Desert Vista High School Math Students Setting New Standards of Success
on SAT and PSAT Exams
 AHWATUKEE — May 12, 2008 – When discussing his students’ achievements, Larry Strom sounds more like a football coach than the chairman of Desert Vista High School’s math department. And someone overhearing Strom could easily mistake him for a music teacher preparing students’ for an important recital or a dance instructor praising pupils following an especially brilliant performance.
Strom’s unorthodox approach to “coaching” math is generating eye-popping results at Desert Vista. Instead of a state championship trophy, Strom can proudly point to a staggering 25 students who scored a perfect 800 SAT/PSAT on their math this year.
And just like a state championship-winning football coach, Strom says much of the credit for the Desert Vista’ s success comes from the high expectations set by the coaching staff (aka school math teachers).
“I’ve never met a football coach who wanted his team to do worse than 7-2 or 8-1,” Strom explained. “Math teachers need to have that same attitude. We should coach our kids to excel.”
Another ingredient in Desert Vista’s growing Math “dynasty” is the heavy heaps of praise Strom and his staff bestow on their students. At Desert Vista, Math stars are treated with the same level of respect as football stars, complete with a plaque on the wall and their names on the school’s website for everyone scoring 680 or higher on their SAT or PSAT testing.
The final ingredient for “Coach” Strom’s extremely successful math program –– again something any football coach would agree is important -- is plenty of hard work by his up-and-coming superstars during the summer months.
Instead of two-a-days, Strom and the Desert Vista math faculty prepare young minds during the school’s Summer Math Camp. We’re not talking about ordinary ol’ summer school classes here. No, at Desert Vista, Strom overseas a full-fledged Camp that’s enthusiastically drawing elementary and middle school students of varying backgrounds and skill levels. This isn’t just a camp for honors students to hone their brilliance or for remedial students to get back on track. It is all that – and more.
Remedial students can master skills that have previously eluded them; advanced students can earn placement in high school honors classes and average students can achieve beyond-average results. Last summer, more than 240 fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth-graders participated in Summer Math Camp. Early indications show this summer’s camp could surpass that number. For eight weeks, students agree to spend four hours each weekday honing their math skills.
And guess what? They actually enjoy it!
“The Honors kids had fun; the remedial kids had fun and the teachers had fun,” Strom said. “It’s not that different than little league baseball. It’s not that different from dance. You just have to set high standards for the kids. It’s just good old student praise and emphasizing the end result."
|
