This summer, for the first time, students from half of BEAM's partner schools were invited to the new BEAM 6 program for the summer after 6th grade. With support from great teachers, college students, and even past BEAM alumni who returned as junior counselors, the students learned advanced math in areas such as logical reasoning, math team strategies, and afternoon math circles.
Hosted at the Urban Assembly Maker Academy, this was BEAM's first-ever non-residential program. With an intentional focus on building community, our students made friendships that will last a lifetime and help guide them through their paths from here on out.
“Math is like a friend that was also [there] in the good and bad times. My favorite part of BEAM is when we have math circles.”
Yarely (right)
“Math is something everyone should learn. It’s amazing and I hope I can keep on learning more math. I want to get a PhD in math.”
David
“Math is like a whole different world to me and I love it. When I do math I get lost in the world. It’s amazing. [At BEAM,] I learned how to work with others, share my ideas, and also hear other people’s ideas.”
Vicky
“Math is a way to express yourself to the world. My favorite part of BEAM is being able to work in a community that is just as passionate about math as me and being [able] to work with these people to expand my knowledge.”
Anthony
“[Math] allows me to explore what I haven’t before and to challenge my brain’s limits.”
Camila
Every student who attended BEAM 6 is invited to continue their studies with a free online Prealgebra course at Art of Problem Solving; free books from BEAM; and recommendations to future programs and high schools. Forty of the students will be back next summer for BEAM 7 at Bard College!
While still a pilot program, we are so pleased with how BEAM 6's first summer went and we look forward to expanding it to serve students from all our partner schools in summers to come.