Dear Ms. Nash:

I am so grateful to have been a part of the Ascend pilot program. Thank you for the opportunity. From my experiences with the program, I think Ascend would be a valuable asset to Boca Ciega High School. Most of the students responded favorably to working with the program. I allowed students to work independently as much as possible thus enabling me to observe the real-time performance of each student. What a wonderful feature! Students knew that I was checking on their performance as they were working and therefore were more apt to take the assignments seriously.

I would have liked more time to familiarize myself with the program so that I might have been able to integrate the program more fluidly with the curriculum. If I am not mistaken, there is an Algebra 1 component to the Ascend program, which might be better suited for the Algebra courses. The Ascend 9-12 module would be wonderful for students in the Intensive Math course.

Overall, I think the program provides a wonderful opportunity for teachers to integrate technology and alternative resources into the curriculum. It is a proven fact that in classes where the teacher uses technology student achievement is greater than in classes without technology integration. In looking at the student achievement data, for the short time we were able to use the program, students saw immediate and significant progress while using the Ascend program.

The Ascend program meets the goals of Pinellas County Schools to offer a curriculum that is rigorous and relevant. It also affords the teacher time to work with the students individually, thus building trusting relationships with the students.

I highly recommend purchasing the Ascend Math program for school-wide use.

Sincerely,

Caleshia Haynes
Boca Ciega High School
Math Department