If you'd told Brenna Kirkpatrick ten years ago that she'd become a teacher, she would have, in her words, "cackled so hard at you." Today, she is a shining example of what happens when the right curriculum meets the right educator at exactly the right time.
Brenna's journey to the classroom took some unexpected detours. After years of working at a daycare while pursuing various college majors, she finally settled on elementary education at Marshall University. But there was a catch: math had always been her nemesis.
"When I was little, I was not good at math at all," Brenna admits. "I honestly thought I had a learning disability in math because I never understood it. Couldn't divide, could barely multiply." She even confesses to telling her teachers she forgot her homework at home just to avoid the subject.
So when she was hired as a first-year teacher at Ceredo-Kenova Elementary in Kenova, West Virginia—her dream school, teaching her dream grade of fourth—she had some concerns. Add in the fact that the district was rolling out a brand-new math curriculum, ClearMath Elementary, and "terrified" might be an understatement.
Here's the twist: that timing actually worked in Brenna's favor. Since ClearMath Elementary was new to everyone, not just her, the entire fourth-grade team learned it at the same time. "Working together helped me," she says.
What really impressed Brenna was the curriculum's approach to problem-solving. Rather than teaching one rigid method and expecting every student to conform, ClearMath Elementary offers multiple strategies for tackling mathematical concepts.
"It blew me away the number of different ways Carnegie Learning has to solve problems," she says. "So many of my kids just took off. The ones that I never thought would get it? They found a method they loved. And they began to love math."
As someone who spent her childhood struggling with traditional math instruction, Brenna instinctively understood the power of this approach. She leaned into classroom conversations about different strategies, making it a point to celebrate the variety. "I love how this person solved it this way and this one solved it this way. But we still got the same answer," she'd tell her students. Her classroom mantra became: "Whose job is it to solve it? Yours. However you can."
If you need proof that kids can genuinely love math, consider this: When Brenna's class learned the different division methods in ClearMath Elementary, something remarkable happened at recess.
"They were dividing all over the concrete," Brenna recalls, still amazed. "They were like, 'Come look, I solved this problem!' I was dying laughing. I took so many pictures. I remember saying, 'You all could be going swinging right now, and here you are dividing.'"
Among Brenna's students was Emma, a new student to the school who arrived shy, intimidated, and convinced that math "was not her strong suit." When the class reached fractions, a topic that historically strikes fear into the hearts of fourth graders everywhere, Brenna decided to get creative. She brought in mini Hershey bars (the kind that break into four pieces) to make the abstract concept tangible.
She also did something even more powerful: she was honest. "I would always say, 'When I was your age, I didn't get this. When I was your age, I struggled with this. It's okay,'" Brenna explains. "I think being honest about that really helped them understand that it's going to be okay."
Still, after that particular lesson, Brenna went home feeling defeated. "I was like, I don't think anybody understood that. I don't know if I'm a good teacher," she remembers. She spent the evening beating herself up, wondering what she could do differently.
The next morning, the 7:15 bell rang, and students came in. Emma silently placed a handwritten note on Brenna's desk before heading to her seat.
"This is the first year in a while where I actually felt like I've been learning," Emma wrote. "It's been pretty hard, but you made me understand. Thank you. I am so glad to be in your class this year."
"I just remember reading that note and I just cried," Brenna says, getting emotional even now. "I was like, 'Oh, I really did reach somebody.'"
Brenna's impact went beyond heartfelt notes. When the end-of-year test scores were released, her class had the highest math scores among all fourth-grade classes at her school. "When I pulled the scores at the end of the year, I gasped," she says. "I was blown away by them."
Now teaching third grade, Brenna carries that confidence with her, along with a wall full of student artwork and notes that she looks at whenever she needs a reminder of her impact. Emma, now in fifth grade, still visits Brenna's classroom every day.
For teachers considering ClearMath Elementary, especially those who, like Brenna, might be new to the profession or wary of math, she offers some wisdom: "Trust the curriculum. Teach to your kids and just do your best."
She appreciates the versatility of the solution. "I feel like there's some flexibility in it," she notes. "If you don't feel like you want to do it the way it's set up, don't be scared to change it. If you know your kids are ready, just do it."
From a self-described "math-phobic" student to a teacher whose classroom buzzes with mathematical enthusiasm, Brenna proves that the right curriculum can transform not just how students learn, but how teachers teach. And sometimes, the teachers who struggled most become the ones who inspire the most significant breakthroughs.
After all, who better to help a student find their way through math than someone who once needed help finding it themselves?
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