Gary Community School Corp. educators are hopeful a new software designed to boost cognitive skills will in turn increase student achievement.
Some 165 students at Bailly Preparatory Academy spend about 45 minutes a day on BrainWare Safari. The software instituted at Bailly in January reinforces cognitive skills such as attention, memory and visual processing and is delivered in a video game format.
In the program's third month, school officials say they're beginning to see positive impacts.
Students involved in the pilot program have demonstrated an increase in attention span, said Bailly Principal Lucille Washington. Daily attendance at the preparatory academy also has increased.
"Our children are more drawn to technology," Washington said. "Anything like that is a hook."
Students will take an assessment in language arts and math in May that will help determine the program's impact.
Gary businessmen Mamon Powers Jr., president of Powers and Sons Construction Company, and Kelvin Pennington, chairman of the board of Concord Family Services, Inc., donated the software to the school district.
The men were on hand along with the product's manager Roger Stark, chief executive officer and founder of Chicago-based Learning Enhancement Corp., at the school on Tuesday to field questions about BrainWare.
Pennington studied how BrainWare produced results in Indianapolis Public Schools and wanted to bring the program to Gary.
At Edgar Evans Academy in Indianapolis, students gained six years in intellectual age after working with the program for 11 weeks, according to study results released by Learning Enhancement.
"It improves cognitive skills and makes their ability to process math and English easier," Pennington said. "In the end, we'll be able to see this measured in test results."
BrainWare is used in more than 200 school districts nationwide. Locally, the School City of Hammond is looking into the program, Stark said.
Gary School Board member Nellie Moore said if the program generates success in Bailly students then the board should examine whether the district could expand BrainWare into other district schools.
"If Bailly has successful results then's it's a no-brainer to find ways to put it in other schools," Moore said.
source: http://www.post-trib.com/news/lake/2106002,brainware0317.articleprint
