Contributed photo Monroe Avenue students perform various math-related dances for parents on Math Night.

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Monroe Avenue Elementary School welcomed a large crowd of more than 200 parents and students to its annual Math Night on Jan. 24.

Math Night was designed to provide parents with information on various strategies to help students excel in math.

Teachers and Administrators Partnering for Mathematics learning, also called TAP Math, is one of the district’s new initiatives being used to assist teachers with teaching math to students using new strategies at higher levels of thinking.

During the opening program, students demonstrated how to learn math through music and dance. A group of fourth and fifth grade girls performed a dance to a multiplication rap followed by a flash mob of third through fifth graders performing the “Fraction Shuffle.”

Following the opening session, parents went to grade-specific informational sessions in different classrooms. The sessions, led by the school’s teachers, gave parents the opportunity to see and discuss some of the strategies teachers are using to help their students become young mathematicians.

“I was so excited about our parent turn out,” said Assistant Principal of Monroe Avenue Elementary School, Derrick Watkins.

“It gave us the opportunity to show our parents some of the great things we are doing here at school. It also gave the teachers the opportunity to explain some of the strategies we are using and how our parents can assist their students at home. Ultimately, it takes a team effort to make our students young, successful mathematicians.”

Kelly DeLong, director for k-12 math and science for Richmond County, said that TAP Math “makes a big difference because students understand math on a deeper level.”

The students conceptualize math problems, and that helps them better understand the problems.

The program allows Richmond County schools to partner with Meredith College and the University of North Carolina in Greensboro and learn new ways to teach the common core state standards for math.

— Staff Writer Laura Edington can be reached at 910-997-3111, ext. 18, or by email at ledington@civitasmedia.com.