Hudtloff Students to Get Hands-On Experience With Math

The Clover Park School District is hoping the community will show its kids the math.

Show Me the Math is a scavenger hunt focused on finding real-life, practical uses for math skills. The project has been immensely successful with middle-school students in the Tacoma School District and now is being implemented with CPSD students.

“They very graciously let us adopt the name and to implement it here,” said Sarah Fairweather, the district’s family and community partnership coordinator.

Sixth-graders at will visit partner organizations throughout the city to learn firsthand the importance of math.

“It’s a way to show our kids that math is useful and they will be using it the rest of their lives, and that math is used on a daily basis,” Fairweather said.

Throughout the month of September, students—any sixth-grader at Hudtloff can sign up—will visit participating businesses with a little ticket book. Each business will have a math problem prepared that relates to their business.

For example, a pizza place may ask students how many pizzas would be needed for a party being thrown for a family of 20 if each pizza has eight slices, and everyone should get three slices.

Another sample problem focuses on a tire store selling 56 Brand X tires, 64 Brand Y tires and 42 Brand Z tires in July, and asks what percentage of the month’s tire sales was made up by Brand Y tires.

Once a student has filled his or her book, they can turn it in at school to be entered into a drawing for prizes.

Fairweather said the project is beneficial to businesses, too. The district is routinely approached by businesses looking to form a partnership.

“For one, it’s a way to get more folks in the door and see what kind of services they offer to the community,” she said. “Also, it’s a way to connect with the kids in the neighborhood.”

Before the project launches on Sept. 1, Fairweather said they are in need of more businesses to sign up as partner sites where students can come to learn about math. Donors for small prizes are also needed as incentives for student participation.

“It’s open to anyone in the community,” she said, adding that an architect and a coffee shop are among those who have expressed interest.

There are 350 sixth-graders at Hudtloff, but Fairweather said that they eventually hope to expand the program to other schools, too.

“I’m really excited about,” she said. “It’s a way to work with the community.”

Businesses and other organizations interested in participating should contact Fairweather at 253‐583‐5043 or sfairwea@cloverpark.k12.wa.us.