Summer Algebra Institute contacts:
Rhoda Stephens, SAI Administrator, [email protected]
Cherylnn Pope, SAI Instructor, [email protected]
CSU Public Affairs contact:
Erik Fallis, (562) 951-4800, mobile (562) 477-7317, [email protected]
Media Advisory:
Sunday, Aug. 23, 2 p.m. –
Faithful Central Bible Church, Inglewood
How did they spend their summer vacation?
At church in CSU algebra institute. Go figure.
Sunday’s ceremony to fete middle- and high-school students;
on display will be their pyramids, math/science timeline, pride
Note to editors and news directors: Here’s a big math problem: Not enough underrepresented students enter high school ready for Algebra 1; thus they risk not being ready for college when they graduate high school.
One solution: Consider x is middle- and high-school students, y is African American churches in Southern California, and z is the California State University (CSU); then 500x + 16y + z = 16 CSU Summer Algebra Institute programs. The programs are set in church facilities where teachers present summer sessions focused on important math concepts.
Reporters and photographers are invited to cover a Sunday, Aug. 23, ceremony to honor the roughly 75 student participants. The ceremony will begin at 2 p.m. at Faithful Central Bible Church of Inglewood. It will honor students from that church’s program along with those from West Angeles Church of Los Angeles. On display will be math-project pyramids and a student-created timeline of African and African American achievements in math and science.
For details about the ceremony and to arrange interviews with students, reporters may contact the sites’ instructor, Cherylnn Pope, at [email protected]; or the SAI site administrator, Rhoda Stephens, at [email protected].
In many communities, the Summer Algebra Institute partnerships helped fill a void created as school districts cut summer classes out of their budgets.
According to Tony Ross, vice president of student affairs for California State University, Los Angeles and coordinator of the CSU African American Initiative, “The algebra institutes are helping students overcome one of the largest hurdles to gaining college acceptance: math skills. Math skills are an access issue and a key to prosperity. With a solid foundation in math, students will have more career options when it comes to the fastest-growing sectors of our economy – including jobs in research, technology, engineering and medical services."
WHAT: CSU Summer Algebra Institute culminating ceremony to honor middle-school and high-school students who went to church to study math this summer.
WHEN: Ceremony begins at 2 p.m., Sunday, August 23, 2009. Interviews may be arranged in advance. Best time for student interviews will be immediately after the ceremony, which is expected to last two hours or less.
WHERE: Faithful Central Bible Church, 333 W. Florence Ave., Inglewood, CA 90301
WHO: About 75 mostly eighth- and ninth-grade students, along with teachers, administrators, and others.
WHY: To highlight how crucial algebra is for preparing children for future success, and to showcase a church-CSU partnership that boosts math skills to foster educational access in underserved communities.
# # #
CSU news release:
CSU and Church Partners Provide a Gateway to College through Summer Algebra Institutes - http://www.calstate.edu/PA/News/2009/summer-algebra.shtml
Working for California since 1947: The 175-acre hilltop campus of California State University, Los Angeles is at the heart of a major metropolitan city, just five miles from Los Angeles’ civic and cultural center. More than 20,000 students and 210,000 alumni—with a wide variety of interests, ages and backgrounds—reflect the city’s dynamic mix of populations. Six Colleges offer nationally recognized science, arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education and humanities programs, among others, led by an award-winning faculty. Cal State L.A. is home to the critically-acclaimed Luckman Jazz Orchestra and to a unique university center for gifted students as young as 12. Programs that provide exciting enrichment opportunities to students and community include an NEH- and Rockefeller-supported humanities center; a NASA-funded center for space research; and a growing forensic science program, housed in the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center. www.calstatela.edu