Math Corps Cleveland

M: Take you Mask off. 

A: About the kids, now. 

T: All Together. 

H: This is Home, wow.  

This. Is. Math. Corps.

At its core, the Math Corps holds a simple but unwavering belief – that all children have a unique and special greatness within them and that, through hard work and a commitment to excellence and with the support of a caring family or community, that greatness can be realized. The Math Corps believes that the surest road to realizing that greatness lies along the path of simply being yourself. It is the mission of the Math Corps, using mathematics as its tool, to help as many children as possible realize their own particular greatness.

The Program

The Math Corps at CSU Summer Camp (grades 7, 8, 10-12) is a FREE, six-week program serving about 120 students each year on Cleveland State’s campus. Students receive math instruction in both basic and advanced topics while being immersed in a culture of excellence. The core values of kindness, integrity, and courage are promoted throughout the program along with a powerful sense of family. The high school students serve as “big brothers” and “big sisters” to the younger students, while faculty and college students serve as mentors. All participants are held to strict standards with regard to attendance, homework and behavior, but having fun is considered to be the program’s most important requirement.

The Philosophy and Main Principles

The Math Corps philosophy stands on the following two basic principles:

1. High standards and expectations should be held at all times for every student in the program with regard to both academics and character, and without regard to either past performance or background.

2. A sense of family should exist, whereby every student in the program is cared for as an individual, is supported non-academically as well as academically, finds friendships and mentoring relationships that are both meaningful and long-lasting, and is made to feel that he or she belongs to something very special.

The Math Corps at CSU strives to give students the support to help them succeed in school.  These include: healthy breakfasts, supplies, caring staff and ancillary services that families usually provide as second nature.

Results and Outcomes

• During the program, scores typically increase from pre-test averages of 30% to post-test averages of 80%.
• In program evaluations,
  • 93% of middle school students agree with the statement, “I feel confident I can succeed in math.”
  • 100% of parents agree with the statement, “I feel my child learned a lot in this program.”
• In reports from parents and teachers, Math Corps has helped participants:
  • retain and sharpen their mathematical content knowledge and prepare for the start of the next school year;
  • build confidence in their academic ability;
  • acquire tools that foster student success (i.e. note-taking, time management, organization, etc.); and
  • believe that college is attainable through their experiences in a university setting.