LIBERTY, Ohio - Liberty Local Schools and Students Motivated by the Arts (SMARTS) have teamed up once again. This time, they are working together to help improve the educational outcomes of elementary students who are struggling with multiplication facts by offering a new math club.

Through a variety of classroom assessments, teachers have identified approximately 50 third and fourth grade students who need additional support with multiplication fact fluency. On Monday, April 12, 2021, Blott Guy PK-6 began offering SMARTS Action Math, a math intervention club, to those students during their specials period.

Twice a week, the group of students attend the club, where SMARTS theater teacher Stephanie Chavara incorporates theater, movement and music into mathematics lessons to review fact fluency.

"Brain research has found that we have a somatosensory response to arithmetic created by finger gnosia, meaning that when we do math, the area of the brain related to finger function or perception of fingers lights up on brain imaging scans. The body is a part of our natural counting system.

SMARTS Action Math is using theater to help students learn their multiplication facts by physicalizing math and giving students new body and visual cues to aid in their memorization. Many students are able to memorize verbally or can abstractly understand multiplication, but some students still need a reference.

SMARTS will help these students to use their bodies as an art form to create movement and narratives so that the multiplication facts can be their reference. We are excited to help these students to learn their multiplication through SMARTS," said Lindsay Goossens, SMARTS Education Director.

Liberty Local Schools has been partnering with Students Motivated by the Arts (SMARTS) since 2018. This past school year, due to budget issues brought on by the pandemic, the district was unable to fund the partnership. However, SMARTS was able to secure the financial support to continue their work in the district.

Liberty Local Schools is incredibly grateful for the anonymous donor. Their gift of $75,000 has allowed SMARTS to help bolster the district's educational offerings, which now includes SMARTS Action Math, a supplement to the district's elementary core math instruction.

"Students learn in a variety of methods and we want to expose them to as many opportunities as possible to build a strong foundation in math. This program not only helps them develop a better understanding and fluency of their math facts but also increases their interests and strengths in the arts. Many of the students would not have had the opportunity to be exposed to theater at such a young age and they are very excited to participate. We appreciate the anonymous donor, the staff of the SMARTS program, and Liberty Local Schools for working together to invest in the success of our students," said Liberty Local Schools teacher Amy Brown.

Prior to joining the club, students were given a 36-question pre-assessment. At the end of the school year, students will be reassessed to gauge their growth.
To learn more about SMARTS, visit their website at www.SmartsArtSchool.org.