9,653 students in Floyd County Schools
42.8% of students qualify for free and reduced lunch
93.6% four-year graduation rate
Across Floyd County, Prodigy Math Game didn’t lose momentum as schools transitioned to remote learning. While teachers navigated the new teaching environment, students kept playing — and learning. “Prodigy was already in place. The students didn't wait on us, they were able to continue,” recalls Jennifer White, Floyd County’s math specialist.
Zach Mendence, a fourth grade teacher at Pepperell Elementary School, stated two key elements eased the transition between learning environments: familiarity and motivation.
As Jennifer looked through the usage data for the district, she saw high usage on weekends, signalling that students were choosing to play Prodigy. “Prodigy is no longer just a teacher incentive, students are motivated to go on and learn themselves.”
Zach shared the same sentiment. Not only are his students going home and answering questions, but they’re begging their parents to allow them to use Prodigy as well. “This was the first program where I saw kids going home and answering 100 questions.”
As teachers worked to fill learning gaps from COVID-related school closures, they used Prodigy's Reports feature to help students keep excelling and engaged while they rebuilt foundational math skills with the rest of the class.
“Prodigy’s been really good because what it does first is find the student’s level and identify holes,” says Jason. “When I look at the reporting I can see right off the bat where students are starting from.”
In Floyd County, Prodigy provides parents with confidence that students are developing appropriate skills.
Jennifer says, “Our parents are eager to know what they can do to help their child. I let them know that I can use Prodigy to push out the exact skills that their child needs to practice. It takes the load off of parents. They can even sit with them or play with them if they want to.”
“What’s interesting is how much it's been used outside of school, not just inside the confines of the classroom. Students are saying, ‘Can we get on Prodigy? We have a few minutes.’ It's the students who want to do it. It's a motivating factor that the students love it.”
“Whenever we were taking MAP, or other tasks they might be working on, I would hear kids saying that they had already practiced it on Prodigy. It just sticks with them. There's something magical about it.”
“Our teachers love Prodigy. They use it frequently and encourage other teachers in our school system to use it with their students. Parents love that their children are excited about doing math at home without the pain and frustration of traditional math homework.”
An obstacle Zach frequently faced was building students’ confidence and trust in order to encourage them to take risks. Not every student in his class liked math, believing it was too hard. Prodigy helped break down those negative perceptions.“
The reason Prodigy is so great is because it gives students a tool that makes math fun for them. It encourages them to try harder which builds their motivation. When they try harder, they start getting better, and when they start getting better, they develop confidence. When they get more confident, they're willing to take more risks and continue building trust with their teacher.”
This led to more questions answered, with some students answering hundreds or thousands of questions per week. Zach had one student answer over 3000 questions!
