Boosting math achievement at Wilson Elementary
Starting small to scaling schoolwide
Wilson Elementary started SpringMath in fourth grade, where results revealed strong improvement in foundational math skills and skill mastery. By the end of the first year, Schumann expanded the program to other grades for a second year. She enlisted recently hired teacher Charity Holliman to model the program’s routines and help teachers implement SpringMath in their classrooms.
“At that point, we had two full years of data on fourth grade, plus half a year of growth to see the difference SpringMath made,” Schumann explained. “You could see how little growth there was from fall to winter, and then suddenly, with SpringMath, it was like 13%, 15%, even 20% – just crazy growth!”
By the third year, she set clear expectations for schoolwide implementation.
“When you look at the data, it’s pretty clear that this program is helping meet the needs of our students,” she added. “I would not be a responsible leader if I didn’t say we should be doing this schoolwide.”
Providing support for successful implementation
Alongside Holliman’s hands-on work with teachers, Schumann ensured access to ongoing resources, training, and regular check-ins. She also aligned SpringMath with broader school initiatives, such as Professional Learning Communities.
“It’s about anticipating teachers’ needs and planning ahead,” Schumann said. “I don’t think we would have had the success we’ve seen without this bigger-picture approach.”
Schumann credits early adopters who fully embraced the program, sharing their experiences and supporting colleagues along the way. “I have to give a shoutout to those teachers who were willing to try something new and share their success with others,” Schumann said about implementation at Wilson. “They’re truly the ones who have led to this success.”
Their insights helped smooth implementation logistics and created a foundation of confidence and commitment to SpringMath schoolwide.
Fostering growth through reflection and collaboration
Twice a year, Wilson Elementary teachers come together to share and reflect on their SpringMath data, discussing both implementation challenges and successes. These sessions create a strong sense of collective efficacy, allowing teachers to align their strategies and support one another.“If we didn’t have this time for teams to reflect on their data, I’m not sure we’d see this level of growth,” Schumann explained. “It’s become their thing, not mine. They feel true ownership over this.”
Teachers share practices and discuss challenges, asking, “How are you doing this?” or “What adjustments are you making?” In one session, teachers reviewed data showing that fourth-graders had struggled with subtraction for several months, which gave lower-grade teachers a chance to reassess and adjust to better support foundational skills. This collaborative, nonjudgmental space has become integral to the school’s math success, with teachers invested in both individual and collective growth.
“It’s all about coming back to the data, making choices that are best for kids, and giving teams the space to reflect and share their success,” Schumann said.
The path to immediate impact – just start
For schools seeking to improve math proficiency, SpringMath offers a unique, research-backed approach proven to strengthen core math skills. Schumann emphasized the program’s power as part of her MTSS framework, especially for populations of students who are considered at risk.
“If you don’t have a computational fluency intervention, look at SpringMath,” Schumann advised. “There isn’t anything else out there like it. Implement it well, and you’ll see some awesome results. Kids can’t wait – they need quality math instruction now, right alongside literacy and science. You don’t have to wait a whole year to make a change.”