The math problem didn?t stand a chance.
“What?s another way to say 100,000?” asked teacher Lisa-Ann Rush, who instructed rising sixth-graders Tuesday at Murray Hill Middle School in Laurel in basic math concepts.
Nearly all of the 17 students in the room shot their hands up into the air.
“Ten to the fifth,” they shouted, to the delight of a beaming Rush.
About 100 rising sixth-, seventh, eighth- and ninth-graders are participating in Howard County public school system?s Academic Intervention Extended Year program at Murray Hill. The program is being offered at 28 elementary and middle schools within the system to help students brush up on math and reading skills.
Students are selected based on their performance on the Maryland School Assessments and county assessments and through teacher observations and Individual Education Plans outlining education goals for special education students.
“We want to see them improve on the [Maryland School Assessments],” said Linda Monti, assistant principal at the school and lead teacher for the program at Murray Hill.
“We don?t want our students to lose ground” during the summer, said Debra Jackson, coordinator of academic intervention services for the school system.
To help high school students, prep courses are offered in subjects they must pass to graduate from high school, said Jackson.
At Murray Hill, the students were excited about participating in the program.
“I like playing the math games,” said Josh Bowley, 11, a rising sixth-grader at Murray Hill.
“The computer lab is also fun,” said Bria Carroll, 11, also a rising sixth-grader at the school.
In another room at the school, students lounged with books and completedpuzzles.
“I?ve been learning a lot,” said Raiyana Bryant, 12, a rising seventh-grader at Murray Hill, who was crowned word game winner of the day. Raiyana also said she had improved her vocabulary through the program.
“It?s getting better,” she said.
