As I think about the theme of this year’s annual report, I cannot help but reflect on the significance of not just this year but the past three years.
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing gaps in U.S. students’ math achievement. According to the 2022 School Pulse Panel, 64% of public schools reported that the pandemic played a significant role in students being behind grade level at the start of the 2021-22 school year. The imperative is clear: schools must accelerate math learning, but the question remains, how?
This year, we knew we had a critical role to play in supporting school districts’ initiatives to accelerate student learning. We know that the science of how we learn provides guidance for effectively accelerating math achievement. Leaning into our neuroscience approach, we positioned ST Math to address the needs of our educators in the interest of what would be best for their students. We launched ST Math Immersion summer school offering, continued to provide ST Math Homeschool at no cost to families, expanded our professional development opportunities, and worked to develop a new neuroscience-based core curriculum called InsightMath.
While we supported school districts in their effort to accelerate learning, I was proud to see our efforts reach more students than ever before in MIND’s history. ST Math now impacts over 2.2 million students, giving them the problem-solving skills they’ll need to be successful in this new world.
As MIND Research Institute’s leader, I believe we can accelerate learning, not just to recover learning loss, but to ensure that every student excels in math and in life. I am humbled that with support from partners like you, we can make a positive impact on all students.
Thank you for continuing on this journey with us as we mathematically equip all students to solve the world’s most challenging problems.
Brett Woudenberg
Chief Executive Officer
MIND Research Institute
We added all-new ST Math games not just to delight students, but to empower teachers and administrators to strengthen math skills in the classroom. We addressed math fluency, mathematical discourse, social emotional learning, productive struggle, summer school, and more. Here are just some of the solutions we innovated and iterated on through ST Math.
With tremendous support from our partners, ST Math continued to reach more students, teachers, and schools than ever before.
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StatesJiJi loves a trophy, and we do too! We added these awards and recognition for ST Math to our trophy case in 2022.
Best Learning Recovery Tool and Best Customer Experience in EdTech
Math Solution
CEO
An ST Math family video was developed in Spanish.
This page was expanded to include even more resources, including family and teacher guidebooks.
This February, our ST Math program earned the research-based design product certification from Digital Promise. This product certification is intended to serve as a rigorous, reliable signal for consumers, including school administrators, educators, and families, looking for evidence of research-based educational technology (edtech) products. MIND is one of 13 companies selected to be the first recipients of the Research-Based Design product certification.
Over the year, we continued to form strategic partnerships that helped our patented approach to math reach more students across the country. MIND partnered with Boston Public Schools to bring ST Math to the largest public school system in Massachusetts. We also teamed with Milwaukee Public Schools, the largest school district in Wisconsin, to make ST Math available in every one of their elementary and middle schools, and in select high schools.
“We are excited to provide all elementary students in Boston Public Schools with targeted support through ST Math. We have seen strong results in our schools that have used this program with fidelity in the past and see its expansion, along with relevant standards-aligned core instruction, as a key part of our multi-tiered system of support to close gaps created and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
—Brenda Cassellius, Boston Public Schools Superintendent
“When our kids use ST Math on a regular basis, we saw that our math scores have really improved.
Not only have our math scores gone up but students are saying math is their favorite subject
and I think JiJi has a lot to do with that.”—Frank Lammers, Principal, Milwaukee German Immersion School
On March 14, 2020, in light of the sweeping school closures across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, MIND decided to provide free access to ST Math—not only for schools, but also for parents who were suddenly homeschooling their children for an unforeseeable period of time.
In roughly 72 hours, we received over 7,000 new requests for ST Math Homeschool. For context, we normally serve roughly 800 homes per year. We are still offering ST Math free for families through the remainder of 2020.
For schools, access to ST Math remained free through June 30, 2020. During that time, MIND provided access to 5,725 additional schools and 1.8M+ new students. For context, prior to the pandemic, MIND was serving 1.2M students—onboarding roughly 700 new schools per year.
For many organizations, scaling at this speed while at the same time eliminating their source of earned revenue would have been impossible. Thanks to our Board of Directors and philanthropic partners, though, MIND was able to stay afloat while also increasing capacity to support students, educators, and families.
To bring awareness of key topics we created thought leadership content and participated in speaking engagements. Topics like neuroscience, diversity, equity, inclusion, and improving math education remained front and center for us, and how input from teachers, students, and families shapes our programs became a common thread in all of our content.
People, Process, and Penguins: Designing Math Experiences
We held a panel discussion about MIND's design approach to ST Math and other learning experiences we create for schools, students, and families.
Cultivating Mathematicians: When DEI Drives Design
Twana Young, MIND’s Vice President of Curriculum and Instruction, and Kayla Mack, Ohio Department of Education’s Education Program Specialist, took center stage at SXSW EDU to discuss what it means to cultivate mathematicians.
MPS' mission is to accelerate the academic achievement of all students. We are excited to expand our partnership with the non-profit organization MIND Research Institute towards mathematically equipped all students to solve the world's more challenging problems."
— Jennifer Mims-Howell, Chief Academic Officer, Milwaukee Public Schools
"I love how ST Math makes my students think about math in a different way. When they are struggling, I have to tell them that I know the math, but we need to figure out the puzzle together. We use math chats, mats, manipulatives, and anything else we can use to help our friend JiJi! I also love that my EL students are able to solve puzzles independently. The look of accomplishment on their faces when they finish a level without me! ST Math meets the needs of my diverse classroom easily. I can do a math chat with one group and assign specific puzzles to another. The options are now endless."
— Kristina B., 4th Grade Math & Science Teacher, Samsel Upper Elem. School, Sayreville, NJ
"I love that ST Math is accessible to all students, regardless of reading capabilities or lack thereof. Because it's all visual, students are able to problem solve and determine the directions and answers on their own with minimal teacher instruction and interaction. It makes the students more independent and active participants in their math learning."
— Katherine M., Teacher, Stamford Public Schools, Stamford, CT
We continued to meet the need for a math program with a proven impact by continuing the research being done by and with MIND Research Institute.
New RCT Study Shows ST Math Boosts Students’ Self-Beliefs - Can a game change how you feel about math? The answer is yes, and the research proves it. The Journal of Research on Technology in Education (JRTE) published a rigorous study that found students who play ST Math have higher mathematics self-beliefs than non-ST Math students.
Proving Ground Study Finds Higher ST Math Usage Associated with Higher Math Gains - Do minutes matter? A novel study released by Proving Ground, part of the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University, evaluated the effect of increased usage of ST Math within a single school year. They found that increasing usage from fall to spring by more than 10 minutes per week correlated to significant higher math gains on multiple state standardized math assessments.
This year, third-party independent research firm WestEd conducted a nationwide study of ST Math that was the largest of its kind to evaluate an edtech program. Researchers used an innovative method to normalize school performance across state lines, evaluating how a school ranked on their standardized math test performance within their state before and after adopting ST Math. The study found schools that consistently used ST Math outgrew similar schools by 14 percentile points in statewide ranking.
Listen to "WestEd and Repeatable Results in EdTech Evaluation" on Spreaker.
This year marked an exciting turning point where we slowly returned to in-person events. It was so special to see JiJi back in classrooms making students and educators smile. And while there’s nothing better than seeing our partners face to face, the past two years taught us that we can accelerate community engagement just about anywhere!
Through public-private partnerships, we brought the excitement of math to youth, families and communities both in and out of the classroom.
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VolunteersWe were honored to once again partner with the Global Math Project for the 2019 Global Math Week. The Global Math Project believes that everyone is part of the global math community, and each year Global Math Week brings teachers and students around the world together through joyful math experiences. The Global Math Project is a wonderful ally for MIND that mirrors our belief that every student can develop a deep understanding, and a true love of math.
Whether education partners wanted to start the school year with strong implementation, accelerate their usage, continue using ST Math over the summer, or just encourage a love of problem solving, there was an ST Math challenge for that! We loved seeing ST Math teachers and administrators share their math learning with us over social media.
For so many years, JiJi Day has been a monumental event that our ST Math community looks forward to every April. We were amazed to see how schools all over the country celebrated JiJi in their own special ways. We also designed several activities that students and teachers could do in the classroom or at home to ensure everyone could participate.
In January 2022, MIND hosted its first national ST Math Leadership Symposium. Over 350 educators showed up online to share their love for JiJi and grow even deeper in their ST Math implementation and usage. Our ST Math partners are the most dedicated, enthusiastic, perseverant individuals around!
MMIND's Math Week
We introduced Math Week which is all about connecting! We partner with schools, districts, and/or county offices and offer a program to engage families in meaningful math activities which can be done from the comfort of home. This program comes at no cost to the participants, thanks to donor support. Families engage in MathMINDs stories that combine the best of storytelling and mathematics. The stories derive inspiration from cultural traditions originating in Lesotho, Madagascar, Ghana, and China. Each story explains how games are played, and new ones are made available throughout Math Week.
We launched a livestream series all about the creativity of math! Each episode infused foundational math concepts into an interactive art project. During the show, viewers met one of our MIND colleagues, who guided them through step-by-step instructions, asking questions along the way, as they make something amazing together.
At MIND, we perform fundamental and applied research in neuroscience, mathematics, and education. We continued to focus on understanding how the brain learns and how data can help us make even better decisions for the future.
Rethinking Attendance in Edtech - Andrew Coulson, MIND’s Chief Data Science Officer, discussed the concept of attendance as it relates to edtech programs like ST Math. He explained how attendance connects to our ST Math Theory of Change, and how establishing consistent attendance impacts students’ time and progress in the program.
The EdTech Genome Project: Talking Implementation - Elizabeth Birie, Professional Learning Developer, lent her expertise to the EdTech Genome Project. Coordinated by the EdTech Evidence Exchange, the EdTech Genome Project is "creating an evidence-based framework to help educators make better-informed decisions about which technologies to use in their classrooms and schools—and how to implement them most effectively."
Bring us an event
and we can mathematize it!
“Engaging students in innovative and game changing ways to embrace math concepts and apply them to real life is vital to their future achievement and ultimately success.”
Shannon Schuyler
President, PwC Charitable Foundation, Inc.
Bring us an event
and we can mathematize it!
“Engaging students in innovative and game changing ways to embrace math concepts and apply them to real life is vital to their future achievement and ultimately success.”
Shannon Schuyler
President, PwC Charitable Foundation, Inc.
MIND created storybook board games that combine math, history, and literacy in a highly connected experience. Through each story, families learn and play a math game as they explore real events from the game's country of origin.
How do we serve when the challenges are many? How do we accelerate learning so that students across the country can master mathematics and stay on grade level? The answer could be simple, like solving a puzzle and removing a barrier so that JiJi the penguin can cross the screen. Or perhaps more complex, like challenging deeply embedded institutional norms, focusing on issues of equity and access, and removing the systemic barriers of race, culture, and poverty.
At MIND, we believe that education is the answer. And that neuroscience points the way, informs the journey, and lights the path.
As we near our 25th year of service, we've embraced a massive challenge: transform math learning nationwide and beyond. Every student has the potential to understand and genuinely love math deeply. ST Math is a powerful, equitable tool that can change hearts and minds. We're committed to our mission to mathematically equip all students to solve the world's most challenging problems. And we're grateful to the partners who helped make this vision a reality for over two million children.
We invite you to join us for the journey! The road is long, barriers exist, and answers may not come quickly, but grounded in a belief in science and a focus on excellence, we can't help but be optimistic about what lies ahead.
The Social Impact Team – Kimberly Mogavero, Vanessa Ryan, Lilian Pahn, David Perkins
One8 Foundation works side-by-side with its partners to create social change and propel outstanding leaders with compelling ideas that deliver scaled, sustainable impact. Driven by the fact that social change is urgent and complex, the One8 Foundation believes that education is the doorway to individual success and self-determination. One8 supports best-in-class applied learning and STEM education in Massachusetts K-12 schools. Partnering with MIND, One8 and their Mass STEM Hub team have reached over 107,000 students in 259 schools within 65 districts through their school grants and complementary programming.
AERDF’s (The Advanced Education Research & Development Fund) EF+Math Program funds bold approaches through inclusive discovery and development, with the goal of dramatically improving math outcomes for Black and Latinx students in grades 3-8. EF+Math builds on existing evidence that executive function (EF) skills help students learn math more effectively. MIND is partnering with EF+Math under the Prototyping Track, developing an innovative learning system that embeds executive function skill-building opportunities within equitable, high-quality math content and instruction.
Cisco and the Cisco Foundation collaborates with nonprofit and non-governmental organizations worldwide to develop technology-based solutions in different investment areas including education. Cisco’s continued partnership has enabled MIND to increase the reach, impact, and efficacy of ST Math, driving innovation to meet the changing educational needs of today’s students, families, and teachers.
John Deere Inspire, the John Deere Foundation’s global education program, has invested in youth through the work of world-class nonprofit organizations, brilliant teachers, and schools since 2011. Inspired by a world in which all students are empowered to unlock their full potential, the John Deere Foundation has made a bold commitment to strive for equity by serving at least 1 million underserved and underrepresented youth in John Deere’s home communities over a 10 year period. With John Deere’s support, MIND brings the power of ST Math to thousands of students and their teachers annually.
Verizon brings a lasting commitment and a lifetime of change focused on bridging the digital divide. Verizon Innovative Learning provides the tools to help millions of students thrive in today’s digital economy, while equipping teachers with practical educational resources and strategies to inspire students to explore STEM. In addition to technology access, Verizon Innovative Learning provides innovative solutions such as ST Math to students and educators that not only transform education, but also futures.
Overdeck Family Foundation, founded in 2011, focuses exclusively on enhancing education, funding efforts both inside and outside of school in the areas of early childhood, informal STEM education, and K-9 programs that include supporting educators and student-centered learning environments. In 2021, the Foundation announced a three-year $3.75 million grant to support MIND’s work accelerating and transforming math learning through the enhancement and expansion of ST Math, as well as the research and development of engaging, standards-aligned tools and curriculum.
The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation was established in 1977 with a solid commitment to giving back to the scientific community and a strong focus on supporting leading-edge research in chemistry and the life sciences. Dr. Beckman had a passion to support young people and innovative research projects, and the Foundation honors his vision by supporting promising young scientists, boosting efforts in science education, and espousing excellence in all things. Currently, the Beckman Foundation is supporting MIND’s development of InsightMath, an inclusive, wrap-around core curriculum, the final version of which is expected to be rolled out in Spring 2024.
Honda USA Foundation supports society in the areas of education, mobility, the environment, and traffic safety by strategically collaborating with like-minded organizations to drive sustainable change in marginalized communities throughout the nation where Honda operations are located. Thanks to our partnership with the Honda USA Foundation, MIND has been able to empower students in under-resourced communities in California and Nevada with the benefits of ST Math, sharing the gift of strong math foundations with over 1,800 young scholars.
Phillips 66 Foundation plays a unique and critical role in fostering a thriving society that values safety, honor, and a commitment to identifying solutions to society's most significant challenges. In partnership with MIND, they invest in strengthening economic vitality by fueling ST Math education in the regions where their employees live and work. In this way and many others, Phillips 66 is committed to advancing math and engineering while improving lives.
social media followers
(17% growth from the previous year)
increase in organic search visibility
(year over year)
blog views
lifetime views on our YouTube channel
2022 continued the momentum we saw in 2021 when it came to media coverage. ST Math and the wealth of resources provided to support students, teachers, and families did not go unnoticed.
Coverage of MIND and ST Math appeared in:
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At MIND, our core values are people, learning, and problem solving. If you were to ask most MINDers though, “people” is our first and most important core value. With the brilliance and tenacity of our colleagues, we’ve got the ability to do anything and change the world. Here is a peek into life at MIND in 2022.
Jo Garrett
Chief Financial Officer, MIND Research Institute
Jo is a seasoned financial executive
who joined our organization in April.
Chuck Amos
Chief Executive Officer, GuideK12
Chuck is a Minneapolis edtech leader
who’s helping us to grow our mission.
Our most significant contribution to changing math education is just around the corner. We are excited to announce InsightMath, a K-6 neuroscience-based core curriculum that transforms student learning by teaching math the way the brain learns so all students are equipped to succeed.
Thank you for supporting our mission. Together, we’ll continue to accelerate learning for a brighter future where all students are mathematically equipped to solve the world’s most challenging problems.
To learn more about MIND's mission, programs, and impact, please contact socialimpact@mindresearch.org.
Taste of Math
Personalized learning and evidence-based programs are now more important than ever.
Our product site showcases ST Math’s ability to create a unique pathway of interconnected
content to provide differentiated instruction for individual students, regardless of skill level.
Explore the new stmath.com