
Math, our teachers immediately gravitated
to the Swun coaches because they have a
high level of expertise, understanding for
what is happening in the classroom and
what our students need,” Martinez said.
“Our teachers benefited from the amount of
experience Swun coaches had working with
other teachers in other districts.”
Twin Rivers USD has been working with
CORE districts on a growth model to mea-
sure improvement in math since Swun was
implemented. The updated data shows 41
percent of the district’s elementary schools
have experienced above-average growth.
“Implementation of Swun couldn’t just
be three days of professional development
for our teachers,” said Kristen Coates, asso-
ciate superintendent of School Leadership.
“With job embedded coaching, teachers
and principals have been positive about
Swun because there’s ongoing support and
promising results from the first year of
implementation.”
The number of Twin Rivers students
at or above standards rose 2.7 percentage
points this year in math – a rate of growth
faster than Sacramento County and the
state. There are several standout schools that
showed significant improvement in math,
from 11 percent at Pioneer Elementary to
9 percent at Rio Linda High School and 9
percent at Strauch Elementary.
Back in Highfill’s classroom, there is an
engagement factor between students and
the teacher that wouldn’t be found in your
traditional classroom. Desks are set into
groups of four and students are empowered
to be vocal and cooperative. The students
have individual whiteboards to work out
their math problems and share their results
with others in the class.
“Maybe some of you were thinking about
division using pictures, but what numbers
are you most concerned with?” Highfill
said, from the front of the classroom. “It’s
another way of thinking about the problem,
fitting multiples of five. Both will work out.”
“Swun Math scope and sequence is
developed to support teachers by providing
opportunities and different strategies for
teaching math concepts,” Coates said.
Ridgepoint Principal Jim McLaughlin
said Swun Math came at teachers quickly,
but the results in the classroom and in
testing show the payoff is real. Ridgepoint
experienced a 9 percent growth in math.
“When kids are successful it builds their
confidence,” he said. “Even if an answer is
incorrect our students see it as a learning
opportunity. They are learning from their
mistakes, practicing a growth mindset.”
Principal Jim McLaughlin engages students in a math lesson using the Swun Math program.
According to Twin Rivers administra-
tors, the experience has led to a greater
understanding of how to lead initiatives
through the system.
“It takes strong leadership and clear
focus from the top,” Coates said. “It means
an all hands on deck approach from the
Board of Trustees to the classroom, includ-
ing a commitment for ongoing support
ACSA's Resource Hub offers a plethora of useful information for school leaders on
such issues as student safety, credentialing, increasing community engagement,
deepening student learning, dealing with crises and much more.
Access resources on these and other topics at http://content.acsa.org.
directly to teachers in the classrooms.”
To join a Professional Learning Network
with Twin Rivers USD Superintendent Steve
Martinez that focuses on strengthening your
school or district’s math scores with the Swun
Math system, email your contact information
to [email protected].