Announcing the 2025 Gold Medal Honorees

21 GOLD MEDAL SCHOOLS AND DISTRICTS

This year's Gold Medal nominations shine with stories of confidence and transformation! Students are not only closing skill gaps—they're discovering a new belief in themselves and their ability to succeed in math. With the support of dedicated educators and the power of Ascend Math, learners are rising to challenges, encouraging their peers, and celebrating every breakthrough. These inspiring journeys remind us that when students gain confidence, anything is possible!

Adams Junior High
KATY, TX

Minaz Sundrani

Adams Junior High adopted Ascend Math to provide a uniform program with reports to measure student level and progress. Students compete to reach goals and utilize the Ascend 20 star reward system with the objective of grade level growth. Ascend helps students bridge gaps built over the years. It could be simple as odd and even numbers, which some resource students may have missed over several years. With Ascend, learners can review the video explanation several times before attempting assessment.

Founders Academy at Beacon Charter
Woonsocket, RI

Gary Cormier

Founders Academy utilizes Ascend Math to address students who had gaps originating in elementary school and who are low performing in STAR tests. Students who worked more than 10 hours have completed 1.6 grade levels and just over 56 lessons.

Impact Academy - Lutherwood
Indianapolis, IN

Erika Ruiz

Lutherwood supports a highly transient, multi-grade student population that faces significant academic and personal challenges. By combining direct instruction with one-on-one mentoring and the adaptive Ascend Math program, educators are able to deliver personalized learning that rebuilds foundational skills and boosts grade-level achievement. This strategic approach has reignited student interest in math, fostered measurable growth, and nurtured confidence. A standout feature—the $5 gift card incentive—motivates students to take ownership of their progress, celebrating each milestone with pride. The synergy between technology and hands-on teaching has proven truly transformative for their learning journey.

Impact Academy - Resource
Indianapolis, IN

Beverly White

Ascend Math has improved student achievement at Resource, turning hesitant learners into confident math students. Many student arrived believing they "can't do math", but after using Ascend, they proudly celebrate their success.

Results show remarkable gains: sixth graders achieved a 98% increase, while seventh and eighth graders saw 25% and 37% gains, respectively. Weekly Monday sessions provide essential math practice, supporting whole-class discussions.

Students now eagerly track their progress and celebrate milestones, creating an enthusiastic learning environment filled with achievement and encouragement.

Impact Academy - Resource
Indianapolis, IN

Ron Scurry

Resource adopted Ascend Math as an intervention tool to support students struggling with foundational math concepts. Many students enter the program with significant skill deficits and lack confidence in their math abilities. In just three months, 90% of Algebra 1 students completed 1.5 or more levels, demonstrating a 95% improvement in key areas. Similarly, 87% of Geometry students advanced by at least one level, showing 91% improvement. Additionally, students have experienced positive gains in their current math course assessments, reinforcing their understanding and performance.

Johnsburg Elementary School
Johnsburg, IL

Sherry Kegel

Johnsburg Elementary School's biggest challenge with their third grade students is a lack of number sense and math facts upon beginning third grade. Ascend Math was adopted as part of the MTSS initiative and has helped to find and fill math skill gaps. Teachers work closely with students using the worksheets for direct instruction. Theyhave great relationships with students and make sure math is fun!

Lake Prairie Elementary
Lowell, IN

Mallory Keller

Lake Prairie Elementary utilizes Ascend Math during small group math intervention to address the widening gap between grade level and below grade level students. The school differentiates lessons within their math curriculum and pace it based on student needs. They needed a program that could supplement filling in the gap while simultaneously differentiating grade level skills. Students have recognized significant positive impact in Fall to Winter NWEA testing.

Living Word Academy
Orlando, FL

Isha Roman

Living Word Academy implements Ascend Math to address the challenge of teaching across multiple grade levels in a single classroom. With students working at different proficiency levels, it becomes challenging to provide equal attention and instruction tailored to each student's needs. Ascend math is great supplement to capture and close those gaps that can come up in their learning. Moreover, the program's interactive and goal driven structure has served as a strong motivator. Students are encouraged by their own growth, celebrating milestones and gaining a sense of accomplishment as they progress. This has resulted in a more positive learning experience, fostering both academic success and a renewed enthusiasm for learning.

Montevallo High School
Montevallo, AL

Crystal Dreyer

Mountain Heights Academy utilizes Ascend Math to help these students make progress so they can confidently transition back to the general education setting alongside their peers. Additionally, they incorporate Ascend into credit recovery courses and Extended School Year (ESY) services. Over the past several years, we've used the Ascend Math program and have found that once students realize they can navigate the system easily, work at their own level, and focus on their individual learning goals, they become more engaged. As a result, they begin to build confidence, feel more at ease, and even start to enjoy math.

Mountain Heights Academy
West Jordan, UT

Lacie Jensen

Mountain Heights Academy utilizes Ascend Math to help these students make progress so they can confidently transition back to the general education setting alongside their peers. Additionally, they incorporate Ascend into credit recovery courses and Extended School Year (ESY) services. Over the past several years, we've used the Ascend Math program and have found that once students realize they can navigate the system easily, work at their own level, and focus on their individual learning goals, they become more engaged. As a result, they begin to build confidence, feel more at ease, and even start to enjoy math.

Pine Springs Preparatory Academy
Holly Springs, NC

Rhonda Konawicz

Pine Springs adopted Ascend Math to address student math gaps with an objective to encourage students to enjoy math. Sixty two percent of students have grown one grade level from September to March. Students who have worked more than 10 hours have grown 1.7 grade levels and completed 56.5 lessons! Math grades have improved and 75% of students have shown remarkable improvement on NWEA scores.

Southwood High Schools
Shreveport, LA

Donald Whitaker

Southwood High School adopted Ascend Math to address gaps that began with COVID closings and other factors. With the assistance of a teacher who is a pro at motivating students, students have completed 97.9 learning objectives and worked an average of 42.5 hours from September to March.

Tays Junior High
Katy, TX

Emily Quinn

At the beginning of this school year, each student in my class was on a 3rd grade level or lower. Today, 100% of my class advanced at least one level (majority have completed 2 - 62.5% of the class). Ascend Math has provided an individualized avenue for students in my class to gain math skills, practice concepts and strategies, and improve critical thinking. As a result, all students are more successful on quizzes, classroom projects, post-assessments, and pre-assessments.

West Memorial Junior High School
Katy, TX

Michelle Hufford

West Memorial Junior High School utilizes Ascend Math as a platform that our special education population can easily give access to instruct at the lower level that the students need. The desired outcomes for implementing Ascend Math was to help the students grow academically so that we can try to move them out of resource to a general education class.

Arcadia Elementary School
Tuscaloosa, AL

Martha Denson

Ascend Math was implemented at Arcadia Elementary to address significant learning gaps in foundational math skills, particularly in the areas of basic math and problem-solving. Teachers faced challenges in providing individualized support to a diverse student population, including those in
special education, who needed more targeted interventions.

Mollison IB World School
Chicago, IL

Kelly Crawford

At Mollison Elementary, the impact of Ascend Math has been transformative, with a focus on rebuilding student confidence and closing learning gaps. At the start of the year, 76% of students were performing two or more grade levels below expectations. Today, that number has dropped to 13%. Through intentional instruction, personalized goal setting, and adaptive learning with Ascend Math, students are not only making academic gains—they're rediscovering their belief in themselves as capable mathematicians. This school's data-driven, relationship-centered approach is turning challenges into growth and empowering students to thrive. (BV)

Project Reclaim of Minden
Minden, LA

Ronald Anderson

Project Reclaim of Minden implemented Ascend Math to enhance students' math knowledge and skills utilizing a multi-tiered RTI implementation model. The students at Project Reclaim have shown significant improvement in performance. Those accomplishments have spread throughout each school at every grade level.

Trivium Charter School
Lompoc, CA

Wendy Guyer

Trivium Charter School adopted Ascend math to address students who are behind in math. Ascend was adopted because of the video supports for lessons, and the individualized nature of the program.Our objectives for implementing Ascend math was to have each student in our mastery program complete 1 years math growth (or more if possible) within a year of working on Ascend. At the end of the semester, 9 out of 20 students, roughly 50%, had made at least a years growth or more in only half a year.

All students are on track to make at least 1 years progress in math, with most of them doing more than one year.

West Bay Collaborative
Cranston, RI

Kathryn Weiner

West Bay's goal when implementing Ascend Math was to fill the students learning gaps, while they continue to work on grade level materials. They utilized Ascend Math in their Special Education Alternative Learning. The minimum expectation is that teachers have students utilize this for an hour a week. Students work with Ascend for three or four 20-minute intervention blocks during each class's weekly schedule. Some students progressed a couple of years within the first semester of school. Improvements have been seen on the students' STAR360 tests, and the teachers have also noted progress in the classroom.

WoodCreek Elementary School
Katy, TX

Megan Hawes

WoodCreek Elementary implemented Ascend Math to support students in AST and Resource as a supplement to their current interventions. The interactive structure and goal-driven approach keep students motivated, celebrating their progress along the way. By aligning with IEP goals and mirroring state assessment question formats, Ascend Math has also better prepared students for standardized testing. Ascend Math has become a crucial tool in improving student outcomes, particularly in areas such as basic fact fluency, word problems, fractions, decimals, measurement, and time.