Greene County High School, Greene County School District, Mississippi
eMATH Curricula Provides Affordability and Adaptability
Diane Box has been an educator for 17 years, including 12 years teaching mathematics at Greene County High School in Mississippi. She first discovered eMATHinstruction (eMATH) in 2014 and the curricula is now used by math teachers in 6th grade through high school in her school district.
For a rural school district with limited funding, Diane says that eMATH is a perfect fit. The materials are high quality and easy to use at an affordable price point through the Teacher Plus membership, which she says has enabled teachers to use eMATH as their primary curricula for math.
The lessons build on each other and Diane says that the materials are easy to adjust and adapt as needed. The editable Microsoft Word files available through the Teacher Plus membership are especially helpful, according to Diane, because they enable her to easily customize assessments. Additionally, she says the videos created by eMATH’s founder, Kirk Weiler, can help teachers prepare for lessons and aid students who need additional support learning a concept.
[As a rural school], we don’t have a whole lot of resources. I buy a lot out of my pocket. We have limited money. [eMATH] has been a good resource for us, because it doesn’t cost a whole lot. What we have right now works really well for us.
Diane Box, Mathematics Teacher
eMATH Implementation
[eMATH] is challenging for some [students], of course. But they know what’s expected out of them and you have to teach them how to respond to some of it. Once they adapt to it and figure out the format, how to read the questions, apply it and the reasoning, they end up doing really well with it, even our lower level students. I think it benefits them because it develops their critical thinking, reasoning, and application skills, rather than just working a plain problem. It’s really helped in that aspect.
Diane Box, Mathematics Teacher
eMATH Contributes to Student Achievement in Math
At Greene County High School, they use the eMATH lesson plans, homework sets, videos, assessments, and more, which Diane says has led to success for both the students and teachers. She says that eMATH curricula has helped improve students’ critical thinking and application skills, as well as their test scores. In 2017-2018, 57.9% of students at the high school scored Proficient or Advanced on the statewide math assessment. This increased to 66.4% in 2021-2022, despite the school’s high rate of chronic absenteeism. Teachers in 6th, 7th, and 8th grades recently began using eMATH materials in their classrooms and Diane says she has already noticed a significant improvement in the knowledge and skills of the students entering her Algebra I classroom.
eMATH Materials Enable Flexibility for Block Scheduling
The high school utilizes block scheduling, which means that class periods are longer and students attend fewer classes each day. Diane has easily adapted the eMATH curricula to fit her schedule so that she can cover all of the content. Some days, she will teach 2-3 lessons in a single class period and other days she will only teach one lesson if it’s a concept that students are struggling to understand. She adjusts her pacing to match the students’ needs and uses the unit reviews as pre-screeners to help her plan ahead for each unit. Diane says she can move more quickly through the lessons with students who already have a foundation in eMATH from middle school.