At CollegeReadyMath We are Passionate About Providing Quality Math Solutions Designed Around Today’s Student!
Who We Are
Our mission is to improve the academic outcomes for underserved students, particularly students of color and ELL high school students. We believe the single most important academic issue, that will have the greatest impact on their academic experience, is helping them better understand algebra – the gateway to math success throughout high school and college.
Previously known as HigherSchool Instructional Services, we were the second largest provider of Title I supplemental services to nonpublic schools in New York City, serving 8,000 students in 55 schools. We were one of the most effective providers throughout the citywide program from 2009 to 2020. Similar services were provided to public school students in Detroit, Baltimore and Washington DC and to nonpublic school students in Philadelphia.
What We Do
- We provide effective intervention support, in the form of easy-to-understand supplemental, online algebra videos, designed to help underserved and ELL students in 8th and 9th grade build a foundation in essential algebra skills.
- We provide an effective acceleration program in the form of supplemental, online algebra videos, provided in advance of the Pennsylvania Algebra I Keystone Exam, to help underserved and ELL high school students reinforce their understanding of essential algebra skills. This includes students taking the Keystone for the first or second time. Rather than remediate we help students accelerate their learning.
- We provide an effective review program in the form of supplemental, online algebra videos to help college-bound students that are preparing for a college math placement test. This test is significant because it will determine whether they may enroll in a for-credit math course in college or must first take one or more remedial prerequisites. How well they perform on this test will have a significant effect on when or if they will finish college.
Our Mission
Our desire is to improve the academic outcomes for underserved students who attend public high school. We believe the single most important academic issue, that will have the greatest impact on their academic experience, is helping them better understand algebra – the gateway to math success throughout high school and college.
Executive Leadership Team
David Irving
Founder & Executive Director
After twenty-five years in institutional finance David decided to focus on ways to make a difference in the academic lives of underserved and economically disadvantaged students. He created educational companies that have provided parents with instructional guidance and parental involvement workshops, students with tutoring and instruction in literacy and mathematics, and teachers and principals with coaching and professional development training.
He founded HigherSchool Publishing Company in 2002 and later published The Parent’s Guide to Better Grades, 7 Steps to Improve Your Child’s Academic Performance. Developed as a resource for Title I parents who attended his parent involvement workshops, this instructional guide has successfully helped thousands of parents in Chicago, Minneapolis, Detroit and Los Angeles by providing guidance on how to help their children improve their study habits, organizational skills, and overall academic performance.
He next created HigherSchool Tutoring in 2004 to provide supplemental educational services to students in the Detroit Public Schools; the Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Prince George’s County Public Schools; and the DC Public Schools. His tutors helped students establish a firm foundation in core subjects, score higher on state and national assessments and develop the skills needed to perform on grade level. HigherSchool Tutoring was one of the first companies in the mid-Atlantic region to implement differentiated instruction in mixed ability classrooms as well as blended instruction, which combined asynchronous online learning with live instruction.
These companies were followed in 2009 by HigherSchool Instructional Services, which provided supplemental instruction, professional development, counseling and parent involvement services to Title I schools in the New York City Department of Education. With an annual enrollment exceeding 8,000 students in three boroughs, HigherSchool became one of the largest supplemental instructional services programs for Title I students in New York. It was later expanded to the School District of Philadelphia in 2017. HigherSchool was purchased in 2020 by Nelnet, a national educational services provider and servicer of student loans for the U.S. Department of Education.
In 2018, he started CollegeReadyMath, which offers a complete series of supplemental, online algebra video lessons for secondary and post-secondary students and, in 2023, he created proficientED, a professional learning program designed to help math teachers improve the quality of their instructional practice and implement more effective teaching strategies.
Prior to forming HigherSchool, David was the Regional Vice President for Delta Education, the K-12 Science Division of School Specialty, the developer of the Full Option Science System (FOSS) hands-on science kits. He managed a sales force throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions.
Prior to Delta Education, David was the Regional Sales Manager for ASCD: The Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development where he marketed professional development programs, books and workshops to major school districts and universities throughout the Midwest.
David attended Howard University and Harvard Business School Executive Education. He currently resides in Washington, DC. He has three adult children and two grandchildren.
He is a retired member of the Board of Trustees of the Key School in Annapolis, a former Board Member of the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County and a current member of the National Advisory Board of Foundations Inc.
Miguel Cordero
Chief Learning and Content Officer
Miguel Cordero leads the Curriculum Development for CollegeReadyMath. Prior to joining CRM, Miguel spent the last thirty years with the New York City Department of Education, most recently as Executive Director of STEM Programs for the Division of Teaching & Learning. There he oversaw the development and implementation of key policy, partnerships, professional learning and resources within the Divisions of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Prior to serving as the Executive Director of STEM, Miguel was an advisor to the Chancellor’s Chief Academic Officer. He also held other positions within the Department including Senior Director of STEM for the Division of Multilingual Learners, Director of Secondary Mathematics for the Division of English Language Learners, Senior Math Instructional Specialist for Mathematics and Science, Assistant Principal of Mathematics for the High School for Media and Communications and Math Teacher at Washington Irving High School. Before coming to New York City, Miguel taught all high school math courses and developed curricula materials in Puerto Rico.
Miguel has a Master’s and a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics as well as a Master’s in Educational Administration.
Michael Stokrp
Founder & Chief Technical Officer
Michael has more than 35 years of experience leading medium and large sized development and infrastructure organizations. Mike is responsible for HigherSchool’s Information Technology strategy, deploying solutions that align with the overall company goals and objectives, and managing HigherSchool’s infrastructure platforms to be highly scalable and available.
Prior to joining HigherSchool, Mike was a co-founder and served as Chief Technology Officer for Educational Options, Inc. now Edmentum, a nationwide educational company focused on delivering learning products and subscription based services for the EdTech industry. In this role, he successfully designed, delivered and supported the technology strategy that drove profitability. This included the delivery and execution of Educational Options, Inc. Information Technology enterprise class applications, infrastructure and support.
Before joining Educational Options, Inc., Mike served as Director of Special Projects at RJO Enterprises, Inc., where he was responsible for designing, developing and deploying innovative commercial products for the entertainment industry including Disney and many of the major Hollywood Studios.
Advisory Team
Dr. John Squires
We would to thank Dr. John Squires for his assistance in the formulation of the CollegeReadyMath Program.
Dr. John Squires is a nationally recognized expert in College and Career Readiness. He has taught college mathematics for over 25 years, and he served as the Math Department Chair at Cleveland State Community College and Head of the Math Department at Chattanooga State Community College.
Dr. Squires also served as the Director of College and Career Readiness for the Southern Regional Education Board from 2015 to 2019, working with states to create programs to improve student readiness in literacy and mathematics.
Dr. Squires has worked with national organizations on a number of educational issues including corequisite remediation, college readiness courses, transitional courses (English and math), math redesign, career pathways, policy work, data collection and analysis, and building sustainable, comprehensive programs for systems and states.
He has written articles and papers for Inside Higher Education, Huffington Post, and New Directions in Institutional Research. He served as a coauthor for the 2016 IES What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guide on Developmental Education, and he wrote a chapter for Purdue University’s Transforming Institutions: Undergraduate STEM Education for the 21st Century. His work has been featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education and the effectiveness of his programs have been documented by Vanderbilt and Harvard University.
Dr. Ben Sinwell
Benjamin Sinwell is a National Board certified high school mathematics teacher and is a teacher leader in mathematics education. He is an active member of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and most recently served as the program chair for the NCTM Regional Meeting held in Indianapolis in 2022. Dr. Sinwell has served on the SAT Mathematics Review Committee since 2014 and has written curriculum for and is a consultant for Illustrative Mathematics. He has been teaching high school mathematics and providing professional development for secondary mathematics teachers for over 20 years.
William Fulford
William Fulford, a data and statistical analyst, creates algebra and basic math curriculum for CollegeReadyMath’s supplemental video programs. He holds a BS in Mathematics and a BA in Political Science from Lee University.
As an undergraduate, William tutored other undergraduates in College Statistics, Algebra, Geometry, Calculus, and Trigonometry. He also conducted institutional research on developing more effective teaching of statistics, emphasizing ensuring students have a strong foundation in statistical knowledge and applications, and analyzing the effect of COVID on non-traditional online learning.
After graduation, William helped design a Pre-Calculus course for Western Governors University, an online Business Calculus II course for Colorado Christian Academy, he conducted institutional research and course design for Cleveland State Community College and data analysis for Georgia Tech.
In addition to educational institutions, William has conducted data analysis for CHI Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga, and the THRIVE Regional Partnership in Chattanooga.
William has been published in The International Journal of Geometry, and has presented research to the Mathematics Association of America, Southeastern Conference.