The Algebra Project offered to Mansfield students received accolades from board members at the Tuesday night’s Mansfield City School’s monthly meeting. And Renda Cline, Lowell Smith and Brian Garverick attended the annual Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA) conference, reporting that they learned much about the Algebra Project in the Mansfield School District.
“[The Algebra Project] is doing a tremendous job in this district. It is helping others learn what the project is. It’s a totally different way of looking at math, and I learned a lot,” recounted board member Renda Cline.
Founded in 1982, the Algebra Project is a national nonprofit mathematics initiative. The program aims at empowering youth to demand a thorough understanding of math terms and concepts. It is not a program that focuses solely on algebra, a variety of mathematical concepts are covered.
Mansfield Senior High School received a grant in 2008 to start with the Algebra Project in this area. Since then, teachers and students have joined together to pursue a better understanding of math.
Mansfield City School District is getting national attention or its students’ success with the Algebra Project. Garverick attended an Algebra Project conference in Princeton last summer. At Tuesday evening’s meeting he said, “Mansfield was the talk of the conference.”
“What resonated with me was the success of students in the Algebra Project who remain with the same teacher throughout high school. That student teacher relationship is key,” added Garverick.
Mansfield is the first school district in the nation to implement the Algebra Project’s initiative in grades K-8.
Lowell Smith commented on the OSBA Conference, “The teachers just did an excellent job.”
For more information on the Algebra Project, visit their website or read Richland Source’s indepth article.
“What resonated with me was the success of students in the Algebra Project who remain with the same teacher throughout high school. That student teacher relationship is key,” said Superintendent Brian Garverick.