Math+ is thrilled to be the recipient of a 2020 Pillar Sponsorship, continuing our relationship with MBNA and embarking on a new relationship with TD Insurance. In January 2020, Math+ was awarded $6000 to support our outreach and engagement programs that bring mathematics to the general community outside the university, particularly students in grades one to twelve and elementary school teachers.
Math+ provides a suite of programs including math activity classes, a high school mentorship program, school field trips, camps, competitions, advanced classes, youth science conferences, and a Girls in STEM program. We play a role in the national math outreach community by marking Canada’s premiere open math contest (the Canadian Open Math Challenge) and hosting the largest Canadian site of the international Math Kangaroo Contest which brings thousands of grade 1-12 students to U of T’s three campuses each year. Our innovative programs allow teams of university students to help grade-school students with a passion for math to delve deeper into this fascinating subject than their schools accommodate. Equally as important, we provide ways for children and teachers who have weak math skills or negative feelings about math to strengthen skills and discover a side of math that they didn’t know existed.
Our 2020 Pillar Sponsorship will specifically be directed towards the research, design, and fabrication of math exhibits that we can use at pavilion events such as Alumni Weekend, Science Rendezvous, and other community math fairs to excite and engage the public about math. Pillar funding will also be used to support the “Count Me In” Teachers’ Institute, an intervention into the crisis in elementary school math teaching, allowing us to keep this professional development conference free for the nearly 400 participants. Approximately 200 of the teacher attendees each year are U of T alumni, and we are pleased to be able to support their ongoing professional learning and help them help Ontario students to learn and enjoy mathematics and build skills for life. Finally, a portion of the funds will go towards needs-tested bursaries for our youth math activity programs.
The Pillar Sponsorship Program is proudly sponsored by U of T affinity partners Manulife, MBNA, and TD Insurance. These companies offer preferred rates and rewards on financial products for U of T alumni and a portion of the proceeds from these affinity products go to supporting initiatives at U of T that benefit students and alumni. Discover the benefits of affinity products at http://affinity.utoronto.ca.
Math+ wishes to thank MBNA and TD Insurance for their continued support of our initiatives.
For more information on Math+ programs, visit https://mathplus.math.utoronto.ca/.
Questions? Email outreach@math.toronto.edu
