Thursday, October 1, 2026
East Elementary School won a statewide competition hosted by Prodigy, an educational game-based platform. The competition encouraged students to answer as many questions correctly as possible, with each correct answer contributing to the school’s overall score.
By the end of the competition, East Elementary students had answered 44,414 questions correctly, earning the top spot in New York State.
“For a very small school that was about to be shut down, we rallied, we came together for one common goal, and the kids were so motivated and engaged and excited to be a part of it,” Edward Courtney, a W.I.N.G.S teacher at East School said. “It really has just been an incredible team-building experience for us.”
The competition was designed to involve all students, with each grade and class participating to help the school rise in the rankings. Prodigy’s adaptive learning system allowed students to practice math and English skills, adjusting the difficulty of questions based on individual performance. Students could work at their own pace, with more challenging questions for those who performed well and additional support for those who needed it.
“Prodigy was a fantastic platform for me to introduce to the kids because it is adaptive to them,” Courtney said. “It’s based on their skills, what they need while they learn, and they’re playing a game. So, they really were challenged to keep winning the quests and to verse each other, while also realizing that they’re learning their math skills. That they’re bettering their math skills.”
Courtney played a key role in the school’s success. As the Prodigy Ambassador for the school, Courtney helped introduce and set up the platform for all students. With over ten years of experience using Prodigy, he worked with classroom teachers to ensure that the system was fully integrated into the school’s learning environment. In his role as a W.I.N.G.S. teacher — or “What I Need to Grow as a Student”— Courtney focuses on providing personalized learning experiences for students, making the Prodigy platform a fitting tool for meeting the different academic needs of the students.
The collective effort of students and staff contributed to the school’s success, with each class playing a role in answering the 44,414 questions that led to the win. The competition also encouraged a sense of community and collaboration as students worked together toward a common goal.
East Elementary now looks ahead to the nationwide Prodigy competition, with hopes of continuing its success. The win has generated enthusiasm for learning, and the school is focused on maintaining this momentum as it moves forward.
“Whatever I can do to help teachers out, that is my job and I want to continue to motivate them, so that way, by May, when the nationwide rankings come out, we can hopefully win that prodigy cup,” Courtney said. “I want to take it back to East school.”
