School District and Ed Foundation Team Up for Math Success
By Catherine Thorpe
Math is everywhere.
Wine blends and Web algorithms rely on math. In careers from construction to healthcare, math is the bridge to future opportunity. Yet for most local children, even everyday math skills are a challenge. On average, four in five students in the Sonoma Valley Unified School District score below grade-level standards in math.
To close this gap, the school district has partnered with the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation (SVEF) to provide extra support at a critical learning stage for math: middle school.
SVEF’s Middle Math, Major Impact initiative combines tutoring help during the school year with a summer math course for students at Sonoma Valley Middle School.
“Our teachers work hard every day to help students develop strong math skills, but additional support like this is powerful,” said Sonoma Valley Unified School District Superintendent Jason Sutter. “We are incredibly fortunate to have a partner like the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation to reinforce this work by bringing additional math resources to the students who need it most.”
The entire initiative is funded by donors in the community, according to Sarah Carroll, executive director at SVEF.
“Teachers tell us that students who are ready for Algebra I by the time they leave middle school are equipped to succeed in advanced science and math classes in high school and beyond,” Carroll said. “We’re providing additional, evidence-based interventions to support the work they are doing every day to prepare students for their futures.”
A crisis of confidence
On average, 85 percent of Sonoma Valley Middle School students are behind grade-level standards in math – and the gap is even wider for English learners and students of color. Teachers at Sonoma Valley Middle School say that for students who are behind, building self-belief is an important component to improving math skills.
Math concepts build on each other, so a student with a learning gap can quickly fall behind and stop trying, said Aimee Lucchetti, who teaches sixth-grade math. For students who are struggling, making a mistake out loud in class can be an embarrassing ordeal.
“They feel like they’ve hit a roadblock and cannot go on,” said Lucchetti. “I hear a lot of, ‘I’m just not good at math.’”
High-impact tutoring alongside math class
Now students who are behind have an extra opportunity to receive extra help during class time. Starting in September, trained tutors joined sixth- and eighth-grade classes to work closely with small groups of up to four students at a time, several days per week.
Lucchetti and her fellow math teachers selected students to join the tutoring groups, and collaborate closely with the tutors so that the personalized small-group instruction aligns with the curriculum. This approach, called “high-impact tutoring,” has been adopted in school districts across the U.S. Studies show the intervention can accelerate learning by as much as 18 months.
A pilot at Sonoma Valley Middle School during the spring semester of 2026 produced positive outcomes. Two thirds of the students who started furthest behind improved their assessment scores after participating in tutoring, according to Carroll.
Sessions are held during students’ regular math classes – eliminating cost, scheduling and transportation barriers that can prevent kids from receiving tutoring outside school hours.
While working with their tutors, students can go back to concepts they’ve missed, dive deep, and catch up, said Lucchetti. Groups meet in a separate space, creating an informal, friendly atmosphere where students can try solving problems without feeling pressure.
“They realize they can make mistakes and nothing bad happens. They get a problem wrong and it’s no big deal,” said Lucchetti. “And then, when they join the rest of the class, they’re ready to take risks. They’re like, ‘I can try this – I’m pretty good at this.’”
In short: Offered to sixth- and eighth-graders selected by classroom teachers. Small group sessions are held multiple times per week during the school day. Professional tutors align with teachers to personalize material.
Summer Acceleration with Elevate [Math]
The second component of Middle Math, Major Impact is Elevate [Math], a four-week summer program. The curriculum previews concepts students will be expected to learn in the coming school year.
The program provides essential reinforcement for material students already know, and introduces new lessons so they can stay on track when they return to school in the fall. The specialized curriculum complements classroom learning during the school year. Students work in groups on real-world math scenarios, and games and fun are part of the experience, helping counter the intimidation factor.
An Elevate [Math] pilot was held in 2025, and in June of 2026 the program expanded to include incoming sixth graders, seventh, and eighth graders at no cost to families. Students who were getting by in math but needed extra support to stay on track were encouraged to join. Teachers say the cumulative impact is benefiting classroom work during the school year.
Students who hung back in class before Elevate [Math] have grown into active participants who speak up and even lead group activities, according to Laura Hoban, a Sonoma Valley Middle School teacher who also co-teaches Elevate [Math].
“There were plenty of students who were fearful of math going into the summer, and I saw their confidence grow,” Hoban said.
Elevate [Math] participants also learned about math- and science-related careers – a highlight of the program for the students, according to evaluations they filled out at the end of the program. One survey respondent wrote, “I now have a future that I’m thinking about.”
Elevate [Math] will be held again during the summer of 2027, said Carroll. To learn more about Middle Math, Major Impact, or to support the program with a donation, visit www.svgreatschools.org.
In Short:
Free four-week summer math program. Sessions introduce new concepts ahead of the next school year. Teachers receive specialized training with strategies to use year-round.
Main Photo: Sonoma Valley Middle School teacher Laura Hoban teaching a summer Elevate [Math] session, which she says boosted skills and confidence for the school year ahead. (Photo: Chris Lopez for SVEF)
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