APS Foundation Awards Grant to Great Hearts to Support Innovative Math Instruction

PHOENIX, Aug. 10, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Great Hearts Academies, Arizona's largest non-profit network of public charter schools, received a $50,000 grant from the APS Foundation to support its two-year pilot program to deliver top-tier math education in collaboration with Reasoning Mind.

Reasoning Mind is a national nonprofit that offers the Russian Mathematics curriculum together with a thorough and intentional method of instruction. The partnership between Great Hearts and Reasoning Mind features a master mathematics teacher as the center of instruction; the teacher is supported by a technology platform that allows each student to work through problems at a level that challenges them and enables the teacher to work with small groups to provide targeted instruction.

"The APS Foundation is a leader in investing in Arizona's education system and preparing students to compete in the global economy," said Ward Huseth, Great Hearts Chief Executive Officer (Interim) and Chief Financial Officer. "Their grant demonstrates a shared commitment with Great Hearts to providing high-quality mathematics instruction as part of a robust liberal arts education.  We are deeply grateful for its investment and excited about the potential for this program."

Combining Reasoning Mind's effective approach with Great Hearts existing use of Singapore Math and the Socratic Method creates a powerful approach to teaching math and a strong model for math education in Arizona.

About Great Hearts Academies:

A Great Hearts education transforms students into leaders prepared for the 21^st century by teaching the skills necessary for success: the ability to innovate through creativity, the ability to communicate clearly, the ability to apply critical thought through analysis and questioning the world around us, and through building virtue and character in order to demonstrate ethical judgment and integrity.

• The Great Hearts SAT average over the past five years is 1210, a 200 point advantage over the national average.
• 98% of Great Hearts graduates immediately attend universities and colleges, with 2% participating in military service or a gap year; 54% of graduates pursue a STEM-focused course of study in college.
• The 340 graduates in the Great Hearts Class of 2016 have been admitted to 327 colleges and universities in 46 states and seven countries. Students have been accepted to 22 of the top 25 national universities according to US News and World Report, and to every top-25 public university where they applied.
• The class of 2016 received an estimated $50 million in scholarships, averaging out to an astounding $147,000 per student!

Contact:
Ryan Holmes
Corporate & Foundations Manager
[email protected], (602) 438-7045

SOURCE Great Hearts Academies

Related Links

http://www.greatheartsamerica.org/