As frigid temperatures make way for springtime in the United States, millions of people turn their attention to . . . college basketball. 

This year, with March Madness approaching and brackets solidifying, Lower School principal Heather Tibbetts sketched out a different kind of tournament. 

“I got to thinking, what if we did something across all grades,” Tibbetts recalls, “where kindergartners could have just as much of a shot as fifth graders?” One thing they all have in common is mathematical concepts. So, Tibbetts provided a slam-dunk with the creation of March MATHness. 

While huddling with the team at IXL, an educational technology company that created a self-guided learning solution for students ranging from pre-K to grade 12, Tibbetts’s gameplan took shape. “IXL was the solution because it pinpoints the student’s exact level and customizes the questions to their progress.”  

This approach not only adapts to individual learning arcs, but it levels the playing field across ages and grades. “It’s not about who’s the smartest in the school, but who really buckles down and practices their skills,” Tibbetts points out. 

Lower School leveraged its integrated House system to turn IXL into a school-wide tournament of sorts, including a daily leaderboard. With a pizza party on the line, the competition was vigorous but good-natured. Friendly rivalries emerged between fourth graders and kindergarteners; fifth graders cheered for first graders who led their houses.  

In the end, Blue House prevailed over the competition, but the scoreboard proved that all students had leveled-up their math skills and found a new way to relate to their learning. Nearly 3,000 skills were achieved, with 456 hours invested in math study, and a newfound enthusiasm for homework.  

“I felt proud of myself because I started out not doing so well but then I wanted to be on the leaderboard, so I started working harder at it,” said one fifth grader. Added a fourth-grade friend, “We should do this competition again. I liked that everyone kept learning.”  

If that sounds like a win-win, it was no accident. “We wanted to emphasize a leadership habit we’ve been working to instill: ‘Think win-win,’” Tibbetts summarizes. “It's not just about a personal win, but the collective win.”