BEAM Students Make Summer Plans

What does it really take to make it in STEM? This is a question we think about a lot at BEAM. We know one thing for sure ― early exposure to deep thinking is a key. That’s why BEAM provides summer programs in advanced math in the summers after 6th and 7th grades. Then, to make sure our older students continue challenging themselves in the summers, we help them learn about and access a variety of other summer enrichment programs.

To get BEAM students started in this process, each winter BEAM holds an information session about summer opportunities.

At this year’s session, the day began with an overview of the different types of summer programs: academic (class- or research-based), internships, and volunteering. Students also heard from three BEAM 12th graders — Alberto, Jennora, and Qige — who talked about their experiences in a variety of summer programs. Finally, students learned about the summer application process, from writing essays and requesting recommendation letters to submitting financial documents and confirming attendance.

Later in the day, 10th and 11th grade students browsed a selection of summer programs by topic, while 9th graders heard more from our senior student speakers.

Students worked on creating a detailed plan for completing summer applications, with internal deadlines for themselves. The info session is just the kickoff to a continued focus on completing summer applications and selecting a program that will be a great fit.

Here are just some of the great summer programs BEAM students attended last year:

Center for Talented Youth Summer Programs, Johns Hopkins University

Program in Mathematics for Young Scientists (PROMYS), Boston University

MathPath, Mt. Holyoke College

Mathworks Honors Summer Math Camp, Texas State University

Center for Excellence in Youth Education, Icahn School of Medicine, Mt. Sinai

Talent Identification Program (TIP), Duke University

Summer Research Mentoring Program, American Museum of Natural History

BEAM's Winter Newsletter has arrived!

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

• An update on BEAM’s Multiply Your Impact Matching campaign

• An overview of BEAM’s busy fall

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

• Recent accomplishments of BEAM students

• A reminder: we’re hiring!

Missed it? You can read the newsletter now

Make sure you don’t miss the next one! Sign up to receive BEAM’s quarterly updates.

Our Favorite Math

This summer, at BEAM Summer Away at Harvey Mudd College, we asked students, What was your favorite math problem of the summer?

Adib chose a problem from the class Solving Big Problems: Can you add or subtract the numbers between 1 through n inclusive to get 0?

Don Laackman, BEAM’s Program Coordinator and the Site Director for Summer Away at Harvey Mudd, said of this problem: “This is a central problem for the class; it requires a proof of impossibility, thinking about divisibility issues, and the solution goes on to be very useful in a problem in graph theory that students tackle later on.”

Check out Adib’s work below.

The students in Solving Big Problems take time to explore this problem, building up the pieces to solve it. This summer, after the students had completed the problem, they got to see a faculty member and a counselor tackle it together, talking through their thought process so students could see how people with lots of advanced math experience approached the very same problem they already knew well.

Check out more student work (and more about what BEAM has been up to this year) in our 2019 Annual Report.

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."