CLEVELAND — Math may be intimidating, but Ohio educator Lesia Stolpe doesn’t want it to be. 

She said she knows how hard it can be for students to retain math skills, especially during the summer. She said online learning throughout the pandemic only made matters worse. 

“Students weren’t progressing as we saw in the past,” said Stolpe. “And that gap was getting wider and wider. Kids that could do it and felt the confidence were excelling ahead, and the kids that weren’t, were falling way behind.”

To help close that gap, Stolpe created Parent Teacher Mode.

She and a team of educators, including her sister, Lana Goad, developed summer math resources for parents with school-aged children. 

Their workbooks, Stay Sharp and Stay Sharp Jr., are for students ranging from pre-kindergarten to ninth grade. 

The books have 50 days’ worth of short math problems, all based on Common Core standards. 

“Sometimes it’s really hard for parents to understand the Common Core standards. They’re listed in the book, but if you read them, they’re really wordy,” said Stolpe. “Parents can rely on our expertise as teachers to take those Common Core standards, create those problems and they know that’s exactly what their kids need at the exact level that they’re at.”

Stolpe said the problems are designed for students to recall what they learned the previous school year. The books, however, are not made to teach students new skills, but to help them maintain their current ones. 

“The ‘summer slide’ is something that happens over the summer through all kids at all levels,” said Stolpe. “And basically, they lose those math skills. And when you come into the next grade level, that teacher is expecting you to have a set skill base so that you can grow in that grade level. And if you don’t have that, that’s something that they spend more time reviewing than actually growing in that grade level.”

Many schools require summer reading, but don’t put a focus on math. Stolpe hopes the workbooks help change that. 

“You’re setting the precedence that math is not torture and that it is something that you can grow into and you can do, and then empowering parents to really understand what level that the kids should be at, at the specific age groups,” said Stolpe. “It’s meant for everyone, because everyone needs that big confidence boost over the summer, because that first day of school comes so fast, and everyone’s nervous, and kids can feel confident coming in.”

She said math doesn’t need to be something where only some kids are good at it and some kids aren’t. The workbooks mean to make math less scary. Although new, children used the books the past two summers. 

“I like that there are only four problems to do in one day,” said May Madden, 9. “It’s making me feel more confident in my math skills.” 

For the older students, there’s a QR code at the top of each page that helps walk the student through the problems if they need help. 

“These are just such a wonderful thing, they’re such a wonderful tool for parents and kids,” said Lana Goad, a contributor to Parent Teacher Mode. “I really, really love how much confidence it puts in kids and really empowers parents to know what their kiddos should be learning at each grade level.”

With just five minutes per day, students may gain confidence in their math skills and give parents peace of mind, plus it’s a bonding experience for the parent(s) and younger children. 

“It makes me feel confident and less anxious, which is always a positive thing because there’s so much going on that you want the kids to feel ready for things because that makes you feel ready for things,” said Megan Madden, a parent. “You know, they’re getting the information they need going forward and when they start this school year, they’re going to be right where they should be. It feels good that they’re succeeding. And it’s something you guys can do together.”

Stolpe’s goal is to help students stay sharp during the summer so they can succeed during the school year. 

“Be confident, empower parents and be ready for that next school year,” said Stolpe. 

For more information on the workbooks, click here.