Bay, AR — (JonesboroRightNow.com) — March 14, 2025 — Bay Elementary students got a reward for their hard work in winning a statewide math competition for the second time in a row on Friday.

On March 14, the school celebrated being named the February state champion in the Prodigy State Challenge by holding a school-wide pizza party. They were also named the state champion in January.

Fifth grade math and science teacher Jodi Taintor said during the challenge, students answered math questions and competed against different schools while earning prizes.

“It’s all online, where they can win prizes through the game as they’re playing,” Taintor said. “They get different armor they can put on, they get different weapons, different things they can put in their houses.”

In January, students at Bay Elementary answered 23,042 questions correctly, while in February, they answered 33,696 correctly, according to Taintor. She said they’re hoping for another win for March, because that increases their chance of participating in the Prodigy National Cup, which comes with an even bigger prize.

“At the end of each month, we are placed into a tier for a nationwide contest that will take place May 1 through the 15th, and currently, because we placed first in January and February, we are in the platinum tier. That means in May, we have a chance for a $100,000 technology grant for our school if we’re able to place first nationwide,” Taintor said.

Taintor said it didn’t take much to motivate the students to compete.

“Because we got first, we won $500 for a pizza party, we also won a one-week Prodigy Math membership for these kids, and when I say that, we had every kid in the room say it was the best day of their lives. The Prodigy itself is a motivation, because they love the game so much,” Taintor said.

Once the students heard they had won a second month in a row, they said they all felt the same thing: surprised.

“I felt pretty good because at my old school that I went to in Brookland, we never got the championship. I was surprised,” said one of the students.

The achievement did not come easy, as Taintor said it was challenging at some points, keeping some students’ morale up as their placements kept going up and down.

“In January, we were 13th place, then we went to sixth place, and then we would drop down to 12th, because it updates every morning and the kids would ask as soon as they walk in, ‘What place are we in,” Taintor said.

“It was difficult for some time, but not all the time,” one of the students said. “I felt like we were going to be on the top because I kept having to do sixth grade questions like long division.”

Being a smaller school made the win almost uncertain, according to Taintor, but that uncertainty disappeared once the results came back.

“We have [kindergarten] through [sixth grade] participating, and I think we had 285 students that participated in January, but once we got that win in January, that’s when they were like, ‘Oh! We can do this. We can win,” Taintor said.

“I love that we could be on the top because this way, we can answer questions really quickly,” said one of the students.

As for the Prodigy National Cup, Taintor said they are not changing their strategy, as the students are more determined than ever to win.

“With the competitive spirit that some of our teachers are going to put out, I think we have a shot,” Taintor said. “I think it comes down to May 1 and us making sure that the kids realize, ‘Hey! This is where we’re at. This is what we can do.’ I think if the teachers motivate, the students will already be self-motivated, and I think they’ll dive in no problem.”

The students felt the same way, saying they are confident they are going to reach the top.

To learn more about the Prodigy State Challenge, click here.