Building Confidence and Catching Up: Freedom Prep’s Fresh Start with Personalized Math

At Freedom Prep High School in Memphis, Tennessee, a bold math intervention initiative is taking shape—one that blends high expectations, positive classroom culture, and a personalized approach to helping students strengthen foundational knowledge and accelerate learning. With just 12% of students currently proficient in math and a student body that’s 100% minority enrollment, Freedom Prep is taking a proactive approach to ensure every student gets the support they need to succeed. This endeavor is driven by the visionary leadership of Principal Roderick Barber and Dean of Academics Timikia Ramsey, who are deeply committed to instructional excellence, alongside Chief Academic Officer Tiffany Moore, who shapes the academic vision across the entire Freedom Prep network. Central to this initiative is Ms. Deborah Shannon, an exceptional math educator and interventionist, whose dedication and innovative teaching methods are making a significant impact on student learning outcomes.

A Structure for Support

Meet Ms. Shannon. All of Ms. Shannon’s students are ninth graders, and she teaches both Algebra I and four dedicated intervention courses. Across her intervention classes, 45 students are identified for Tier 3 math support. These courses are scheduled five times a week—55 minutes on most days, and 40 minutes on the fifth—ensuring students have consistent, protected time to focus on foundational skills.

Ms. Shannon uses Teach to One Roadmaps as the centerpiece of her intervention approach. Students receive guided instruction aligned to their personalized skill pathways three times a week, and work independently on their suggested skills twice a week. She also integrates collaborative resources from Roadmaps for small group instruction and peer-to-peer learning opportunities, creating space for students to explain their thinking and learn from one another.

Throughout the week, students move seamlessly between paper-based practice problems, whiteboard activities, video tutorials, and online skill challenges—all within the structure of Roadmaps.

Learning in Action

In every classroom we visited, students walked in ready to learn. They immediately began a “Do Now” activity before diving into practice problems—on this day, from Lesson 240: Equations with Variables on Both Sides. Students chose between paper worksheets or whiteboards to show their work, and were provided calculators to support their thinking.

Ms. Shannon circulated the room with focus and purpose, offering just-in-time feedback and encouragement. Students who reached accuracy milestones were cleared to take a skill challenge within Roadmaps, while others were encouraged to keep practicing or revisit a video in Roadmaps for reteaching.

The classroom energy was calm but engaged. Every student was on task. One student explained how they had chosen to retake a skill challenge to move from 80% to 100%. Another confidently logged into Roadmaps, searched for their next skill, and navigated to practice resources without assistance. Work was visible on every whiteboard and paper.

Measurable Growth

Freedom Prep tracks academic growth closely, using multiple assessments across the year—including NWEA MAP, Mastery Connect, Prodigy, and state assessments. In just five months, 81% of students in the intervention group showed a year or more of academic growth in math, based on Prodigy data. Among them:

• 49% gained one grade level
• 28% gained two grade levels
• 4% gained three grade levels

Only 2% of students reverted, and just 17% remained at the same level, showcasing the effectiveness of targeted intervention powered by data and personalization.

Tools That Empower Teachers

For Ms. Shannon, the most powerful aspect of Teach to One Roadmaps is the transparency it offers. “I love the new teacher dashboard because it makes it so easy to track which skills my students are passing,” she shared. She appreciates that the platform builds student confidence by not overtly labeling students with a specific grade level. “They don’t see ‘you’re on a 3rd grade level,’ which can really hurt motivation.”

Her advice for new teachers starting with the program? “Click every button. Explore everything. There’s so much there to help your students succeed—you just have to dive in.”

Freedom Prep’s Early Results

Intervention Group: 47 ninth-grade students

Schedule: 55 mins/day (M–Th), 40 mins (Fri)

Growth (August–January):

• 81% of students grew ≥1 grade level, as measured by validated external benchmark assessment
• 100% of students actively engaged in math instruction

About Teach to One Roadmaps

Teach to One Roadmaps is a personalized math program designed to accelerate learning by helping students catch up and move forward based on what they know and what they need to know next. Roadmaps integrates real-time data, targeted resources, and actionable insights to support both students and teachers on the path to math success.