While basketball fans watched the NCAA March Madness playoff games in the month of March, more than 7,900 schools and one million students from around the country competed in the bracket-style “March Math Madness” contest sponsored by the EdTech company Imagine Learning. On Friday, administrators and teachers at the Pierre Van Cortlandt School in Croton-Harmon learned that their school had finished in the number one spot in New York State.
Based on the average number of online Imagine Math lessons students pass, schools around the country competed head-to-head in elimination rounds, completing digital math lessons until the top math schools were left standing. In the qualifying rounds, students across the country spent millions of hours on the Imagine Math program and solved millions of complex problems.
Assistant Principal Lauren Scollins, math and science teacher Jennifer Rescigno, and Principal Michael Plotkin
“Being number one in New York State is a fabulous accomplishment,” said PVC Principal Michael Plotkin. “We are so proud of our students, who have worked frenetically to solve their problems and compete in math.” In all, schools across the state of New York participated in the challenge and all PVC students in grade 5-8 participated.
The month-long event mimicked the March Madness bracket, with each class receiving credit for every lesson successfully completed. The class with the most lessons successfully completed advanced to the next bracket. Students checked the progress, which was updated on a bracket poster outside the PVC Welcome Center.
On Friday, the PVC home room with the best scores, taught by Alison Romm and math teacher Erica Camilo, celebrated their school-wide win with Mr. Plotkin, Assistant Principal Lauren Scollins, math and science teacher Jennifer Rrescigno, Mary Lynn Collins and Raheela Baig of the Lower Hudson Regional Information Center, and Imagine Learning’s Adele Winter. The students were surprised with end-of-the-day balloons, a trophy and a certificate from Imagine Learning.
The goal of the contest is to help get students excited about doing math, said Ms. Winter. The contest has been taking place for a decade, and each year, more students participate, she said. Imagine Learning is the leading provider of supplemental math, language, and literacy programs for preK-8 students. The company provides game-based engagement woven into evidence-based learning that is fun for students and effective at improving student outcomes. The programs focus on core learning areas, with activities and lessons built specifically to address national and state standards.
Congratulations to PVC and all our math students for a job well done!