Latest news with #NationalMathStars
Forbes
3 days ago
- General
- Forbes
How National Math Stars Removes Barriers For Young Math Talent
I met with Ilana Walder-Biesanz, the leader of National Math Stars, to discuss her innovative program that's changing the landscape of advanced mathematics education for exceptionally gifted children. Walder-Biesanz understands these students' challenges firsthand. Growing up in Portland, Oregon, she was six years ahead in mathematics and required a customized educational path. "My parents had to work a lot with schools, local colleges, and online math options to find ways to keep me challenged," she explains. This experience shaped her career path, which included engineering, tech product management, and nonprofit consulting before leading National Math Stars. Her leadership team brings impressive credentials to the organization, including former Teach for America instructors, experienced educators who have served as school principals and superintendents, nonprofit leaders, and experts with deep knowledge of advanced mathematics and STEM enrichment. "We're a combination of people who have experience in and care deeply about education, and people who have started and built things from the ground up," Walder-Biesanz noted. "We all have some background in science or mathematics, which helps us understand what these students need." National Math Stars was conceived by two philanthropic organizations, Carina Initiatives and Polynera Fund, in 2023. The funds had been supporting advanced math summer camps but noticed participants came from limited geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds. They invited Walder-Biesanz as an entrepreneur-in-residence to create a program that would identify and support mathematically gifted students from across the country, starting early and investing heavily in their development. National Math Stars isn't just finding mathematical talent—it's ensuring it doesn't get lost. The organization identifies students in second and third grade through school referrals or direct applications from parents (including homeschooling families). Most applicants find National Math Stars through their Awards Program, in which participating schools recognize their highest-achieving math students. They have already shipped more than 10,000 awards this year for students across Texas and the Midwest, partnering with over 2,000 elementary schools. "Partnering with National Math Stars has offered essential recognition to our top math students while also providing them with valuable academic experiences beyond the classroom. Many of these students and their families were unaware of their full mathematical potential. As a district, we are dedicated to providing resources and opportunities that will help these students reach their highest potential," shared Ellen Gay, specialist in gifted and talented education at Medina Valley School District, which participates in the Awards Program. Once admitted, students receive a decade-long commitment of support through high school. Starting with a pilot cohort of 12 students in 2023, National Math Stars has grown to serve 70 students, and will welcome over 100 more this summer. The program is comprehensive and personalized. Every student takes advanced math courses and participates in weekly small-group mentoring sessions with mathematicians, where they tackle challenging problems that spark their interest. Families receive a STEM budget for enrichment activities ranging from chess lessons to 3D printers, and the program fully funds one summer camp annually for each student. Family advisors serve as guides, helping parents navigate opportunities and advocate effectively within their schools for appropriate accommodations. They work with families to develop long-term visions for their children's development, providing continuity and purpose to their mathematical journey. The community aspect is equally important - National Math Stars organizes in-person welcome weekends, virtual events on topics from Pi Day activities to Rubik's cubing, and local gatherings where children meet peers with similar interests and abilities. These connections help to combat the isolation often experienced by exceptionally gifted students, allowing them to form friendships based on shared passions, and fostering a sense of belonging to a greater community. The parents of Holden, a Star in the 2024 cohort, shared: "Being part of the National Math Stars program has been an incredible experience for our family. It has given Holden a space where he can truly challenge himself, connect with like-minded peers who share his passion for mathematics, and grow both academically and personally. The mentorship and opportunities have pushed him to think in new ways, and it's been amazing to watch his confidence and excitement for math grow. As parents, we've realized that we are no longer navigating this journey alone.' National Math Stars aims to ensure parents of extraordinary young mathematicians are not alone - and that knowledge and finances are not a barrier to supporting their children's abilities. "There's a large distribution of extraordinary talent in the US," Walder-Biesanz explained, referencing Opportunity Insights' "Lost Einsteins" research, which found that while children with high third-grade math scores are more likely to become inventors, family income drastically affects outcomes. "Only a small proportion fully realizes their potential." When asked about frequent parental concerns that AI might make STEM careers obsolete, Walder-Biesanz remained confident: "Even with the rise of AI, mathematical problem-solving skills and the soft skills built around that—resilience, clear communication, collaboration—will be super valuable, whatever those careers are." When mathematical talent meets opportunity and support, the trajectory changes for both the student and society. National Math Stars is actively seeking school and district partners, especially in remote or lower-income areas within their target states, to refer their most mathematically talented students. They're also excited to connect with additional funders interested in supporting mathematical talent development. In a world where exceptional mathematical talent can often feel isolated and misunderstood, programs like National Math Stars stand apart—built by leaders who have walked this path themselves, they combine deep understanding of gifted children's unique needs with genuine care and intellectual rigor, creating environments where mathematical brilliance isn't just identified but nurtured and given every opportunity to reach its fullest expression.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Program That Gives $100K to Support Young Gifted Math Students Poised to Expand
By the time Xavier Cherkas was 5 years old, his college-educated mother, Ericka Lee, could no longer help him with his math homework. A gifted student, her little boy had already moved on to algebra. 'I taught him most everything up until kindergarten,' Lee said. 'And then he surpassed me.' Managing Xavier's outsized ability proved challenging. His mother, a teacher and performer, was constantly chasing down new opportunities for him in what felt like a job of its own, one that came with numerous out-of-pocket expenses. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Lee paid a math tutor $70 a week to work with him for just 45 minutes and was constantly buying books and other materials to support him. One coding program alone cost $900. It was terrific, she said, but unaffordable in the long term. It wasn't until summer 2023 that she learned about a brand new nonprofit created to support high-achieving young math students with more than $100,000 in educational assistance over 10 years. Xavier was recommended to National Math Stars by an advanced math camp he attended in Ohio. Soon, he and his mom were bombarded with help. 'Now I have a partner,' Lee said of the organization. 'They are begging us to tell them what he is interested in so that they can follow up. They make things so much easier.' Born in June 2023 and funded by more than $16 million in grants from foundations focused on mathematics and supporting underserved youth, National Math Stars already paid for her son's $299 3D printer and sundry items through Art of Problem Solving or AoPS, a math tutoring service that offers online classes, books and other learning tools. The program began with 12 children from around the country and added another 61 from Texas last fall. All were between the ages of 7 and 11. It will soon expand to the Midwest: It plans to bring on another 100 students later this year — half from the Lone Star State and the remainder from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. It intends to grow incoming classes to 200-plus children, as long as funding allows for the duration of their decade-long commitment. It finds participants by asking select schools — it's in communication with more than 1,500 of them — to identify students in the second and third grade who score in the top 2% or 3% of their class on standardized math exams. Parents can also apply on their child's behalf: Applications are now open and will close June 15. Ilana Walder-Biesanz, National Math Stars' founder, wants to identify and help mathematically gifted students when they are young, before factors like race and socioeconomics wear away at their opportunity and achievement. 'If we look for top performers in second grade, we're going to have a more diverse and representative group … than if we first look for them in eighth grade or in high school, when there has been more time for the people with more resources to get ahead — and the people with fewer resources to fall behind,' she said. Related Walder-Biesanz knows what it's like to be unchallenged at school. She skipped three grades — she entered college at 15 and graduated four years later — but was another three years ahead in what was her favorite subject: She took algebra in sixth grade at age 9 and calculus in 10th grade when she was 12. She earned her bachelor's from Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, her master's in European Literature at the University of Cambridge and her MBA from Stanford. Walder-Biesanz previously worked as a product manager at Microsoft and Yahoo and later as a management consultant at Bain. While her family was well resourced, her local schools' math curriculum wasn't challenging enough: She had to seek outside sources to supplement what it lacked. She knows not all children have that chance, which is why she is focused on widening opportunity for all mathematically gifted kids. Related While future classes will skew younger, the pilot included older students like Xavier to amass a group quickly and to serve as a vanguard: These children will reach middle, high school and college ahead of their peers, allowing National Math Stars time to further refine its offerings. Xavier, 11 and who enjoys coding, said he loves math because, 'It can describe almost anything if you use it right.' The sixth grader said he's currently trying to build a pseudorandom number generator, an algorithm for generating a sequence of numbers whose properties approximate random ones. They're often used in programming, simulations and electronic games. He's also interested in pentomino tilings — think of the shapes used in the game Tetris, which have four squares and add a fifth. 'I just think it's cool,' he said. And, through National Math Stars, he was able to talk to the creators of which offers a free suite of math tools — including what Xavier calls a 'super awesome' graphing calculator — to help users represent their ideas mathematically. After being asked to speak to National Math Stars students at large, Desmos recognized some of them were already quite familiar with its offerings. Those students were invited to meet with the company's product team and give their advice on what it could improve upon. Xavier said he was elated to speak to people so well respected by the mathematics community. Another participant, Haripriya Patel, 9 and in the third grade, attends school online. Her mother said she breezes through her core curriculum, electives and homework in just three to four hours each day. A part of National Math Stars for about five months, she particularly enjoyed the welcome weekend in Houston, where she and other students made mathematical origami and completed logic puzzles and math-based games. Haripriya, who aspires to be a marine biologist, said she loves algebraic equations, geometry and number theory. 'I like problem solving,' said Haripriya, who lives in Katy, Texas. 'I enjoy the process, the opportunity.' Johan Banegas, 8 and from Dallas, was thrilled to be accepted to the program because 'not a lot of people can do it.' He said school doesn't always provide the rigor he needs and that he's already skipped second grade. 'To be honest,' he said bashfully during a recent interview, 'it's still so easy in fourth grade.' National Math Stars has paid for, among other items, Johan's premium subscription to CrunchLabs, which mails him technology packs meant for teens and adults. Walder-Biesanz recognizes that participating families are asked to make a major commitment to the program. Their children must be enrolled in advanced math courses outside of school, regularly check in with their adviser, attend weekly math mentoring sessions and STEM-related summer programs each year. 'Obviously, we fully fund that, including travel and all the associated costs, but they do have to make the time for it and make it a priority,' she said. Johan, who wants to be an engineer, said he is determined to stick with it through high school. 'They pay for a lot of stuff and they also let us learn more than usual so we can keep on being advanced in math,' he said. Walder-Biesanz said her organization learned much from its pilot year, including how children value in-person interaction, how participating students didn't need tutoring in advanced math — they were gifted enough to handle it on their own — and how families from lower socio-economic levels were more hesitant to ask for money to support their students' academic ambitions. 'We initially had a kind of free-form funding approach where we said, 'Hey, you know, if it's STEM related and you ask for it, we'll probably say yes,' to telling families they had a certain budget and that 'we want you to use the whole thing.' Related Walder-Biesanz said her organization asks early on in the admissions process about family income and first-generation immigrant status, looking for indicators that the opportunity might be particularly valuable. 'We take that strongly into consideration as we try to put student's scores into context,' she said. 'I'm more impressed with an ESL student from a low-income family who scores 99th percentile on our admissions exam than with a super well-resourced student who scores 99.9th percentile.' Melodie Baker, executive director of ImpactSTATS Inc., a nonprofit that uses research data and storytelling to shape and advance policies, said timely, early identification is crucial for cultivating and developing mathematical talent. 'Continuous support during formative years, especially for students who face economic stressors, can mitigate typical distractions — needing to work to help support family — and allow students to remain engaged,' she said. 'Like the saying goes, while talent is equally distributed, opportunity is not.' Walder-Biesanz said not all highly gifted children are well served by their local public schools and that it's tragic to lose out on their abilities. 'As a country and as a world, we face a lot of big challenges,' she said. 'We are going to need people with really strong STEM skills, really strong analytical ability, really strong problem solving and collaboration skills to tackle the world's problems and to stay competitive as a country.'
