When I was teaching, I would explain to my students that
mathematics is a language by which
they can come to read and understand the world.
And while a basic understanding of math is important,
fluency in mathematics can unlock a child's true potential.
Students with mathematically talented minds need to be nurtured ...
and that does not mean just giving them the next curriculum faster!
Our truly mathematically gifted students need something different ...
and that is why we introduced
"Elements of Mathematics Foundations" to our schools.
EMF is an online middle school curriculum
that combines the opportunity for students to take
information that is informed by the best
contemporary understanding of mathematics,
and respects the traditional way in which students,
as human beings,
process information.
It is meeting the needs of these students
and setting them up to be
contemporary mathematicians.
EMF delivered exactly what it promised ...
it promised us high quality instruction for mathematically talented students.
And we got exactly that.
Broward County Public Schools is really large. We're the sixth largest district in the nation.
We have a lot of moving parts.
The staff at EMF was able to navigate through those moving parts tremendously ...
not only communicating with our parents and our students but also communicating with us at the district staff.
The EMF program has been very successful in Broward County Public Schools.
Students and parents love being in the program
and we can tell from our quantitative data that when students leave the program
they're very successful in their high school mathematics courses and beyond.
Teachers can be very concerned
about how an EMF student,
doing an online curriculum,
will work in their traditional classroom ...
But once they see the enthusiasm
that the EMF student brings to their daily practice
any of those concerns are alleviated.
It completely changes how you think about mathematics
and that's what I love about EMF.
My kids are thriving in the courses.
For our family it's been a real lifesaver.
It's helped me know that I could do more than I thought I could.
EMF lets me think outside the box.
We want our students to have a sense of excitement about their education.
We want them to have a sense of fulfillment ...
and a sense of expanding horizons.
With EMF, students can exceed expectations and flourish.
As an educator, as a parent, as a theoretician ...
I have never seen anything address the mathematical hunger of gifted students
the way that EMF does.
For the question of what to do for students who are ready for exceptional opportunity ...
EMF is the answer.
