Seventh grader conquers all middle and high school workspaces.
A bright star named Lydia Jordan shines in the bustling hallways of Barboursville Middle School in Cabell County Schools, West Virginia. She set a new school record during the 2022-23 school year by completing all workspaces in MATHia for 7th grade, 8th grade, Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, SAT 1, and SAT 2!
Come along with us as we chart Lydia's journey to MATHia excellence!
Lydia's journey began with completing all 7th grade MATHia workspaces within the first nine weeks of the year, a milestone that sparked her goal of beating the school MATHia record. "Once I finished the 7th grade workspaces, I realized I had a good chance of beating the record. I stayed motivated by thinking of all the workspaces I'd already done, then continuing with them," Lydia explains, illuminating her unwavering determination.
Her teacher, Doug Force, encouraged Lydia to aim high and watched with admiration as she aced course after course. “She blew through 8th grade and Algebra. I was most impressed with her doing Advanced Algebra and Geometry problems. The only thing left we had to challenge her with was SAT 1 and SAT 2. She didn't flinch!" Mr. Force recalls.
Of course, Lydia's journey was not without challenges. "The hardest part of completing these was remembering all the proofs and theorems," she admits. Despite what many think, proofs and theorems are challenging to conquer, even for high schoolers! The smoothest leg of the journey was back at the beginning. "The easiest part of the workspaces was all of 7th grade math since I did it in 6th grade," she reflects.
Even when the road was rocky, Lydia was up for the challenge, powered by her love of math. "I think of math as one of my favorite subjects because I see it as a puzzle. When I solve a problem, I get a sense of accomplishment," she shares. "We’re immensely proud,” Lydia’s parents state. “She set a goal to complete MATHia and achieved it. We’re thrilled that she enjoys math."
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MATHia is an award-winning, intelligent math software designed to provide individual student support and insightful data.
Cabell County Schools hosts a district-wide MATHia competition to motivate students and teachers, leveraging the positive impact of MATHia on student achievement and the built-in assessment's predictive report on class and student progress. This year, Lydia and Mr. Force won the MATHia Cabell County challenge!
Mr. Force lauds the program's effectiveness in complementing classroom instruction: "MATHia is a wonderful tool for students to learn and back up what they’re getting from the teacher. It's a different way to learn because they can get personalized help. However, they can still turn to me if they get stumped."
Lydia appreciates MATHia’s design. "I like MATHia because it is organized so that you have a practice workspace before you start harder ones, giving you a chance to learn the new unit or memorize the theorems."
Lydia's inspiring journey through MATHia may have ended, but she’ll carry her mathematical talents in future adventures.
“I want to be either an astronomer or a software developer,” she shares. “Although, if I take different classes in high school and college, I may become interested in other fields of work.”
With as many talents as Lydia has, the world is her oyster! “She’s a wiz at math as well as a super artist,” Mr. Force reveals. “She does an art segment on our daily news show. Lydia is incredibly talented.”
Congratulations, Lydia, and thanks for reminding us of the limitless possibilities each student can achieve!
A former Spanish teacher who is currently based in the Washington DC metropolitan area. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish Language and Literature from la Universidad del Zulia and a Master's degree in Spanish Linguistics from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Her interests include SEL education in the world language classroom, theater, and finding ways to make the world a less scary place.
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