+ About the Program

Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics (BEAM) works to create realistic pathways for students from low-income and historically marginalized communities to become scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and programmers. We believe that math is beautiful, and all students should have access to deep and interesting math; that STEM careers provide a critical gateway to fulfilling, well-paid careers; and that more and more power and influence in society is centered around science and technology, so broader access is even more important. However, the doors to these opportunities are closed because underserved students do not have the same opportunities for advanced study as more affluent peers.

BEAM Discovery is the earliest opportunity for students to attend a BEAM program: a five-week nonresidential summer camp for rising 7th graders. We create a life-changing experience for our students, both academically and non-academically, where they'll be in a community of peers interested in mathematics for perhaps the first time in their lives. We supplement the social environment with activities, field trips, guest lectures, and more.

During summer 2020, BEAM Discovery will have two locations in New York City: one at City College in West Harlem, and one at New Design High School in lower Manhattan (students attend according to which is an easier commute). In Los Angeles, the program will be run in the Koreatown/Pico-Union neighborhood.

This is BEAM's tenth year in New York and third year in Los Angeles. As far as we know, nothing quite like this exists elsewhere: while many efforts in underserved communities focus on achieving minimum competency or basic exposure to STEM, we focus on advanced math from an early age. Our experience has been that the program really changes lives and serves as a model for outreach across the country, while expanding the talent pool for mathematics and related fields.

+ About the Students

Our students are bright and motivated students who lack sufficient challenge at their existing schools. They are excited to be here and ready to learn, but they may not have the mathematical background of other students who have had more regular access to enrichment.

Students are selected for a combination of insight on challenging math puzzles, teacher nominations, and demonstrated interest and motivation. Many will be the top math students at their schools; a few will be "wildcards" within whom we hope to light a spark — students who might be less motivated in a traditional classroom setting but who showed promise on our problems.

In many cases, students' mathematical educations will have been procedural and rote. As a result, math can feel like jumbled facts to them rather than a coherent subject, and they may lack understanding of topics you consider elementary.

+ Your Role

As faculty, your role is to guide students as they discover new fields of mathematics. Our classes are small and highly interactive. Each class generally has around 15 students, and you will have a teaching assistant (either in college or a high school BEAM alum) to assist, allowing for a high degree of personalization.

You may teach either one course or two, so long as they do not conflict. Logical Reasoning and Math Fundamentals are offered in the morning (usually around 9:20am-10:20am), while Creative Problem Solving and Applied Math are offered in the afternoon (usually around 1:05pm-2:05pm), and each is followed by an hour of Open Math Time, which you stay for (see below for more information on classes and Open Math Time). Thus, you have the flexibility to have short days or to really dive into the program. See below for an example schedule for someone teaching two classes. Please note that the details of the schedule differ slightly by location.

Each class is replaced 1-2 times during camp with a "math circle" or other activity run by a visitor. Your responsibility during this time instead of staying with your class is to visit other classes to see how other classes at BEAM are taught. (It's important to us that everyone, student and staff alike, are learning!)

A note on what we're looking for

We seek individuals who have a depth of mathematical expertise, good pedagogical style, classroom management skills, and the potential to be a role model. Our courses are about understanding mathematics on a deep level rather than procedures, and we're looking for teachers who can create classes that reflect this. Furthermore, we are looking for staff members who can reflect and seek personal growth, for our students, themselves, and the entire program.

+ Details of the schedule and time commitment

In summary, your commitment in LA is weekdays June 17-July 28, while your commitment in NYC would be weekdays July 1-August 10.

Your detailed responsibilities and expectations are:

• Attend training before the program starts:
  • In LA, training is June 17, 18, and 19, 2020.
  • In NYC, training is July 1, 2 and 3, 2020.
• Teach each class to two cohorts of students (alternating days) and stay for Open Math Time following the classes you teach (see below for more information on our classes and schedule).
  • In LA, the program runs June 22-July 24, 2020.
  • In NYC, the program runs July 6-August 7, 2020.
• Communicate with your TA about the course: send them a brief overview of each day's topic and what their role will be. Note that TAs may not have much time to prepare before the class itself, but it is important to us that the TAs have positive experiences and learn about teaching.
• Schedule a weekly meeting with your TA to briefly discuss how the class is going, individual students, and what you plan on covering in the future (we suggest at least 30 min each time).
• Assign and review student problem sets.
• When your class is replaced by a math circle, visit other classes (and, ideally, offer to discuss the class afterward with its teacher).
• Attend two one-hour staff meetings per week. The exact timing of these differs by location, but these are commonly Tuesdays and Fridays.
• At the end of the summer, write a paragraph for each student about their progress in the class.
• Also at the end of the summer, provide private feedback on each student to be used internally.
• Attend a day of wrap-up after the end of the summer.
  • In LA, this is on July 27, 2020.
  • In NYC, it is August 10, 2020.

In general, we want our staff to be informal mentors for the students. You are welcome (and encouraged!) to stay for meals and social events to get to know the students on a personal level (we run sports, arts and crafts, dance, karaoke, board games, and much more), although this is entirely optional. (We also aim to build a community among our staff as well as among students, and so we host weekly staff dinners to allow you to meet other teachers and counselors at the program.)

We stay on a first-name basis with the students, and you will get to know the students well, and form close bonds with many of them. These connections are often some of the most valuable things students draw out of their summer. They're a wonderful group of kids, eager to learn, often without the opportunity to do so at this level, and we think you'll be as excited as we are to lead them on this journey.

+ Academics and Classes

The Classes

Faculty have the choice of either teaching a course using one of our pre-packaged curricula based on classes that have been successful at BEAM in the past or creating their own curriculum within the broad goals of the program (click through the links below to learn more about these goals). There are four topic areas of classes, each offers different classes, and each student chooses one course from each of:

• Logical Reasoning introduces logical reasoning including deductive logic, case analysis, working methodically, and proof by contradiction. Students are first introduced to puzzles such as Sudoku or Ken-Ken, liar/truthteller puzzles, or "matching riddles". Having gained basic skills in these puzzles, they transition to using those skills on mathematical problems.
• Math Fundamentals covers mathematics from school, but leads students to understand mathematics without relying on memorized procedures.
• Creative Problem Solving exposes students to problems that require creativity, such as those in math contests (for example, from MATHCOUNTS). Most Creative Problem Solving courses cover a specific topic area such as number theory (focusing on prime factorization), combinatorics (focusing on the multiplication principle), or geometry, although there is flexibility for other models.
• Applied Math introduces students to different areas of work related to mathematics. Examples include programming, astronomy, mathematical biology (such as predator and prey models, or genetics), or estimation and Fermi problems.

The Class Structure

Students take two hour-long classes each day on an A/B alternating schedule. So each course meets every other day, and students take a total of four courses (one from each topic area below) throughout the summer. For faculty, each course you teach will have two sections with different cohorts of students, which alternate days, and thus you'll teach every day. In total, each course has 11 class hours. (See below also for a sample weekly schedule.)

Open Math Time

One of the most important periods of each day’s schedule is Open Math Time, when students do independent work on problem sets from class, challenge problems, or other math of their own choice. There is an hour-long block of Open Math Time following each class period, and as faculty, you will assist students in your classes during that time. We believe strongly in facilitating student initiative and choice, both through Open Math Time and also by allowing them to choose courses.

+ Salary and other details

In an effort to provide entry points for people at multiple stages of their careers, we have introduced junior faculty positions in addition to our faculty positions. Teaching responsibilities are similar, but junior faculty engage in additional mentoring and support (see below for details).

Faculty Positions

In the application, we expect faculty to demonstrate a more independent ability to plan and manage their own classes, as well as (where appropriate) the expertise needed to plan their own curriculum. Faculty positions are especially intended for:

• University professors, especially those with outreach experience,
• Middle or high school teachers with strong mathematics backgrounds and 3+ years of experience, or
• Graduate students in mathematics or related fields who have prior K-12 teaching experience.

We strongly welcome applicants in applied fields as well as those in mathematics. Computer science, astronomy, and genetics have all been part of our program in the past, so long as substantial mathematical reasoning was involved in the courses.

Because our expectation is that applied mathematics course both require extra expertise and take more time to develop, we vary faculty salary based on this estimated increased workload. For Summer 2020, the salary rates for new faculty are:

• For Logic, Math Fundamentals, or Creative Problem Solving:
  • For teaching a course from one of BEAM’s prepackaged curriculum, faculty receive a total salary of $2200 for the summer, made up of $1900 for teaching the class and $300 for the post-camp work of student evaluations.
  • For creating your own curriculum and teaching a course from it, faculty receive a total salary of $2600 for the summer, made up of $2300 for teaching the class and $300 for the post-camp work of student evaluations.
• For Applied Math:
  • For teaching a course from one of BEAM’s prepackaged curriculum, faculty receive a total salary of $2800 for the summer, made up of $2500 for teaching the class and $300 for the post-camp work of student evaluations.
  • For creating your own curriculum and teaching a course from it, faculty receive a total salary of $3200 for the summer, made up of $2900 for teaching the class and $300 for the post-camp work of student evaluations.

We strive to pay our faculty well for their time, but we hope that you will see the program as we do: a labor of love that gives kids access to great mathematics. You may teach both a morning and afternoon class, allowing for salaries of $3200-$5600. Returning staff receive higher salaries based on the number of summers they have attended.

Junior Faculty Positions

Junior faculty have the same responsibilities as faculty, although they enter into a mentoring program guided by experienced BEAM instructors, and attend our course planning retreat.

Junior faculty positions are intended for:

• Graduate students in mathematics or related fields, especially those with outreach experience,
• Early career middle or high school teachers with strong mathematics backgrounds and less than three years of teaching experience, or
• Other professionals with limited teaching experience.

We expect Junior Faculty to teach two courses, but please contact us if you are interested but can only teach one. After two or three years of experience with BEAM, Junior Faculty are often invited back to be full faculty.

Junior faculty salaries are lower than faculty salaries, to allow us to provide additional training and support. Because our expectation is that applied mathematics course both require extra expertise and take more time to develop, we vary the salary based on this estimated increased workload. For summer 2020, the salary for new junior faculty is $3600 for the summer, made up of $3300 for work on-site and $300 for the post-camp work of student evaluations. There is an additional $600 if you are teaching applied math and additional $400 for each class you are creating your own curriculum for (as opposed to using one of BEAM's pre-packaged classes).

We strive to pay our staff well for their time, but we hope that you will see the program as we do: a labor of love that gives kids access to great mathematics. Returning staff receive higher salaries based on the number of summers they have attended.

Supplies

We have a budget to purchase needed class supplies, as well as (low-cost) books for students to work out of. For example, you might want to teach a Logical Reasoning course out of a Raymond Smullyan book, or get Art of Problem Solving books for Creative Problem Solving. We also can get a license for Mathematica, or other software (within reason).

We will have a printer available for as much printing as you need, and all students are provided with pencils, binders, and a backpack to use for BEAM.

+ How to Apply

Our application process has three steps: the first is an initial application to gauge interest, fit and experience. Applicants who are moved to the second step will be asked to review one of our pre-packaged classes or create a course proposal (if applying to create their own course). The last step is an interview. For more details on this and to start the process, please see this website:

Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. If you are unsure of your summer plans, we encourage you to apply early and then work out the details with us afterwards. If you need a quick decision from us, apply and let us know of your constraints.

Please note that if you do not live in New York City or Los Angeles, you must have your own housing for the summer (we cannot provide it, although the salary is more than sufficient to arrange housing if needed). We do provide housing for BEAM Summer Away Faculty and if it seems more appropriate, then we encourage you to apply for those roles instead!

Ruthi Hortsch, Ph.D.
Senior Program Manager, New York City
ruthi@beammath.org