Alumni Focus: Jessica Martin '03

THIS IS ONE of a series of Alumni Focus features where we hear from alumni of the Mathematics and Computer Science Department and find out what they have been doing since graduation. This note is from Jessica Martin '03, who was a major in Mathematics. Jessica plans to enter the graduate program of the State University of New York College of Environment and Forestry in Syracuse, NY in the Fall of 2005.

Jessica writes... For the past year and a half I have been working at a small school located in the South Bronx. Banana Kelly High School serves 270 children from the surrounding Hispanic and African-American neighborhood. The school was founded around the idea of "community" and works with students, families, and community organizations in order to best meet the needs of the students. Within the Banana Kelly Community I was hired to design and team-teach an integrated 9th grade math and science program. This program was established in the fall of 2004 to reach a student body that had traditionally preformed very poorly in these subject areas. The students were at risk of failing both the mathematics and science Regents Exams that are required for graduation. Throughout the development of the math and science program we have worked to design a program that prepares our students for their required exams, but more importantly, teaches students how to think independently and development problem solving skills. Our goal is to engage our students in the areas of math and science. Much of our class time is spent working in groups to solve problems and perform laboratory experiments. We also take our students on weekly field trips to the Bronx River where they are able to explore their own community and apply science and math concepts they are learning in the classroom. While many of the activities in our classroom are simplistic, they are new experience for our students. We have pushed the limits in a school building with no lab classrooms and very few supplies. As we work to continue our program we are forced to constantly balance our curriculum between what is mandated by the New York City Department of Education and State of New York, and what we know is best for our students. I feel lucky to have found a school that is bold enough to put their student's needs first and give their teachers the freedom to design programs that meet their student's needs. This tradition has allowed us to move our students forward in a neighborhood where students are expected to fail. ---From Jessica Martin, January 7, 2005 Jessica Martin (upper left) along with her ninth grade students at the Banana Kelly High School in the South Bronx.