Update for BEAM Supporters

April 19, 2022

Dear BEAM supporters and friends,

In a little more than two months, we will kick off our 12th year of summer programs in advanced math. (Spoiler alert: At last, we are returning to in-person programs.)

We never could have anticipated what BEAM’s 10th and 11th summers would look like. We went into 2020 with high expectations, with dreams of celebrating our first college graduates just in time to launch a 10th year of summer programs, which we expected to be in person (of course!). Instead, we had to pivot to planning online programs in under three months, which was only possible with incredible dedication from staff and volunteers. Since then, we’ve worked hard to continue supporting BEAM students and families; we’re so proud of what our students have been able to achieve even in the midst of the pandemic.

You can read about the highlights and hear directly from BEAM students in our new Annual Report. It's our first online annual report, and it provides a great look at BEAM's programs and impact. (Plus, we guarantee watching Emmanuel cut a star out of a single piece of paper with just one cut will bring a smile to your face.)

Now we’re pivoting again; this time back to in-person programs. We’ve already held a handful of in-person events, and are planning for in-person programs this summer. We’re incredibly excited to see our students in person again! But we know we’ve got our work cut out for us. We’re developing extensive plans to keep everyone safe and healthy.

The pandemic has brought lots of changes to BEAM. For one, we’re bursting at the seams: BEAM has grown from 18 to 35 year-round positions in the past two years. We’ve focused on building the infrastructure to sustain our growth, and on strengthening our program and evaluation teams to better serve a growing number of students.

We’re not just returning to business as usual; we’re building new (and improved) programs to support our students. Here are some highlights (with more details below):

  • A new math research seminar. A small group of high school students is conducting original research on the geometry of numbers with a long-time BEAM faculty member. Hear more about the research seminar from our students in this 4-minute video.

  • An improved alumni advising program. Our 3rd college cohort is getting ready to graduate (it’s a little hard for us to believe); we’ll be there to help BEAM alumni with career advice, resume writing, interview preparation, and more.

  • Redesigned college support. We’re adding more structured support for first-year college students to ensure they make a strong start, and for students majoring in STEM to make sure they have the tools they need to succeed throughout college.

  • Scholarships, stipends, and direct aid to students for summer STEM enrichment programs and college. Sometimes even small expenses (and, too often, not-so-small family needs) can derail students’ STEM journeys. We successfully piloted direct aid to BEAM students and families during the pandemic; now we’re offering focused support to ensure students are able to access the opportunities they have earned and stay on track throughout college.

We could use your help. Hiring is particularly challenging right now. If you could share our summer and year-round job openings with your networks, we’d really appreciate it. We are especially looking for instructors in New York City and college students to work as teaching assistants/counselors, both for summer programs.

We’re so grateful for your support. With your help, we’ve been able to support our students through some huge challenges, keep them connected to the math they love, and continue growing and building toward an even stronger future. Thanks!

For those who want even more details, keep reading—and from everyone at BEAM, our best wishes for a bright spring!

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Our strategic focuses over the past year have been improving our program structure and student support in New York City and Los Angeles; the continued successful launch of our national pilot program; and developing our internal staff infrastructure and capacity to facilitate future growth. Plus, of course, preparing to return to in-person programming!

We’re planning to return to in-person programs this summer.

We’re adapting our programs to support our students' aspirations.

  • BEAM mathematics research seminar:

    • A small group of BEAM high school students is conducting original math research with Dr. Ben Blum-Smith, a long-time BEAM faculty member. The goal is to produce original mathematical research to submit to a peer-reviewed journal or conference. Learn more on our blog.

  • A new alumni network:

    • We’ve hired a new Community and STEM Career Coordinator who is meeting one-on-one with students to assist with job applications and career questions, and building a career curriculum (advice on internships, resumes, interview prep, and more).

  • A strengthened college support program:

    • We’re adding additional supports for first-year college students, to help ensure that they persist in college. (Research has shown that completing the first year of college is tied to timely attainment of a degree, particularly for first-generation college students.) 

    • We are strengthening our tailored support for STEM majors throughout their college experience, including direct aid to students.

    • For the first time, we’re providing a small number of college scholarships designed to enable students to attend great-fit colleges, even if a school has less internal financial aid to award.

    • College scholarships are being funded by our partner, Jane Street.

  • Stipends for high school students attending summer STEM programs:

    • Every summer many BEAM students face the decision of whether to attend an unpaid summer enrichment program or seek summer employment (which students may need to help support themselves financially). Summer stipends are designed to reduce or eliminate the opportunity cost of choosing a summer enrichment program over paid work, and to encourage students to pursue opportunities that can inform their future STEM pathways.

    • Summer STEM stipends are being funded by our partners, Hudson River Trading and Jane Street.

Entry Points, our national pilot program for elementary school students, is growing.

  • Entry Points, in the 2nd year of a 3-year pilot, is serving 288 5th graders (up from 70 students last school year, and surpassing our goal of 200 students).

  • We are partnering with 13 schools in five states.

  • We’re providing access to Art of Problem Solving’s online platform, Beast Academy, as well as providing professional development and coaching for teachers who are implementing the program in classrooms.

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

We’re building our staff and infrastructure to serve our students better and position ourselves for continued growth.

We’ve strengthened our evaluation capacity.

  • We’re building our new Learning and Evaluation team, which now has three members.

  • The team has completed logic models for all parts of our program; is working to collaborate with outside researchers on questions we’re interested in; and is designing formative studies that will help us understand how to do our work better.

  • We’re also exploring opportunities to partner with colleges and universities to expand our evaluative capacity and provide meaningful learning opportunities to students.  If you know undergraduate or graduate students or faculty with interests in program evaluation, social science research, STEM education, and/or math education, please share this interest form.

We’re planning for the future.

  • We're engaging in an organization-wide strategic planning process to chart the next three years of our work, and plan to report results this fall.

How can you be involved?

  • Keep up with everything happening at BEAM:

    • Check out our new Annual Report.

    • Sign up for our quarterly newsletter.

    • If you’re not currently receiving our postal mailings (we send three/year),  consider sharing your mailing address with us. In June, you’ll receive our Graduation Letter, highlighting Consuelo’s STEM journey so far; she’ll be graduating from Bard High School Early College in June. Email Melissa Gillis at melissag@beammath.org.

    • Follow us on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.

  • Connect us to opportunities for BEAM students (STEM programs, internships, and career opportunities). Reach out to BEAM’s Community and STEM Career Coordinator, Cecily Santiago, at Cecily@beammath.org.

  • Spread the word about working at BEAM.

  • Donate to BEAM: All our programs are free for students and families.

Thank you for supporting BEAM. You make our work possible!

Read our previous update from April 2021 here.

This page is designed to provide updates to BEAM funders and supporters. Our website also has information for: