Math Collaborative Completes Second Successful Summer

During closing ceremonies of the Claremont-Long Beach Math Collaborative, participants had more than the end of summer to celebrate.

Parents, teachers, mentors and friends cheered the achievements of the 30 students who participated in the second summer of the Math Collaborative. Chief among the accomplishments of the rising ninth and tenth graders—all African-American males—was the strides they made in their mathematics proficiency.

Lisa Loop, co-director of teacher education at Claremont Graduate University (CGU), congratulated scholars on their hard work at the closing ceremony Aug. 3. She reported that at the start and finish of the four-week camp held on the HMC campus, the participants took the Geometry Readiness exam of the UC/CSU Mathematics Diagnostic Testing Project. Most of the young men increased their scores substantially.

Victor Henderson, the top scorer and a rising freshman, credited his success to the Math Collaborative teachers. He said that his favorite subject is algebra, and that he may one day be a math teacher. “I’m going to keep my grades up, stop procrastinating and do as well as I can. If I hadn’t come [to the Claremont math camp], I would’ve been unprepared for high school,” he said.

The young men, all who met specific academic criteria to qualify for the program, participated in rigorous math classes, Spanish class (new this year), tutoring and extracurricular activities. CGU’s School of Educational Studies (SES) provided teachers, whose teaching credentials were partly funded by National Science Foundation Robert Noyce Fellowships. Also participating were HMC faculty members Adrian Hightower (engineering), Rachel Levy  (mathematics), Talithia Williams (mathematics) and Darryl Yong (mathematics). HMC student Elizabeth Kelley ’15 served as a residence staff member, and administrators and staff members of Claremont Graduate University and Harvey Mudd College provided program support.

Parents at the closing ceremony also had been hard at work while their children attended the Math Collaborative. Parent training classes held in Long Beach included guidance on working with their children’s teachers, school administrators and district personnel. Denise Phelps, mother of ninth grader Stelton Phelps expressed pride in her son’s achievements both in school and at the Math Collaborative. “He works hard,” she said, describing how he checks out dozens of library books every weekend. She said the program has provided even more encouragement for him to succeed.

Intended to provide a model for locally focused partnerships nationwide, the Claremont-Long Beach Math Collaborative is a partnership between Claremont Graduate University (CGU), HMC and the Long Beach Unified School District. The program connects excellent mathematics teachers and mathematicians with students in North Long Beach, a high-minority community whose African-American males, in particular, have fallen behind students statewide in math performance.

The math program was conceived by Rev. Leon Wood, CGU director of the McNair Scholar Program, who approached HMC President Maria Klawe and CGU President Deborah Freund with his idea and received immediate support. Wood’s vision materialized with support from teachers and mentors from The Claremont Colleges, the Claremont University Consortium, the Long Beach Unified School District, and financial contributions from individuals and numerous companies.

“This program is here because I am convinced—we are all convinced—that our African-American youth can become not just good mathematicians, but great mathematicians,” said Wood during the Claremont-Long Beach Math Collaborative 2011 opening ceremony.