3rd Annual National Flagway Tournament in Washington!
This year’s 3rd Annual National Flagway Tournament took place at the National Math Festival in Washington D.C. on Saturday May 4th. Over 75 students from YPP programs in seven cities, including Alton (IL), Boston, Cambridge, Chicago, Mansfield (OH), Norfolk (VA), and Washington, D.C., competed for the title of best Flagway players in the country! The students were coached by their high school Math Literacy Workers (MLWs) and cheered on by many of their parents as well as attendees of the festival. In addition to the tournament, YPP high school students hosted multiple Flagway-themed and coding tabletop games during the festival. In all the MLWs engaged over 2000 children and adults across the two days of the convening!
(More photos)
Congratulations to all the teams who participated, and a special shout out to this year’s tournament champions, the Alton “Hoop Loops” (pictured below)!
Read HERE what one of the student players had to say about the tournament:
UPDATE: Next year’s 4th Annual National Flagway Tournament will be hosted in Mansfield, Ohio in May 2020.
YPP/Excel High School STEM Update
This spring, and across the past school year, the Pop-up STEM Bootcamps in Boston were a huge hit! With the support of the GE Foundation and Boston Public Schools, for the second straight year, 9th & 10th graders from Excel High School learned the Python coding language and how to teach it. Across the school year they then hosted mini STEM Bootcamps for their peers, as well this past week for for middle and elementary school students from the Tynan Elementary School, Umana Academy K-8, and the Perry and New Mission Middle Schools. Here are some photos of the camps from last week!
Also check out which activities the students enjoyed most:
BIOGEN STAR Alliance End-of-Year CELEBRATION
The Biogen Foundation launched the Biogen STAR Alliance in 2018 – a coordinated funding strategy, investing $10 million over four years across multiple non-profits - designed to help catalyze the development of local STEM ecosystems in Cambridge and Somerville, MA. YPP is honored to be a member of this coalition.
This first year of the STAR Alliance work for YPP involved three projects which will continue and grow across the coming years. First, a team of middle and high school students, alongside designers and math educators, co-designed a Math Playbook. The culmination of the students' work was shared with educators and the greater community through an event hosted at the MIT Museum. Second, high school Math Literacy Workers from YPP lead two math and coding vacation camps during February and April breaks. And last but not least, YPP successfully partnered with Cambridge Street and Putnam Ave Upper Schools in Cambridge, to prepare and send two teams to the National Flagway Tournament in Washington D.C. on May 4.
This past week all STAR Alliance organizations gathered at Lesley College and were joined by the Superintendents of Schools from Cambridge and Somerville, the Biogen Foundation and invited guests, to share their work from year one of the initiative.
We The People Math Literacy For All Alliance: Flint, Mansfield & Broward County
YPP is a proud member of the We The People - Math Literacy For All Alliance. This summer we are excited to launch a new partnership with Flint Community Schools, in Flint MI, where its is working with The Algebra Project, and the Ohio Math Literacy Initiative (OMLI) to support Flint Community Schools in its efforts to ensure that every child is prepared for college and careers such that math is not an obstacle to their future success. This district wide effort will establish professional development opportunities for elementary teachers, led by the OMLI; professional development and curriculum implementation for middle school teachers and students led by the Algebra Project; and will establish a Flagway league and near-peer and peer-to-peer learning opportunities led by YPP.
As part of its work with the Alliance, YPP is expanding its partnership in Broward County Schools in South Florida from two to four high schools. This summer YPP will provide training and apprenticeship for 4 YPP coordinators and 40 11th and 12th grade math literacy workers as part of the Algebra Project summer induction for 9th and 10th graders. The YPP coordinators and math literacy workers facilitate daily math workshops, build relationships, and provide guidance on transitioning to high school to younger peers.
On July 16 - 18 the We The People Alliance will hold a planning meeting in Washington DC. The meeting will include a public briefing on Capital Hill. Click here for more information about the public briefing.
Thank You to Our Supporters!
We want to thank all of our individual supporters and donors, and send a special shout out to the following partners, for helping to make this important work a reality.
Biogen Foundation - STAR Alliance
The Boston Foundation
Deborah Noonan Memorial Fund
Fontaine Burruss Family Fund
Liberty Mutual Foundation
National Grid Foundation
TJX Foundation