Despite a packed Tuesday schedule, Gov. Jared Polis made time during his visit to Colorado Springs to celebrate student achievement by visiting one of two District 11 elementary schools that have shown exemplary growth in math since 2019.

“So, what’s your secret?” Polis asked Kate Boyce, Roosevelt’s first-year principal.

There’s no secret, Boyce said, and no shortcuts. Just a dedicated group of educators who make sure students are the primary focus of everything they do.

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“I have teachers who have been in this building for 26 years,” she said. “They have worked tirelessly to build up our students and send them off to the next steps with as much knowledge as possible. “

In recognition of the charter school’s achievement, Polis highlighted Roosevelt as one of 12 Math Bright Spot Award winners across Colorado.

“It is really exciting to see that evidence-based instruction works,” Polis said. “Roosevelt and other Bright Spot schools across the state are proving that.”

Roosevelt has the highest percentage of English language learners in District 11, at about 67%, Boyce said. Trying to learn a second language, while still dealing with the lingering aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been challenging.

But because math is pretty much the same all over the world, it can act as a universal language, and Roosevelt’s teachers have become adept at using math as a bridge to expanded learning, according to Boyce.

“Math is something we are super passionate about in this building,” she said. “We have a high population of ELL learners trying to learn the English language. Math is often an easier thing for them to grasp and understand first, before they understand the language. So we’ve worked really hard to give them the tools to fuel that success in math.”

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The charter school uses a comprehensive curriculum called Everyday Math, which emphasizes the application of mathematics to real-world situations. The staff has also concentrated on building and developing intervention plans that include specific goal setting, timelines and strategies for closely monitoring student progress, Boyce said.

Chipeta Elementary, a traditional D-11 public school, also earned a Bright Spot Award.

“The fact that a charter school and a traditional school both won the award proves that there can be two different ways to solve the same problem,” said D-11 Superintendent Michael Gaal, who was on hand for Polis’ visit. “If we keep our focus on kids, we can to anything.”

As a Math Bright Spot Award recipient, Roosevelt and Chipeta will each receive $50,000, from the federal Governor’s Emergency Education Relief funds, to further grow their academic programs.

“We’re just so honored,” Boyce said. “(The award) just means we’re doing something right. We have solid teachers in this building who know how to teach, and that is validating for our school. We know what we’re doing, and we know how to support kids. That is just confirmation for us.”

In one of the classrooms, when Polis confirmed the $50,000 award, students gaped at him in disbelief. One enterprising youngster had an idea for how to use the funds.

“I could buy a Lamborghini,” he said, and laughed.