QUOTE: “When she leaves, it will be a big hit for us, especially when you’re losing someone who has set the bar so high,” he says. “I’m very optimistic about keeping the program going, but you can’t fill her shoes. It might take more than one person.” — Franklin Principal Ronald Jones

It has been a stellar year for the Benjamin Franklin Junior High School math team. In addition to the team’s second place finish at state, seven of its members are ranked in the top 12 for their individual efforts, with the top spot also held by a Franklin student.

 

That’s why it will be such huge loss when the coach, Janet Scott, leaves the school after 15 years to go to Parish Episcopal Day School next year.

 

Scott is an institution at Franklin and Hillcrest High School , where she spends half her day teaching Algebra I. Her success with the math team has had a ripple effect across all grade levels, raising the performance level of incoming geometry and Algebra students at Hillcrest, and pushing students and teachers at Franklin ’s feeder schools to prepare for the rigorous demands of her math team.

 

Franklin Principal Ronald Jones says finding her successor won’t be easy.

 

“When she leaves, it will be a big hit for us, especially when you’re losing someone who has set the bar so high,” he says. “I’m very optimistic about keeping the program going, but you can’t fill her shoes. It might take more than one person.”

 

Complicating the search is the fact that the math competitions are conducted every Saturday for six months out of the year.

 

“She works a minimum of six days a week. It is that dedication that comes from within,” Jones says “I can’t just say, ‘I need your Saturdays as well.’ It will be a challenge to find someone willing to do that.”

 

Scott’s dedication stemmed from her personal connection to the community and her passion for mathematics.

 

She was born in Terrell, Texas, but moved to North Dallas just before she started first grade. She attended Preston Hollow Elementary School , Franklin , and then Hillcrest before getting a degree in education and mathematics (she holds a master’s degree in science and mathematics as well).

 

“That’s why Franklin is so special to me. I grew up close to here, and I wanted to help maintain the high caliber education and excellent reputation Franklin has always had,” she says.  “These are my kids and this is my community.”

 

Two of “her kids” on the math team explained why she has been so effective teaching a subject that can be boring and confusing in the hands of less capable teachers.

 

Ross Shwarts, 14, comes from a long line of math team members. His older brother and sister, Ellis and Francis, both excelled in Scott’s math competition class, so his No. 1 state ranking could have something to do with genetics.

 

But he gives credit to Scott for challenging him to go beyond the standard math curriculum.

 

“It’s not just reading from a book, taking notes and taking tests,” he says. “I was looking forward to it because math was not a big challenge for me, but she pushed me a lot.”

 

Jeremy Dickie, also 14, says he came to Franklin from Zion Lutheran private school specifically because of Scott. His mother heard about Scott from a friend and arranged for Jeremy to shadow a Franklin student for a day.

 

He says sitting in on Scott’s math class was an enlightening experience.

 

“I looked at the problem on the board and said, ‘I can’t do that,’” he recalls. “But I thought it was really cool how (Ms. Scott’s students) wanted to do this.”

 

Jeremy is now ranked 11th in the state in 4A math and says he owes it all to his coach.

 

“When I went into Ms. Scott’s class, I needed major molding. I feel like because of her I was challenged, and I’ve proven myself because of it.”

 

Both students cited her unconventional teaching style as one of the keys to her success.

 

She uses familiar songs to help her students memorize formulas and orders of operations for various math calculations. She set the quadratic equation to the “Gilligan’s Island ” tune, a rap explains how to simplify a radical, and another set to the “Little Indians” song explains how to solve basic math problems.

 

“Multiply the variables, add the exponents. Multiply the variables, add the exponents. Multiply the variables, add the exponents. And that’s the way to work the problem.”

 

Jeremy wasn’t sure how to take the songs at first.

 

“I didn’t know if I should laugh or take them seriously. But they really stuck with me,” he says. “She makes the class really fun.

 

Scott is able to make the class fun because of her passion for the subject. She describes it as an “absolute love for mathematics.” Her crusade has been to maintain a strong math program despite what she calls efforts by the state and the district to dumb down the curriculum. She says the emphasis on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, combined with DISD’s adoption of the Algebra 2000 and Beyond curriculum, are short-changing students’ math education.

 

“I just don’t think it is as strong as it should be. It is not teaching everything that needs to be taught in an algebra curriculum. I want my students to be truly prepared for the next level. If I’m going to teach an algebra class, I’m going to teach everything they need to know.”

 

She has had the freedom to do just that under Hillcrest’s principal Johnlyn Mitchell, whom she has known for many years and who used to be Franklin ’s principal. But Mitchell is retiring next year, and Scott says a confluence of events made this year a good time to make her exit.

 

“I knew there would be a transition with the new principal, and it would be a good time for me to make a transition,” she says. “I retired two years ago and did the teacher rehire. I’ve been teaching part time at Franklin and Hillcrest, and that’s been really tough.”

 

When she was approached by a former student, Kelly Sampson, about applying to Parish Episcopal Day School for the second time in two years (Sampson herself is a Parish teacher), Scott couldn’t resist the offer.

 

“ Parish Middle School is very young, and they are very interested in having a strong math program and math competition as well. Parish’s MathCounts team placed fourth in the region their first year and went to state.”

 

Scott still thinks Franklin and Hillcrest offer a wonderful education and credits parent involvement for the schools’ continued success. She spent her final weeks organizing her files and giving Jones the names of qualified prospects

 

“We want to wish Ms. Scott the very best,” Jones says. “We hate to lose her. The kids will miss her and so will staff. But as long as we can call her up and get input, I think we’ll be OK.”