MATHCOUNTS Competition
by Tim Boron, P.E.

• Saturday, February 16, 2008
• Stark State College Advanced Technology Center

In February, students in Stark County will participate in MATHCOUNTS, the nationwide math program for 7th and 8th grade students.

This year will include Mathletes from nine local schools: Canton Country Day School, Green Middle School, Jackson Memorial Middle School, Middlebranch Middle School, North Canton Middle School, Pleasant View School for the Arts, Saint Joan of Arc School, Saints Philip and James School and Taft Middle School.

MATHCOUNTS is both a coaching program and a series of competitions at regional, state and national levels. Beginning in September, teachers spent several months coaching students for the upcoming oral and written competitions. Those who make the school math team will compete against other school “mathletes” in February.

We anticipate that as many as 150 students will enter the program this year. Nationally, thousands of 7th and 8th grade students enter the program and have the opportunity to be coached in such accelerated math topics as probability, statistics, linear algebra, and polynomials. The winning teams from each state will receive trips to Washington, D.C. for the national finals in May. The top national winners receive cash scholarships for college expenses. The coaches of the top “Mathletes” will receive a trip to a NASA space facility, courtesy of NASA.

By sponsoring the MATHCOUNTS program, we hope to address the nationwide problem of declining math skills among pre-college students. The National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) will supply, free of charge, contest information and coaching materials to all participating schools, and CRSPE will conduct the regional competition from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, February 19, 2005 at Stark State College.

MATHCOUNTS is sponsored in Stark County by Canton Regional Society of Professional Engineers (CRSPE). National sponsors of MATHCOUNTS are the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) the CNA Foundation Companies, Dow Chemical Foundation, Texas Instruments, 3M Foundation, General Motors Foundation, Phillips Petroleum Co., National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Lockheed Martin and Toyota USA Foundation.

For more information contact:
Tim Boron P.E.
Phone: 330-837-3868 - Fax: 330-837-2230