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Dana
Raimondi with her 2 daughters and grandchildren. Bob Wieckowski,
Assemblyman helped us celebrate her kind contribution to
the children of Fremont. |
The Dana Raimondi Math Program
started in 2007 to provide low income students in Fremont, California
access to math programs that will allow students to excel. Her yearly donation funds will be used to work
with Fremont Unified School District, California to develop a way in which students can
succeed in passing Algebra. This is especially timely since the state of
California is initiating that students take and pass Algebra in the 8th grade.
The design of the materials will be put on our website for all to use.
This fund also helps us to use some of the materials we designed with two other
grants: TPL Inc and Seagate Technology.
Throughout the year the Math Science Nucleus with its
partners, Fremont Unified School District will
develop ways to help those children at risk.
Fremont Unified School District will be working with the Math
Science Nucleus to develop strategies. In 2007 we worked with Brier
Elementary School
to develop afterschool hands-on math program. In 2008 with the new
standards coming in place we discussed different ways in which we could help
students. We contacted Dr. Milt Werner, Superintendent (now
retired): Dr. Tess
Melendez, Director of Elementary Education (now Principal); and Dr. Dennis Brown
(now retired), Director
of Secondary Education and they recommended working in the sixth grade low
income schools and to aid 7 and 8th grade students in math tutoring. |
In 2009-10 the program will focus on
adding classes, increase teacher training, and collecting data on whether the
program increases comprehension and test score. Parvin Ahmadi (now
Superintendent in Pleasanton, California) helped us to understand the
significance of the increased test scores. The 2010-11 year will
work in 6 schools to go into the classroom, but an added parameter of providing
teaching with materials will also be added. Sarah Clark, District
Math Coach and Judith Cameron, Director of Elementary Education will help
the Math Science Nucleus direct the program.
In 2011-12 we continued the program under Superintendent
Dr. Jim Morris and Assistant Superintendent Dr.
Deborah Sims. We added a new essay competition to see if
the classes that we were providing helped students with their attitude
about math. Many of the essays revealed that the students were more
aware of math all around them, and many now understood a little better why
it is so important to their academic and personal lives.
We thank Mrs. Raimondi for helping the Math
Science Nucleus give a gift of learning, that can help these students understand
and appreciate math for the rest of their lives and why it is a critical tool
for all sciences.
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Math as a
tool of science helps students to enter technical fields.
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