by Mary Jo David

In 2023, Smith Elementary introduced SpringMath, a teacher-led program to promote math through “paired learning.” Smith’s math teachers are supported through math interventionists—like Kim Porter and her other Smith counterpart, Bonnie Rattai—who work, one-on-one, with math students to help them get on track with their math goals.

Math students in grades K through 2 work on class-wide skills with their teachers. These skills are then complemented with one-on-one time spent with an interventionist who typically spend 15 minutes a day with their students. Parents of children in these grades may have noticed their kids are spending more time with pencil and paper and less time working independently on screens, and that’s on purpose.

In its review of SpringMath, TrustRadius.com says, this program relies on “show-what-you-know” learning, and explains that “the program also offers embedded coaching and support for each teacher.” That’s where Porter’s job comes in.

“I see about 22 kids each day—one every 15 minutes,” Porter explained. “I love helping the students and encouraging them to see what they can and cannot do.” For kindergartners, that might mean accomplishing a specific skill in one minute. For older kids, that might mean mastering subtraction from 0 to 15 in under two minutes.

“They know they’re going to work when they come see me, but it’s not boring. I try to do something different every day to make math more fun, and they love earning the rewards,” she said.

Porter began working for Stockbridge schools about eight years ago as a paraprofessional. When the math interventionist position opened up two years ago, she viewed it as an opportunity to help even more students. In a typical 15-minute time slot with a student, Porter might begin with some warm-ups using flashcards followed by a timed exercise that meshes with that individual student’s learning plan. If there’s additional time, they may follow up with a game of War (the card game that helps young students master number values).

Growing up in Gregory, Porter attended Stockbridge schools; she has fond memories of playing on the volleyball team from middle school up through high school. Currently, she is working on her accounting degree at Southern New Hampshire University. She is the youngest of six children by two minutes (she has a twin brother). Her dad, William Porter, retired from Stockbridge schools where he worked as a janitor and then in maintenance. He and Porter’s mom, Cindy, are the proud grandparents of 17 grandkids, including Porter’s own daughter, Kaley Hetrick, who will be graduating from Stockbridge Jr./Sr. High School this June. This tight-knit family is a focal point for Porter during her time away from school.

Continuing in the supportive tradition she appreciated when she was growing up, Porter comes to work each day looking forward to spending time with her students during their 15-minute sessions. She works hard to identify what strategies work best with students, whether it’s finger counting, using dash marks on paper, or some other technique.

“Sometimes it’s tough finding the right technique, but it’s so rewarding to watch a child catch on to a concept,” Porter said.

She also shared some things parents can do with their kids at home to help strengthen math skills. These include counting from 1 to 20 with kindergartners or playing a little game that challenges them to remember what number comes before the number 3 or what number follows the number 5. As kids advance to first and second grade, focus more on finding excuses to use their adding and subtracting skills at home.

Porter loves that her one-on-one time with her students makes them happy. Sometimes they see her in the hallway during the day and look for reassurance by asking, “You’re coming down to get me today, right?”

She said it’s hard to describe the feeling of watching a student who has worked and worked for over a month to master a concept and then they finally get it.

“I think I’m more thrilled than they are. I’ll be jumping out of my seat, and they look at me funny and say, ‘Oh, I did that?’ and I say, ‘Yes. YOU did that!’ and their smile makes it all so worth while!”

All photos provided by Kim Porter.