Entry Points Takes Off!

Entry Points, BEAM’s newest program, combines the same kind of high-quality math programming, and community and mathematical identity building for students as our local programs in New York City and Los Angeles. It is designed, also like our local programs, to help students discover the beauty of mathematics and develop real expertise in mathematical problem solving.

The key difference is that local teachers implement the Entry Points curriculum in their own classrooms, rather than BEAM faculty in BEAM classrooms. 

Students are using Beast Academy (Art of Problem Solving’s highly regarded online program) in their classrooms. One teacher told us with Beast Academy, which uses comics to teach math, students feel like they “get to do math” rather than that they “have to do math.”

While BEAM faculty led students using Beast Academy in the previous school year, this year local teachers implemented the program with the help of BEAM coaches. Coaches checked in with teachers monthly, learning about their experiences, providing support, and helping find solutions to challenges that arose.

One teacher commented: “[My coach] listens to the needs of my students. She is able to give me supporting activities that bring in more reluctant students.” Another commented, “My coach does a great job with efficiently utilizing our time together…She also follows up with resources and thoughts after we meet. I never feel burdened by our meetings, only empowered.”

In Entry Points, we’re also helping students and families create communities where they have fun doing math together.

One particular highlight of the program this year was Family Nights, hosted in English and Spanish, where families were invited to play games, meet Entry Points staff, and even have the chance to win a raffle! Families also had the opportunity to have conversations about math-problem solving skills. Staff asked, “What did you feel while playing these games?” One student reflected: “It felt fun, and the [brain teasers have] a lot in common with math.” Another family member said: “Tengo que ejercitar [mi mente] mas a menudo” (I have to exercise my mind more). We’ve been sending out monthly newsletters with activities, including puzzles for families to do together at home to continue practicing outside of the classroom.

Oodle, a Wordle variation, solved in teams at a Family Night!

Entry Points is designed to build on the success of BEAM programming in New York City and Los Angeles, while providing a pathway for BEAM to reach more students in diverse settings and to support teachers nationwide.

We’re looking for partner schools for the 2022-2023 school year! Please share this article with your networks! Learn more and connect with BEAM here.

BEAM Announces New National Program

BEAM Announces New Initiative in Collaboration with Art of Problem Solving to Increase Diversity in STEM Fields

BEAM National plans to reach thousands of students from low-income and historically marginalized communities nationwide.

Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics (BEAM) is excited to announce a new initiative in collaboration with The Art of Problem Solving to support students from low-income and historically marginalized communities nationwide in pursuing advanced mathematics.

BEAM National will provide access to advanced mathematics learning for students from second grade through college graduation, and in particular will provide continuous mentoring and advising from middle school through college. Our goal is nothing less than to change the landscape of achievement by both reaching students from a young age and providing access to the most marginalized students no matter where they are.

In BEAM National's Entry Points program, thousands of students will receive free access to the highly-regarded Beast Academy Online program in elementary school, as well as guided support from teachers, community organizations, and families; BEAM will provide training and support for their work with the students. Students who do well will receive free enrollment to online Art of Problem Solving courses in 6th and 7th grades, and can then continue to a national, residential summer program in the summer after 7th grade --- BEAM's Summer Away program, which will introduce them to beautiful and challenging topics in math.

Students who attend Summer Away will be a part of our Pathway Program from 8th grade-college graduation, which will include individual mentoring and advising, online classes, and a continuous community of all their friends from the summer. While the community will be online for most of the year, each year students from all years of the program will come together for a conference/reunion to reconnect and share their learnings, with a focus on older students mentoring their younger peers.

See below for answers to frequently asked questions. Those who are interested can get involved in a number of ways:

• Apply for our new Executive Director of National Programs role, or share the role with your network.

• If you are connected to a school, district, university, or community organization and want to make the program available to your students, sign up here to receive updates.

• Donate to BEAM to support our work, including BEAM National.

Frequently Asked Questions

When will the program launch?

Academic year 2020-2021 is a learning year for us, during which BEAM staff will work closely with small groups of students to understand the most effective support for us to offer with Beast Academy. During academic year 2021-2022, we expect to pilot a school-led program (with professional development provided by BEAM) for around 500 fifth graders. The program will continue to scale based on initial outcomes, reaching students in both younger and older grades.

What support will BEAM provide to schools or others implementing the program with their students?

While we plan to iterate on the design, we expect to offer professional development, recommended activities to run with students, and easy access to student progress on the Beast Academy platform. For those near to some of our staff, we will also offer a monthly classroom visit to engage the students with fun activities and connect them to the broader BEAM community.

What commitment is required from partners?

Partners will commit to providing students with needed technology, giving them dedicated time to work on the platform, and providing support to students. While we recommend forming a separate class for students using Beast Academy, it is also possible for students to work independently with period check-ins from a teacher.

What support will BEAM provide directly to students?

In addition to Beast Academy, students will have access to videos from BEAM that will feature interviews with STEM professionals from diverse backgrounds, engaging demonstrations of mathematics, and special problems.

What support will BEAM provide to families?

We expect to provide families of participating students with monthly games and activities that family members can do together with the students. Parents/guardians will also be able to get reports on student progress.

What students are eligible? How much will the program cost?

Students must meet BEAM's criteria for being low-income and low-access (based on family income and the community/resources of the school they attend). The program will be free to all eligible students. Schools will be eligible to participate if the overall population is predominantly within BEAM's target audience.

What if my student/school is not eligible?

Individual students can sign up directly for Beast Academy. Schools can similarly acquire the curriculum for their use.

What will the mentoring look like during the Pathway Program?

Once students complete BEAM Summer Away, they will communicate regularly with a BEAM advisor to help them navigate high school, attend other summer programs, apply to college, and more.

How many students will ultimately be served by BEAM National?

While there is a lot we're still figuring out, when the program reaches scale we hope to be reaching tens of thousands of students per year.

What will happen with BEAM's local programs?

BEAM remains fully committed to our programs in both Los Angeles and New York City, and in fact we're looking at expanding those programs or opening in new cities. BEAM National affords us a new way to reach more students, and to ensure that geography isn't a barrier to students' access to advanced math. We expect there to be a robust exchange between the programs: local programs can learn from BEAM National's work with elementary-aged students, while BEAM National will learn from our mentoring program in high school and college. Our local programs will always be able to reach those students in the greatest need with our direct on-the-ground work, and if anything, our commitment to that work will only get stronger.

BEAM Is Expanding!

For some time now, BEAM has been brainstorming ideas about how to reach students nationally.  Recently, part of this expansion idea received pilot funding through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation! The funding allows BEAM to develop materials for school districts, community groups, and universities to directly run summer programs modeled on BEAM Discovery, our nonresidential program for rising 7th graders. As part of the grant, Mathematica Policy Research will evaluate the results; we will be carefully monitoring the project’s progress.

We are proud to have two partners for summer 2020: Memphis Teacher Residency (MTR) in Tennessee and Albuquerque Public Schools in New Mexico. They will select staff, recruit students, and coordinate with local partners. Meanwhile, BEAM is busy packaging courses and developing training guides for faculty and staff at our partner sites. It's an experiment, but an important one. If it's successful, we can bring BEAM-style learning to many more students.

Today, we’re excited to introduce the Marjorie Lee Browne STEM Education Fellowship.

Named after a prominent African-American mathematician and educator, the Marjorie Lee Browne STEM Education Fellowship (or the Browne STEM Fellowship) is a six-week internship program and partnership between BEAM, MTR, and the National Civil Rights Museum. Fellows will receive intensive training in pedagogy, cultural competency, and math content, and will serve as counselors at MTR’s STEM Discovery Camp during summer 2020.

The National Civil Rights Museum will also be equipping fellows with a broad, historical perspective of the civil rights movement and its intersection with education.

The Browne STEM Fellowship is designed for college undergraduates who are people of color interested in teaching secondary math and science.  Applications are being accepted until January 15, 2020.

Interested in the Browne STEM Fellowship? Click here for more information.

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MTR visits BEAM Discovery NYC to see the program in action.
(From left to right: Chuck Butler, Austin Bettis, Caroline O’Hare, and Jordan Latham.)

Check back soon for a partner spotlight on Albuquerque Public Schools.