Denver, CO
During an intense week of conferences for the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematics and Teachers of Mathematics (NCSM & NCTM), attendees took a break to enjoy an ORIGO Education milestone event. ORIGO officially launched its elementary mathematics curriculum, Stepping Stones, on April 17th. Despite a chance blizzard, the launch party went off without a hitch. Educators, Supervisors, State Department of Education Directors, and Leaders throughout the elementary mathematics community gathered to celebrate at the Downtown Westin in Denver, Colorado.
ORIGO’s president & co-founder, James Burnett, co-founder Dr. Calvin Irons and CEO Tony Ivers traveled from Australia to help mark this momentous occasion. Guests were treated to a special presentation by Mr. Burnett and given a sneak peak of the upcoming advances to the company’s unique math curriculum. Mr. Burnett said, “This is a very exciting time for us at ORIGO; Stepping Stones will radically change the way that children learn math. Our goal is to help students develop a deep conceptual understanding.”
The party featured a live performance by local Denver musician, Coles Whalen. Ms. Whalen entertained guests with her powerful bluesy folk melodies from her upcoming album. She has worked with ORIGO in the past to produce children’s albums for ORIGO’s K-2 Big Book Series.
ORIGO Stepping Stones tackles the challenges that teachers face when using a traditional textbook curriculum. Students often need some concepts need to be revisited, expanded, or explained in a different way. A portion of the class might need extra practice while part of the group needs more challenging problems.
Stepping Stones provides teachers with a roadmap for the Common Core State Standards by offering multiple ways to teach and reinforce concepts through a blend of digital and print resources. The curriculum allows teacher access to all online content, across all grades giving flexibility in moving forward or backward within a concept.
Janeal Maxfield, a teacher from North Thurston School District in Washington, attended the event. Her district has been using the program in their Kindergarten, First, and Second grade classrooms this school year. North Thurston will be adopting Stepping Stones in Third, Fourth and Fifth grades this July when it is available for purchase. She remarked, “Stepping Stones really develops kids as mathematicians, their conceptual understanding of what they are doing with numbers is stronger than I’ve ever seen.”
For more pictures of the event check out ORIGO’s Back to Articles