“March Mathness,” a new event designed to create friendly competition and harness interschool rivalry as a way to boost math skills, kicked off recently for middle and high school students in the Colton Joint Unified School District. In March Mathness, students earn points by completing extra online math exercises. The schools whose students accumulate the most points get bragging rights by reaching the top of the leaderboard, which is updated every two weeks. Students from the leading schools also get entered into drawings for individual prizes. “We are excited to develop a positive mindset with our students about mathematics in Colton Joint USD,” Dr. Tina Petersen, assistant superintendent of Educational Services, said. When any student enters the competition, it starts with an “initial knowledge check” by the online platform, which is also available in Spanish. The lessons that follow are automatically tailored to them, to help them build their understanding of math. The idea is that any student, regardless of what level they start at, can win and contribute to their school’s success by putting in the time and effort. The competition started with students’ return in January from Winter Break, and will continue through March 11. Check out @ColtonJUSD on Twitter for updates along the way of what school has the lead.