Metryx is an innovative, Providence-based startup company dedicated to developing mobile applications for education. Our first product, the Metryx Mobile Tracker is an assessment application for educators that tracks student progress efficiently and effectively on all mobile devices.

Metryx will launch its full-featured Beta version on May 19th and will use the summer to build a version 1 that will be released in the beginning of September.

Metryx is offering internship opportunities for the summer starting the end of June and ending the second week of August (start and end dates are flexible). This is an exciting opportunity to work directly with the founders of a start-up.

Applicants must be focused, hard working and able to learn on the fly.

Education Research Intern – We are looking for teachers, teachers-in-training or retired teachers who are interested in helping us rewrite the national Common Core Standards for Metryx. This is an ideal position for educators interested in learning more about the incoming Common Core standards.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Research

Spreadsheet/Database creation

Product Planning

Market Research

Product Testing and User Feedback Analysis

Mobile Application Research Intern – We are looking for computer savvy individuals who use mobile devices like tablets and SMARTphones. We need individuals who enjoy exploring new applications, and are interested in documenting their thoughts and feedback around features and problems they find with targeted education applications.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Research

Data Entry

Reviewing of applications

Market Research

Product Testing and User Feedback Analysis

Web and Coding Intern – We are looking for interns with beginning web-design, or coding skills who want to work alongside talented web professionals to learn more about this field. This summer we will be creating several websites that will need design and coding work. On the job training will be provided, but we are looking for people with prior experience.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Graphic Design (Adobe Suite experience preferred)

Web Design (Word Press or other Content Management experience preferred)

Web Design (HTML, CSS, and Javascript skills are a bonus)

Writing and Editing

Photographic/Video Editing

Social Media Publishing

Details:

Schedule: Part time, 15 – 30 hours per week

Compensation: $500 – $1,000 stipend depending on length of committment

Commitment: June through August

Application Deadline: Open until Filled

Location: Highlander Dunn Institute, 42 Lexington Ave. Providence, RI

Experience and Ability:

• Must be web and social media-savvy
• Must be able to learn new programs & applications with relative ease
• Must have some work experience with a letter of reference from a manager at previous location
• Must have an interest in helping to advance the role technology plays in the educational system
• Must be prompt, cordial, and appropriately able to work well in a school and office environment
• Must be self-motivated, proactive and driven to meet deadlines
• Must be positive and upbeat

How to Apply:

Please submit a resume, with any samples of work to shawn@MyMetryx.com

Please use “Summer Intern” in the subject line

Website: http://www.mymetryx.com/

The anonymous gift was granted by a foundation who felt that the collaborations nurtured by the Highlander Dunn Institute had broad implications for school reform work in the educational community. The gift was made in honor of Bryant Wick.

Born in 1961, K. Bryant Wick was an avid sportsman and philanthropist, serving on his family’s foundation for over 20 years.  He suddenly and tragically died in 2009 from injuries resulting from an automobile accident.

The motivation behind the Highlander Institute gift is to assist parents and teachers of children confronting learning difficulties and disabilities.  But the heartfelt element of this gift is in honor of a wonderful man who loved life, his family, friends, and those young people who deserve a hand in their struggle with learning disabilities.

Bryant was a part of a substantive tradition of philanthropy directed at dyslexia and learning disabilities. He brought to the table a level of passion and spirit that comes only through the adversity and pain one feels when dealing with dyslexia firsthand.  Bryant’s attitude towards life showed a drive to succeed and to persuade and encourage others with learning disabilities that they were indeed remarkable individuals, with skills and insights that would see them clear of any hurdle.

Young people need spiritual mentors like Bryant Wick to sustain them when they can only see their own faults and weaknesses.  Through this gift and the memories of everyone who knew him, Bryant is still with us, supporting all those who work in the field of learning disabilities and reminding us, repeatedly, that we can if we will.

One locally grown touch-screen application has already started to increase the rate at which teachers can gather and organize information about their students’ progress.

Education App

“We want students to be taught at the appropriate level,” said Metryx cofounder Shawn Rubin. “The more teachers understand where their students fall in terms of their proficiency with a skill, the better they will be able to prepare their lessons to meet students’ needs.”

But before this new formative assessment tool reaches the hands and fingers of educators in every corner of the U.S., some Ocean State teachers are test-driving the new app on iPads and providing Rubin and cofounder Stephanie Castilla valuable feedback ahead of extensive Beta testing this winter.

“Currently there are 15 teachers piloting the Metryx app at Highlander Charter School,” Rubin said. “We will be expanding to between 30 and 50 by the end of January and then looking to grow our Beta pilot well into the hundreds nationwide by the end of the winter.”

“RI is a great place for startups to get support, funding and traction,” Rubin continued. “Nonprofits like the Highlander-Dunn Institute are always looking for locally-grown ideas that they can bring to the rest of the state.”

Oct 3, 2011

By Alli-Michelle Conti, Contributing Writer

Charter schools are a chance to involve entire communities. Highlander Charter School takes that notion and runs with it. Other area public schools are, in fact, looking to them as a model.

At the forefront of their innovation is touch technology, extensive after-school programs, a unique approach to math and science learning, along with a commitment to community service and family engagement.

They have seen significant gains in student proficiency and parent satisfaction. Like other urban schools, Highlander has struggled to overcome low standardized test scores. Yet over the past three years, student aptitude levels have increased by 17 percentage points on the literacy New England Common Assessment Program and 15 percentage points on the math NECAP.

They are also showing steady progress towards closing the gap not only with science but literacy and math. Still, these are not their only measures of success.

It’s a “nurturing the whole child” approach that has garnered the school recognition, as well as the R.I. Department of Education, which granted Highlander $140,000 to share its best practices.

“Every single teacher goes to every single one of their students’ houses to meet with families to create common understanding for the year’s expectations,” said Rose Mary Grant, head of school.

Teachers are drawn to the Providence school for its creativity within the curriculum, small class sizes of only 16-18 students, and the extra support. The instructor turnover rate is low. In the past two years, only a few teachers have left due to relocation.

“Flexibility in a charter school allows teachers to explore their passions and their students’ passions,” said Grant.

With 82 percent of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch and 14 percent of students receiving special education services, Highlander reflects many of the state’s urban schools. However, their original ways of teaching have set them apart.

“We are able to test innovative ideas across different backgrounds,” said Grant.

This is due to the fact that not all students come from a concentrated area like Providence. Highlander is able to draw upon somewhat of a diverse socio-economic background stretching across the state.

Each year, the admission lottery gets more competitive. In March, 46 spots were filled for 890 applicants.

Confident in its recent test scores in literacy, due in part to their work with The Highlander Dunn Institute, the school has chosen to focus on advanced ways of teaching math and science.

Smart Math, a program designed by its teachers, allows repetition across grade levels to ensure mastery. It is not a “canned” product. The Smart Math curriculum is electronic.

Using a mostly electronic curriculum in math, teachers are able to easily adjust the lesson to compensate for skill sets, explains Grant.

A multisensory approach to learning has recently developed further with a touch-technology integration into classrooms using iPad applications. They are used to improve skills such as reading and at the same time enticing students into learning.

Teachers at Highlander have created student-assessment software to make it easier and faster for teachers to enter evaluation data, resulting in an automated analysis of skill levels and challenges.

This allows a teacher to immediately adjust lesson plans according to a student’s ability.

http://pbn.com/Creative-curriculum-sparks-results-at-Highlander,61534

For a full summary of the conference, read more…

Interested in how touch technology can revolutionize teaching and learning at your school?  Talk to the experts at Highlander Dunn, who can help you use various touch platforms to:

* increase differentiated instruction
* improve the proficiency of struggling learners
* address curriculum gaps
* build lesson plans that are universally accessible
* engage all students in learning

Services include full or half day workshops on technology platforms including Smart Boards and  iPads; and tailored technology planning that aligns technology resources, professional development and current software options.

For more information, please contact Cathy Sanford at 401-831-7327 x17

Highlander Dunn Institute, the organization that spearheads the RILP, pointed to results at the four participating state elementary schools following the release of 2010 NECAP scores.

While NECAP scores remained flat at elementary levels across the state, the four partner elementary schools of the Rhode Island Literacy Project experienced significant progress in reading over the past three years since the Project’s launch, the group said.

“The fact that our four partner schools increased their reading NECAP scores by an average of 9 percentage points in 2010 validates the hard work of teachers, administrators and our Dunn team over the past two years,” said Cathy Sanford, director of the Highlander Dunn Institute.

Launched with corporate support in September 2008, the RILP is a five-year demonstration project initiating school-based literacy reform work in four partner elementary schools, including the Highlander Charter School in Providence, the Fallon Memorial and Elizabeth Baldwin Elementary Schools in Pawtucket and the Fort Barton Elementary School in Tiverton.

“Taking part in this initiative has been an amazing process that has given our school a common curricular vision,” said Suzette Wordell, principal of Fort Barton.

Read More…

Launched in September 2008 by the Highlander Dunn Institute, the RILP is a 5-year demonstration project initiating school-based literacy reform work in four partner elementary schools, including the Highlander Charter School in Providence, the Fallon Memorial and Elizabeth Baldwin Elementary Schools in Pawtucket and the Fort Barton Elementary School in Tiverton. The RILP places a heavy emphasis on data-driven decision making and creating culture changes across public schools in urban, rural and charter environments.

Read the full story in the Pawtucket Times…

The model, which blends research-based literacy interventions with a strong emphasis on data analysis, was launched in two Cumberland elementary schools during the 2009-2010 school year. The catalyst for the initiative was concern over state assessment scores in the district’s higher need schools—and a sense of urgency around increasing intervention time for at-risk students.

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