Two years ago, the Prudential Foundation announced a commitment of $870,000 to help build a next-generation workforce in El Paso. Since then, Prudential’s investment has impacted two programs: the Prudential Math Challenge Competition created for high school students and MATHCOUNTS targeted at middle schoolers.
The second Prudential Math Challenge Competition, which will be held in conjunction with the annual STEAM Fiesta hosted by Workforce Solutions Borderplex, is a math modeling competition that challenges high school students to respond to a real-world problem in real time.
On Monday, three finalist teams were announced from:
Pebble Hills High School
Presidio High School
Riverside High School
They will compete at the El Paso Community College in Building B, located at 9050 Viscount, at 3:00pm on Friday, April 7, 2017. Results will be announced immediately following the competition.
Earlier this year, MATHCOUNT grants were awarded to the following middle schools to start or further math clubs within in their schools:
Canutillo Middle School
East Montana Middle School
Eastwood Knolls International School
Marfa Junior High
Parkland Middle School
Riverside Middle School
Ross Middle School
Salvador H. Sanchez Middle School
Socorro Middle School
Clarke Middle School
William D. Slider Middle School
All of the middle schools listed above were invited to compete in a video challenge. The winners from that competition will be announced at the STEAM Fiesta Awards event on Friday, April 7, 2017 at 5:00pm.
Prudential funded MATHCOUNTS to increase math competency by offering funds to public middle schools in order to implement a nationally-recognized MATHCOUNTS program. This innovative model provides students real-world experiences that cannot be replicated in the classroom.
Participation in MATHCOUNTS during middle school will increase participation in the Prudential Math Challenge Competition for future years, as well as enhance interest and confidence in applied mathematics, a crucial competency for all STEAM-related fields.
