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
This year, we leveraged our flagship program ST Math to solve specific problems for educators. With all of the changes and improvements we were making, one thing remained the same—students love JiJi and ST Math!
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
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.
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.
