Students take time to do the Stride Academy computer program at Minor Elementary. (Photo by: Chanda Temple)
By Chanda Temple
Special to The Times
Students at Minor Elementary are improving their math and reading skills through technology.
In fall 2015, the school started using the Stride Academy computer program, which provides online assignments to meet a student’s needs in math and reading.
Students log into the program with a password and take an initial assessment. They are then given various computer exercises to help strengthen their academics. The computer grades the child on the responses given and then adjusts future assignments to address a child’s weaknesses and strengths in math, science and reading.
The computer exercises challenge students on everything from basic reading skills to advanced skills across the board.
The Stride Academy computer program offers different exercises to test students’ skills in math, science and reading. This exercise involved a math problem. (Photo: Chanda Temple)
“Stride Academy is an adaptive learning program that personalizes learning for every student, based on their needs,’’ said Theris Johnson, federal programs instructional specialist with the district. “The program assigns work to help remediate their skill gaps in math, reading and science and gradually introduces them to more challenging content. The goal is to bring each student up to grade-level proficiency on skills and standards they will be tested on at the end of the year.”
Children may use a computer or laptop to access the program while at school or away from school. Currently, students from kindergarten to fifth grade are using the program at Minor.
“The students love it because when they answer so many questions, they earn coins. And when they earn a certain number of coins, they get to play games within the program,” said Johnson. “Teachers can also reward them by giving them additional coins to use in the system.”
Johnson said the program is helping in that student stamina for reading passages and students’ ability to navigate websites has increased. ”This is yet another tool that will prepare them for the standardized test in the spring,” she said. ”Plus, by being able to navigate websites, increases and broadens students’ use of technology as we move forward with 21st Century learning.”
This Minor Elementary student is all smiles with the Stride Academy program. (Photo by: Chanda Temple)
Although the 2015-2016 school year is the first time that Minor started using Stride Academy, the program is not new to the Birmingham district. Twenty-five other Birmingham schools have used or are using the program.
The Council for Leaders for Alabama Schools, better known as CLAS, awarded grants to fund Stride Academy. Minor received a Motivated Data Grant in the summer of 2015 for the 2015-2016 school year.
To help students with the program, Minor fifth grade teachers and a trainer participated in a professional development workshop last fall.
Some fifth grade teachers
