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Non-Profit Offers Summer Math Program
KCBS
San Francisco | Oakland | San Jose
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KCBS) -- A Silicon Valley non-profit has partnered with several school districts to offer a summer math program to junior high school kids.
The Stepping Up to Algebra-Math Acceleration Program is still relatively young, but it’s growing.
”We started three years ago with a pilot program with 250 kids. Last year, we had over 450 kids go through the program and we learned a lot more,” said Muhammed Chaundry, CEO of the Silicon Valley Education Foundation. “This year, we have so many Silicon Valley corporations interested, we’re going to have 1,200 kids go through this program.”
The Silicon Valley Education Foundation, a non-profit, is behind the program.
Chaundry said nine Santa Clara County school districts are participating this year at a time when state funding cuts have caused many of them to slash their summer school budgets.
The program offers students entering the 7th and 8th grade 75 hours of math instruction over four weeks in the summer.
”Success in math has the highest correlation with success in college and careers,” Chaundry said. “So there for, backing up and getting kids to take Algebra 1 in the 8th grade puts them on trajectory to not only take Algebra 2, but go beyond that in order for them to be successful in their college and careers.”
The Silicon Valley Education Foundation works to help close the achievement gap and increase the percentage of Silicon Valley students be prepared for college.
