Jubilee Academies-Kingsville, TX Scores Big in Math

Jubilee Academies-Kingsville began using the Carnegie Learning Middle School Math Solution (with Algebra 1) in 2017, and has seen extraordinary results. Steven M. Solis, Associate Director, says, “Before Carnegie Learning, we had struggles. This program has really helped us—we’ve seen a turnaround in our students, and we’ve seen a turnaround in our scores.”

They began their implementation with Professional Learning services with Peter Carellas, a Carnegie Learning Master Math Practitioner. “The Carnegie Learning training made an impact on our campus,” Principal Joseph Acevedo says. “The amount of classroom support and feedback we got from Peter was very helpful. I also give a lot of credit to our middle school math teacher, Ms. Aurora Ovalle. As soon as she received materials and training, she started to implement with fidelity. She always made sure that her instruction was aligned to Carnegie Learning.”

A New Way of Learning

Ms. Ovalle says, “My favorite part of Carnegie Learning is that students can explore mathematical concepts first, so they have a better understanding when we get into the content. The kids have to really think outside the box.” Ameley Harris, math coach, agrees. “When you see light bulbs turn on during the exploration, you see the students buy in.” She also appreciates the ability to pace instruction with the Carnegie Learning Scope & Sequence. “Ms. Ovalle is able to finish every unit ahead of time so she has enough time to go back and review before students have to take the STAAR exam. There is plenty of time for reviewing the areas where students need to focus.” 

MATHia, the adaptive learning software in the Carnegie Learning Math Solution, gives Ms. Ovalle insight into exactly where each student needs to focus. In addition to classroom group instruction, students work on MATHia for 65 minutes a day in their math lab with an interventionist. “MATHia played a big part in our success,” Principal Acevedo says. “Ms. Ovalle always makes sure to monitor student progress. Any time we have her in a meeting or any time she has a break, she goes to the math lab to check that students are doing what they need and that the interventionist has the support that he needs. She is always on LiveLab, checking reports.” (LiveLab is a live facilitation tool within MATHia that shows teachers exactly where each student is in real-time so they can guide and intervene as needed.)

Ms. Ovalle says, “We truly love MATHia. It helps drive what’s in the textbook, and it gives me a good opportunity to meet with kids 1:1 or in groups if they’re struggling with a certain topic. It’s also great for helping students master concepts—going at their own pace really helps. I also love the updates Carnegie Learning makes throughout the year to make MATHia better.”

The Results

The team has seen a positive change in their students over the course of using the program. Ms. Ovalle says, “Students love debating with each other. They’re actually talking about math! Their vocabulary has increased. The process has increased. They are able to take ownership of their learning.” Steven Solis says, “As an admin, when I go into the classroom, I see the students engaged and liking math.”

This has also been reflected in their math scores, which have outpaced reading scores for the first time, according to Daniel Amador, Chief Academic Officer. “Since we started using Carnegie Learning, we see a trend of higher math scores,” he says. “This is not a vendor partnership. This is a family partnership. We’ve had really good support from the onset, from reps to account management. We have a strong math team with top scores in our district. It validates what you can do when you implement the Carnegie Learning program with fidelity.”

The team at Jubilee Academy-Kingsville is pleased with these outcomes and excited about the future. Principal Acevedo says, “We’re very happy with Carnegie Learning. The fact that we’ve seen the results we’ve seen and are consistently seeing it over a 3 year period is very exciting to us.”