Swun Math

For Swun Math, it’s personal It began in a single classroom in an urban school district in Southern California. Founder Si Swun is, like so many other Americans, an immigrant to this nation. As a new student in an unfamiliar land, he struggled with learning math--an experience that spurred him to return to the classroom, this time as a math teacher in the late 1990s. Drawing on his childhood challenges, Si Swun created an intuitive, in-depth curriculum--the very lessons he wished he could have had as a student. Under his innovative program and guidance, Si Swun’s students progressed rapidly, exhibiting outstanding achievements in math. As word spread of Swun’s success, district leaders took notice, tasking him to bring his unique model to other, low-performing schools in the district. Soon after finding considerable success in other schools, Swun founded Swun Math, which was recruited to other Southern California districts, and now serves schools and districts throughout the state. Swun Math today While Swun Math began as a professional development company delivering on-site support and grade-level training to teachers and administrators, we have since grown to include a K-8 Common Core curriculum. Our programs are the sum total of years of personal and professional experience, and take a wide range of student factors into account, including English language proficiency, instructional methodology, socioeconomic background, and even ethnicity. Our offerings reflect the latest research in instructional methodology and pedagogy, backed by expert professional development to assist teachers, administrators, and instructional leaders. Swun Math design and philosophy Our goal is for all students to demonstrate mastery of the Common Core State Standards in mathematics, by articulating their mathematical reasoning and streamlining their thought process. Towards that end, Swun Math is grounded in a progressive, organic lesson design, drawing from best practices such as Gradual Release of Responsibility and Zone of Proximal Development. We scaffold our materials to ensure a natural progression of learning, and we strike the perfect balance of teacher guidance and student responsibility. In addition, our materials take an interdisciplinary approach, reinforcing reasoning, language, and writing skills along with math. Our lesson materials and assessments can be used as stand-alone programs, or supplements to the school’s math curriculum. All instructional materials are data-driven and extensively tested in numerous classrooms across California. In addition, we analyze classroom, district, and school assessment data to pinpoint areas of improvement and change, and to tailor our syllabuses as needed. Extensive, effective professional development From careful data analysis, interviews, and classroom observations, we customize professional development based on the needs of a school or district. Such programs include grade specific training, demo lessons, co-planning, co-teaching, and when appropriate, seamlessly integrating Swun Math lesson design and strategies into existing math curriculums. Our promise to you Unlike other professional development companies, which often provide scattered, one-off seminars, we prefer to build deep partnerships with our client schools and districts. As seasoned professionals with proven skills in classroom management, lesson planning, and instructional design--we understand the value of trust and transparency, as well as building a sustainable relationship. In other words, we’re in it for the long haul. Beyond the Basic Facts...and into the digital era In 2011, the popularity and effectiveness of our Beyond the Basic Facts model led us to launch our mobile app on the iTunes store, allowing students a means to practice basic math facts and the Swun Math methodology outside of school. An essential aid for students of all grade levels who wish to learn or improve their math skills, our app offers enrichment and reinforcement in both general and algebraic math skills. Our app aligns with both the Swun Math methodology, as well as the Common Core. Proven results We have considerable success in creating accessible, high-quality instructional materials with a proven track record of boosting student achievement. Clients across California showed consistently strong growth on the California Standards Tests (CST) through 2012 and have already registered double-digit growth on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP). Case Study: Lennox Elementary School District From Fall 2008 to Spring 2012, Swun Math partnered with the five Title 1 elementary schools in Lennox School District. During the 2006-2007 school year, only 36% of students in grade 5 scored proficient. Four years later, in the 2011-2012 year, 76% of students scored proficient. The percentage of students rated Below Basic/Far Below Basic also plunged drastically. While only 37% of 5th grade students were rated Below Basic/Far Below Basic in the 2006-2007 school year, that number dropped to 4% in 2011-2012. In contrast, the Below Basic/Far Below Basic rate for the rest of California’s Title 1 students stands at 21%.

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