Welcome to Summit Math Summit middle school students have the opportunity to participate in an advanced and innovative program.  One of the reasons for its success is the variety of teaching techniques it implements.  Summit teachers mesh the proven techniques of traditional instruction with hands-on and alternative methods. Hands-on learning refers to instruction through physical manipulation and active engagement.  Summit students use multiple tools and games to demonstrate and understand mathematical concepts.  They work collaboratively in groups and aid each other in their own understanding. Summit teachers take advantage of students’ underappreciated ability to learn by introducing topics earlier than most schools and by challenging students to solve in-depth problems through cooperation with others.  For example, students explore the fundamentals of proofs, logic, trigonometry, and calculus beginning in their first course of Algebra. The Summit believes that each student should be placed in his or her appropriate class regardless of grade level.  For most institutions the PreAlgebra, Algebra course succession is the advanced curriculum.  Although this is the traditional succession at the Summit, a large majority of Summit students take Geometry in grade eight. Holding itself to international standards, the Summit middle school matches or exceeds the expectations of Singapore, the top math curriculum in the world, by grade level.  By local standards, the Summit PreAlgebra and Algebra courses are the equivalents of Algebra I and Algebra II, respectively, in most public schools. The small class sizes offered at the Summit allow for individualized instruction and one-on-one time with the instructor.  The small classes also allow instructors to create and uphold increased expectations of the students. Another key to success at the Summit is communication and collaboration with the students’ parents.  This support structure for Summit students allows instructors to be more informed about their students and capable to meet their needs.  It also keeps the students accountable for their choices and able to take ownership of their own education. The middle school Summit instructors work together as a team in order to better accommodate the students and integrate the curriculum.  It is important that the teaching team demonstrate to the students that each area of learning has applications to every other area. This allows Summit students to have a holistic approach to learning and see strong teamwork in action. About the teacher: Mrs. Bowerman has earned a Master of Science degree from Missouri State university in mathematics.  She has four years of teaching experience at the university level in everything from Intermediate Algebra to Advanced Calculus.  She also has two years of applied math experience working as an actuarial analyst. To contact Mrs. Bowerman, please email her at: cbowerman@thesummitprep.org