Math Class + Computers + Hard Work = College For Certain

My Students

My kids are not just students, they are scholars. My classroom is made up of young teenagers who are "College for Certain". They have a lot of barriers put in front of them, but with a motivating learning environment, they thrive and break down those barriers.

My school is located in Oakland, CA, and educates scholars from Oakland and Richmond.

Most of our scholars come from low-income households where college is not a feasible expectation. Our scholars' parents know that with a strong education, their sons and daughters can be the first in their family to get to and through college. In our first week of school, the walls were filled with student's writing about their dreams and aspirations, from kindergarten all the way to 8th grade hanging below the dozens of college flags that line the walls. Upstairs, we serve almost 200 middle school students who not only serve as role models for their younger schoolmates, but also for each other; at our school, being good in school IS cool. My students can tell you every day something they learned in school, and can connect it to how it is helping them get to college. Although many of them start the first day of my math class unsure, they continue to push themselves and persevere.

My Project

With a classroom set of computers, the possibilities for differentiation, blended learning, and accessing the math resources on the Internet are endless. Students will be able to practice their skills at their own level using Khan Academy, something that is difficult to replicate without technology. With computers, my students will be able to use graphing technologies to plot points quickly and easily, and see instantaneous results of their equations or points on a graph. Students will be able to make group presentations, and present them in class using our projector. During class, I will be better able to differentiate work for all of my students. The high achievers will be able to receive extra challenges on the computer, and the students who require more intervention will be able to receive more of the practice they need at their level. Although computers cannot replace a classroom, the information and differentiation they make accessible are priceless.

Many of our students do not have access to computers at home, which sets them back significantly compared to the students they will competing with to get into college.

With computers available daily in the classroom, my students will have a start at the exposure that other college-bound students have. With daily computer usage in the classroom, our students' technology literacy will keep growing, putting them closer and closer to being college-ready.