Created in 2014 by faculty at the University of California, Irvine, with support from NSF and UCI Advance, UCI Math CEO is a Community Educational Outreach program  designed to increase the number of talented students from diverse backgrounds who pursue higher education in STEM and/or STEM careers. 

UCI Math CEO partners with schools and families in under-served communities in Southern California to provide (at no cost):

A math after-school program for middle school students that engages youth in fun and interesting mathematics, with caring UCI undergraduate mentors.

A math after-school program for high school students that showcases the relevance of STEM and leads to a deep understanding of math/science concepts.

An engaging and challenging math curriculum designed by UCI faculty to enhance understanding and appreciation of mathematics.

Parental Outreach, consisting of bilingual college-orientation workshops for middle school parents, run by UCI faculty, students and admission staff.

Coaching of college mentors to work effectively with youth, with emphasis on math content, inquiry-based pedagogy and culturally sensitive practices.

STEM-focused field trips to UCI to raise youths’ interest in STEM and their familiarity with college.

How we grew to be the largest Math Circle in the country focused on Latinx Youth

The UC Irvine Math CEO program has been on a growing trajectory since its inception in 2014 and has quickly become one of the largest mathematical circles in the country that specifically target underserved youth.

2014 – 2015

Math CEO started in Fall 2014 as a successful pilot program. During the school year, the program ran 16 Math Circle meetings for about 30+ students from Lathrop Intermediate, a middle school in nearby Santa Ana. During the meetings, middle school students explored various math topics (such as algebra, counting, number theory and geometry) with faculty and students from UCI. The youth also took part in a day-long field trip to UC Irvine to learn, first-hand, about the diverse activities taking place on a college campus. During the field trip, Math CEO hosted a parallel event for parents on preparation for college education.

2015 – 2017

In Fall 2015 Math CEO welcomed another Santa Ana middle school: Villa Fundamental. In each of the 2015-16 and 2016-17 academic years, Math CEO hosted 24 weekly Math Circle meetings on the campus of UC Irvine for over 100 students from Lathrop Intermediate and Villa Fundamental, on Wednesday afternoons after-school. Each year, the program also organized a STEM-focused day-long field trip to UC Irvine for each school as well as an evening bilingual college workshop for students and parents at the school site.

2017 – 2018

In the 2017-2018 academic year, Math CEO continued to serve middle school students from Lathrop Intermediate and Villa Fundamental but decided to offer separate math enrichment meetings for each school, almost doubling its reach.

2018 – 2019

Fall 2018, Math CEO partnered with two additional middle schools (Carr Intermediate, in Santa Ana, and Marco Forster Intermediate, in San Juan Capistrano) and significantly expanded its program offering. During the 2018-2019 academic year, the program hosted afterschool math enrichment meetings at UCI for each of the four partnering schools, reaching 275+ students in 96 meetings. Family nights were held at Lathrop Intermediate, Villa Fundamental and Marco Forster to inform parents about college entrance. Moreover, students from each school visited UC Irvine on a field trip to experience a day in the life of a college campus.

2019 – 2020

In Fall 2019, Math CEO broadened its reach even further and welcomed two new schools: El Sol Science and Arts Academy of Santa Ana (Fall) and Century High School (Fall and Winter), also in Santa Ana. During the first two quarters of the 2019-2020 academic year, Math CEO provided free afterschool enrichment in mathematics to nearly 350 middle school and high school students in Santa Ana and San Juan Capistrano (in a total of almost 90 meetings). With the hit of the COVID-19 pandemic, hosting in-person afterschool meetings for youth became impossible, but Math CEO’s commitment to support underserved youth in Southern California remained stronger than ever. The program offered a total of 18 online math circle meetings for students from Lathrop Intermediate, Villa Fundamental and Marco Forster.

2014 – 2015

Math CEO started in Fall 2014 as a successful pilot program, with support from NSF (EMSW21-RTG: PI Foreman) and from UCI Advance (Spirit Grant: PI Pantano). During the school year, the program ran 16 Math Circle meetings for about 30+ students from Lathrop Intermediate, a middle school in nearby Santa Ana. During the meetings, middle school students explored various math topics (such as algebra, counting, number theory and geometry) with faculty and students from UCI. The youth also took part in a day-long field trip to UC Irvine to learn, first-hand, about the diverse activities taking place on a college campus. During the field trip, Math CEO hosted a parallel event for parents on preparation for college education.

2015 – 2017

In Fall 2015 Math CEO welcomed another Santa Ana middle school: Villa Fundamental. In each of the 2015-16 and 2016-17 academic years, Math CEO hosted 24 weekly Math Circle meetings on the campus of UC Irvine for over 100 students from Lathrop Intermediate and Villa Fundamental, on Wednesday afternoons after-school. Each year, the program also organized a STEM-focused day-long field trip to UC Irvine for each school as well as an evening bilingual college workshop for students and parents at the school site.

2017 – 2018

In the 2017-2018 academic year, Math CEO continued to serve middle school students from Lathrop Intermediate and Villa Fundamental but decided to offer separate math enrichment meetings for each school, almost doubling its reach.

2018 – 2019

Fall 2018, Math CEO partnered with two additional middle schools (Carr Intermediate, in Santa Ana, and Marco Forster Intermediate, in San Juan Capistrano) and significantly expanded its program offering. During the 2018-2019 academic year, the program hosted afterschool math enrichment meetings at UCI for each of the four partnering schools, reaching 275+ students in 96 meetings. Family nights were held at Lathrop Intermediate, Villa Fundamental and Marco Forster to inform parents about college entrance. Moreover, students from each school visited UC Irvine on a field trip to experience a day in the life of a college campus.

2019 – 2020

In Fall 2019, Math CEO broadened its reach even further and welcomed two new schools: El Sol Science and Arts Academy of Santa Ana (Fall) and Century High School (Fall and Winter), also in Santa Ana. During the first two quarters of the 2019-2020 academic year, Math CEO provided free afterschool enrichment in mathematics to nearly 350 middle school and high school students in Santa Ana and San Juan Capistrano (in a total of almost 90 meetings).

Spring 2020

With the hit of the COVID-19 pandemic, hosting in-person afterschool meetings for youth became impossible, but Math CEO’s commitment to support underserved youth in Southern California remained stronger than ever. The program offered a total of 18 online math circle meetings for students from Lathrop Intermediate, Villa Fundamental and Marco Forster.

2020 – 2021

In the 2020-2021 academic year, Math CEO offered weekly virtual math enrichment for students in 4 middle schools in Santa Ana: Lathrop Intermediate, Villa Fundamental, Carr Intermediate and McFadden. Moreover, Math CEO partnered with Cal State Fullerton to deliver online math enrichment for students from Valley High School (in Santa Ana) and Fallbrook High School (in San Diego). We are excited for the new collaborations! Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all meetings were online.

Schools

Our students, their families

Our Amazing Students

Year after year, we continue to be amazed by the talent, the energy and the generosity of the students we work with. They have a strong desire to acquire a college education, and we at Math CEO are committed to help them reach their educational dreams.

 

Every time I participate in MathCEO I have a great time! The teaching experience is amazing, the kids are amazing, the the MathCEO team is amazing! It is so great to do something fun and rewarding. I love working with MathCEO because I know the students are learning math and that they are all capable of such greatness! I can’t wait to participate this coming quarter!
– Mentor

Insights from MATH CEO Parents

What do you think of Math CEO?   

“I like Math CEO because they give students the opportunity to have a goal and know that math is fun and math helps them a lot in everything, in any doctorate, any masters they want. Even to eat and count their food. They learn a lot and I have always told my daughter to ask  questions because if they do not ask questions they never learn. It has opened many doors for her, she likes math now. Even now she will compete in the math club at the district level.”

Have you seen a change in your daughter’s grades or study habits?

 “She liked mathematics but did not fascinate her. Now she is fascinated by math. She is also a source of motivation for my youngest daughter, she is in 5th grade going into 6th. She is in all honor classes and has all A’s.” 

In the time that your daughter has been in Math CEO have you seen a change in her personality? 

“Yes, she has grown. She is going to turn 14 but she is much more mature. She is sure of what she wants to study. Her goal is to become a lawyer and get her doctorate. Her objective is to be a graduate because no one in the family of her dad has graduated. She says she wants a house, and to travel and that she will have me in a very nice house, seeing that I did not have the opportunity to get an education. She wants more. She wants to be a motivation for her younger sister so that she sees her like a mentor and so that she’ll focus on her studies.”