“I love using math to solve problems. One day on the bus, I decided I wanted to calculate the surface area of my bus, so I came up with equations to do it and by the time I got to school, I had the answer,” said Lilly.
Her mom, Katherine Key Griswold realized early in Lilly’s development that she was gifted, but it wasn’t until her third-grade math scores came in last spring that she realized Lilly is exceptionally gifted in math.
“Mr. Hanna told us her math scores blew the roof off the test,” said Katherine. “So, from there we started looking at where we could get her into some gifted and talented programs.”
She began meeting with TK administrators to gather all of Lilly’s test scores and find options for her. Katherine had lots of questions. “Where do we place her and how do we do this? She’s really doing sixth-grade math or higher right now. How do we keep her excited about learning and at the same time still challenging her?”
Katherine’s family helped research program options to fit Lilly’s accelerated learning, and they found National Math Stars. The program looks for students in the 98th and 99th percentile in the country. Lilly made the cut.
Lilly had to take multiple tests over the summer with math problems well beyond the fourth-grade curriculum. Still, Lilly excelled. Of the 6,384 applications for the program, 389 finalists were named and 100 were selected to be the newest members of the National Math Stars program.
Lilly is part of the Voyager program within the National Math Stars. It is a 10-year, fully funded program to support and inspire students in their mathematical journeys. Over the 10 years, the program invests more than $100,000 in each star student. Members of the program receive personalized academic coaching, access to national-level math programs, family support, a math mentor for Lilly, and financial support. Lilly gets to choose topics of interest to her. Each semester she will take advanced math courses she can work on independently in her regular school classroom at Page as well as additional lessons at home.
There’s also support for Lilly to attend summer math camps, competitions and other enrichment opportunities. A dedicated family advisor is assigned to assist each family throughout the 10-year program with things like college counseling, career exploration, and collaboration with partners to advocate for the child's needs in schools.
“We wouldn’t have access to these kinds of experiences without this program,” said Katherine. “They’re really trying to diversify the opportunities for these students.”
Lilly is excited about the program. “I like coding a lot and I like art and the physics behind art,” said Lilly who hopes to combine her passion for art along with her expertise in mathematics.
Recently she attended a welcome weekend in Texas for the new members of the Math Stars. While there she was able to pick different interests, meet other students, and try a host of challenges.
One experience she particularly enjoyed was creating infinite rooms using mirrors to make it appear as if an image never ends. She also loved working with giant yo-yos, understanding the physics behind them and mastering tricks with them.
During the event, Lilly also visited NASA space center where she touched moon rocks, ate astronaut ice cream and got to submit questions to former astronaut Ellen Ochoa. Two of Lilly’s questions were selected. Ochoa is an American engineer, former astronaut and was the first Hispanic director of the Johnson Space Center. They also visited the Museum of Natural Science.
“It gave us a look at what opportunities look like for her and how she can continue learning and growing. At some point she’s going to outpace some of her educators and us as parents,” said Katherine.
For Lilly, it was an exciting and eye-opening weekend. “I find math all around me all the time. I love to self-teach. I ask myself questions and figure out ways to find the answers. I especially like getting to know more about coding and I want to find out what kind of math I can mix in with art because those are my two favorite things,” she said.
Lilly has been a TK student since kindergarten and she wants to continue her education at TK, but also in the Stars program. She has two additional math classes per week outside of school, a session with her Math Stars mentor and can work independently on math in her TK classroom.
“We’ve really had incredible experiences with all the teachers here at TK,” said Katherine. “I’m incredibly proud of Lilly and truly grateful to her TK teachers for the role they've each played in her academic journey. Lilly is where she is because of the teachers who have helped her already. We are one of two schools in the state with a student selected for this program.”
Michigan does not require an Individualized Education Program for gifted and talented students, only for students with learning disabilities. Katherine hopes this experience can help spark future conversation about additional ways to help nurture exceptional talent.
Page Principal Amy Forman said Lilly is an incredible student. “We are excited to watch her grow and give her the time and space and do whatever we can do to help her along this journey.”