This important panel and discussion took place on Saturday, November 11 during COMMUNITY TECH DAY, at Childs Park Rec!
In Parents Magazine, journalist Pamela Appea’s article, “Our Math Education System Is Failing Black Kids— Is Ethnomathematics the Solution?” discusses African strategy games, symmetrical designs embedded within Adinkra cloths, and African fractals — suggesting that, “Returning to traditional and cultural learning styles could help narrow growing education gaps between Black and white children.“
We heard from local educators, experts in applied math, and stakeholders as they discussed this and other topics related to supporting and encouraging better math outcomes for our children.
The panel was moderated by community advocate and organizer Erica Hardison, who holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Florida A&M University. Panelists included:
JerJuan Green, Senior Instructional Support Specialist at St. Pete College Gibbs Campus, whose 15+ years of experience in the field includes working at Kennedy Space Center alongside other NASA engineers, holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from Florida A& M University;
Tara Fowler, 9 -12 Math Specialist for Pinellas County Schools, supervises all of high school math for the district, making curriculum decisions that support teachers, students/families, and administrators, holds a Master of Education Degree in Secondary Math Curriculum & Instruction;
Mike Milner, a financial management consultant, data analytics professional, and content developer whose focus has been improving operational efficiencies, has helped many medium to large businesses cut costs and increase their bottom lines by using optimal technologies, holds an MBA in Finance from Drexel University;
Remi Sammy is a whole brain (right and left) thinker, who works for Gracenote, a Nielsen company, in schedule data & metadata, examining structured data feeds, and as a data analyst and project manager for Data For Good’s Climate Contextualization project; she is also podcast producer and contributor for Nielsen’s Crossroads, and an accomplished singer/songwriter.
Professor Donnie McClendon is a native of the Tampa Bay area and a proud representative of South St. Petersburg’s Childs Park Neighborhood. He is a double graduate of the University of South Florida, earning a B.A. degree in History and an Interdisciplinary M.A. degree in Florida Studies/Colonial Latin American History.
