Student Success Spotlight: Jeremias Landaverde-Andrade

We’re excited to spotlight an exceptional student we met recently!

Jeremias Landaverde-Andrade is a true mathematical thinker who exudes curiosity and perseverance. A recent graduate of Edith Smith Middle School of Waukegan Public Schools, Illinois, Jeremias is so passionate about math that he gets animated talking about the slope formula, calculating surface area, geometric proofs, and the six books about math he currently has checked out.

“It all started last summer when I saw a book at a store. A book called Everything You Need To Ace Math In One Big Fat Notebook,” Jeremias shares. “Now, since I was really into math, I decided to get it. Reading the whole book, I learned quite a lot of stuff.”

Throughout all three years of middle school, Jeremias' unbounded math growth was facilitated by our blended math solution, MATHbook + MATHia, and fueled by his love of math.

The Resources To Soar

On the morning of Jeremias’ middle school graduation, he and the school’s instructional math coach Elvia Uriostegui and district math coordinator Patrick Cole reflect on Jeremias’ outstanding accomplishments.

After whizzing through our Middle School Math Solution, Jeremias has also made good headway through our high school materials.

“Jeremias is in Mr. Meneses’ eighth-grade class, but Mr. Meneses personalizes his learning,” explains Uriostegui. “He gave Jeremias a Carnegie Learning geometry high school MATHbook, and he finished that. So Mr. Meneses also assigned him MATHia workspaces that involve trigonometry.”

MATHbook is the consumable textbook and MATHia is the intelligent software of our core math program. 

Omar Clovis Meneses shares, "Among the many tools at hand, Carnegie Learning became one that allowed Jeremias to work on high school content. This tool combined with Jeremias’ attitude to give the best of himself meant he was able to complete content for Algebra 2, Trigonometry, and Geometry. For Jeremias, the sky really is the limit."

But that’s not all.

“Jeremias also advocates for himself,” Uriostegui beams. “He attends the algebra course we have here–it didn’t fit his schedule, so he’s here during his lunch period.”

It’s a joy to see how Jeremias has been able to pursue his mathematical curiosity at his own accelerated pace. Cole comments, “The material that Carnegie Learning has provided is giving him the resources and avenues to enrich his learning, as well as doing the grade-level material.”

Jeremias’ Favorite Part of MATHia

“The thing I really like most about Carnegie Learning is the tools they offer and the methods to solve problems,” Jeremias shares, “because I think that's what kept me working on more workspaces. Like, you can use the Step-By-Step example.”

Step-By-Step is a tool in MATHia that takes the learner through an example problem step by step so they can solve similar problems in the workspace on their own.

“So let’s say I got an answer wrong,” Jeremias continues. “It tells me what I should do to solve the equation, so next time when another problem comes up with the same situation, I already know what to do.”

Jeremias has worked so hard on MATHia that he has completed 291 out of 309 workspaces this school year, at a 94.2% completion rate and a 99 average performance score.

Collaborative Problem-Solving

Jeremias is a natural problem-solver, which is why he loves playing chess as a member of the games club. He brings that skill to the classroom, where he helps his classmates understand mathematical concepts.

Uriostegui recalls a classroom visit when she noticed Jeremias doing this.

“When I observed Jeremias in class, he came up with some mathematical rules by himself,” Uriostegui recounts. “He saw some patterns and he shared that with his team. I think that's the exploratory piece in the program where the kids are doing the talking and thinking. And that’s a big part of my push for Carnegie Learning.”

A guiding principle of our math solution is that learning is a human endeavor, which means that we learn best when we learn with each other. MATHbook is designed to foster critical thinking and collaborative learning with a bottom-up approach that places learning in the hands of the students rather than the traditional top-down approach of the teacher as the sage on the stage.

Cole remarks, “Carnegie Learning is giving our students opportunities to work with each other and mentor each other, so that's an excellent way to boost their confidence and the confidence of their classmates.” 

Jeremias says, “It makes me feel good to help my friends do math because it helps not only me but others too.”

Student of the Year

This year, Jeremias has been recognized as the school’s Student of the Year for his math and reading achievements. He is proud to have scored 286 on the MAP assessment, placing him in the 99th percentile nationally for 8th grade.

Jeremias is the inaugural recipient of Student of the Year, a tradition Uriostegui is excited to continue for many years. 

“It's just fulfilling to hear that everything we're doing here at Edith Smith, using the tools that Carnegie Learning provides us, is pushing our students forward,” Uriostegui expresses. “Our vision is to focus on the quality of instruction, on giving the tools to our students to be successful. And I think Jeremias is an example of what we're trying to aim at, and he's just one of the many kids we want to recognize. I think our team is progressing on building that quality instruction in the classroom, and I think Carnegie Learning is helping us do that.”

A Math-Filled Future

What’s in store for this impressive young man’s future?

In the short term, Jeremias is going to finish reading a book on pre-calculus and learn about quadratic equations. Eventually, he plans to apply his talents to solving real-world problems as an engineer.

“Thanks to Carnegie Learning for giving me the opportunity to learn more about real-life situations to apply math. That's what I'm grateful for,” Jeremiah shares.

As he gets ready to move up to high school, he shares some advice for fellow students who are about to start working in MATHbook + MATHia.

“My advice is that although things might get tough at first, just keep on going because I kept going even when it was getting harder. The moral of the story is, don't give up and just keep chasing your dream.”

We couldn't agree more with Uriostegui and Cole as we wrap up our conversation with them: “We’re quite proud of him!”