A Case for learning calculus
Professor Robert Case reconnects with several of his pre-calculus
program alumni, including, from left, Odalis Polanco, Northeastern
University Torch Scholar; Serginio Sylvain, MIT class of 2008,
mathematics and economics; Astrid Flores, Bryn Mawr class of 2008,
math and Spanish; Gabrielle Rigaud, Tufts class of 2005, engineering.
Listening to Robert Case describe the growing reach of his pre-calculus program for underserved Boston-area high school students is to be immediately in touch with a fire-in-the-belly passion for helping students achieve.
For Case, his work with the Boston Summer Advanced Mathematics program (in its 13th summer) is like opening a door between students and a bright future.
“Calculus has long been shown to be an important factor in a student’s ability to have success, both in college, and in the world,” Case said. “To the extent that a student takes mathematics in high school is a proxy for general success.”
Yet, many schools struggle with their own abilities to offer entry into prep courses for calculus. This is where Case’s mathematics program (formerly known as Bridge to Calculus) steps in.
Concluding another successful summer of intense prep course work for 120 juniors, Case is optimistically considering the future of the six-week program, which this year involved 13 mentors from Northeastern and area schools. Attendance in the program has grown from 20 students at its inception to a program that is attracting more and more applications, and this year, brought in external funding from the local Harold Whitworth Pierce Charitable Trust.
Like Case, Betsy Nichols, a representative of the trust, sees a high value in the calculus program.
“Access to calculus has become a major factor in a person’s ability to be successful in the world. This program is helping kids who deserve that chance, one that will make success a greater possibility,” she said.
Haitian native Gabrielle Rigaud, a 2005 graduate of Tufts, is a successful engineer with a geotechnical firm. She said she owes a portion of that success to the calculus program she took at Northeastern in 2000.
“I can honestly say that the summer I spent in that program was the best-used summer of my life,” she said. “What I learned in the Northeastern calculus program contributed to the reason I did so well in math.”
Case said the program boasts a 91 percent rate of graduates going on to college. The program gives them a shot at successes there they might not otherwise have.
“The fact is that many kids didn’t have access to mathematics, and they had less of a chance at life success,” Case said. “This program helps lift up all students. It is a real opportunity.”
— Susan Salk