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.

Helping Students Navigate High School Admissions

On September 21, BEAM hosted its annual High School Information Session to help BEAM 8th graders and their families navigate the New York City high school admissions process.

BEAM staff broke down the application process step by step, while four BEAM high schoolers talked about their admissions experiences.

Hawa, who is now in 9th grade at Beacon High School, told BEAM students: "Keep in contact with the BEAM staff because they will help you if you have an issue. When I was applying to Beacon, I almost did not apply, but because the BEAM staff helped me with my mailing, I was able to get accepted."

What’s next for BEAM 8th graders?

BEAM staff are meeting one-on-one with 8th graders and their families to develop their lists of prospective high schools. (BEAM offers advising in Spanish, Chinese, and English.)

Since August, students have also been taking Saturday classes to prepare for the SHSAT and to work on writing admissions essays for selective high schools.

 BEAM staff will also be taking students on school visits soon, and will review students’ final school rankings with them before they are submitted in December.

 For families who missed the High School Information Session, another session is planned for November.

BEAM's Fall Newsletter has arrived!

Today, BEAM's quarterly newsletter arrived in the inboxes of all our subscribers. The newsletter features:

• An introduction to BEAM Summer Away at Harvey Mudd College, our sixth summer site

• An invitation to BEAM’s Puzzles and Trivia Night

• A recap of College Prep Week

• Staff Picks: recommendations from staff members about what to read, watch, listen to, and more

• Recent accomplishments of BEAM students

• Slightly mathy trivia from last year’s Puzzles and Trivia Night for you to try out!

Missed it? You can read the newsletter now.

Make sure you don’t miss the next one! Sign up for our quarterly newsletter.

BEAM College Prep Week

BEAM alumni, (clockwise from top left) Ana, Ariel, John, Crisleidy, and Quentin, speak with BEAM 11th and 12th graders about college admissions and college life.

During College Prep Week, BEAM alumni offered great advice for the gathered 11th and 12th graders about getting into and through college.

Here’s just a little bit of what they said:

Question — What’s one piece of advice you wish you’d had while you were applying to colleges?

• Get someone who doesn’t know you to read your essay; it can be uncomfortable but it made my essay better.

• Find a set time and dedicate it to college stuff (like Thursday office hours at BEAM).

• The library is your best friend. Use it during free periods, after school, whenever you can.

• Don’t apply to 18 colleges.

In a week of workshops, BEAM students learned about college admissions, financial aid, choosing the right college, standardized tests, and more. Twelfth graders worked on college essays.

Oh, and there was Jeopardy!

Vanessa said about College Prep Week, “I learned about FAFSA, CSS, TAP, QuestBridge, and how BEAM will help me. I feel more prepared to approach the college process."

Thank you BEAM supporters!

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to BEAM!

Now that our summer programs are over, our students would like to tell you what they accomplished.

“I solved a lot of challenge problems with my friends.” —Ruth, BEAM Discovery

“I solved 12 problems in the 100 Problem Challenge.” — Vernon, BEAM Discovery

“I learned some coding and got WAY better at it. BEAM made me love math and realize my passion for it!” —Mia, BEAM Discovery

“This is my first ever program and I loved it! I’m glad that you helped support BEAM.” —Hayden, BEAM Discovery

“BEAM helped me see math in a whole different way. THANKS.” —Sanjana, BEAM Discovery

“BEAM is a glowing star.” (left) —Estefani, BEAM Discovery

“BEAM is out of this world.” (right) —Allison, BEAM Discovery

Activities at Beam Discovery

Activities at BEAM Discovery’s Downtown site is one of the ways we unwind and socialize with each other. During Week 3 we were able to take great pictures of students and staff having a great time.

Basketball

Yu-Gi-Oh! Tournament

Kickball

Friendship Bracelet Making

A Day at BEAM Discovery

So what exactly happens at BEAM Discovery? Here’s a look at a typical day, featuring photos from BEAM Discovery’s Downtown NYC campus!

The morning starts with breakfast, followed by morning classes. BEAM believes in choice, so students pick classes, which might be “Beating Sherlock” or “Fractions, Puzzles, and Games.”

After class, students have an hour of Open Math Time, time where they can work on any math they choose, individually or in groups. They make sure to complete required PSets (problem sets) from class, and they can then explore challenges (the Problem of the Week or the 100 Problem Challenge), math books, coding websites, the Art of Problem Solving, and more.

After class, it’s on to activities! BEAM students get their choice of sports, board games, arts and crafts, and other creative activities. Recent hits included how to solve a Rubik’s cube, origami, anime club, and relay tic-tac-toe.

After activities, it’s off to lunch. BEAM pays for catered lunch from local restaurants every day. These photos are from empanada Thursday!

Most days, the afternoon block features an exact repeat of the morning block: class, open math time, activities. But one day each week, we have special afternoons, which feature Relays, a team-based math competition where students solve math challenges with some silliness mixed in. A recent problem required students to hum a tune their judge would recognize before they gave their math answer!

When the day wraps up, students join their travel groups to take the subway home and relax and recharge so their brains are fresh for another day at BEAM!