About Us

Ellipsis Math is a small southern California company started in 1997 by Valerie Henry, NBCT, Ed.D.

In 1997 Valerie was a middle school math teacher, with a B.A. in mathematics from UC Davis and both multiple subject and single subject teaching credentials from UC Irvine. When parents mentioned that they couldn't find summer math practice materials for their middle school students, Valerie decided to create summer math workbooks that would do more than simply focus on computation. Over the next few years, Ellipsis Math was formed and the Summer Math Workbook series grew from two grade levels to six. Each of the workbooks incorporated the computational practice parents asked for, as well as problem solving, math puzzles, and math/art connections.

At the same time, to address parent and teacher concerns that students continue to develop procedural fluency as they spent more class time on conceptual development, discovery, investigations, and problem solving, Valerie began developing a set of computational practice materials (Tuning Up) that could be used as homework assignments once each week. These materials provided intermittent rehearsal of computational procedures, and helped parents feel more comfortable with the innovative approaches to mathematics teaching and learning that were happening in the classroom.

After Valerie completed her dissertation research at UC Irvine in 2004, she began a pilot project to investigate strategies for teaching basic facts that would go beyond flashcards, worksheets, and timed tests. By 2006, these strategies had been piloted, revised, and research demonstrated dramatic differences between control and FactsWise students.

Valerie balances her time as a lecturer in mathematics education at UC Irvine with her commitment to share what she has learned about how to help students develop basic facts fluency, part-whole thinking, and flexible number sense through FactsWise workshops.

Contact Information:

Valerie Henry, Ed.D.
ellipsismath@gmail.com


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