Scaling Up What First-Grade Teachers Kept Using: Happy Numbers at Huron Academy
Huron Academy, a public charter school in Clinton Township, Michigan, teaches students from preschool through eighth grade and is its own school district. The school has spent the last few years researching new math curricula because students were struggling with a basic understanding of math facts.
“We have felt that our curriculum was missing that practice to truly master the skills that are needed to build a solid foundation,” says curriculum and instruction specialist Ashley Gardella.
Over the 10 years Gardella has been at Huron, the school has used a couple of different supplemental apps, and all of them, she says, came with significant pros and cons. “We’ve tried lots of platforms over the years that are super engaging, but they’re too much game and not enough instruction.”
Adopting Happy Numbers after
the first-grade trials
Huron discovered Happy Numbers during COVID, when its first-grade team used the program’s free trials and, in Gardella’s words, “found great success with it.” A few first-grade teachers kept using it after the trials ended. Gardella taught first grade for many years before her current role and used Happy Numbers in her own classroom.
When the school’s subscription to its previous platform ended, Huron opted to try Happy Numbers across its elementary grades for one year, 2025–26.
Watch the video →
Using one program differently across grades
In 2025–26, Gardella says, “we moved buildings, so there was a lot going on.” Through that year, the program gave students a personal growth path, and teachers used it in different ways across the grades: some assigned it as practice at home, some used it during intervention time, and some used it to supplement the school’s math curriculum.
Teachers could also pick a few standards that matched what they were teaching in class and give students extra practice on them.
Finding a balance of fun
and instruction
At the start, Gardella says, “I was a little concerned that it might seem too babyish for our fourth and fifth graders because it is a very elementary-looking platform.” The school ended up with “a great response from the older kids.” One fifth grader said the visuals and a theme for each section made them more likely to want to do it.
Examples of Grade 4 tasks students see in Happy Numbers. The scenes change as students move up through the grades, so older kids get settings made for their age.
Her advice to principals and district leaders goes back to that point about kids wanting to do it. “I do feel like Happy Numbers has a good balance of both — having that fun, interactive atmosphere without being too overly gamey where they’re just doing it to earn game time and not actually learning anything from it.”
Gardella also shares a line from another fifth grader, who said Happy Numbers “gave you a chance to fix and learn from your mistakes before sending you back in scores.”
Explore Happy Numbers in your classroom
Any teacher can start with a free account and try it with their class this year.
Get started
Measuring the first year across
the elementary grades
Gardella’s 2025–26 figures come from Happy Numbers’ own assessment. “Overall, we went from 32 percent meeting and exceeding grade-level expectations to 73 percent.” Of the students who started the year far below or below grade level, 64 percent were meeting or exceeding expectations by the end of it, she says.
.png)
Alongside the figures Gardella shared, the chart shows K–5 students with complete data, meaning regular Happy Numbers users who took both the placement and end-of-year tests. In this group, the share meeting or exceeding grade-level expectations moved from 29% to 78% by the end of the year.
Learning from first grade’s years
of use
First and fifth grades benefited the most, and there was growth in the other grades as well, Gardella says. “We see the most impact in first grade because they’ve been using it for a couple of years whereas the other grades are all brand new.”
“We’ve definitely seen a ton of growth,” she says of the first-grade classrooms that have used Happy Numbers consistently year after year. Teachers there report increases in their students’ scores on NWEA.
In June, at the end of the 2025–26 school year, Gardella said, “I actually really look forward to seeing the potential growth in the other grade levels.”
Previous Article